S10.E07: Hashtag

[formerlyfreedom]

When victims with large social media followings are found dead in Maryland, the BAU searches for an UnSub taking on the persona of an Internet urban legend. Morgan and Savannah struggle to find quality time for each other with their busy careers.

 

 

[Knittzu]

I sense a Garcia-heavy episode headed our way!

 

Morgan and Savannah struggle to find quality time for each other with their busy careers.

 

 

Raise your hand if you care.

[alexvillage]

*raises hand*

[idiotwaltz]

Who the hell is Savannah?

[normasm]

Morgan's ER doc girlfriend

[Danielg342]

I'm predicting an omnivore, with the males being used as instruments of the UnSub's torture and the final victim to be saved being a woman. Maybe this one will work because the premise could be interesting, but I don't have my hopes up.

Oh, and is the only storyline they can do with Morgan and Savannah is that they're both "too busy with work to find a lot of quality time together"? They already did this once before in Savannah's first episode- why the need to do it again? I would have figured by now the two of them would have worked something out. I want to see something different, perhaps Savannah getting a promotion or something, and maybe have Morgan use her expertise in a case or something- Savannah needs to be more than just a prop to tell us how busy Morgan is.

[zannej]

I think the writers just don't know how to do any other stories. It seems most of the personal stories involve either the children or love interests. They can't give them other personal stuff most of the time. And then once they do give them love interests, they don't know what to do with them.

 

I bet by the end of the series, everyone will have a significant other except Reid.

[Knittzu]

Oh, and is the only storyline they can do with Morgan and Savannah is that they're both "too busy with work to find a lot of quality time together"? They already did this once before in Savannah's first episode- why the need to do it again?

 

 

Thank you -- for a minute I thought I was going crazy. This is the exact same premise as last Morgan/Savannah sub-plot. 

Admittedly anything involving Morgan is zzzzzzzz material for me, but surely there must be something more to that relationship than "they both have jobs."

[Danielg342]

Thank you -- for a minute I thought I was going crazy. This is the exact same premise as last Morgan/Savannah sub-plot.

Admittedly anything involving Morgan is zzzzzzzz material for me, but surely there must be something more to that relationship than "they both have jobs."

Well, I'm a Morgan fan so I have to disagree about not wanting more stories for him...but here I'd have to agree. On one end, we have Savannah, who doesn't have any role in the story other than to show us that “despite how busy Morgan is, he's got enough time for a girlfriend!”, but on the other is Morgan, who, despite being on the show as long as Hotch and Reid have (and, essentially, Garcia and JJ), he's never had any real character development- it's like they threw his entire history into one episode (“Profiler, Profiled”) and thought that was enough. We never got to really dig deep into his ambitions, his insecurities, or his relationships in any real meaningful way- he's almost always been a robot used to fulfill any plot point the writers seem to want to fill.

My hope here is that this leads to something more meaningful, and isn't used to build a Hotch/Haley storyline for Morgan- that would be frustrating, and I think a character like Morgan deserves to have something more substantive than a recycled story. For a change, I think I'd want Morgan to triumph in his personal life- so many cop shows have downer endings, why not change it up just this once?

[zannej]

I get what you're saying. You want good stories for Morgan. I think I started getting tired of Morgan stories when they were just very bad stories-- like having Morgan act like a self-centered jerk. "25 to Life" had potential, but they had to run it with the end and the slow clap. That was hands down THE worst Morgan moment and one of THE worst moments on the show.

[Droogie]

I bet by the end of the series, everyone will have a significant other except Reid.

This, so much. It would have made so much sense to let him continue to evolve, instead of making him into a caricature of himself. We have the promise of "good things for Reid" which segues into a "possible" storyline involving his mom. Yippee. I don't see how writers can be so blind to the needs of a male character beloved by fans who've devoted ten years to watching this show. When Reid is gone, so am I.

Which, back to the topic, makes me just want to skip this particular episode. I never got a vibe that Morgan was lonely or wanted/needed a serious relationship. He is an alpha male who has a lot of confidence, and we have seen a lot of focus on him relative to his ability to profile, get physical when needed, take command of situations -- we constantly see his playful side with Garcia (that I still smile about from time to time) and, less frequently, his friendship with Reid. I don't want or need to know about his romance. There has never been that void in Morgan to me. Now Reid, on the other hand... He is the only one for whom it has been made clear that he has virtually no one. A shame.

Edited November 9, 2014 by Droogie

[JMO]

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

[ForeverAlone]

Hmmm…well, I like this episode more than Rick Dunkle’s last solo effort, but since I thought “200” was the worst episode of the entire series, it’s not hard to be a bit better. The story had potential, but for me it sort of skimped on some of the necessary psychology, but that’s been my common complaint from most of the episodes recently. I find the idea interesting, particularly since the real world Slenderman case like Reid referenced. But I do have some questions about the psychology:

 

There wasn’t much talk about his specific victim selection. Sure he was targeting local kids with substantial Internet followings, but no real talk on why he chose Tara and why he started killing when he did. Had he been stalking her for a while, and just took advantage of the first opportunity to kill her? Which I presume was her parents leaving the door unlocked while they left Tara alone. There was obviously no sexual component to the killings. It was also a bit weird, though sort of indicative of the change in the show, when we didn’t actually see Hotch talk to Tara’s parents. In the past, there was a large effort to humanize the victims and care about them. But more these days, the victims are just presented as pawns for the unsub’s actions (a thought echoed by other posters).  I also assume that Tara was the unsub’s first kill, and combine that with his youthful age, it was a bit odd that there were no hesitation marks or anything to indicate an immature killer. Hell, the initial profile the team worked up pegged his age in his 30s or 40s, and it was only his retribution against his heckler that made the team revise their assessment. And was it just me, or did anybody else think that many of the attributes of the profile fit Reid? It reminded me of “Compulsion” when Elle inadvertently labeled Reid  in her description of the arsonist (much to Reid’s chagrin). Of course that time it was intentional, and this time had to have been more unintentional.

 

Some other notes:

 

1. I have to a call a little bit of BS on Morgan and his approach to vacation. From my experience working for the federal government, if you take vacation time, you take vacation time and that's protected time. It would take some major emergency (like a 9/11, and even then, I wasn't forced to come to back to work from vacation) to be recalled from leave. Since there are always cases and stuff coming up, I have a hard time believing that Morgan would be forced to abandon his vacation plans for a case. I mean, this show has plenty of profilers who can still do the work. But I guess the show needs to create some sort of renewed tension between Morgan and Savannah.

 

2. This show has been consistently doom and gloom when it comes to the Internet, and basically want to paint the idea that if you share anything on the Internet, you are practically doomed to be murdered. This seems rather amusing considering how plugged in the show and a good chunk of the cast and crew are to social media. There is very little artistic difference between a selfie and someone taking a picture of you. And we all have had taken pictures of ourselves over the years. So the whole "selfie" concept is  a bit overblown in my mind. But it is a timely topic, which Rick was obviously going for.

 

3. Oh my. The first thing that came to mind when I read the opening quote? Penelope and how she's been turned into a caricature over the years. I mean, I felt it was grossly insulting to say that she is emotionally incapable of doing her job without looking at baby kitten videos. They have made her so freaking naive about some things instead of increasing her emotional toughness after doing the same job for 10 years now. And they have highlighted her "genius" to the point where they want her basically to be a female Reid, and she has a very specialized skill, but is not an actual genius like Reid. But that is a point of contention for many Reid fans these days, partially because Reid has been sidelined so much in recent years.

 

4. I know Twitter is fairly free wheeling compared to other sites, but I have a hard time believing that they would allow a picture of a real life murder victim to remain up and be retweeted so many times.

 

5. I call bullshit on the media JUST jumping onto the story several hours after the fact, and the fact that the team was so shocked about it. How could the team really surprised about it? I mean, a hot young, Internet famous teenage girl was murdered and her picture was all over her social media sites. OF COURSE it's going to be big news. It's the sort of crime that 24 hour news networks would salivate over. It would have been interesting to see what the media strategy for this episode would have been, because it seemed like a wasted opportunity  considering the unsub was going for media attention. No talk about how to manipulate the unsub or catch the unsub via the media? In the past, the case’s media strategy would almost be front and center, or at least more important.

 

6. Really? It's suspicious that Riley took down his selfies? Hell, it would seem like a self protective technique if someone is killing people with lots of selfies on their social media accounts. There was a whole lot of suspicion in this episode and very little compassion. Riley just lost his best friend and there was nothing to point him to being the killer.

 

7. Creepy pasta? I had never heard of that term before this episode. I had to look it up online, and now I see how that is connected to the Slenderman, and the case of those creepy girls who stabbed that one girl and left her for dead. It is an interesting premise for a case, and I like the idea of a modern day boogeyman or urban legend as the basis for a serial killer.

 

8. At least the team seems to be doing a fair amount of profiling to talk about this unsub's psychopathology. Again, I always like it when the team talks through a case/profile.

 

9. Penelope isn't working in her secret lair with all those computers, but rather in Morgan's office? Was that just an excuse for Penelope and Morgan to have their relationship talk? 

 

10.  Hmmm...that seems like a rather implausible list of criteria to cross reference just in the realism of tracking down some of that info, particularly since you would think anyone who is the actual Mirror Man would likely have an anonymous account that couldn't be traced back to them.

 

11. It never fails to amaze me how aggressive the BAU is with its suspects.  First Charlie where they just show up at the mall and arrest him with no word or no Miranda Rights read (sure I assume they were read off screen, but this is just another example of the show playing fast and loose with legal procedures, or at least not wanting to show them on screen). Then later there was no actual forensic evidence connecting Connor to these crimes, and yet they show up brandishing guns at his home. I wonder if a judge actually signed off on an arrest warrant, because probable cause seemed to be a bit weak?

 

12. At least we wait until late into the episode to reveal the real killer. But damn that boy was delusional. Dedication to Connor? This is supposed to be some creepy homage to him? Oooookay... the unsub would seem to be delusional and unable to distinguish between reality and fantasy, and completing lacking in empathy about not killing people. But he also showed definite signs of organization.

 

13. Okay, so Morgan deliberately shoots to wound the unsub in this episode, but Hotch deliberately shoots the unsub in "A Thousand Suns" in the head to kill him. I guess it would be bad form to kill a kid particularly on live TV, but both are storytelling choices by the writers. The unsub in A Thousand Suns didn't HAVE to continue his actions. Sharon could have chosen to have Hotch successfully talk him down.

 

14. It's also nice to see JJ and Kate rushing to help the victim, because it was rather odd last week to watch JJ just stand there and look at Reid leaving while the poor victim was struggling on the ground with a head injury.

 

15. Ooookay...Morgan and Savannah are now moving in together? *sighs* This is reigniting my bitterness over the crap sandwich fed to Reid with Maeve.

 

16. Even though Morgan would absolutely be cleared in the shooting, you KNOW there would be some serious media fallout over this one. That was a very serious incident, and the “fallout” was just swept aside with a few words from Hotch.

[BooksRule]

I liked the fact that we didn't get to see who the unsub was until right near the end, but it kind of lost its effect when we didn't know who the kid was.  I mean, there were early episodes where we didn't know who the unsub was, but when we finally found out, he was someone we had already met during the episode.  It was just kind of a random person.

 

When Tara was murdered and the kid took a photo of her using her phone, it didn't look like he was wearing gloves.  I noticed it, because he had small hands with thin fingers and I thought that the unsub was going to turn out to be a woman (I had even figured on a teen).  But it was stated later that he had worn gloves, since no prints were found.  Did he take them off to take the photo?  If so, wouldn't they have found prints?

[zannej]

I'll have to watch again, but I think he was wearing gloves. Wait.. Maybe he just used a cloth? Didn't he hold a cloth in his hand or something to pick up the glass and then the phone? I can't remember.

 

While it wasn't the most entertaining thing, I did find this one interesting. I might have found it more interesting if I hadn't been starting to fall asleep during commercial breaks. But it wasn't bad.

 

Some nitpicks:

* Is it just me, or did JLH sound like she was just reciting lines or practically reading from a script when she delivered some of her lines? There was this "put on" tone to it. (Other than that, I thought she was good in this episode).

* We still saw too much of the violence. They could have had a figure just standing behind each of the victims without showing the murders. They could have cut with Tara getting her head smashed into the mirror and ended with that then went to the photos.

* We didn't get to see Hotch interviewing Tara's parents. Yes, we saw them walking out crying, but it would have been nice to hear them describe her-- what she meant to them and such. I don't think we saw the family members of any of the other victims either. They were just incidental and we didn't get to know much about them other than they posted stuff online that caught the unsub's interest.

* As Solitude said, we didn't really get much of a reason for the victim selection (with the exception of the guy posting a vine video of himself saying "mirror bitch")

* Once again we have Garcia's magical computer narrow it down to one suspect (although it turned out to be wrong for a change so it gets good marks for that).

* I know its a bias since I'm a Reid fan, but I wish Reid had been the one reading some of the comments and reading the stuff on the suspect's wall instead of Kate.

* Other than spouting facts, Reid didn't seem to have anything terribly "genius" to contribute. 

* Once again, it seemed like JJ was dominating. It's not even about screentime-- its about how she is talking and acting. It's just something I can't quite put my finger on.

* Some poor woman gets grabbed and shot in the neck with a nail gun and Morgan is more worried about the unsub? WTF? (Yes, I get that he shot the guy in front of the cameras and it was a teenager-- but I still call BS-- he should have been more concerned about the victim).

* What was with that weird smile Reid gave JJ when she said something the same time he did but it was a different opinion?

* I don't know if it is the way its written or the way its delivered, but whenever Morgan talks to Savannah, I get a soap opera vibe. I can't put my finger on it, but something about it just doesn't seem right. The way they kissed seemed odd too. I don't know why.

* I call BS on Morgan getting called in when he had scheduled vacation time. Unless it was an emergency, they would let him have his vacation. He's not that indispensable that they would need him for every case. 

* There seemed to be a severe lack of compassion from the team this time around (other than Morgan fretting over the unsub).

* I wish they had explained a little bit more about the Mark Twain connection. I wonder if something was cut that explained more about it. A relevant Twain quote would have been nice.

* The guy in the car getting nail-gunned could have had as shorter death scene-- and how the hell did the kid get the nailgun holes to be so perfectly aligned? LOL.

* We know that the kid had been planning to make the Mirror Man story come to life, but at what point did he decide to do that? Was there some trigger?

* I don't buy that on his first kill and with the type of injuries the kid inflicted, that he didn't leave footprints and/or have blood spatter all over him- he would have left a trail. It was too clean.

 

What I liked:

* Garcia wasn't making a ton of inappropriate banter with Morgan.

* I actually liked Morgan's little chat with Garcia when he helped her narrow down the search-- but I do wish there had been more of the team ALL contributing.

* The team members were all throwing out ideas and slightly disagreeing with one another but in a professional way-- just bouncing ideas off of each other.

* We didn't get the unsub reveal until near the end and there were a few other suspects that got pulled in and then ruled out.

* I actually like Savannah and the bookends didn't bother me as much as I thought. 

* I think we are starting to get hints at why Morgan may leave at the end of the season.

* I do like that Kate, while she does contribute, seems to be letting others take the lead and seems to be listening and learning in a subtle way.

* I don't actually mind JJ acting like a senior profiler when interacting with Kate because JJ does have more experience.

* I wish they'd had JJ go and talk to the media again and try to calm things down. Just because she is no longer the media liaison doesn't mean she can't still do that from time to time.

* I liked how Reid and Morgan both said "no comment" at the same time.

* I got a good chuckle out of the first victim being shown with "duck face" in a lot of her pictures. I find that particularly annoying. Someone on my friends list has a girlfriend that posts duck face pictures-- in fact, every single picture she posts of herself has her making that stupid face. I had commented to someone before that maybe the killer on CM will be killing girls who make annoying duck face.

* We rarely get to see what happens to the unsubs after they get brought in, so it was actually nice to see creepy kid in the hospital and Connor going to see him and being freaked out.

* It looks like Reid was right about the kid wanting to be famous.

 

Some other thoughts: This isn't really a nitpick, but I found myself wondering if Morgan would really have chosen a front door with such a large window on it. It allows criminals to see inside. With his job, you'd think he would want something more secure-- but at least he didn't have those tall windows next to the door that let people punch the window in and unlock the door. 

 

I couldn't help but wonder if Rick naming the first victim "Tara" was anything significant. Either it was a Buffy reference, or maybe it is a slight deviation of the name of a CM fan who has not been happy with Dunkle's writing and has expressed this dislike on CM forums. I hope its not the latter, because that would just be petty.

 

I do think this episode posed an interesting thought about social media and oversharing and how it can be unsafe-- but I felt that there really wasn't much of a counterpoint to balance it out. I was hoping to see more of the team's opinions on social media and selfies and such. It would have been interesting-- but all we got was Kate talking about not wanting Meg to post selfies. 

 

I think a better title for this episode would have been "Mirror Man" because it seemed to be more about that than about the hashtags.

 

Overall it wasn't a bad episode. It wasn't great, but I could re-watch it.

Edited November 13, 2014 by zannej

[Danielg342]

Is it just me or did Morgan give off this creepy UnSub vibe walking Savannah to their new house? "I need you and you need me- and NOW I TIE YOU UP AND KEEP YOU HERE! BWAHAHAHAHA..."*cough*"Why does Reid's hair keep on getting stuck in my mouth? Oh well."

Did like the Morgan/Savannah storyline even if it was rote, and I'm happy that Morgan actually got Savannah's help for a change. Now if only Savannah could have a role in a story that isn't brought upon by Morgan's doings, but I'll take what I can get.

I liked the reference to Creepypasta...it's a dedicated wiki where people have their hands at horror stories. Many of them- like The Russian Sleep Experiment- have entered greater lore as stories that were actually believed, so I think it was neat that someone actually tried to recreate one.

I also liked the sly nod to "The Internet Is Forever"...at least Rick Dunkle knew which episode he was basically redoing. They were very similar, but at least they were different enough to be slightly unique.

Predicted an omnivore and that's what we got...didn't like how one dimensional the victims were, but at least they had a dimension- vanity. I think that was simplistic, and I kind of wish they'd acknowledge not everyone who likes selfies is an extreme narcissist, but at least the victims had a personality, for a change.

Third victim obviously doesn't watch Criminal Minds or any horror movie, because he violated the Cardinal Rule- DO NOT TAUNT THE KILLER. Maybe just once I'd like the killer to leave the guy behind and maybe tell him the survivor that he "could" have killed him, but I suppose- once we realize the Mirror Man knew the third victim- he probably had no choice but to kill him.

Liked the twist of the final victim- usually we get the team catching the killer redhanded in the act but this time the killer was opportunistic and still went through with the kill. Sure the final victim still survived but she was attacked and had to be revived (just like the killer), which I can appreciate from a storytelling standpoint. Good to mix it up.

Don't get why Connor- who wrote the Mirror Man story- had millions of sketches on his wall (they'd likely be on his computer) and felt the need to escape when the police got there- he was innocent after all. That was a pretty forced misdirect, I must say.

Thought the team was evenly balanced in this one...no one went to the drug store and took vacations. We need more of this.

Only real quibble I had with this one is why the killer didn't try mixing up ways to kill people and how to gain access to them- him being on the Internet means that he'd at least know about the BAU and its exploits (which would likely be well known in the CM universe, after they took down Ian Doyle and all), so I didn't get, apart from leaving behind the hashtag and the Mirror Man graphic, why he didn't at least try to fake out the BAU. I get that he was a teen and all but someone as bold as him would at least try, even if his attempt would be bad.

Overall, I did like this one. First time since the opener.

[zannej]

Just because the guy blogged online doesn't mean that all of his notes and drawings would be on the computer. I use both the computer and paper for notes and drawing. There are some things I just can't do on computer that I can do on paper.

 

LOL. Now I'm wondering if Matthew's hair ever hits other people in the face on set. I imagine it gets in his own mouth and eyes quite a bit.

[Old Dog]

OK I just watched it - first thoughts:-

It was OK but I wouldn't rush to watch it again.

Morgan has zero chemistry with Savannah,

It was clearly aimed at the very young demo they seek to please these days.

Reid looked utterly devastating in that suit at the start. I think I would have enjoyed it more just looping him and Morgan arriving at the crime scene. So I'm shallow - I know.

Is it just me or was there again too much JJ?

Certainly a better effort than Dunkle's last few.

[spinner33]

Forever Alone said:

"2. This show has been consistently doom and gloom when it comes to the Internet, and basically want to paint the idea that if you share anything on the Internet, you are practically doomed to be murdered. This seems rather amusing considering how plugged in the show and a good chunk of the cast and crew are to social media."

 

 

I have to agree here!  This crew, and writers, and showrunner spend so much time on social media themselves, planting their moon-pie faces on Tumblr and Twitter and any other forum they can place them on!   They are the very definition of "attention whores".  Not to mention that the new fans of the show are from the very age group that lives and dies by its online presence.   It's a very fine line to walk, when a show is making fun of the fans that support their existence.  

[BooksRule]

I couldn't help but wonder if Rick naming the first victim "Tara" was anything significant. Either it was a Buffy reference, or maybe it is a slight deviation of the name of a CM fan who has not been happy with Dunkle's writing and has expressed this dislike on CM forums. I hope its not the latter, because that would just be petty.

 

I didn't think of the Tara reference, but I did notice that (according to Garcia's research) some of the teens went to Sunnydale High School. 

 

Some other thoughts: This isn't really a nitpick, but I found myself wondering if Morgan would really have chosen a front door with such a large window on it. It allows criminals to see inside. With his job, you'd think he would want something more secure-- but at least he didn't have those tall windows next to the door that let people punch the window in and unlock the door.

 

I thought about that, too (kind of).  I didn't think about someone breaking the glass to unlock the door, but I did wonder why the glass wasn't frosted so that no one could see in. 

[normasm]

* What was with that weird smile Reid gave JJ when she said something the same time he did but it was a different opinion?

 

* I wish they had explained a little bit more about the Mark Twain connection. I wonder if something was cut that explained more about it. A relevant Twain quote would have been nice.

 

* I liked how Reid and Morgan both said "no comment" at the same time.

 

* It looks like Reid was right about the kid wanting to be famous.

 

I think the look on Reid's face was, "JJ said something else, I'll just stop talking now. Dad's only listening to her."

 

That was a total waste of a good Mark Twain reference, it should have had something more to it, but then, that would have meant Reid actually had something to say.

 

Half of Reid's lines were said at the same time as someone else. I hope they're not paying this kid by the line.

 

All in all a very boring and disappointing episode.

Edited November 13, 2014 by normasm

[Guest Accused Dingo]

I actually enjoyed the subplot and the plot because it is something busy professionals who love their job would go through and kids today have no sense of safety and what the internet actually is. Mistaking a twitter following for frienship and fame.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Accused Dingo

[Danielg342]

Just because the guy blogged online doesn't mean that all of his notes and drawings would be on the computer. I use both the computer and paper for notes and drawing. There are some things I just can't do on computer that I can do on paper.

I get that part- I'm just not sure why it was plastered all over his wall (wouldn't they be better in a drawer?), and I can't imagine he'd have more than a handful of sketches at most.

The big thing, though, was Connor attempting to escape through the window. He didn't do anything wrong so why did he attempt to flee?

It's like Dunkle desperately wanted me to think Connor was the Mirror Man, as if Garcia's Magical Computer© wasn't enough.

[Knittzu]

It wasn't the worst episode I've sat through, but damn I was bored and annoyed but this one. Pretty much start to finish.

 

For one thing, it felt like something my cranky father-in-law would have enjoyed. "Attention-hungry teens posting duck-face selfies gettin' murdered" would have him in his happy spot. And granted I was bored as hell, but I didn't catch a single character point out that this is totally NORMAL behavior for teens in 2014. Instead we had stupid JJ making stupid comments about Tara being "a brand" rather than a person. Um, no. She was just a kid doing what kids these days do, grandma.

 

Instead of a vacation, Savannah (who just happened to be one of the doctors treating the victims at the end, natch!) has to move in with Morgan? He doesn't ask her about that very serious step in their relationship, or discuss it, or anything, he just takes her to the house and spring that whole thing on her? Okay.

 

I did enjoy the simultaneous "no comment" from Reid and Morgan, though.

 

I have a hard time believing that Morgan would be forced to abandon his vacation plans for a case.

 

Seriously, I am so sick of the idea that none of these people can have a life -- or even a weekend away -- because they are the only people in the country who can solve these (actually rather simple) cases. Give me a break. The BAU is loaded with employees; they should all be taking regular vacations on a rotating basis. That would make more story sense than having team members randomly vanish during episodes, wouldn't it?

 

I call bullshit on the media JUST jumping onto the story several hours after the fact, and the fact that the team was so shocked about it.

 

 

I can only assume that since losing their media liaison, they no longer have the slightest clue about how the media operates because COME ON. Of course the media was going to be all over that case! Anyone with half a brain would have been anticipating that, not acting like they required fainting couches at the nerve of those camera people doing their jobs.

 

It never fails to amaze me how aggressive the BAU is with its suspects.  First Charlie where they just show up at the mall and arrest him with no word or no Miranda Rights read

 

 

That made me squawk with outrage. They were arresting him on what grounds?? Or does the BAU just not require grounds to go around arresting people anymore? Just slap handcuffs on him in public and drag him away, sure, why not. Does he even fit your profile? Oh, what profile. Never-mind.

 

What was with that weird smile Reid gave JJ when she said something the same time he did but it was a different opinion?

 

 

What indeed? First we had him calling her "Jennifer" last episode, and now that strange little exchange. Am I the only one starting to get a sinking feeling about this situation?

[normasm]

Thanks, knittzu, i agree but i'm so overcome with ennui, i can't finish this sente……..

[Droogie]

What indeed? First we had him calling her "Jennifer" last episode, and now that strange little exchange. Am I the only one starting to get a sinking feeling about this situation?

Please assist the obtuse! What sinking feeling -- do you think it means something?

[missmycat]

OMG!  If you guys are trying to imply that you feel Reid is once again going to be crushing on her,like he did in the first season of the show.Well than I think that might absolutely be the last straw for me.. 

[Knittzu]

Unfortunately that is what I'm implying. Especially after listening to part of that Messer interview where she talks about the fact that they like returning to things they've done with the characters before (LIKE WE KNOW OMG you have ZERO new ideas ever!!). Maybe it's just a coincidence that we've now had odd little JJ/Reid moments two episodes in a row, but last night's moment left me a bit queasy with dread.

 

[normasm]

Boy, I hope you're wrong on that Knittzu *runs to the toilet*

[Old Dog]

Surely Messer won't dream of upsetting her little Willifer gang by going there?

[normasm]

I doubt it. That would mean "Jennifer" had feet of clay. Besides, she is always portrayed as being devoted to Will and certainly Henry, and she hasn't seemed the least bit attracted to Reid, ever, despite what one person who used to post here maintained. When he was shot last year, yes, she was very concerned, but it was big sister concerned.

 

And if they went for an unrequited crush on Reid's part for her, well that would just be beyond cruel, to the character and to the fans. Hows about that for a "love letter?"

[Knittzu]

Hows about that for a "love letter?"

 

 

The same sort of "love letter" we were given with 200. 

We'll see how it plays out, but that little moment they shared made my skin crawl in a way no unsub has managed in a long, long time.

[missmycat]

I doubt it. That would mean "Jennifer" had feet of clay. Besides, she is always portrayed as being devoted to Will and certainly Henry, and she hasn't seemed the least bit attracted to Reid, ever, despite what one person who used to post here maintained. When he was shot last year, yes, she was very concerned, but it was big sister concerned.

 

And if they went for an unrequited crush on Reid's part for her, well that would just be beyond cruel, to the character and to the fans. Hows about that for a "love letter?"

I agree. Having Reid pine for a woman who isn't the least bit interested him in that way,as well one who is totally beneath him, would be the single most cruel thing after Maeve that they could do to him and fans alike.

Edited November 13, 2014 by missmycat

[SSAHotchner]

I liked the fact that we didn't get to see who the unsub was until right near the end, but it kind of lost its effect when we didn't know who the kid was.  I mean, there were early episodes where we didn't know who the unsub was, but when we finally found out, he was someone we had already met during the episode.  It was just kind of a random person.

 

When Tara was murdered and the kid took a photo of her using her phone, it didn't look like he was wearing gloves.  I noticed it, because he had small hands with thin fingers and I thought that the unsub was going to turn out to be a woman (I had even figured on a teen).  But it was stated later that he had worn gloves, since no prints were found.  Did he take them off to take the photo?  If so, wouldn't they have found prints?

I thought it was going to turn out to be a female unsub, too.

[JMO]

Ran through it again while I got some work done this morning.  In the light of a new day, I've changed my mind.  It was only 95% drivel, and 5% Reid in a suit jacket.

 

To me, the use of social media is important because it allows me to communicate with, and keep up on, old friends who are distant, and new friends (like you), who share similar interests (if not opinions), from a world-wide variety of places.  So I would have been very interested if the team had gradually learned of related killings happening all over the country (or the world), at different times, all connected by someone stalking the victims on line. Neither this one, nor The Internet Is Forever (except the broadcasting of the killings) took advantage of the amazing geographical interconnectedness of it.  Such killings might even have made an intriguing, season-long theme.  But to have it all play out among a group of supposed adolescents (only the unsub looked remotely like one) in the same geographical area was, to me, not remotely captivating. 

 

I do think it did a disservice to adolescents by implying that they are more impressed with the number of 'likes' a person has generated than they are with the content of that person's character. Certainly not true of the teens I know.

 

I would have been interested in the 'Slenderman' aspect, as I struggle with understanding the adolescent mindset that caused that incident to happen.  Had the show actually focused on that, I think this could actually have been an important episode, alerting parents and all of us who work professionally with adolescents to look for similar behaviors and thought patterns.  If only they'd told us what those patterns were. 

 

Random thoughts:

If Reid's smile at JJ had happened in a different context, I would have already written a story about it.  But I didn't understand that at all.

 

Thought it was odd that Morgan would be openly professing love to Savannah with Garcia sitting in his office.  But I do like that they've toned down the sexual innuendo in their 'banter'. 

 

It's been a very long time since we've seen Morgan in a suit jacket.  When he and Reid arrived at the scene, all I could think of was 'Men In Black'.  They just looked like G Men. 

 

Reid's hair as a co-star----absolute yes to that!  But, really, it isn't remotely attractive.  He needs to take a comb or a scissors to it.  Preferably both.

 

I do think this particular episode pandered to a certain demographic (I would have used 'catered' if the demographic had been mine).  That would have been tolerable if there had been a true message for that demographic.  If there was, it went right by me. Hope they caught it.

 

Hoping for better days ahead, but I think it will take me a while to recover from this one. 

[Old Dog]

 

Reid's hair as a co-star----absolute yes to that!  But, really, it isn't remotely attractive.  He needs to take a comb or a scissors to it.  Preferably both.

 

I do think this particular episode pandered to a certain demographic

 

 

I looove Reid's wild hair! That and the suit were the only really good bits in this episode!

 

And yes, the phrase "pandering to a certain demographic" is exactly right.  I had a brief dip onto Tumblr and they all seemed to be focusing on JJ having a French braid! So any message they were trying to convey must have been lost in the more important world of JJ's hair. However much I love Reid's hair, I still want a clever team-based episode as well!

[Knittzu]

I do think this particular episode pandered to a certain demographic (I would have used 'catered' if the demographic had been mine).  That would have been tolerable if there had been a true message for that demographic.  If there was, it went right by me.

 

 

Me, too. But it was an odd sort of pandering, akin to CSI using middle-aged people who enjoy watching TV as the week's victims, then implying that they sort of deserved what they got. Tara's murder in particular had an almost gleeful feel to it. See this "social media star" and her attention-whoring ways? Hahaha, we'll fix that! Guess you shouldn't have snapped that seflie and transformed yourself from a person into a brand, honey!

 

I had a brief dip onto Tumblr and they all seemed to be focusing on JJ having a French braid!

 

 

I suppose it's nice that some of TV's least-talented writers have located the least-demanding audience. Why bother writing a plot at all? They could just show 42 minutes of JJ running around with different hairstyles and be done with it.

[missmycat]

Okay does anyone happen to know the age range of these so called tweety boopers who are so enamored with AJ/JJ?

[Old Dog]

Okay does anyone happen to know the age range of these so called tweety boopers who are so enamored with AJ/JJ?

Well they all seem to watch Teen Wolf and the Avengers style movies and talk about homework and course assignments - I guess that puts them in the 12 -20 range.

[antikking]

despite what one person who used to post here maintained.

 

I don't know where she went, but I am happy that she took her crude language with her.  

[idiotwaltz]

I watched the episode last night and I barely remember anything that happened when I woke up this morning. It seemed like a rehash of The Internet is Forever (if you post anything on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram, kids, YOU WILL DIE), plus a bit of Exit Wounds thrown in (teenage UNSUB! abandonment issues! looks up to an older brother figure!). It did make me feel grateful for the fact that none of these social media bullshit was around when I was in high school. I'm not a person who likes having their picture taken, let alone taking pictures of myself, so this trend to post selfies for your friends and randoms on the internet has always seemed narcissistic to me. 

 

Why the hell was JJ freaking out at the media when SHE USED TO BE THE MEDIA LIAISON? I know her hair was in a French braid, but did that suck out her magical abilities to remember how to do a job she used to be good at? 

 

I liked the local PD and the skeptical eyebrow she had throughout. I don't blame her: the profile (what profile?) changed several times and I could tell she was all, These guys are the experts? Whaaaa?

 

I don't even remember Reid was in the episode. I vaguely remember Kate having terrible makeup. Hotch was there. Garcia was there but not long enough to annoy me. I know for sure Morgan was there because I fast forwarded all his scenes with Savannah. Whose name I will proceed to forget as soon as I click "post."

Edited November 14, 2014 by idiotwaltz

[Knittzu]

Why the hell was JJ freaking out at the media when SHE USED TO BE THE MEDIA LIAISON? I know her hair was in a French braid, but did that suck out her magical abilities to remember how to do a job she used to be good at?

 

 

This isn't enough WORD in the world for this. But I'll try: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRDDDDDDD.

[zannej]

Ok, I was told by a very cool Buffy fan that not only was Sunnydale High the place where Buffy went to school, but multiple characters in this episode were named after characters on Buffy. Rick Dunkle apparently confirmed the Buffy connection on Twitter.

 

Danelg, Re: the stuff pinned all over the unschmuck's wall-- good point. I mean, I know when I was a kid, putting stuff on the walls was common. Like pictures and article clippings and such.. Do kids these days still do that?

 

I do also agree about the point of "why did the unschmuck try to run?". I mean, unless he'd done something else or been taught to be afraid of the police, he really had no reason to run.

 

I'm also totally over the whole thing of them arresting people when they don't have a valid reason to do so. Now, that may fly in a small town where they violate people's rights on a regular basis (like where I currently live), but I don't buy that the BAU would be doing that. Hotch was a prosecutor so he would know better. Now, I do know in real life that a lot of people are not aware of their rights and there are ones that the police don't tell them when they are picked up for interrogation (not being arrested). I know in some places they do not actually have to tell people why they are arresting them, but its generally considered decent behavior to inform them. I was reading that if the police ever take you to the station or try to interrogate you without reading you your rights first, that you should ask "Am I free to go?" and if they say "No" then you ask for a lawyer. If they say "Yes" then inform them of your intention to leave. Once you ask for a lawyer, they are legally not allowed to ask you more questions-- although I know some cops still do. I saw an episode of Cops where a cop was trying to get a guy to admit to wrongdoing. Guy refused, took a breathalizer and it came up clean. Cop still insisted on harassing the guy so the guy said "I want a lawyer" and the cop refused. Told him they could not get a lawyer out there and that then ordered the guy to admit he had been drinking. The guy told him to fuck off and to stop shouting. The cop's more reasonable partner finally took him by the arm and quietly told him to back off and let it go. I'd hate to think of what would have happened if there had NOT been a camera crew there filming.

 

As to the social media thing, while there is a lot of garbage out there, I do find that I can keep somewhat in touch with family in different states through facebook. I discovered that one of my cousins has a daughter in her early 20s who watches CM.

 

I admit that I didn't find this one totally boring. It kept my interest a bit. I wasn't on the edge of my seat by any means, but it was a nice distraction.

 

Also: Some of you may remember cephalaphile from TWoP. She shared this link: 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/arianelange/criminal-minds-hashtag-its-light-bulbs

 

It explains a little about the production of the episode and the process of lighting in properly and what it took to do it. Personally, I found it more interesting than the episode itself (but then, I'm fascinated by that sort of thing).

Edited November 14, 2014 by zannej

[SSAHotchner]

I haven't watched it again yet to catch anything I might have missed first time around. It was just okay for me. I'm not at all interested in Morgan's love life, but there's no way that I believe he couldn't take vacation because of this case. The writers have shown us over and over again that they really don't need the whole team to solve a case since they are unable to write for the whole team in each episode. I would have had more respect for them if they'd actually written that Morgan took his vacation...not that I'd want to watch any of it.

 

Zannej, I agree about JLH's line delivery this week. I chat with some folks who absolutely detest her, and I usually defend her but this week was awful. She was just off, which she can't afford to do because there's still a backlash against her as the new character.

 

I didn't hate it, but it's not something I feel I want to watch again. Honestly, I feel like they're coming up with these goofy story lines because they lack the skills to write realistic scripts. I'm not saying that this couldn't happen, but I'd hate to think a high school kid could outsmart the local police much less the BAU.

[alexvillage]

Very bad. 

The first victim and her Miley Cyrus face. I was so glad she was gone. 

Couldn't care less about Morgan. He s the most sexist, entitled, arrogant boyfriend. He is also condescending. Tuned him off after the first scene.

JJ Bitchface screaming at the media was just more than a bit of overacting. Ridiculous. 

Someone mentioned that even if JJ is not in every scene, it seems she is always the one coming up with the answers - or something like that. Well, yeah! We know JJ is omnipresent. She does not have to be seen, she just knows everything that happens everywhere, it is just logic that she knows all the answers. 

The real question is: how come she is not predicting the murders before they happen? Serial killers is not a secure "job" now that super Bitchface Ninja JJ is around.

 

On a less snarky point, what happened to Hotch? He used to call out their team members when they did things like shooting a kid in front of a camera. Regardless of the need, or not, to shoot the kid, Hotch just walks in and says how heroic Morgan was, no reviews, no questions, no nothing?

[Katenotplus8]

Another disappointing episode.  After re-watching all 9 previous seasons lately, it's hit me just how far CM has fallen.  The only good thing I can say about the episode is that they didn't reveal the unsub until the episode was 15-20 min from the end.  I appreciated this change from the current trend of 5 minutes into the episode.  I still can't stand JLH and felt she was even worse than previous episodes.  She doesn't even seem to be trying.  I keep hoping for some shimmer of past greatness, but am continually disappointed.  With the exception of JLH's Kate who has never shown me greatness in an episode, all of these actors have shown that with the right stories, they have tremendous talent.  Please writers give this back to your fans!

[zannej]

I actually didn't have a problem with Hotch condoning the shooting. In real life, that *would* be the correct time to shoot someone. He might have fired the nailgun more times and killed the victim.

 

One thing I questioned was whether he modified the nailgun or if the writer didn't think about the fact that in order to get a nailgun to fire, there is a part on the front where the nails come out that you have to press against a surface with enough force to sort of push it in to allow it to shoot. Unless it is modified, nailguns shouldn't be able to just fire when not pressed against something. It is a safety feature so the nailgun shouldn't be able to just fire in to the air. Just watch some home improvement shows where they show someone how to use a nailgun and they always tell them to push it against the surface to allow it to fire. (I watch a LOT of home improvement shows and hang out at home improvement forums).

 

Other than a few "off" lines from JLH, I think she's still doing pretty good. To be honest, Jeanne Tripplehorn did the same thing with the dialog when she was new and AJ still does it from time to time.

 

Some actors just have a hard time delivering techno-babble type lines believably because its obvious they don't know what they are say. MGG's trick is to just say the lines with such authority that he sounds like he knows what he's talking about.

[Knittzu]

The real question is: how come she is not predicting the murders before they happen?

 

 

Ha, don't give them any ideas! They've already made her a ninja and a super-spy; I'm not at all convinced that they'd think this is a silly idea.

[alexvillage]

 

I actually didn't have a problem with Hotch condoning the shooting. In real life, that *would* be the correct time to shoot someone. He might have fired the nailgun more times and killed the victim.

I am not questioning if ti was the right thing to do (or wrong, because I don't care enough about the episode). I am pointing out the - to me - inconsistency on the character (not that this is a surprise, considering the writers)

It seems to be that in the early seasons Hotch took a more professional approach, following the procedure, not listening to a fellow agent debrief and talking about how justified the shooting was in a hospital waiting room. There were other people there, presumably listening. And Morgan shouldn't even be there. He rode on the ambulance with the kid, and I find it hard t believe that this wouldn't have a fall out.

Now that I am mentioning this, another point of overacting: JJ looked so distressed while in the hospital waiting for news from the victim, are the writers trying to humanize her? And couldn't they have gotten a few extras to be a family member or close friend of the victim, even the boy's aunt?

Edited November 15, 2014 by alexvillage

[JMO]

Every time I watch Slave of Duty, I'm struck by the scene near the end where Reid gives Garcia a list of names to look up, and she doesn't ask for the spelling of a single one.

In contrast, in this episode she took notes about the parameters Morgan wanted her to research, and was still working on them several hours later. I took it as a sign that they've decided to inject a small note of reality into her role on the team.