Danielg342

I wasn't exactly too thrilled about the weather balloon storyline- it seemed rather implausible as a murder weapon. At least it seemed like Harvey Bullock was having some fun with the investigation didn't take it too seriously. Oswald Cobblepot...I believe he's quickly becoming my favourite character. He's just so neurotic and earnest, the kind of "deliciously crazy" that makes for a wonderful criminal. The only problem I had with the storyline is that I think he came back to Gotham a little too quickly...then again, I guess there's only so long you can have him meandering the outskirts before you bring him back where he can do things. Him showing up to the door at the end of the episode was a nice hook, and I can't wait to see Cobblepot and Jim Gordan match wits in the next episode. The Montoya/Barbara kiss...unless I'm mistaken and it happened in the comics, I'm not exactly thrilled the show made the decision to give the pair sexual tension. I felt the whole lesbian kiss thing smacked of desperation and seemed unnecessary. The two characters are rivals for Jim Gordon's love...isn't that enough? I'm starting to think that maybe there are too many characters and that some ought to be demoted to recurring status. There's just too many storylines for each episode to pay attention to each week- the Case of the Week, Major Crimes, Barbara's worries over her husband, Bruce Wayne's story, Oswald Cobblepot's story, Falcone vs. Mooney, Selina Kyle...there's just too many to juggle, with too much posturing and action not done with the storylines. Easily a storyline or two could have been demoted to "recurring" status, because some of the stories haven't seem to have gotten started yet. Overall though, it was pretty entertaining.

Maybe I'm alone in this but I've always thought Reid could carry a show all by himself. He's just that unique. Perhaps S11 or even S12 is too soon to contemplate that, but I think eventually the show will need to look into the future. I just can't picture Hotch and Rossi- especially Rossi- around once you get to S13-S15. Granted, who knows if the show will get that far, but I don't believe CBS would bring in Kate Callahan if it thought the show would have one or two seasons left.

Kind of doubt they'd get rid of Reid. Considering that they're making Callahan somewhat geeky and that Jennifer Love Hewitt seems to more naturally fit in with Garcia and her ilk, it should stand to reason that the equally adorkable Reid would fit in too. As I've said all along, Callahan was brought in with the future in mind, one that won't have Rossi and Hotch in it, since both (especially Rossi) are getting long in the tooth. Reid, on the other hand is still pretty young by Hollywood standards so I can bet CM would want to hang on to him more.

Well, Randall Garner had been stalking the team for quite a while, and got all of their personal information after hacking the FBI's computers via Garcia connecting to them via a wireless connection, so I could buy that he knew where Elle's home was. Maybe he overheard the team in their offices, or it was just a stroke of luck- calculated luck, since he probably knew that by setting up Elle she'd likely not get any sleep and would likely be the first one to go home. As for Gideon- I separate the character from the actor, and I still think he's one of the most compelling characters I've ever seen. I find it a complete pity that we only got two seasons of the guy, but I guess, given how the other characters have evolved into roteness, less is likely more in this case. I tend to prefer S1 Gideon to later Gideon since earlier on he wasn't as melodramatic (in fact, the team felt more “real” earlier on), but I've always liked the character. Furthermore, though I didn't like how Mandy Patinkin handled it, I understood why he left. Despite the fact I still think the cases were handled well in S2, it was in S2 when the cases were predominantly against women with the show becoming formulaic...it was a complete 180 from S1. S3 was pretty much more of the same, so I could understand if he looked at the script and changed his mind about participating. I just wish he was more professional about it.

I was just thinking the UnSub could generate an entire discussion all on its own...this could be the thread for other storylines (like Garcia's and JJ's PTSD).

Do you think speculation over the Season Long UnSub (SLU) belongs in this thread or a thread entirely of its own?

Ha! The way this show is going, I'll believe Red is vulnerable when I see it.

I thought the first half hour was pretty good, and the story seemed to move along nicely up until Fred Flinstone ruled in favour of Duff. Then I really think the episode went downhill- way downhill. There was a wasted opportunity for some serious self-reflection where Homer could have realized the gravity of what he did and maybe have gone to Quahog himself to stop the factory from shutting down, with a reference to "The Day The Violence Died". Instead, we got that long fight between him and Peter that went on way too long and added nothing to the story, and the end was contrived to. Am I supposed to believe that Peter was just going to forgive Homer on the spot after Homer had just taken away his livelihood? I get that the Family Guy writers probably didn't want to end on a sour note with the Griffins hating the Simpsons, but, come on, you can do better than that. Of course, maybe I set my standards a bit too high...expecting any kind of resonance and emotional consideration is well beyond Family Guy's capabilities it seems...I'm pretty sure Seth McFarlane wrote the book on comedic sociopathy. Other examples dotted the episode, like when Peter threw out Meg's new saxophone and reminding her of her own worthlessness after Lisa bonded with Meg and tried to boost her self-confidence, with Lisa burying her own ego just to make Meg feel better. Talk about the show stabbing Meg in the back and twisting the knife. Then there was the bit with Bart rejecting Stewie, with Stewie crying at the end. I actually felt bad for him, and then I realized the show actually wanted me to laugh at his misfortune. Sorry, that's just not something I can do. (I think it might have been funnier if Stewie plotted revenge against Bart and was seen designing a plan to kill Bart or something...Stewie is at his best when he's maniacal, and at least we see him have some kind of mental fortitude, instead of being a pathetic husk) Also, while it's not "comedic sociopathy", I did find Marge's comment to Lois about not wearing a bra to be pretty crass. That I find more offensive than the "rape joke", as the latter was purely meant as an example of how Stewie is just "too maniacal for Bart" while the former is asking me to find it funny that Lois "isn't ladylike enough". Perhaps someone should tell McFarlane it's 2014 and there's no such a thing as being "ladylike enough" anymore, and the joke was in poor taste when, earlier in the show, Peter got called out for his misogynistic views. I also have to echo what others said about Marge and Lois...neither did anything, really, in the episode, so much so that they could have been written out and no one would have noticed. Again, it's another missed opportunity- the show's promotional material promised they'd bond over their idiotic husbands but they didn't even talk about anything other than the movie they saw, and talking about Peter and Homer could have been a great moment of the show being self-reflective. Of course, that's poignancy and I don't believe McFarlane has ever looked it up in the dictionary. That said, there was a lot I did like about the episode...the car wash scene might have been crass too, but I though it was executed pretty well, with the clear contrast of seeing the decidedly un-sexy Homer and Peter in sexy attire and trying their best to dance sexily. I thought it was the highlight of the hour, especially when you saw Springfield's crooks like Fat Tony and Snake driving in (although I'd like to think Fat Tony would be smart enough to know not to attend a stolen car wash because then he'd get caught, but I digress). I also quite enjoyed Lisa bonding with Meg, giving the impression that maybe, just maybe, Meg could develop some self-confidence. I also liked Lisa burying her ego and letting Meg have her saxophone, since Lisa realized that Meg's confidence was more important than her own selfish desires. It was probably the only moment of the show where one could say it had a touching moment, but it all got undone when the saxophone got thrown away. I get that perhaps the show feared "ruining the status quo", but I think after so long, Meg should at least be given some hope. Overall, though, I really think it failed to meet its potential. As seems too often the case, instead of a carefully crafted story that understand the greater implications of what it's doing, we get an over-reliance on cheap jokes and other forms of juvenile humour that turned the characters into nothing but caricatures which ruined what could have been a nice crossover. There was a chance, there, with the Duff storyline to really pound home the idea that "actions have consequences" but it got missed, since McFarlane seems to think I wanted to watch what was really a poorly disguised hour of sketches. Well, Seth, if I wanted to watch a sketch comedy, I'd watch a sketch comedy- not a sketchy sitcom that tries too hard to be relevant.

Her chances of survival are much higher than staying inside a burning car. Plus, if it were me and I saw a woman screaming for help and- most importantly, smelling of gasoline (which, if I'm not mistaken, you can smell from pretty far away, given just how much was poured)- I'd at least be calling "911" right away.

I'm not quite sure where to begin. This was awful. Awful with a capital "A". Okay, maybe I won't capitalize it, but it was still awful. My first impression was all those reports I read about the show having "gratuitous violence against women". I failed to see that...I saw quite a bit of gasoline thrown on victims which implied what was going to happen but we were thankfully spared seeing the women actually burn. That would have been gratuitous...at least the gasoline attacks had plot-relevant points. Now, Maggie Q's character, Beth, punching up the college male's stalker...that was gratuitous. No need to punch the guy up- that was out and out assault, and if the genders were flipped, there'd be an outrage. Plus it was unprofessional (obviously) and it would get any cop fired- I'm pulling no punches (no pun intended) since that's out and out police brutality, and filming that is in pretty bad taste given what happened in Ferguson (among other things). I also don't buy Beth's explanation about why she'd get away- since she had no evidence that the college kid was a stalker, he could go to the police with impunity. So that whole scene was a mess. Other messes...how about the first victim? She's not particularly bright...so UnSub doused your car in gasoline and is throwing matches at it...and you try to get away inside your car? If I was her, if a guy was chucking matches at my car my first instinct would be to get out of the car and run...she was in a neighbourhood, it's not like there wasn't someone that could have intervened and helped her out. I guess UnSub could have stolen the car given that he had the keys...but he wasn't after her car, he was after her. He likely wouldn't have stolen it; and besides, in that scenario, your life is way more important than any material things you might lose. Dylan McDermott...really don't know where to begin with this guy. I agree with the others that this guy was the biggest creep of them all...his character, Jack, was incredibly obsessive and needy, showing no sign of social skills or any kind of tact at all; and he had the patienence and fortitude to become a cop? Seriously? Then we get to his comments about Beth's choice of wardrobe (how was that for lazy writing, sexing her up just so Jack could dress her down?)...I agree with FineWashables that what Jack said was right, but the context was completely inappropriate. As others have said...that's his boss and, not only that, he delivered the lines so smugly and so leery that they came off as awfully disturbing. Jack sounded like he wanted to bed Beth with those words, not level constructive criticism. Considering that Beth had so easily gone to beat up the college kid, I'm not sure why she didn't pop Jack in the jaw. Oh, and while we're talking about Beth and her clothes...did we really need a "mirror" shot where you can see a reflection of her changing her clothes, with her in her underwear? The lowcut blouse was good enough...we didn't need that. The college kids storyline...I thought it was a great idea but poorly executed. They didn't develop it at all. I'm thinking the writers merely put it in there so that people wouldn't complain about the show being "misogynistic", which makes me wonder why they just didn't bother devoting the second episode to that case. If they had cut out those scenes maybe it would have allowed them to better develop the main storyline better. (There was one thing I did like- Maggie Q is great as an actress. I hope she leaves and finds a better show to be a part of, though) Above all else, though, what this show really missed was some self reflection and vulnerability. We got no "nuts and bolts" reasons why the maniacs wanted to hunt these women. I get that one was an affair but why was the other woman picked? Why douse them with gasoline? Do these guys like fire? Were they thinking of the women they were hunting as witches or something? How long have they been following these women for? I think I might have also liked some more "development" scenes where the stalkers see their victims on Facebook or something before actually attacking them, maybe finding out through there where they could attack them next. I also would have liked to have seen the victims react to all the unwanted attention they've been getting, and not leave things so obvious that they'd be killed. The way the victim scenes were filmed, you had no idea if their attacker really was a stalker or just a random killer...it's a gross violation of "show, don't tell". The corollary is Jack's storyline. Now, I like that the show thought of making Jack a stalker himself (making this a case of unknowingly hiring the criminal), but the execution was wrong. Jack never questioned himself or felt remorse over what he was doing, he never really looked longingly or wistfully at his son, we never found out why he can't see his son in the first place. Part of it was the acting, because McDermott had no abiity to show vulerabiliy and sadness, but a large part of it is the writing. I woud have liked to have seen him stalk then confrit his ex in a later episode, which would show the audience that he does know what he's doing.

-Niko Belic. :) Hands down. -His interrogation scene with Austin Chapman (the "where is the freezer" scene in "The Internet is Forever") -Going toe to toe with Henry Grace -The goofy smile and wave in the wedding scene in "Zugzwang" -When he confronted Hotch in "Omnivore" after the bus killings ("no, you said it- you killed them yourself") -The final scene he had with the kids in "Damaged" -When he told Morgan that "we need to take breaks" in "Cradle to the Grave" and then giving him a knowing nod when he told the team to take a break in "The Slave of Duty" -"Zugzwang Curtis. Zugzwang." -His interrogation of Boyd Schuller in "The Reckoning" -His interrogation of the UnSub in "Strange Fruit" -When he caught Morgan, Reid and Prentiss profiling him in "Identity"

I disagree. I think we could get a compelling storyline out of this...CM just has to execute (and that's a pretty big "if"). A team of UnSubs going around America kidnapping women? There's so many plotlines you can use for it- are they "middlemen", having a "warehouse" of women for other people to buy in order to sell to others? Are they joining a nationwide (or a global) prostitution ring? Are they going to be used as "mail order brides" shipped off to far away countries? Is someone buying the women (and men, in this case) to reverse the cross-Atlantic slave trade of the 16th-18th centuries? Is the human trafficking ring going to be part of some sick dating website, where men get to "bid" on potential girlfriends? So many different storylines and we're just scratching the surface, really. More importantly, there's lots of potential where this could progress. Certainly someone is going to notice all these kidnappings, and they're going to put the pressure on the BAU to put a stop to this. There'd be a media circus, and Senator Cramer (from "It Takes A Village") could get involved demanding some answers. Perhaps the BAU would need help along the way, and they'd require it from the CIA, who might still be upset that Jason Gideon "meddled" with them way back when. I mean, there's just so many possibilities that I'd be pumped up about it...if it were any other show; and that's the caveat. Since I don't trust CM to properly flesh out the story, the potential's there for them to drop the ball, like they normally do, so we do agree that neither of us are getting our hopes up.

Actually, I'm kind of glad the torsos weren't lifelike...with the amount of gore we've been getting the past few years, it's good they've dialed it down a notch. On another front, Stephen Parkett needs a better cleave gag...the girdle didn't work at all.

Seems so out of character for Morgan to say that, and seems so wrong...she's one of his best friends, why abandon her in her time of need? That's just so callous and un-friend-like. I just hope there's something missing in context and that it's one of those "profiling" things where Morgan believes that it's better if Garcia handles things on her own doesn't need Morgan to hold her hand through it. Otherwise, that development is extremely upsetting.

For this year and maybe next, I could buy that, and I respect that Hewitt is differing to the show's older stars instead of trying to push them aside right away. However, I don't think she'll accept being nothing but a cipher for her entire career on CM- I'm sure she (and CBS) brought her on so that she could eventually be the show's lead when the time is right, and she'd want to be developed slowly. Thus, I don't think Messer can get away with underutilizing her for too long, because I'm sure Hewitt (like all actors) won't like it- only that Hewitt actually will have sway in that department.

Doubt it. With someone with the star power of Jennifer Love Hewitt, Erica Messer won't be able to get away with that. If she even tried to shove Kate to the background, you can bet Hewitt will make a stink, threaten to leave and CBS will have to make a choice between Hewitt and Messer. Guess who they'll pick?

Maybe I need to rewatch it because I don't recall men being for sale, but I am with you about being tired of misogyny on TV. It may be realistic but it's a cliche by now and I think far too often shows use women as victims simply because they “play” better than men. I will say that before I level that criticism on CM that at least tonight Angie fought off her attacker and escaped (being *far* from a “damsel in distress”), last year (and the year before) we had quite a few men as victims (including in “Rabid” where the “main” victim was male) and at least for the human trafficking storyline there's the potential for a compelling story with regards to the victims- in other words, the women serve a “role” other than just being “damsels in distress”. Of course, I want to see how it plays out first, because more often than not these days, it seems like CM likes dropping the ball when it actually *does* have a cool idea.

That's probably why. Even though ABC Studios produces CM, Kimmel still airs on a rival network and it wouldn't benefit them if they promoted a show on another network. I don't know too much about Kimmel because I don't like his show very much, but when Leno and Conan did their thing for NBC, unless the star was a NBC star, they rarely talked about their show- they'd be on promoting something else and the show they're on would be a throwaway. So Hewitt not mentioning CM doesn't bother me.

"What? You don't twerk?" I loved that. I missed Reid's response because I was laughing so hard...it was great to see Kate and Reid bond nicely. In fact, I loved Jennifer Love Hewitt- she just seems to have instant chemistry with everyone, and Kate just seems to "fit". When Rossi and her interacted, it almost felt familial- I almost expected Rossi to tell Kate after inspecting the barn, "here's looking at you, kiddo". (Don't ask me why...it just seems like something Rossi would say) I also liked how Kate wasn't "the one with all the answers" right away...she was blindsided, she still didn't know how to keep the work from affecting her, she worried about how she could adjust to the pressure of "catching a guy every week"...she's got a learning curve and I like it. Oh, and over/under on how long it'll take before the girl she's looking after (the credits billed her as "Meg Callahan") gets kidnapped. You know the show will go to that well, you just know it. Methinks season-long UnSub guy is going to take her for the finale, and in the Season 11 opener she gets saved. ...and subtlety. Really digged that. We learned so much about Kate through throwaway lines, like how she jumped right in about the hippopotamus video. The writers ought to try that more often...big long, exposes don't work all the time. I did like the "twist" that the first criminal we saw wasn't the episode's UnSub...I don't think we've seen that before. Other guys have been red herrings before, sure, but none have actually been "criminals" the team needed to catch (in the same episode at least- technically The Replicator counts here too). I liked how everyone got involved and even had a role in solving the case. I disagree that Reid didn't have a role- he was the one who connected the dots about the horse farm- but I do agree it was a small one, considering he really didn't use his talents. Come to think of it, I'm not sure the show's used his talents in a while- whatever happened to the guy who wowed everyone with a remarkable insight only he could possibly come up with? It wouldn't even take too many lines in the script to do- come on writers, stop being lazy. The frame job seemed spurious...I get that, in the context of profiling that Dylan Myers was framed, but I wonder- how many people are just that good? It's not like you can predict that the BAU is going to get involved in your case. I guess I could let it go because it made for a better mystery but it rankled. Didn't like how Morgan was absent from the arrest scene...I'm echoing what others have said- did he retire from kicking down doors or something? I mean I get Shemar Moore might not want to be a one-dimensional tough guy but c'mon...if we're not going to see Morgan kick down a door at least use his brain. He is the obsessional crime expert...could have come in handy tonight, you know? Then, last but not least...season-long UnSub guy. So much for having a "crime" develop over a season...I guess technically it still felt like an "opening scene" but I think a whole season of simply seeing a guy kidnapping women to sell for body parts is really going to get boring quickly. I really want to know "why" the UnSub is doing this and what got him to start raiding women in the first place. Also, another thought- I'm not convinced that the human trafficking network we saw was meant "purely" for the purpose of buying women for parts...it might have been what Myers' framer was doing but there was nothing on the computer screen that indicated that the women were just meant to be anything more than bought and sold...so if a man wanted to buy a woman for other purposes, he could. (What's up with that computer screen, though? Seriously show, Windows XP? Guys, it's 2014, not 2001...get with the program ETA- something else I noticed about the computer screen: the URL at the top wasn't a website but a file path to a temporary file on the C drive...meaning the director or the producer couldn't be bothered to actually create a fake website for the storyline, or at least try to hide the URL. C'mon guys...that's just lazy. If we're seeing this UnSub again try to make things look more professional...besides, you could always make the website in real life a place where we could all converge and come up with our own clues on who the UnSub is) I also rolled my eyes when I saw how the UnSub was procuring his victims...so he gets a van, pulls up beside the woman, opens the door and drags her kicking and screaming inside. In broad daylight. Yeah, totally nondescript. How long would it take for the police to find the guy? A week? I could probably buy that for a "Villain Of The Week" but I'd expect the season-long guy to be better at sneak attacks...doing an attack out in the open draws attention and makes him easier to spot, especially in the age of camera phones and social media where you've got eyes and ears literally all around you. I'm really also hoping there's more to this story than just a generic "auction-for-girls" storyline...I think if someone was buying parts to make a "Frankengirl" it'd be a rather interesting storyline. Oh, and I really also hope that as this story progresses and more and more women get kidnapped someone is going to complain and complain wildly to the FBI about how they're "not doing anything". It wears on your willing suspension of disbelief if, every week, you see communities act like nothing's happening when people are dying all the time around them. If someone was kidnapping women in my community and shopping them online I think I'd want to know the FBI is doing something about it. I'm not saying that the BAU couldn't still take its time solving the case- they'd likely need to- but I want them to feel some pressure. Far too often they come in, they start investigating and people still drop like fleas yet no one says anything about it when in real life people complain to the police about serial killers all the time. ...clues too, by the way. If we're going to have a season-long mystery, at least put some nuggets around the season so that, when it comes time to solve the case in the final episode, we've got a head start, at least. I don't want it to be like The Replicator storyline where there was nothing but pointless posturing and then a solution in 45 minutes. One thing's for sure though- since Andi Swann led a human trafficking unit and the main storyline this season involves a human trafficking case, the callback to her with Callahan was not just a coincidence...she's going to make an appearance, and what a treat that will be. Overall, though, not a bad start to the season. I rather enjoyed tonight.

Gotta say, I really enjoy how this is developing. Everybody's got their own layers and their own niches and it all blends in quite nicely. Furthermore, while some characters can be idealistic- most of all Gordon- no one seems "right": the show does a wonderful job pointing out that, in reality, there is no "correct" approach to go about things. Sure, sending the kids to juvenile detention doesn't seem right- but what else was the Mayor to do? Send them back to the streets? The only thing I'm not digging right now is the Major Crimes storyline...I get that they'd likely get involved after Oswald Cobblepot "dies", but I don't like the "bad guys" vibe they're delivering. The way the show is going, they don't need "visible" enemies- the city's already believable enough.

Good point. I guess it's supposed to be a hint at the Mossad agent but I agree, that bit was pointless. I really don't think this show knows anything about how to develop a character. I might not have minded that in Season One but now I want to see these characters grow out their wings.

Yawn. Too little Red, too little action, too much posturing, too little storytelling, too little payoff...where do I begin? Well, perhaps I ought to say that maybe this show should fire everyone except James Spader and Amir Arison...man, the way Arison plays Aram, he'd definitely hold up nicely as the energetic snide-comment guy against the cool, collected, "what are you talking about?" snarkfest that is Red. Ah, if only a man can dream. Once again, Aram is a spotlight, and only because he delivered the "coffee maker's working" line so earnestly that I need to lobby that he gets a bigger role. Don't get the whole bank job plot, really...it just seemed rather disjointed. I also wonder why Red had to keep the FBI in the dark about what he was doing- they are working together, right? Surely Red could have set things up so that Berlin meets him, hands back his wife and Red hands him over to the FBI...then his problem will be solved, no? Of course, then we get no season so maybe not... Oh, and maybe this will be unpopular but I might have liked the plot better if Mrs. Reddington had died...at first it looked like Berlin handed back the wife and drugged her so that she'd die as she was handed off to Red, if only because of that toothy grin of his. It would have been a perfect moment of oneupmanship, and would at least make Berlin's threat to Red seem credible. Again, as I said about the premiere, I have a hard time believing the man I'm seeing is Berlin if he is so resoundingly gullible and aloof- if Berlin is a real, effective criminal mastermind, he's got to know a thing or two about playing his cards right and, in this episode, Berlin was played so badly you wonder how he schemed his way to the top in the first place. Which brings me to what I believe is this show's ultimate problem, and that's the fact that Red's enemies have largely been faceless, and that means I don't know enough about them to care about whether or not they'll "beat" Red. All we get are vague references to "a war" and we get constantly told that "so-and-so is bad news" but we hardly see on screen any evidence that the threat is credible. In regards to Berlin, the only thing we know about the guy is that he has a network of shadowy people who have spent some time cooking up a plan to kidnap Red's wife to retaliate for the murder of his daughter. Okay...that's a start and it would make a nice storyline for a "Villain Of The Week" but there's hardly enough meat there to sustain the diet of a "Big Bad" storyline. I'd like to think Berlin has some grander goals, such as striking at Red because he's worried that now that Red has the FBI's help his own empire is danger, or because Berlin is angling to overthrow the world order and Red is trying to stop that or because Berlin wants a piece of cheese that Red owns...something that gives me the idea that their battle will be long and hard. The other part of that equation is that we don't know enough about Berlin's empire or the man himself to really qualify him as a worthy threat. All we really know about him is that he cackles, makes creepy threats, takes ice baths, has a hook for hand and employs people that just sit around waiting for him to bark orders at them. Yup, real credible threat there. Why should I believe that Berlin has the capability to take down Red's empire? Because Red said so? Couldn't the show establish that he's a rival "concierge", or that his stable of comic book shops serve as a front for the largest enterprise on the black market, or that he's the head of some collective of politicians that can make life difficult for Red and the FBI? I mean, I get that the show wants to maintain a sense of mystery surrounding Berlin and the other enemies that Red faces, but it hasn't done enough to make me really care about whether or not they'll take down Red. It's a basic principle, really- if I'm to care about someone succeeding or failing, I need to know who they are and just how powerful they are or could be. Berlin, sadly, doesn't even come close to passing that test.

I thought things kind of laboured through the episode, and some plot points seemed contrived to fit later stories (it removes the tension knowing that James Gordon wouldn't kill The Penguin at the end), but I thought, overall, there's some potential here. Donal Logue and Ben McKenzie really killed it, as did Robin Lord Taylor (The Penguin). I also thought Jada Pinkett Smith did pretty well as Fish Mooney, although she did go over the top at some points (and I gotta wonder about Mooney's taste in comedy...that standup act sucked). Things I didn't like (or hope improves): Sarah Essen being the Captain (seems like everyone who is a "superior" to the main cast is female, which is becoming a cliche), how little Sean Pertwee had to do as Alfred and the one dimensional characters in the Major Crimes Unit (not that I disagree with the plot element- the portrayal of the MCU seemed to show them as having a fixation with screwing over Gordon and Harvey Bullock without explaining "why", and I want to learn "why"). Overall, it's a pretty nice start. I'll come back to it, methinks.

I actually think it's pretty easy. The real life BAU normally handles cases that have been open for at least several weeks, and many of them don't get solved right away. It'd be almost like writing your "normal" episode, only that clue gathering happens in scenes scattered over several episodes instead of just one episode. I think that'd be fun to watch, if the writers can pull it off...and that's a BIG "if".

Okay, so I really don't know where to begin on this one. I kept on thinking numerous times during the show that everything seemed so stupid and pointless, and I join the chorus of people that say that if it wasn't for Red, I probably wouldn't be watching this show. (Let me catch that...Aram is awesome, and, in regards to this episode, Mozhan Marno killed it even though she had little to do...she spoke very convincingly and did well with her posture to convey a sense of power...plus, I gotta say Marno in the little black tank top was an absolute bombshell. ...but I digress. On to my issues with the episode) First things first- do I really believe that's "Berlin"? Some madman psychopath who takes ice baths in a dilapidated apartment, cackles incoherently and doesn't seem to understand that by mailing Red things, he's only counting down the hours before he gets caught? Not knocking Peter Stomare, because I think he was great, but the characterization of "Berlin" left me thinking that this guy doesn't have the nerves, intelligence or the patience to build a highly functional criminal empire powerful enough to take down Red. Something tells me that Stomare really isn't Berlin and is just a red herring- which would make my eyes roll but it would allow for a more "believable" Berlin to appear. Second of all...speaking of eye rolling, how about Donald Ressler popping pills? Like we haven't seen that before. Or the characterization of "guy who appears tough on the outside but is vulnerable on the inside". I like Diego Klattenhoff's ability to sell it, but Ressler is a tired cliche. Then we get to what seems to be the show's staple and the dunderheads who work at the FBI. As soon as I saw Rowan Mills load up the sniper rifle I knew the FBI guys were a goner because I wouldn't expect this show to contemplate that the real FBI would likely account for such an event. Of course, as is often the case with lazy writing, you can't have your central character (Red) look smart unless everyone else is dumb, and this episode fit that to a tee. As for the whole wife story...I really don't get it. As others have said, we've never even heard of Red's wife before this episode yet we're somehow supposed to care about her, because the best the show can do with the character is write her as a "damsel in distress". Really, show? Can't you do better than that? It just furthers my belief that "Berlin" is too loony to be Berlin, because I'd like to think a criminal mastermind would know that having "someone to rescue" would eventually mean that you'll be tracked down (since it makes you that much more "urgent" a target), especially if you make constant mailings. I also think "evil guy who uses other man's wife as his plaything" is done to death, and better fits a "midseason" type villain than someone major like Berlin, who I expect to be better developed. I mean, this all could work if the wife's capture is merely a ruse to draw out Red and Elizabeth Keene, and I bet the show is going that route anyway...but if it is, why not establish that anyway instead of making us wait for the inevitable? Lastly, for the things that bugged me about the episode...you know, I hate to be shallow about this but that scene where Elizabeth Keene is walking around in her underwear took the cake, for a number of reasons. First of all, I hate putting down someone's appearance because it's subjective and is something they (largely) can't help, but I didn't look at Megan Boone and found her exceptionally attractive...I see her as merely "better than average". I grant that part of the reason was the scene was constructed in such a way that she'd have poor posture (sitting and looking at pictures hunched over on her bed really made her gut stick out), but, in that case, why not put clothes on Boone and use a different scene as the "sexy" scene? Furthermore, why was Keene scantily clad in the first place? I get that nakedness usually portrays vulnerability, but I don't think it was necessary- the empty bed, the long wistful looks at photographs and the bareness of the house should have done enough, as well as Boone's acting. Maybe if they kept the lingerie parts to when she's in the bed (allowing for more "sultry" shots) it would have been better but the scene as a whole didn't work.