JMO

Watching the scene where Hotch meets Emily. What do you think all those trophies in his office are for?

I've always thought the same. He's obviously grimacing as he goes down the steps. The whole way the show handled it made me think that some of the higher ups were angry with MGG for having gotten hurt, as though he'd done it by choice. It wasn't exactly skydiving, it was dancing. (Granted, the way he dances, there's not all that much difference between the two.) They mentioned it only because they obviously had to, and took no advantage of the storyline of a disabled agent. The other cast members, Paget and AJ in particular, were accommodating. Paget helped with his crutches, and AJ often hung back in a scene to accompany him. Not sure if that was their choice or the directors', but it was good to see. Somebody had to be able to grab him if he started to fall.

Ran through it again while I got some work done this morning. In the light of a new day, I've changed my mind. It was only 95% drivel, and 5% Reid in a suit jacket. To me, the use of social media is important because it allows me to communicate with, and keep up on, old friends who are distant, and new friends (like you), who share similar interests (if not opinions), from a world-wide variety of places. So I would have been very interested if the team had gradually learned of related killings happening all over the country (or the world), at different times, all connected by someone stalking the victims on line. Neither this one, nor The Internet Is Forever (except the broadcasting of the killings) took advantage of the amazing geographical interconnectedness of it. Such killings might even have made an intriguing, season-long theme. But to have it all play out among a group of supposed adolescents (only the unsub looked remotely like one) in the same geographical area was, to me, not remotely captivating. I do think it did a disservice to adolescents by implying that they are more impressed with the number of 'likes' a person has generated than they are with the content of that person's character. Certainly not true of the teens I know. I would have been interested in the 'Slenderman' aspect, as I struggle with understanding the adolescent mindset that caused that incident to happen. Had the show actually focused on that, I think this could actually have been an important episode, alerting parents and all of us who work professionally with adolescents to look for similar behaviors and thought patterns. If only they'd told us what those patterns were. Random thoughts: If Reid's smile at JJ had happened in a different context, I would have already written a story about it. But I didn't understand that at all. Thought it was odd that Morgan would be openly professing love to Savannah with Garcia sitting in his office. But I do like that they've toned down the sexual innuendo in their 'banter'. It's been a very long time since we've seen Morgan in a suit jacket. When he and Reid arrived at the scene, all I could think of was 'Men In Black'. They just looked like G Men. Reid's hair as a co-star----absolute yes to that! But, really, it isn't remotely attractive. He needs to take a comb or a scissors to it. Preferably both. I do think this particular episode pandered to a certain demographic (I would have used 'catered' if the demographic had been mine). That would have been tolerable if there had been a true message for that demographic. If there was, it went right by me. Hope they caught it. Hoping for better days ahead, but I think it will take me a while to recover from this one.

Maybe it's just been too long a day, but that was ...just....absolute....drivel, from start to finish.

Georgetown is an historic neighborhood in DC. Georgetown University is located there, but it's very possible to live 'in' Georgetown without attending the university.

Thanks, Normasm. It's therapeutic, and it's a great way to keep from getting work done! And, I will admit, fanfiction is a major reason I'm still able to like JJ---I just do my best to 'fix' her.

The logic simply doesn't hold. There was no telegraphing that Reid would have much to do in this episode, neither in previews nor in spoilers. So there was no way to use Reid as a 'draw'. One had to watch the episode to know that he would be featured in a number of scenes. No collusion there. For me, however, the comment does raise the question of what makes an episode 'centric'. Having bookended scenes doesn't quite meet the criteria in my mind. Instead, episodes like Revelations, Memoriam, 100, (the awful) 200, Profiler Profiled come to mind, where the entire storyline had to do with a specific character. I don't think that happened here.

Adequate Reid, so I watched. Decent episode, although I will probably only watch the Reid scenes again. Good use of the team and their varying areas of experience/expertise: Morgan suspecting the childhood victimization/ JJ recognizing the fairy tale story / Garcia finding things with vaguely reasonable parameters / Hotch knowing to show compassion toward the unsub (love that Hotch!). I thought the unsub story was reasonably consistent within itself---by which I mean that, whether or not it was realistic, it didn't go in six different directions. I wish we knew which episodes were based on real cases, and which not. I doubt that our designation of 'preposterous' would hold up against some of the realities. There have simply been too many times (only in my work life, thank God), when I've found myself saying, "You can't make this stuff up." Having said that, I was impressed that one could actually puncture the skin with a stiletto heel without breaking the shoe. Which may have more to do with the fact that I've probably spent, cumulatively throughout my lifetime, less money on my own footwear than some spend on a single pair of shoes. A nitpick: How did the unsub glide so steadily across the cemetery lawn with one glass heel and one flat? Are Reid's arms that powerful? I'm not sure Reid's knowledge about fairy tales contributed anything to solving the case, but I enjoyed it, and thought it was spot on regarding JJ's dilemma. I remember having a very dog-eared copy of the originals as a child, and remember being fascinated with how different they were from the Disney versions. I remember being excited about seeing a film about the Brothers Grimm (not the Heath Ledger one), but remember nothing else about it. Regarding the bookends: My guess is that the brief plot line was a set up for JJ's later episode, because of its suggestion that denial runs in their family. It would provide a little bit of an arc, and a lead-up, that might help make the later episode make more sense. So I, for one, thought it was a good idea. I also thought 'Henry' delivered his lines well. But he looked very sad, for a little guy sitting on his grandmother's lap. I'm guessing he misses his godfather. So I hope they can get together soon-----and then Reid can borrow Henry's comb.

Normasm, if you're crazy, I'm the same kind of crazy. I see it too. Great pick up! I guess MGG had to find something to amuse himself for the latter half of the episode.

Not sure I believe this even as I'm writing it, but----do you think maybe the writers fall back to including JJ in so many scenes simply because she is such a blank slate? They can put her into virtually any situation, and have her behave however they need her to, because her character has been so incompletely drawn for the entire length of the series. On the other hand, Reid's personality, and his fairly rich back story, may make him seem something of a 'niche character' to them. I'm not saying they shouldn't have found a way to work with that (certainly, most of us have), but if the writers are interested in taking the easy way out, well, the easy way out is to ignore him. I've often thought that this must be the ideal job for MGG, especially when his character disappears during much of the episode. I'm sure there are days he has to wait hours to perform in only one or two scenes, but there are probably many days he doesn't have to go in at all. Which allows him to work on all of the side projects he so enjoys, while CM foots the bill for his time.

Be forewarned----I'm about to try to be annoyingly fair here. I just watched the episode all the way through (having done only my usual fast-forward Reid-assessment prior to this). Overall, I thought it was decent. And, if I wasn't the die-hard Reid fan that I am, I would have said it was actually good. But I am that die-hard Reid fan, so I spent the entire second half of the episode waiting for him to appear, rather than paying attention to the storyline-----which meant that I ended up having to watch it again. I decided to try my own 'cognitive regression' and took myself back to when I first discovered the show, and was willing to take in whatever they had to give me, not noticing how the screen time was weighted, nor who had the best lines, etc. With that mindset, I was able to enjoy the story for what it was, and to appreciate all the moments we did get. I especially liked seeing the dichotomy in Hotch's demeanor when he is in the role of 'father' versus when he is in the role of 'FBI agent'. He's so different, he's almost not the same person. (Someone who's better at writing Hotch than I am, please explore this in a fanfic!). I thought all the team members were used well, to the extent that they were used. As much as I would have loved to see Reid again, I actually would have liked to see Kate a little more in this one. As others have noted, she has a bit of a tough veneer to her, demonstrated in how she approaches and would like to deal with unsubs. Given that, I thought it would be interesting to have learned a bit more about the other side of her in this vaguely parenting-centered episode. (Then again, they did need the unsub to talk with them at the end. With Kate around he might not have gotten the chance!) Of course, I'm disappointed that we had a Halloween episode with literally no reference to Reid's love of the occasion. And I'm as disappointed as Reid probably is that Henry has already forsaken him for Spiderman. But if I take myself back, and ignore all the 'might-have-beens' and 'should-have-dones', if I take the episode at surface value---it was decent. But it could have been so much better!

Whenever I hear someone say they had no idea what it was like to be a parent until they actually were one, I think 'You must not have spent much time thinking about it." Really, if everyone had to experience something in order to be empathetic about it, we'd all be too busy experiencing, and not being empathetic.

Joining the conversation, as a fellow frustrated Reid fan. I wonder if part of the problem is not just the lack of current backstory (I agree it was one of the richest, in the past), but also the inconsistency with which he is written from week to week. If I didn't feel like I already knew the character from the early years---if I was just beginning to watch the show over the past few----I would have no idea who this guy was. One week he's empathetic, one week witty, one week robotic. One week he's as socially competent as any of the rest, the next he's awkward, or remote. We've seen each of those traits in the past, but they seemed to be appropriately evolving, in a way that made sense as the character matured. Now he's different every episode. To make matters worse, last year the writers even managed to besmirch Reid's back story by 'curing' his mother off screen. (I can't imagine how MGG kept his cool when he read that in the script!) To me, it was a very telling faux pas. I learned that the writers don't understand the importance of rich character history, nor ongoing character development. (Well, I already knew that, but----you know...) Then the newly created back story for JJ, to explain their errors in her characterization, cemented the impression for me.

I thought he looked like....Jack. And just fine. Zaneej have you seen pics of MGG at the same age? They are, I think, the human version of 'don't judge a book by its cover'. It's called 'don't judge the man by his peripubescent self'. From his own accounts, it sounds like MGG was so judged, and was bullied for it. And then he responded with the most effective strategy ever---success. Which is what I wish for Cade Owens.

Failed the 'Reid-meter', which means that I will probably get around to watching it all the way through someday, but am in no hurry. But before it failed the 'Reid-meter', I did get to enjoy seeing the smiling, happy Hotch that used to appear on the show from time to time. I've long missed him. My fast-forwarding told me that there was a pretty big imbalance in the use of characters in this episode (Reid wasn't the only one MIA, he's just the one I always miss the most). As I've said before, I still like JJ, and I don't begrudge any of the characters their screen time. I just know that it's possible to include the other characters into the same scenes, and I don't quite understand why it doesn't happen. Can't tell if it's the writing or the editing, or some choice made by someone up the line, but it leaves me feeling underwhelmed.

It wouldn't surprise me if we were to learn that those nuances of Reid's behavior came about solely through the input of MGG. He is masterful with his body language, and seems concerned enough with continuity and logic (except when he's being totally 'out there' with an episode he's directing). On the other hand, I would be surprised if it came from nearly anyone else. I recall that they had to go back and rewrite (and re-film, so they obviously didn't pick up on it right away) parts of 'Fear and Loathing', which was the very next episode after 'Revelations'.

To me, the most enlightening part of the page was the upper right hand corner, where they advertise "Compose an article and get paid". If you follow the link, you can see that there are no research requirements, and they are paid per view, which is an incentive to write something that is either controversial, or will have a significant bandwagon. This is basically an op-ed site, which makes it no different from what we do here. It just looks more official because it's 'an article.' (Off to see if I can get paid for having an opinion----not!)

Done. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10783066/1/Bent

Watching 'Amplification' for the six thousandth time. This is one I've always had a pet peeve with---specifically with Hotch telling JJ that it wouldn't be fair for her to warn her family to stay home. He implies that they shouldn't save the people they love simply because they can't make the information widely known, and thereby also save others. It's never made sense to me. Isn't it better to save someone, rather than no one? Shouldn't there be some perks for those who take on the risk?

Alexvillage, you make several good points. It's one thing to say that people who are mentally ill are more prone to serial killing (NOT true), and another to say that serial killers are more prone to carrying a diagnosis of mental illness. They are two separate statistics. The show, I think, tries to portray that there is often some degree of mental illness that drives the actions of the perpetrators of the crimes. Like you, I hope that the audience doesn't take away the message that they should be fearful of the mentally ill. But you also point out an opportunity. The show is there for 'entertainment' (the writing of that phrase makes me nervous about what I've come to consider entertainment---heading for some Little House on the Prairie right after this), but there's no reason it can't also be educational. If the general public learns to take better notice of certain traits or behaviors associated with dangerous psychopathy (and even sociopathy, although that's much harder for the public to see), they might be able to help prevent a second or third, or tenth, death at the hands of the same killer. Because, let's face it, most police forces don't have access to Garcia and her computers, and they need real eyes and ears in the community to contribute to solving crimes.

Well, this woman knows it's not gas. It's angel dreams.

Be nice to the babies---they're the ones who will be picking out your nursing homes! Honestly, it's all cycle-of-life stuff, and I like that some of our team have growing family at home. I loved that episode where JJ brought Henry in to the BAU as the rest were returning from a case, to remind them that there's something besides darkness out there. Even Morgan showed a soft side in that one. Since then, apart from two unfortunate, glaring, exceptions (noted below), it's been a very minor side story in a few other episodes, including the Halloween dressing-up-like-his-favorite-profiler, which was, for me, worth putting up with the rest. Maybe the reason it feels like it's been a constant harangue is because it was given such major emphasis in (the awful) 'Hit' and 'Run', which were, in my opinion, at least as bad as (the awful) '200'. In '200', the pregnancy came and went so quickly, and without aftermath, that it was almost a non-event, so I found it hard to react to. I, for one, would love to see Henry again (provided the actor has grown into his role)----but I want to see him with his godfather. Forget having him dress up like Reid---I want to see them trick-or-treating together! Or doing pretty much anything else.

Thanks for responding, Alexvillage. I think it's fair game to criticize a performance, but I also think there are both helpful and unhelpful (which are usually also unkind) ways to do so. These kinds of specifics from your last post: "I think it is because she is so flat and the other things I saw her in - guest at some other show(s), don't remember which one(s) now - she had the same inflection, same facial expression, same posture." would, I think, fall into the 'helpful' category, because they give real feedback, and something for the recipient to work with. It's completely expected that some will like a character, and how that character is written and/or portrayed, and some will not. But I would caution against painting the actual actor/actress with the same brush, and especially without any real reason to do so. I think it's important for all of us on the site to remember that, while it's inherent to their jobs that their performances will be evaluated by people who don't know them, the same is not true of their personal lives.

Alexvillage, I have to admit--- you've piqued my curiosity. If, as you say, you know nothing about the actress and have never seen nor read an interview with her, what is it that forms your impression of her as a person?

This isn't finished, and it's not mine. It's definitely AU, but it's very well done. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9908033/1/The-Formation-of-Planets