Danielg342

Patrol Day is always fun. Took them almost five years to get back to it again, but S1's "Patrol" (which followed a similar premise) is one of my personal favourites, so I looked forward to this one. I'll say that this time, while not a "personal favourite", was still a satisfying effort. The storylines were well thought out and the show did well to highlight how patrol days work, with the right opportunity to show when patrols come together. I also thought the episode gave us an interesting insight with Hondo's heart-to-heart with Powell, as he admitted that he sometimes wonders if his hopeful "be the change you want to be" mentality really does make a difference. Luca was also thoughtful with his insight about the relationship between siblings- when you're connected by blood, you find a reason to connect. Fortunately, he does seem to have something in common with Eva anyway in the Los Angeles Kings, perhaps another callback to S1 where Luca was first introduced to hockey through the former Ranger hopeful Deacon. It also gutted me when the drill rapper admitted the murder victim was his best friend. I always figured a lot of rap feuds are staged- like pro wrestling- but to see it tie together like this was heart wrenching. As was the killer's motive for doing what he did. Finally, Tan seemed to have gotten some closure on Bonnie, and Eva and Luca on their own family. Pity Bonnie is likely done in this series, but there was little else for her to do. Oh, and Niko Pepaj really brought out the charm and swagger to make Miguel Alfaro a joy to watch tonight. He and Deacon have some real chemistry too. On to next week.

For "Dull". As soon as I saw Bode running from the camp I had to engage in the Plot Armour Math to see who, exactly, made it out alive and who actually bit the dust. It didn't take me long to reach two possible conclusions: Bode had a nightmare about Riley Rebecca, who was only there to "get in the way" of Bode and Gabriella, was the one who died. Yeah, the episode set things up so that you'd think either Eve or Sharon died, but they're main cast members. Ergo, the Math says you then go to those who are not billed as regulars on the show, especially when said show hasn't completed one season yet. So it was either Riley or Rebecca, a recurring character. Of course, they could have went the route of inventing some character from Black Creek, the female camp (which now finally has a name), much like the show did in the episode dealing with the aftermath of the car crash on the bridge, but I guess the writers didn't want to go to that well again. Besides, the only thing Rebecca did was "get in the way" of The Official Ship(TM). So it makes sense the writing crew wants to get rid of her. I could go on a massive rant about Hollywood is mistreating women again, because Rebecca's demise is a clear signal that Hollywood writers still mainly only see female characters as love interests or family women of some kind, but many others have made that rant before and, at this stage, who knows if Hollywood is listening anyway. I'll give the episode this much credit- at least they found a way to have some more drama surrounding Sharon's kidney other than "will she make it through the surgery or not?" Of course, all that does is extend to the obvious season finale where Bode finally gets to donate his kidney to Sharon, with the finale ending as both go into the operating room and we're left wondering, in a faux cliffhanger to close the season, if both Sharon and Bode both make it out alive. (I'm calling that a "faux" cliffhanger because we know Bode will make it off the operating table because Max Theriot is an executive producer on this show and a co-creator. Sharon might be more of a toss-up but shows don't typically make big changes to the cast after just one season. The big changes tend to happen during or after S2 when the show has the opportunity to get a S3 which would almost certainly guarantee a S4) That's really all I have for this episode. Well, Manny may have another problem on his hands...but something tells me because they made it so obvious that the police were investigating him that Manny isn't the culprit- he's being set up. We'll see I guess. I just hope that effort will be better than the middling, go-through-the-motions effort we got tonight.

I was hopeful for renewal news, but still, good for Jay Harrington to keep an old haunt alive. Next time I'm in LA I'll be sure to visit.

To be fair, I'm not sure Tan knows it was Nischelle who put him on suspension. Hondo and Hicks know, but I'm not sure they would have told Tan about that. Plus, Tan was at peace with his suspension. So even if he knew Nischelle recommended more severe punishment, Tan likely would not have faulted her. That said, I would have liked it if we saw, at least, the Committee give its reason for a harsher sentence despite hearing Hondo's defence of Tan. Perhaps such a scene was on the cutting room floor but it shouldn't have been- considering the implications for Tan, we should have at least seen the scene where Hondo defends Tan in person and the Committee deciding to turn him down, explaining why. I also think Nischelle should have shown some remorse for what happened. Or, at the very least, Tan gives her a line upon entering Hondo's house that he understands why she did what she did. I place all of that on the producers, because it sure felt like pieces of the story were missing. Nischelle not feeling some guilt over what happened feels out of character for her.

Well...Tan. They talk about "star-making moments"...and, well, many aren't what they're chalked up to be. Tonight, at the end in Hondo's house, David Lim really made his moment. So much captured in so few words...the strong man who doesn't want to admit that, this time, he wasn't as strong as he thought he was. A real, emotional...gut punch. Touching...and beautiful. All of it. Now, I believe the show's narrative is that Tan needs to understand that even when he thinks he "has it all together", things can still fall apart and it's not always his fault. It may be Star Trek but Jean Luc-Picard had a line that will always stick with me and works very well here- "it is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness...that is life" (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Episode 2.21, "Peak Performance"). Well, Tan, it's time for you to learn that lesson. You didn't fail with Bonnie because you personally failed. You failed with Bonnie because Bonnie failed you. Which is very deflating...especially when you realize that people you thought you could count on aren't as reliable as they should be. Where this all goes, I'm not sure but I do know David Bradley Lim made his mark tonight and it was a joy. As for the case itself... Well it was great to see Deacon leading the team- or, what comprised the team this week- and seeing how he would do in the field, without said assignment being done in the shadow of Hondo having been benched for some reason. Street was a touch annoying being possessive of Powell, who totally should have joined 50-Squad so Norah Fowler can come back on my screen, but...it is what it is. I mean, the case wasn't bad, but Tan was the real highlight here...as he should be. Here's hoping one day David Bradley Lim gets to lead his own series one day...he's earned it. Just as long as that day is a year or two in the future, at least...I want him on S.W.A.T. for one more season, at least.

Anyone ever use that story as the basis for a mystery? It's tailor-made for it. "Every day the dog greets his master at the station. Until one day, his master didn't come off that train. Still, the dog persists in his routine, in the vain hope he sees his master again. The town believes the master is dead, but our wily detective isn't so sure." There's a few ways to play that story: The master really is dead and the detective finds out why. Likely the reason is murder if only because it opens more narrative possibilities and gives the characters more to do inside the story, though reasons other than murder could work if done right The master is kidnapped, so the detective has to find him and rescue him The master decides, on a whim, to vanish and start a new life somewhere else, as he hated the life he had. He wanted a clean break from everyone, but upon learning the dog still likes him, they have a happy reunion.

We don't have the benefit of a writer looking up a quote and placing it right in our mouths. Could be useful, now that I think of it. Brock Lesnar kind of has the same problem...so, maybe it's not so bad...

You're right, but with Nicholas Brendon's real life issues, who knows if we'll ever see Lynch again.

Those more proficient in engineering can correct me on this, but wouldn't smashing the control panel or killing the generator make the Ferris wheel come to a sudden stop, likely throwing the passengers out of their seats or making them collide with their seats? Hitting the emergency stop at least allows the wheel to come to a slower, more controlled stop that would keep more people safe, I think.

Perhaps the episodes would have been better if they were all watched one after the other. Maybe Season Two will be structured in that way. I don't know why CM didn't drop all the episodes at once, like many other streaming shows do. Only other story point I'll make is that the network storyline muddied the overall storyline somewhat. We were all in on it in the first few episodes, but by the second half, the network got barely a mention. There was more focus on Elias Voit and his family and the toll his activities placed on them than on the supposed serial killer network. It would have been far more fun to explore a single serial killer who has found a way to be elusive- while staying active- for over twenty years. In real life, Ted Bundy mixed up his methods to throw off investigators, and let's not forget he actually nearly escaped conviction. CM has never had a Bundy-like character that mixed up his kill methods, which they could have explored with Voit. Making him a family man would have added another intriguing wrinkle. Since most serial killers are unmarried, exploring one who is and how he hides his murders from his family would have been interesting. It also gives the criminal an added layer, so there's more to the criminal to explore other than "how will the BAU catch him?" Does Voit target people who wrong his family? Does Voit kill to get out of the tediousness of family life? ...and so on and so forth. We explored bits and pieces of that, but we really should have gone deeper. I don't believe the team is too big. It has too many people who do the same thing. What differentiates Tara from Luke, other than their anatomy? Or even JJ from Tara and Luke, outside of her family? Rossi and Prentiss all had things to do relevant to the case. So did Garcia. JJ, Tara and Luke were just investigators, none of whom brought unique perspectives to the investigation which would set them apart. Reid, Hotch, Morgan...even Blake, if they had bothered to expand on what she could do...they all brought unique perspectives to the investigation which made them valuable. This kind of development was never made with the newer agents, of which I'll group JJ with because she only became an agent after Erica Messer took over. I don't know how you rectify all that now without resorting to writers pulling things out of their rears, but this lack of uniqueness is what drags down the team.

I would agree. Zach Gilford was great but there was nothing about the Elias Voit character that screamed "we need to bring him back". Voit just didn't capture the imagination like The Reaper did or Mr. Scratch or even Cat Adams. Voit's characterization is a dime a dozen on CM. I was thinking of you when I saw Douglas Bailey get killed. I feel sorry for you. As for Gold Star, despite my reservations that CM will actually do a good job with it, I think what will be key to that mystery will be answering how only two people- the Deputy Director of the FBI and some random techie who presumably Bailey has never met before- know about it, and why it now matters to the FBI. CM has sold that Gold Star is a pretty big deal- big enough that the interrogation of Voit must take place in an insanely secure location- which tells me that more than just Voit and Bailey knew about whatever Gold Star is. Otherwise, why the theatrics? For all we know, Gold Star could be just a picture of an actual gold star. Or some old GoldStar electronics. There's no reason to suggest, at this stage, that Gold Star really means anything until Voit pipes up about it. If Voit had died, presumably whatever Gold Star is would disappear into the ether and no one would know about what it is, so its provenance isn't high at this stage. Unless someone else also knows about it- and I need to know who that is. Yes...but I will also say Will looked pretty badass in all that tactical gear and the assault rifle.

Sounds like something that's "last resort" material rather than the first choice. The other question I have in this regard- because I am not a botanist- would be where one would cut a tree while keeping it viable. According to eHow, anything less than a foot off the ground is not viable anymore. I think Sharon and Vince could have dropped off the cake, read the situation, and then decide to stay or leave. It's small town, rural California- Sharon and Vince aren't random fifty-somethings, they have an actual relationship with Bode and his friends and they'd be at least cordial with each other even if they don't seek each other out to hang out. No reason the default should be to walk away- Bode and his friends might reasonably invite them to stay.

I noticed, but I also figured this would happen. She's poorly integrated into the show's milieu as it is, so I knew there would be times Nischelle would just be dropped entirely. I don't think, overall, that it's a good sign the show is playing musical chairs with its main cast. Perhaps we have too many cooks in the kitchen? Part of what bothers me about this new development is that Tan feels like he's being "othered". It's rare these days to have interracial couples in Hollywood, and rarer still for that couple to be treated as a normal, happy couple. You don't get a sense that Tan married Bonnie because he has a "white woman fetish" and vice versa with the "Asian fetish" for Bonnie- they were just a normal, happy couple who happened to be interracial. Tan's mother also treated the relationship like it was no big deal. Heck, the Carmichaels gave Hondo more grief over shacking with Nischelle than Bonnie got for marrying Tan. ...and all that is being thrown away for what? Cheap drama? Because Tan and Bonnie are so poorly developed as characters that the best the writers could come up with for "something to do" for both of the characters is to simply split them up? We've already had the "relationship issues" storyline earlier when Tan accidentally ate the pot brownie- this feels like a bigger but lazier retread. What message does this tell Tan? He should have married the Chinese woman down the hall from him? This is just not a good story choice all around.

Perhaps Norma herself didn't want to commit to it, so they wrote in the ear problem to give them an out. It's the only way that ear storyline makes sense because it came so out of left field. I'm sure Archie is an excellent actress. I'm just still salty about what CM did to Zoe Hawkes that I really want her back on my screen. :( I don't get a "sanctimonious" vibe from Deacon. I feel like those who say that about him might be projecting their own feelings about religion on to the character. If anything, I feel Deacon's religiosity has been poorly referenced and developed. Aside from maybe a line or two here and there, you wouldn't know if he was religious if he never declared that he was. If anything Deacon is far more, um, religious about upholding the law and the honour of the badge, since he's far more vocal about illegal immigrants and people who want to defund the police. Maybe this, too, was stylistic choice to keep the character likable. There probably are a lot of fans who still haven't forgiven Annie for coming down hard on Christina Alonso being in the "throuple"- imagine the pushback if it was Deacon who raised those objections, as you figured he would. On this end, it's a double-edged sword: by toning down Deacon's religiousness, you don't risk alienating members of your audience. However, I also think there's a huge missed opportunity here. Exploring how a religious person navigates a 21st century world that has, largely, abandoned the traditional religions of the past would be very interesting, and I believe it could be done without sacrificing the character's sympathy. Deacon could have been the proverbial "fish out of water" much like Hondo is being a Black man in a police uniform. The show has crafted a nice story between Hondo Sr. and Jr. where the two clash about their opinions of the police, and you get the sense that sometimes Jr. feels his father is actually right, even though it makes him uncomfortable. A similar story could have played out with the religious angle with Deacon.

The only thing I really care about with this game is that it goes to overtime so we get to see the new OT rules in play. Of course, by me saying that, I have just jinxed it. Though Harrison Butker is usually automatic so...

Wow. If this were WWE television, we'd be shouting at Hicks, "you still got it!" Invade his house at your peril. ...and, welp, Tan. Sad, but it's probably too cruel to run a storyline breaking up the other marriage on this show (whose husband was conspicuously absent from this episode), so Tan and Bonnie get that storyline. I still don't know how I feel about it, because I like Tan and I like Bonnie and I liked them together and this storyline is a cliche in police procedurals. On the flip side, marital problems are a reality within the police, and this time it's not Tan who was the one doing the drifting, so it's a bit of a novel approach. So we'll see. As for the case itself, there was a lot of unexplored potential. I'm not sure if it was the writing or the acting or the directing but these characters could have been portrayed a bit more sympathetically. Because their situation should be one that is sympathetic. Besides, the opportunity was there to cast Miguel and his crew as the real good guys- if only misguided and pushed past their limits- exposing a shady dealing that probably happens far more often than we'd like to think. I know this show likes to operate more on the "black and white" side of morality, but every now and then they should know it's OK to be grey every now and then. Tonight could have- and should have- been one of those episodes.

I'm going to tell the writers the same thing Sharon was telling (or should have told) Gabriella in this episode. Just breathe. There was probably a season's worth of heart-stopping moments packed into one episode, from Bode having to break up with Rebecca, to Sharon's continued kidney issue, Gabby's choking on the job, Jake on his first date, the ride at the fair breaking down, the ride's operator having a health crisis, the kid going missing, that same kid also experiencing a health crisis, the kid's father being a jerk to Bode, and the shade Manny threw at Eve. Unprofessional shade, I would add. *phew* Did you get all that? I'm sure I missed something, because too much happened in this episode. Rather than state the obvious and say "this show needs to narrow down its stories and focus on the few that matter", I want to offer something different that this episode could have done. I was thinking this show could use an episode where things don't go haywire. Just a normal day at the office, where everyone is going about their business. Maybe with someone having the day off too and we witness that day. The winter fair would have been a great time to do it. You could have had Vince simply be the Grand Marshall offering fake smiles while Billy Burke brings out his best snark, with Sharon giving him those puppy eye looks and happily snapping the pictures. Jake and Cara could have had their date at the fair, where we see how good both of them are at games like Whack-A-Mole and the shooting gallery. Gabriella could have spent the entire episode working on Clyde before finally succeeding in the end. Manny and Eve could have spent the entire day just supervising Three Rock, so when Manny makes his snarky aside to Eve, we can actually focus on that instead of it getting lost in the shuffle within the rest of the episode. Just like how the story with Bode and Rebecca should have been handled. They could have just done sandbag duty, allowing them to talk out their feelings without other events causing those feelings getting lost. Then the episode ends with Jake getting that phone call that changes Sharon's life. Smiles. Group hug. Roll credits. The end. Sure, it's probably not something that could win Emmys, but sometimes less is more. Heck, Seinfeld made its name in turning seemingly small events into must-see television. "The Chinese Restaurant" doesn't get any more minimalist, but it's arguably one of TV's greatest episodes ever. You'd think a show like this one could learn from that episode. Now, I'm not saying this show has to abandon the action and the urgent episodes. Rather, they need to learn to figure out what stories are most important to tell and focus on those. They can't write every episode with 30 different things happening because, as we see here, it all gets lost in the shuffle.

I know...thanks. :) 'Twas a poor attempt at self-depreciation on my part. I'd say I hate being predictable, but...when it comes to things like Erica Messer's Criminal Minds, it's hard not to be. I'd have no idea why Reid would know- or even care- about Gold Star. It should be the Attorney General because the BAU shouldn't be involved in it...but it wouldn't be CM if that were the case. Maybe CM can do that long talked about crossover with NCIS. At least here it would make sense. It was a "Boom! Headshot" with Bailey's forehead clearly bleeding. So, I'd say he's dead-dead-dead with a further exclamation point (dead!) to boot. Now, if this was Nicholas D'Agosto's old show, Gotham, Bailey could come back, because Gotham had a weird place (Indian Hill) where the dead could be revived. One such guy who was revived was someone who had a gunshot wound to the head (Theo Galavan), so Bailey had a chance there.

Am I that obvious? Am I that much of a cliche? :P You're probably right about that. They probably figured- like they usually do in Hollywood- that they'll figure out the cliffhanger at the right time, instead of knowing the resolution ahead of time so it would make sense. You're also probably right it'll be Emily, but a dark horse would be Rossi. Or Tara, who I still don't understand why she would put up with Rebecca any longer. Yes. Though I did enjoy Gail O'Grady.

I'm very disappointed that this season dropped the whole "network" angle rather quickly to go virtually nowhere with Elias Voit and his family. For all it was built up to be, and for all that it could have been, we never did learn why Voit set up this network in the first place. Why the people agreed to join this network. How Elias kept the network under control. Most importantly, I never found a reason to care about this network. They were just there as a side plot just so the show could get to Voit and explain why he's so shifty, even though the show never bothered to explain the shiftiness in the first place. I mean, I have my inferences and speculation about what was going on and why Voit did what he did...but that all amounts to me doing the work the writers should be doing, and that's not how this should work. A mystery is not a mystery if you don't bother to explain things. That's just the base. A good mystery would answer all the initial questions, answers that unlock new mysteries which would then unlock even greater mysteries in a multi-layered, well-plotted approach. Not a story where you have your initial questions, and then you have more questions, and then more questions after that, and you wind up answering none of them. That's not a mystery. That's a mess. It's quite obvious that this writing team really wanted to have some fun with angles and having different storylines, some of which didn't have to connect to the main one. Which is fine. The problem is the lack of discipline and focus. So many different things happened that it was hard to keep track of, and lots of it didn't seem to matter much in the end. All because- I'm sure- there was a lack of direction at the top ensuring that the narratives that were being told all had a purpose and all fit together in the end. Sure, CM has had this problem the entire time under Erica Messer. However, the problem is amplified with this season. At least in years prior CM could say they had network constraints- which included running time allotments- that prevented them from telling their stories properly. None of that existed with this season, since being on a streamer CM could have whatever running time it wanted. So, what's their excuse now?

So S16...or Season One of "Evolution", take your pick...concludes like that. With Elias Voit...or Lee Duval...at this stage, I just don't care. Anyway, with Lee being led to a super-secret interrogation room where he is being interviewed by...someone. Someone we don't know. Someone we might speculate who it is. Someone I just don't care about. For all the questions and unknowns and speculations that I have about Criminal Minds, there is just one thing I do know about this show. This show is just not built for long-term storytelling. See, long-term storytelling requires a few things. Discipline. Patience. Planning. Foresight. A vision. ...and... Focus. None of which this show ever displays. I could go into all the faults this episode had, but it would all ultimately lead up to the fact CM is just not good at this long-term stuff because they've never learned to focus. On a better-written show, the conflicted life of Elias, the trials and tribulations of Prentiss, JJ, Luke, Tara, Rossi and Garcia, the ridiculous politics of the upper brass of the FBI... ...and the too-soon sacrifice of Deputy Director Douglas Bailey... ...would be interesting to watch. On this show, they're all just lost in the morass of hubris these writers exhibit, coming up with all kinds of twists and turns and feints and directions and mis-directions, only to follow through haphazardly on all of them, if they follow through on them at all. It's a shame, really. This show has wasted excellent performances by Zach Gilford and his real life wife Kiele Sanchez, as well as by the actresses who played their children, Mia Coleman (the younger Harlow) and Alison Nordahl-Nunez (the older Holly), who happens to be a second-degree Black Belt. Heck, I would say the most interesting part of Evolution was Voit and his family. We could have had a wonderful story about Elias and his urges. How he stopped killing to raise his family. How he decided to handle his urges by hiring other people to do the killing for him. ...and how the whole thing would have (or could have) fallen apart because the larger your network of people grows, the harder it is to control everyone within it. We got elements of that in this series. Heck, in this final episode, the family played their beats of finally demanding answers out of their dad very well, which was an indicator of what this series could have been. I'll expand on that in the general thread about this season, since I have to stick to the episode. ...but to see the family's last stand and wonder what this season could have been is grating. I'll give the episode this much. At least Elias didn't die in a hail of bullets like this show likes to do with its white male UnSubs. ...but, to know he's only surviving because the show wants to do...I don't know or care about what...with this "Gold Star" is pretty irritating. "Gold Star" would be, what, the tenth attempt at serialized storytelling for CM under Erica Messer? After the Maeve storyline, "victim catalogue" of S10, The Dirty Dozen of S11, Mr. Scratch and his Scratchies in S11-13, Reid in prison in S12, Linda Barnes, the serial killer cult of S13/S14, the Chamaeleon, Voit and now this? She's failed nine times before, what makes me think the tenth will be the lucky charm? I guess I should wait until I actually see the episodes...but I'm not holding my breath.

My guess is that the show is saying the FBI is firing Rossi for "bringing the Bureau into disrepute". Over the top, yes, but not unrealistic. What gets me is that Prentiss didn't really defend him. When a few episodes back the AG "it's either I kill the investigation or I fire you", Prentiss went with the latter. Presented with the same scenario, Prentiss goes with the former. Now, perhaps Prentiss was in a "lose-lose" situation ("either you fire Rossi or I fire you both") but the inconsistency rankles, especially considering it was the AG who made this mess in the first place.

For what it's worth, Leslie Murphy- who played Tatum- said on her Instagram page (because I asked the question :P) that the sleeping dragon the show used was a prop. Now, I realize that there's no such thing as a "real" sleeping dragon- they're all ad-hoc devices made by the protester themselves- but it's possible this was created by someone in the prop department who merely researched sleeping dragons and never actually made one themselves. I also suppose there may be liability issues preventing the show from making a "real" sleeping dragon, since in the case of an actual emergency on set everyone would have to leave quickly. I thought the prop was pretty good, but then again, I'm not an expert on sleeping dragons, so make of all that what you will.

I'm just the messenger...unless there's something about The Futon Critic I don't know about, I've got no reason to doubt their information. Of course, even if they're reliable, they can still get it wrong every now and then and maybe they got it wrong here.

I understand. That I'm not complaining about. I think when Vince was with Sharon he should have made it a bigger deal than it was. Perhaps we could have found out, say, that Vince kept pushing off the photo op and now the developer is getting annoyed so Sharon has to push Vince to accept. The Vince-Sharon scene suggested that the photo op was just a minor inconvenience for Vince when, deep down inside, it was a bigger deal.