JMO

I remember Reid struggling with Spanish early in the series, but it was his pronunciation that was giving him trouble, not his vocabulary. That's what Elle corrected. So, to speak with a witness or unsub, it's not surprising they'd draw upon the skills of someone experienced in using the language on an every day basis (someone like Emily, who lived in many countries around the world). But I don't think that means he wasn't an expert in languages. I agree that the Korean line was a throwaway---for unknown and poorly exploited reasons---but it wouldn't be all that surprising. South Korea is a current leader in the world of science, which is Reid's home planet.

Even CM can't keep me awake some nights. I haven't seen the episode yet, but chanced a peek here to get a sense of whether it would be worthwhile watching. (Except for the Reid scenes. I always watch them.) Anyway, I just wanted to comment on the language issue. My guess is that, if Reid were a real person, he would have become expert at languages so he could read journal articles in their original context. The science geek in him would have found it necessary, for the sake of precision. That he would expand his use of the languages to cover literature and film would be a natural progression for our resident genius. As to whether he would read War and Peace in Russian while they were actively investigating a case....no.

I'm an infrequent contributor here, but I've been reading through this thread and feel the need to comment. While I think the show missed a golden opportunity to study something really interesting---that is, the slow, uncertain transition of JJ from liaison to profiler, with all the meaty intra-team relationships that might have been developed and portrayed in the process---it's over, and done, and they blew it. No matter whose fault it was or is. The best we can hope for is that they won't perpetuate the mistake for yet another season. Having said that, I would also say that I'm with Willowy in encouraging us to lay off AJ. I don't know her personally, so all I can say with certainty is that, like the rest of us, she's just a person, with the gifts and personality given to her, trying to do her job the best she knows how. She has family, and friends, and joys and sorrows just like anyone else. Not liking the character doesn't mean we have to dislike the actress. Nor would I rely on snippets of interviews, or press releases, or other publicity gigs to form an impression of any celebrity. It's all superficial.

Great thread. As with others, I was hooked by the character of Spencer Reid. He fascinated me, and still does, and is the main reason I continue to watch the show.. And I think that is entirely due to the way he has been portrayed by MGG. Recent years have given us quite a few shows with 'genius characters', nearly all written as flat, and robotic. In truth, some of Reid's dialogue could easily be delivered that way as well. But, instead, MGG takes the same words and infuses them with Reid's excitement about knowledge, and the sharing of it. And then he follows it quickly with a silent look of confusion, or hurt, when his overture isn't appreciated. And that's when he's not playing something particularly emotional. I do think MGG is an under-recognized master of the subtle look, or movement, or shift of the eyes. He speaks volumes when he is silent, and I love that about the character. I even like it better than his overtly emotional scenes. For me, he's made Pinocchio into a real boy. At the beginning, one of the things I liked about the show was that I enjoyed each character (and, thus, each episode) , and embraced their flaws and weaknesses right along with their heroism. I liked their interactions, both positive and negative, as they fought the good fight together. Like many others, I am suffering from some character fatigue by now.....but that's another thread. Some of the relationships have stood out for me more than others. Reid and....pretty much everyone, at one time or another. Hotch and Rossi. Morgan and Emily. JJ and Garcia. Hotch and JJ. Hotch and Emily. I was always afraid for Reid in his relationship with Gideon, but it was entirely fascinating. I loved that this show was intelligent. For me, it was up there with ER and West Wing (I know there is overlap with the writing staff with ER) in demanding my attention and delivering rapid-pace, sensible dialogue and ideas. Any show that can grab my attention and maintain it for the full hour (and there are woefully few) earns my respect, and CM definitely did so. As to whether that's still the case....well, again, another thread. I like that there's never a completely happy ending (even when they get a save), and that often enough we're left with an ambiguity rather than a convenient wrap-up. I love when there's a subtle message to the story, much better than I like those with overt themes. And I love that we get another season of it. (As long as we also get MGG, of course.)

I've just recently found this forum and hope you don't mind my entering the discussion. The evolution of a TV series is an interesting process. At the beginning, as the characters are being formed by both the writers and the actors, we simply take them in and decide what we think of them. The writers and actors have free rein with what they will do. And then, at some undefined time, the character is deemed (by us) to be fully formed, and we begin to measure their behaviors on screen against what we would expect of the people they've been written to be. For series with consistent writing teams, this can be a seamless process. But, when there is such overhaul as there has, apparently been with CM (I'm a latecomer, discovered the series through syndication), there is inherent room for the new writers to stray far afield from the characters as they were originally written. This is often dismissed as 'character growth', when it really represents a misunderstanding of the character by the new writer. In the case of CM, I think this has, indeed, occurred. I've had a condensed experience with the series, and can see that there is a marked difference between the original composition of each character, and how they are currently represented. Similarly, there was an intelligence and, importantly for me, a pathos, that infused the series. The intelligence tries to rear its head from time to time these days, but the pathos is almost completely gone. We saw a hope-inspiring remnant of it with Reid's reaction to losing Maeve, and the team's reaction to him. But I have to agree with those who think that the pathos has been lost this season, and I also agree that the whole miswriting of the 'curing' of Diana is the best example of it. (Totally ignoring the very existence of '200', now and forever). Reid's relationship with his mother, and Diana's mental illness, were two of the best established 'personal' themes of the show. To simply dismiss both of them with a miracle cure was, I thought, evidence of writing that just felt immature to me. As though the writer didn't understand the dynamic, or the importance of it, and was willing to give it all away for a 'cute moment' at the end of the story. Or maybe it simply reflected a lack of imagination on the part of the writer (and the whole writing team---I've read that they vet the story lines with each other before proceeding). They seemed completely nonplussed by not having Jane Lynch on the show. How hard would it have been to have Reid receive an out-of-the-blue phone call from his mother, to celebrate a new improvement in her mental health? Just watching his end of the conversation, trusting MGG to come through on the acting end, would have been priceless. If they couldn't manage that, then just show him frustrated by being too busy to see his mother while in Vegas. Even simpler, avoid Vegas completely. Or was the episode set there specifically so they could 'amend' canon? If CM hadn't ever had its day in the sun, I would certainly not have been moved to create this annoyingly long first comment. But it did have its day, and it stood head and shoulders above other series By choice, I will remain hopeful that it can go out the same way.