S15.E06: Date Night/S15.E07: Rusty

[Danielg342]

Via SpoilerTV:

“Date Night” – After a father and daughter get kidnapped, a former foe of the BAU returns with very specific demands for Dr. Reid that give a whole new meaning to the phrase “wheels up,” on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, Feb. 5 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Rachel Leigh Cook returns as Maxine.

“Rusty” – When the BAU team travels to Denver to investigate several murders, Prentiss is forced to evaluate her relationship with Special Agent Andrew Mendoza (Stephen Bishop), on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, Feb. 5 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

[Annber03]

So "Date Night" was weird as hell for the most part (I was getting major "Zugzwang" vibes at one point, which makes sense, since this episode was written by Breen Frazier, and getting increasingly nervous) and I don't know that I would've had his reunion with Cat play out quite like that. But I did love that ending, with the team all in on this scheme. And I loved Max being so quick on her feet as well. I'd figured (and hoped) that she was following Reid's suggestion to play along, with that story about her ex and all. But when Cat mentioned Reid attacking her, I was genuinely afraid that that had ruined things between them for good. 

But no. Max was all in on everything, and played Cat's game perfectly. I loved her "She's like a mean girl, but more stabby" line :p. So yay for things finally ending well for Reid and a woman he likes for once :). His facial expressions while dealing with Cat were highly amusing, too. 

As for "Rusty", I pretty much guessed the unsub's motive early on, so it was kinda frustrating to see the team taking longer to get there (especially after we just watched them pull a big one over on Cat). But I did like the stuff with Brenda, I thought that was a rather interesting angle to the case, and Kyle's recollection of that tragic night was honestly heartbreaking (yes, his actions caused it, but still...). 

I'm glad things ended on a happy note for Emily, too, though Mendoza and her teammates may need to learn the concept of "time and place" when it comes to poking into and discussing one's love life. 

The parallel universes conversation among the team was cute, too. 

Edited February 6, 2020 by Annber03

[ForeverAlone]

The second episode would have been more fun if it was a crossover with "Evil" considering the talking beast. It certainly would have been more interesting, but it could have been worse. 

Spoiler

 

 

[Annber03]

58 minutes ago, ForeverAlone said:

The second episode would have been more fun if it was a crossover with "Evil" considering the talking beast. It certainly would have been more interesting, but it could have been worse.

Haha, yes, I spent the whole episode going, "Okay, who on the writing staff is following that show?" :p. I love both shows, so I would be all for that particular crossover :D. Maybe it can be a concept for a fanfic...

[Danielg342]

"Rusty" gets a:

I'm not going to spend too much time talking about this episode because its faults are numerous and involve too many of the same pratfalls that CM has succumbed to over the past several years. I mean, I knew right from the second the UnSub hacked a father with his kid that the UnSub had to have lost a kid himself- because Erica Messer's Criminal Minds can never write an UnSub who attacks people because, say, they're surrogates for someone who cost them their job or someone who swindled them of a lot of money, or even someone who just enjoys killing.

Nope- our UnSub has to have family issues. Because those are the only problems Messer's CM team seem to think people could have. Nobody could ever have any other problems in their lives...nope, they can only have family problems.

(I mean, I want to go UnSub on all the people that bud in front of me in the coffee shop lineup, but that's a story for another day)

Anyway, I'll give this episode points that it actually was a novel idea (unlocking a parallel Universe) and it was coherently told, even though the premise involved some wonky explanations. I'm no psychologist, but I've got a fairly decent understanding of the Mandela Effect (and it's companion piece, the fake 1990s movie "Shazam") and I practically live online, and I've never heard of people using the Effect to suggest we moved on to a different timeline. I suppose that could happen though.

Also- who wants to bet that Emily Prentiss is moving to Denver when the show is said and done?

On to the other episode:

"Date Night" gets a:

Let me start with what I appreciated about this episode:

• The team actually outsmarted and manipulated Reid, because they learned- through Reid- what Cat is like and what she would do. It's not often that the team gets to show off their smarts and it's even rarer that the team uses its past experiences to learn how to deal with their current issue, so hats off to the BAU
• Maxine was actually in on the plan the entire time. Even better was that she was an active participant in it and, even better, Maxine found her own way to play Cat herself. I always figured that Maxine was someone who could keep up and maybe even outsmart Reid, and this proved it.
• Reid actually had a triumphant ending with his girlfriend this time, as opposed to having his heart broken "in the saddest way possible" (not my words but Matthew Gray Gubler's).

...and now, for what I didn't:

• Despite the feel of a good story, something felt "off". Way off. The most likely culprit is that I've seen this story before, because the well they go to with Cat is that she's not as smart or as clever as she thinks she is so we wind up spending the entire episode waiting for the shoe to drop just to get to that "a-ha! Gotcha!" moment we all know is coming. Cat should have recurred a couple of times before and got the better of Reid and/or the BAU a few times so that she could be more properly built up as a formidable opponent- making her eventual downfall that much more satisfying.
• Reid, was, again, largely a participant in his own episode. I will be fair, this is the first time I've said it in a Cat-Reid episode, but I do believe that, more often than not, Reid hardly does much except wait for the team to save him or spout off facts, even in episodes where he's the "main" guy. It feels like to me that the only time Reid actually outsmarts his opponents is during the Bernero years or when he's facing Cat- with the latter now denied to him this time around.
• I'm not really convinced we needed to have another Cat-Reid episode- I felt her tale wrapped up in the S12 finale. I guess Gubler really wanted another go with Aubrey Plaza before the series concluded- and make no mistake, their chemistry is off the charts- but I'm not convinced there was another story that we needed to tell involving Cat. I suppose it's great knowing that Cat later miscarried, but did we need a whole Cat-Reid episode to learn that?
• I also think that Maxine should have had a different "feature" episode than having her family (always with these families, eh Messer?) put in peril, just so she could be a plot device in a Cat-Reid episode. First of all, if I was dating someone and they keep getting targeted by another person, I'm not sure I'd want to stick around- for my own safety. Second of all, her and her family will be traumatized by the experience- would Max really want to go back into dating after an experience like that?
  • Moreover, if they really wanted to show Max's smarts, why not have an episode where a friend or a family member is framed for murder, forcing her and Reid to have to work together to solve the case? The show missed a great opportunity to plant an Easter egg presenting the possibility of the two of them cementing their future together by making them get into business together. I mean, would you watch "Max & Reid- Criminal Profiling Consultants"? I know I would. More to the point, I think establishing that Max would love profiling just as much as Reid does would go a lot further in stating, definitively, that Max and Reid do have a future together. I mean, Rachel Leigh Cook and Gubler have great chemistry and both actors have done great selling their attraction to each other, but the writing in this regard leaves me wanting.
  • I might have also liked other callbacks to Reid's past. I get that Anton Yelchin is no longer with us (R.I.P.) but that doesn't mean that Nathan Harris has to be gone as well. We could have learned that Harris and Max are cousins (or even siblings- I don't think the show has established Max's last name) and one of the reasons that drew Max to Reid was to help Harris. Yeah, it might be too close to "Sex, Birth, Death", but I would have preferred that to a third rehashing of "Entropy".

I'm going to close by saying that since this is likely the last Cat-Reid episode that I have always felt you could have an entire series devoted to Cat and Reid. I know we already have The Blacklist, but I think Cat's and Reid's dynamic- with its "forbidden love" angle, their adversarial nature (on so many levels) and their ability to match wits and intellect- would form the basis for a better "criminal helps the cop" type show.

Throw in Max and you could have a love triangle that's actually interesting. If you alter this episode so that Max's reactions to what Cat was saying about Reid was real, you can add a dynamic where Reid is now forced to prove to Max that Cat bringing out his "dark side" isn't really him. Further re-imagine Max to be the lawwoman, Reid to be the consultant and Cat as the criminal and you could have further things in play.

I don't know...CBS should consider it, at least to allow Reid to continue. If not them then maybe I will...we'll see.

[idiotwaltz]

I haven’t watched the show in forever but I love the Reid/Cat dynamic so this has me intrigued. Should I watch it, or will it send me into a seething rage? 

ETA: Watched it. I didn't hate it! Perhaps because I wasn't watching it for the profiling. The only seething rage moment was when the lawyer broke privilege. I guess after he loses his license, he can get a job at the roller rink.

I watched the whole episode as an absurdist romantic comedy and it was quite enjoyable. MGG has the best chemistry with AP out of all the other ladies he's been paired with. 

Reid and Max make a cute couple but whenever I see Rachael Leigh Cook, I hear Sixpence None the Richer in my head.  

I laughed when Cat made the snarky remark about Savage Garden. The "so she's a mean girl, but stabby" line made me chuckle as well. 

I think I really liked this, in fact. But not enough to convince me to watch the rest of the season. Maybe just the final episode. 

EATA: When Prentiss said, “I have no illusion” about Cat, it brought me back to season 6’s Lauren, when she said those words verbatim to Ian Doyle. Welcome back, Breen, I guess?

Edited February 6, 2020 by idiotwaltz

[Chaos Theory]

As someone who hasn’t Liked Reid since half way through the series I appreciate the fact the show didn’t go dark dark poor poor Reid can’t have anything nice with him.  Plus Cat as a super villain has run her course.   

[Chaos Theory]

I mean they may not be the best unsubs ever but I do appreciate the show making an effort to acknowledge the team has lives and bringing them to a kind of close.    Emily like Reid has never had much besides the team so giving her a happy ending of sorts is a nice gesture.  

[The Wild Sow]

5 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

I mean they may not be the best unsubs ever but I do appreciate the show making an effort to acknowledge the team has lives and bringing them to a kind of close.    Emily like Reid has never had much besides the team so giving her a happy ending of sorts is a nice gesture.  

You’ve got a point there!  

I’m just glad Reid got a girlfriend he could keep (and kiss!) for once.  Let the boy genius grow up and lose his virginity- he’s freakin’ 39 years old (character & real life.)

I am a little sorry Max didn’t get to look Cat-the-annoying-super-villain in the eye, as she was being hauled back to prison, & say “Naaahhhh, I was just screwin’ With you!”

As far as Rusty went, I have to admit I nodded off after the first 10 minutes or so.  Might watch later.  Might not.

[Sweet Tooth]

DATE NIGHT:

Here's the thing. I give a lot more credit to the CM episodes that don't make me watch t0rture pron. And where the profilers actually profile and don't stand in a line saying one line of dialogue each.

I figure this episode was necessary to kind of up Max's emotional value. The only thing is I was robbed of seeing Cat's face when she found out she was the one who'd been played.

RUSTY:

Lordy, Garcia is exhausting and annoying on her off-hours.

COTW

T0rture pron

Everyone standing in a line giving a line of the profile.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

 

[hookedontv]

On 2/6/2020 at 6:24 AM, idiotwaltz said:

Reid and Max make a cute couple but whenever I see Rachael Leigh Cook, I hear Sixpence None the Richer in my head.  

I laughed when Cat made the snarky remark about Savage Garden. The "so she's a mean girl, but stabby" line made me chuckle as well. 

"She's All That" - I love that movie. I actually didn't realize the actress was Rachael Leigh Cook until after the first time she was on CM. I think the blonder hair threw me off, but she's got a distinctive voice and I'm surprised I didn't pick up on it.

And, between Evil and Criminal Minds, Rusty really did look like a stuffed animal compared to Evil's version LOL. 

[hookedontv]

PS: Did anyone else notice that when Prentiss showed up unexpectedly and was invited in to meet the daughter & eat dinner, they went into the kitchen and miraculously there were three table settings already out?!

[Annber03]

4 hours ago, hookedontv said:

"She's All That" - I love that movie. I actually didn't realize the actress was Rachael Leigh Cook until after the first time she was on CM. I think the blonder hair threw me off, but she's got a distinctive voice and I'm surprised I didn't pick up on it.

Yeah, it's interesting to see her with lighter hair.

I think of both She's All That and the Baby-Sitters Club movie whenever I see Rachel Leigh Cook. She played Mary Anne in the latter film. And then there's this anti-drug commercial with her from the '90s as well:

 

[SSA Emily Prentiss]

Man ! I'm so torn about this relationship.

On one hand, I like Andrew a lot, I think he cares about Emily, and I am beyond happy, thrilled that she finally has a good, smart and caring guy in her life, someone she can rely on outside the BAU team (Thanks at last writers ! I've only been hoping and waiting for that since season 3 but who's counting ?). And I was 50 % convinced that in the beginning of this season, we would hear that the relationship already ended, so I'm thankful it still exists.

But on the other hand, I, just like Emily, am not ready to see her give up on a job and a career she loves and has worked so hard for, for the sake of a man she hasn't even been dating that long. Which, judging by  a) the last quote of "Rusty", said by Emily herself,   b) the spoilers for next week,  seems to be exactly where it's heading.

I mean, to quote E, "What if it doesn't work out ?" Then what ? She would have made that big sacrifice for nothing ? Even though Andrew said : "What I want is you. I want us.", the truth is he wants both his daughter and Emily, which is perfectly fine. But Emily should be the one to move her life upside down so he could have everything he wants. In other words, the man wants his cake and to eat it too.

And what's gonna be Emily's next job ? Is she gonna accept a lesser position for Andrew ? If so, he better devote his time and energy making it up to her for as long as they stay together because he will be one lucky guy to have Emily Prentiss give up a high profile job like that for him.

**Sighhhhhs...** Oh well, at least like I said, he seems to care about her for real. So maybe it might be worth her changing her whole life drastically ?  I certainly don't want her to end up alone again. I don't know....


Side notes  :

1.  I'm so glad the only person who knew about Andrew living in Denver for the last three months was my man Rossi. And that E confided nothing about her problems with her long distance relationship to anyone but Dave. For a moment there, when JJ came into her office, I was afraid I was gonna get the "girlies" talk (gag me), but either the writers were somehow on my side, or they too know that Emily's best exchanges are with Rossi, so I got spared and got RossEmily convo instead. Yeah !!! Lawd I love those two so much ! Whatever the conversations they've had since season 3, they've always been the best to me. Yes, I know Rossi offers fatherly advices to every member of that too big of a team, but with Emily it always seems more... special. I could be biased because they are my two favorite remaining characters, but that's the way I see it.


2.  Emily and Andrew teamed up pretty well to nail Brenda despite their problems. I love it when professionals can remain professional on the job and don't let their romantic feelings overtop their duties.


3.  Keely is such a nice, bright girl. I'm so glad she doesn't seem like a spoiled little brat who's gonna make things harder for E because she wants to see Daddy reunite with Mommy.


4.  I loved the hand holding between Andrew & Emily at the dinner table. Such a sweet, intimate gesture.


5.  I saw that third plate too by the way. I guess Andrew was hoping Emily would stop by after all, despite him saying he thought she left huh ? That was an interesting... detail.


6.  I loved the beginning scene with Garcia and Emily. E was all distracted, looking kind of sadly at all those happy couples who were coming and going next to her, while Penelope was all babbling about her car and her series. It reminded me that Garcia can be so endearing at times. I must admit she made me smile in that scene.

 

7.  Shut up Garcia !                                                                                                                      How old is that woman-child anyway ? 13 ? Why does she ALWAYS manage to do something to make me smh and rme at her in every episode I watch ? I can never be happy with her throughout an entire show. Asking Emily all of those private questions about her boyfriend in front of the whole rest of the team like that ? What he sleeps in too ? Seriously ???!!!??? I swear Keely Mendoza-Smith seems way more mature than Garcia. 

 

8.  t's funny how I've always wanted E to have a little girl (You know writers, the need for motherhood she clearly expressed in the beginning of season 3, which you went ahead and fulfilled for JJ instead, remember ?) and here she is dating a man with a daughter. It's as if the writers were kind of reading my mind (for once). If Andrew was a widower and Keely was younger, Emily could've even adopted her and one of my wishes for her would become true. Oh well, can't have everything, I should probably be counting my blessings that they gave us, poor undeserving Emily fans, so much after so long.


9.  Even though I adored the end scene, where was Emily's big epiphany moment ? You know, the one where she realized that "Oh ! Dave was right. What Andrew and I have is worth the effort" ? One minute she was avoiding him, saying how she didn't feel like giving up on her life to be with him, and the next, she was all smile with him and his daughter, holding hands. I feel like we went from one story to another with no transition in between. 


10.  I can't say I didn't feel bad for Kyle despite his horrific crimes. Poor guy !


11.  I loved the "Mandela effect" talk. I never knew such thing existed.


12.  Loved how Reid explained the signs and how Andrew was fast to understand it.

 

13.  Here comes chief JJ, I can feel it. And I'm sure everyone and their mamma can feel it. Makes me wonder if this whole Andrew relocating to Denver wasn't just an excuse found by the writers to remove Emily from the unit chief position and give it to JJ to begin with ? Otherwise, how else would they be able to explain Emily suddenly giving up on it ? Yup ! The more I think about it, the more I suspect that's the truth behind this plot. Which I wouldn't even care about to tell the truth (the show's ending after all) if it didn't mean demotion for E.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 11, 2020 by SSA Emily Prentiss

[mythoughtis]

6 hours ago, SSA Emily Prentiss said:

 

6 hours ago, SSA Emily Prentiss said:

I mean, to quote E, "What if it doesn't work out ?" Then what ? She would have made that big sacrifice for nothing ? Even though Andrew said : "What I want is you. I want us.", the truth is he wants both his daughter and Emily. But Emily should be the one to move her life upside down so he could have everything he wants. In other words, the man wants his cake and to eat it too

No, he’s a man that has his head on straight.  Children come first.
If you marry a parent, you get a package deal and you’d better understand what that SHOULD mean and agree with the concept. I love the idea that a man would follow his ex-wife so that he can be in the same town as his child.   If Emily loves him, then she understands that he lives where his child lives.  If a job is more important to her than the relationship between the man she loves and his child... then She doesn’t love him.  I’d say the same if Emily were the man and Andrew was the woman. 
 

[SSA Emily Prentiss]

10 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

No, he’s a man that has his head on straight.  Children come first.
If you marry a parent, you get a package deal and you’d better understand what that SHOULD mean and agree with the concept. I love the idea that a man would follow his ex-wife so that he can be in the same town as his child.   If Emily loves him, then she understands that he lives where his child lives.  If a job is more important to her than the relationship between the man she loves and his child... then She doesn’t love him.  I’d say the same if Emily were the man and Andrew was the woman. 
 

Oh but I have absolutely nothing against Andrew following his daughter to Denver. I respect him a lot for that. And of course children come first ! But Keely is his child, not Emily's. And Emily isn't his wife, and their relationship is fairly new. Besides, the relationship they started was in DC. It's him who changed things by moving, which I repeat, I do not fault him for . So just like he has every right to go where his daughter is, she also has every right to be hesitant about putting her whole life upside down for him. I'd say the same if the roles were reversed too.

[who cares]

Prendoza is garbage. Emily was written as a lesbian character, so this forced straight romance that definitely seems like it's heading for emily to sacrifice her career for a man makes me fucking furious.

[SSA Emily Prentiss]

When was Emily ever written as a lesbian character though ?

[SSA Emily Prentiss]

6 hours ago, who cares said:

Prendoza is garbage. Emily was written as a lesbian character, so this forced straight romance that definitely seems like it's heading for emily to sacrifice her career for a man makes me fucking furious.

I love your username by the way.

[Chaos Theory]

1 hour ago, SSA Emily Prentiss said:

When was Emily ever written as a lesbian character though ?

In a lot  of people’s head cannon.   Not so much in reality.  There is a huge Emily/JJ fandom out there.   Almost as huge as JJ/Reid.    
 

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, SSA Emily Prentiss said:

When was Emily ever written as a lesbian character though ?

There are interviews with Paget (and I want to say maybe one with Kirsten, too?) out there that mention there had been talk of making Emily a lesbian. Just as there'd also apparently been talk, way back when the show started, to make Reid bisexual.

But the network, of course, shot down those ideas. 

[SSA Emily Prentiss]

Just now, Chaos Theory said:

In a lot  of people’s head cannon.   Not so much in reality.  There is a huge Emily/JJ fandom out there.   Almost as huge as JJ/Reid.    
 

I'm aware of the JJ/Emily fandom. I believe they call it Jemily ? But like you said, in reality, there has never been any indication of Emily liking women. At all.

[SSA Emily Prentiss]

Just now, Annber03 said:

There are interviews with Paget (and I want to say maybe one with Kirsten, too?) out there that mention there had been talk of making Emily a lesbian. Just as there'd also apparently been talk, way back when the show started, to make Reid bisexual.

But the network, of course, shot down those ideas. 

I'm aware of those interviews too. But those talks never translated on screen. From the very beginning, Emily talked to Morgan about her dates with men and how they went wrong. Then she kind of flirted with that policeman in "Lo-Fi" and seemed a bit attracted to Mick Rawson. Not to mention Mark, the unscreen boyfriend she seems to have never had.

Edited February 12, 2020 by SSA Emily Prentiss

[kicotan]

Could someone PLEASE do something about the Ladies of the Team’s hairstyles?

The guys look great!  They sport colors that compliment their skin tones, their natural/individual curl, wave or straight textures are then emphasized by clean looking cuts.

The women look like they either DIY with cheap, brash dyes/permanents & then  cut their own hair with blunt dollar store Kindergartener scissors or go for a wig...In the most unflattering style they could possibly choose.

Booooo

 

[Emma9]

Date Night:

To me, Rachael Leigh Cook will always be Kate Moretti from Perception, in which her co-lead was a character with a lot of similarities to Reid (except far more interesting and enjoyable). So her casting here has been amusing.

Wouldn't they have pulled all of Cat's records, medical included, when she came back into their orbit? Finding out whether she'd actually delivered a child, and if so what had happened to them, should have been considered as a possible factor of her plans from the beginning.

Also, did they explain how exactly her accomplice was surveiling Reid so closely that she knew to kidnap Max's father and sister precisely the night before Reid was planning to show her his apartment?

Edited February 14, 2020 by Emma9

[Emma9]

Rusty:

The crimes and victimology in this one were horrifying, especially since there were no survivors among the main targets - sure, the kids got away at the end, but all seven fathers were taken away from their families. Not the kind of case I'd consider to have had a happy ending.

But paradoxically the unsub was the sort who's so far gone you can't even hate him - well, for driving drunk with his son in the car in the first place maybe, but the killings rung of brokeness rather than evil. (...although, yes, it was very reminiscent of Evil).

Hated Prentiss's relationship getting shoehorned into the confrontation with him, however. Maybe it's just me, but I wasn't getting a 'star-crossed lovers' vibe from her for most of the episode, more like an 'ugh, you again' one. Guess it worked out for them in the end, but I always get the secondhand cringes when one character keeps chasing after another who's blatantly trying to rebuff them.

If they wanted a personal connection to the unsub, JJ's miscarriage would have made her a better fit.

[Danielg342]

17 hours ago, Emma9 said:

The crimes and victimology in this one were horrifying, especially since there were no survivors among the main targets - sure, the kids got away at the end, but all seven fathers were taken away from their families. Not the kind of case I'd consider to have had a happy ending.

That's a criticism I've had for years about CM- the fact that the writers simple use the previous murders as "pieces to the puzzle" and very little else. They seem to think that because "the final victim" was saved that it's enough for a happy ending when the show forgets that the people before had lives too and they will have people who will miss them- not the kind you sweep "under the rug".

I should say that this is something the show has done pretty much since the start- it's not just a "Erica Messer" thing. I get why it's done- it's a more coherent story to write a killer who has an "endgame" because it gives the story a sense of finality- but the drawback (aside from it not being realistic- real serial killers start with people they know and then target those they don't) is that it leaves endings like this one that aren't as satisfactory as they seem.

One final thing I'll mention is that this kind of storytelling wasn't as grating in the first several seasons as it has been lately. That's in because in the past the characters- before they became robots- seemed to understand the impact of the previous deaths as they often took them personally. The past few seasons they haven't done that.

Edited February 15, 2020 by Danielg342

[Mislav]

I don't think Emily was ever written as a lesbian character, but she and Mendoza definitely have no chemistry.

I'm almost impressed by how there is absolutely nothing there.

[idiotwaltz]

Finally watched Rusty and the stuffed goat mascot made me laugh hysterically every time it showed up.

Liked: the talk about the Mandela effect, Curious George: tail or no tail, Reid being a cowboy in another life … that’s about it.  Re kidnapping your son from a parallel universe, Fringe did it 10 years ago. No goats involved. 

Dislike: Emily and Mendoza - she really is not that into him. Gratuitous close-ups of decapitated corpses. Suggestion of a headless 7-year-old. 

These writers like to recycle the name “Ethan” a lot, don’t they?