S10.E09: Fate

[Droogie]

Ten minutes.

[formerlyfreedom]

The BAU investigates random murders in northern Virginia and searches for a conflicted UnSub who has an uncontrollable urge to kill but is also filled with remorse. Rossi receives a visit from a woman who could hold a secret from his past.

 

[zannej]

Well... That was a disorganized mess. The flashback scenes were done very poorly and were so cheesy. I don't know what it was exactly, but they did not work for me. And the moments when they came in-- and then we had Rossi driving while a song played and it just dragged on. I felt like the profiling and case suffered because it had to be shortened to have Rossi's drama. 

 

I don't even know why they even had Reid there since they gave him almost nothing to do. Lines that normally would have been given to him were given to other people. I swear, he might as well just be a recurring minor character instead of a main one with the way he's being handled.

 

While I bought the emotion from Rossi at the end, I almost felt it was a little too much-- especially in comparison to the cold almost blank reaction from the girl playing the daughter. It made what could have been something very powerful just fall flat.

 

And I see some people called it: Rossi's daughter is a mother and Rossi has a grandson.

 

Too much unsub and not enough info about what really happened. I even found myself missing Morgan in this one. I'm fine with Rossi getting some focus for a change, but I wish that they had balanced it so that everyone had a fair shake. For a brief moment when I saw Reid and Hotch at the office together I was hoping that when Hotch hung up that there would be a scene where they talked about something, but it just cut away. The first half of this wasn't so bad, but the end was just awful.

[normasm]

Ditto, Zannej. I just don't have the energy to add anything.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Sigh. Just.....sigh.

 

Well, one thing..... "I'm your daughter!"

 

FFS, what is this, General Hospital?

[SSAHotchner]

I can't stand JSB. I thought this was lazy writing. How many folks with head injuries end up becoming killers? I was glad to see Hotch and Rossi at the capture, but then of course JJ had to be there. Are we never to get a break from her? I was preoccupied during the episode trying to place the actress playing the unsub. I finally came here to find her name since IMDB didn't list the character in their cast list. But I really didn't care for this episode. It's just another of JSB's horror stories.

 

I call BS on the whole Rossi story. Once again JSB ignored the established timeline of Rossi's life/career. The BAU was established in 1972 and we were told Rossi was there at the start. We were also told he left the BAU/FBI to embark on a career as an author/lecturer. So her writing that he was "moving up in the FBI" in 1984 was in direct conflict with what we've already learned about him. He either would have been in the BAU or he would have been retired from the FBI. I'm all for learning about Rossi's past but it has to encompass what we've already learned about him. Once more, JSB and Erica just want to write what they want and not make it fit with the character as he was established. That's unforgivable. I can buy that he may have fathered a child in or out of wedlock, but not the scenario JSB came up with.

 

Once again Reid disappeared, but then so did Morgan.

Hotch looked good in the episode. I wish he would have killed the unsub. I was sick of her by the end anyway.

[kimrey]

Once again Reid disappeared, but then so did Morgan.

 

Yeah, but Morgan just had two episodes right in a row where he was featured heavily.  Reid...hasn't had any of those this season.

 

Reid is honestly the only reason I'm still watching this show.  So now I don't really have much of a reason to anymore.  I miss him :(

 

Couldn't really take Rossi seriously when he was crying without any tears there at the end.

Edited November 27, 2014 by kimrey

[BooksRule]

I was preoccupied during the episode trying to place the actress playing the unsub. I finally came here to find her name since IMDB didn't list the character in their cast list.

 

That kept bothering me, too.  I thought at first that she was Jillian Armenante (she's been in lots of stuff and played Donna Kowlowski on 'Judging Amy'), but this was a different actress.  She just reminded me of her.

 

This episode was a little too soapy for me.  The Paris flashbacks were ugh (at least they didn't have the cliché of showing the Eiffel Tower in the background.  From TV and movies, you would think that every window in Paris has that view!)

Edited November 27, 2014 by BooksRule

[JennyMominFL]

The actress was Tina Holmes, I think. She played Maggie on Six Feet Under, among other things.

[zannej]

I actually believed Rossi was crying and I was wondering just why he was *that* emotional. It was to much-- especially in comparison to the flat bland acting from the chick playing the daughter. Perhaps if she'd reacted, it might have worked, but she just didn't sell it and it felt very one-sided. Plus the cliche of rushing to the airport to catch someone has been done to death.

 

There was so much cliche and cheesiness.

 

The unsub was rather interesting and I did actually feel a smidgen of pity for her. I thought the actress did a good job, but we saw her too soon and too often and there really was not much profiling. Too much of her in action, and the motivations weren't fully believable. The whole kidnapping her daughter thing didn't work. It was too contrived and I don't buy that the daughter would have gone along. I felt more sorry for the husband, who was trying to help.

 

So many unanswered questions: Did the bitchy lady really steal her ideas or was she just imagining things? We heard the lady gripe about how head-injury lady had done absolutely nothing since she got back. Was that true, or was she just taking credit? As soon as they established that the hair cutting lady had some conflict with a customer, shouldn't the identity of the customer have been one of the first things they asked? I know a bit later they said to find a list of clients/customers- but priority would be the one who pissed her off.

 

And really, the woman lost it when she was angry, but she still stayed calm long enough to break in and kill people? It was too organized for someone so disorganized. I just didn't buy it. I can buy her snapping in the moment and killing someone and covering it up-- but not planning to kill people, following through and then doing the laundry. How the hell did she even have time to sit around waiting for the laundry to finish? And what kind of detergent did she use to get the blood out-- really, I want to know because I've bled on my clothes before and couldn't get the stains out.

 

I liked Kate in this. I liked that Hotch asked if Rossi was ok.

 

I was hoping Reid would be the one to talk the unsub down, but I guess they felt that because he got the Psycho Cinderella chick a couple weeks back that he got his share of talking down unsubs.

 

Honestly, with what they said to the unsub, it didn't sound all that convincing, and it was just awkward and not that believable. 

[auntiemel]

Not that I think anyone deserves to be killed, obviously, but I really disliked her boss. LOL. I could almost understand where Ellen was coming from.

[idiotwaltz]

Well, there's 42 minutes of my life I want back.

 

The case was just plain ridiculous with really bad acting from everybody involved. The less said about the writing the better. It seems like JSB just threw whatever she could together to come up with a case so that she could focus on Rossi's ridiculous family drama.

 

I hated, hated the long-lost daughter storyline. The only upside is that, knowing this show, we'll probably never see the daughter or her Italian husband ever again. The actress who played the daughter was terrible and I wasn't sold on Rossi's emotion at the end either. I'm irrationally angry at this because I feel this whole storyline cheapens the storyline we had with Rossi and his first wife and the secret of his dead son. That reveal worked on an emotional level --- this episode was straight out of bad fanfiction. 

 

That said, it's nice to know that somebody on the team actually has X sperm! 

[zannej]

idiotwaltz, I hate to break it to you but

Erica said that we'd be seeing the daughter again.

. I wonder if any of this could have worked as two separate stories, but jammed in to one episode, there wasn't time for either one to really be fleshed out enough to feel complete and cohesive.

[The Wild Sow]

 

The actress was Tina Holmes, I think. She played Maggie on Six Feet Under, among other things.

Tina Holmes.  I remember her as Rowena, the shy, frumpy bank teller from "Dog Day Afternoons" on Cold Case.

[LexiconDevilOne]

idiotwaltz, I hate to break it to you but

Erica said that we'd be seeing the daughter again.

. I wonder if any of this could have worked as two separate stories, but jammed in to one episode, there wasn't time for either one to really be fleshed out enough to feel complete and cohesive.

Oh God, Why?

She adds NOTHING to this show, and never will. I hope she goes the way of Hotches girlfriend, only quicker.

[idiotwaltz]

 

 

Oh God, Why?

She adds NOTHING to this show, and never will. I hope she goes the way of Hotches girlfriend, only quicker.

 

I could not have articulated this better myself. 

 

You know, I'm just going to pretend this episode never happened. (Which is not hard since I've pretended all the episodes since Emily left haven't happened.) Otherwise I might have to smash my skull in, get meself some frontal lobe damage, and go berserk in the Writers' Room. 

[iscoffy]

Wow. Not in a good way.  The Rossi flashbacks were terrible, even for this show, and while JM tried to sell it, the writing for the end scenes was not salvageable.  

 

Then there was the offhand comment that since the unsub specialized in windows and doors, that's how she was able to get in to the crime scenes without it looking like a break-in.  What?  Specializing in doors and windows in construction does not make you some kind of door and window break-in specialist.

[Danielg342]

Well I thought Joe Mantegna knocked it out of the park at the end. Truly heart-wrenching stuff. I just wish there wasn't this issue of a "case" so that Janine Sherman-Barrois could actually spend some time writing a nice story about it, instead of providing snippets that really went nowhere.

 

Honestly, the daughter storyline probably needed to be just the two bookend scenes (with an "a-ha" moment somewhere in the middle)...or the daughter should have brought a case to the attention of the BAU. Yeah, that would have been contrived...but at least the episode maintains its focus, instead of being scattered everywhere as it was this week.

 

So Supermom did nothing except console the daughter at the end...which I guess is a relief from the focus she got the rest of the season, but it doesn't make up for the fact that, in reality, no one (other than Rossi) had anything remotely resembling quality screen time in this one. Seems like the only way we can have an out-of-focus JJ is if everyone is similarly out of focus...really, it just seemed like the entire cast was phoning it in. Pretty sure we could have had some actual robots play out the parts and no one would have noticed any difference.

 

I appreciated the fact that for once we've got a female killer that didn't kill because of lost love or sexual assault...it was pure anger. The role could have been played by a man and it would have made little difference. I also liked seeing the killer run up to her bathroom and reveal the blood splattered all over her clothes...it's a novel way to do a reveal. So Barrois gets props for that.

 

What she won't get props for is how poorly executed the case was. OK, so her manager claims the killer's ideas at a presentation, and the killer gives her a death glare (yes the pun's intended). Right away I knew the boss was next, and I was right. Of course, I bought how the boss' boy toy was killed, but I didn't understand why the boss, upon seeing the body, didn't call 911 right away. I would have done that. I'm also not quite sure how the killer had time to do the laundry and redress the boss all before the police showed up...if we're being conservative and assume the killer left shortly after using the drier, that means she spent at least half an hour inside the victims' apartment. 911 calls are responded to in terms of minutes, not hours, so how she avoided the police is beyond me.

 

I also think they've got to do a much better job figuring out how to determine if a killer is a man or a woman. "A man would have burned (the clothes)." Seriously Kate? What makes you so sure? I also don't buy that a man couldn't have been as remorseful as the killer was in this episode...maybe my mind is playing tricks on me, but I'm sure we've had a few remorseful male killers who redressed the victims before, am I right?

 

Found it amusing that the car accident victim had her last name as "Benson"...I half expected Mariska Hargitay to come out and start wondering what the killer was doing. Of course, CM's already killed Elliott Stabler...maybe this is their way of telling Olivia Benson she ought to watch her back?

 

Didn't really enjoy the acting at all in this one...everyone, especially the killer, fell flat. I did actually like the daughter though, and the boss, but that was about it. I guess CM didn't want to shoot too much this week because everyone wanted to go early for Thanksgiving. *shrugs*

 

Really thought the takedown scene should have had Kate or JJ in it...yeah I know, JJ in another takedown scene, but I'm not sure I like the juxtaposition of two male agents taking down a female killer, but I guess in an episode that broke some of Hollywood's other sexist cliches, it's not so bad.

 

Other minor points:

 

-Garcia's schtick: really grating this week. When Rossi asked her to look up info on who was following him and Garcia started blabbering about whether or not she should do it "Jason Bourne style" or some other style, I actually shouted at the screen to tell her to "get to the point". You know your writing is that bad when I have to go to those lengths.

 

-The supercomputer: again, too heavily featured. Garcia needs a hefty raise...and maybe the rest of the BAU should be fired. Garcia seems to do all the actual work.

 

-The police were pretty incompetent in this one. Why no one bothered to think about potential enemies the victims may have had is beyond me- isn't that one of the first things a detective thinks about at a murder scene? Also, pretty sure at least if the BAU had bothered to interview people at the boss' workplace they may have uncovered a few unsavoury employees that would have made great suspects...so much for following your leads.

 

(You know, Gotham is generally pretty poor with its own case plotting in that the cases follow very simplistic threads and have few, if any, misdirections, but at least their detective work is logical...instead of what the BAU does where everyone randomly guesses and hope things stick. I'm glad they're not my investigators because I doubt they'd solve any real cases with all the leaps they take)

 

-Not a fan of the "everything's quiet then BOOM! KILLER!" scenes the episode- and many others before it- fell in love with. They're getting too predictable and frankly they're pretty boring now. The show needs to find other ways to build up tension, urgency and mystery.

--Somewhat related are the "slice of life" scenes used to show the killer's or the victim's life and make us pretend that everything is normal when they're not...these do have value, but CM lately tends to make then d...r...a...g o...n...n...n...n...n... for too long, never really getting the point and costing the episode valuable time that could have been used to make things more coherent or compelling. I didn't need fifty scenes where the family suspects something is wrong with the killer because "she's been acting strange lately".

 

Overall...very poor. Too much posturing, too little insight, way too many leaps, useless characters and a wasted opportunity with the case. Maybe not as bad as episodes like "The Pact" but it was close.

 

Lastly- is it just me or is it time that the show gets back to simply having a male serial killer targeting females? I know, I've beat it to death, and I won't start another screed about how unrealistic the string of male victims are, but I don want to raise another point about victim selection: I'm sick of these omnivores that wind up having very poor personal connections to the victims...it's one of the downfalls of having that kind of a killer. At least when the gender- and the body type, hair colour, job, etc.- are the same it can provide some insight into the serial killer's mind because it eventually reveals the true source of the killer's wrath, but with omnivores you generally can't do that. Not to say that omnivores can't be done well- I look at "A Real Rain", "Compulsion" and even "Omnivore" as examples- but the show tends to make the omnivores one dimensional, almost "random" killers that leave very little insight into their personal lives. There's only so many times I can buy "person who kills others indiscriminately for superficial reasons" before I get tired of it.

[feverfew]

Bored. Boredboredbored. I almost didn't finish this episode, and I'm easy to please. Really, I am. And there was nothing defendable in this. Also, is Matthew off filming something right now, or something? Because his absence is inexcusable.

Edited November 27, 2014 by feverfew

[Cobalt Stargazer]

 Also, is Matthew off filming something right now, or something? Because his absence is inexcusable.

 

I checked Mathhew's IMDB page, and both Hot Air and something called Band of Robbers are in post-production. It doesn't indicate whether or not he's got something in the works right now. I went to the CM Facebook page to see if anything had been mentioned there, but had to immediately back away because someone said that the scene with Rossi's new daughter saved the night. #YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe.

[Old Dog]

I was bored. We saw the unsub and why she killed pretty much from the start. Another female unsub! Very little team and I think Reid's screen time was again less than everyone as he disappeared yet again, although Morgan vanished too.  Why are they doing this? And of course "I'm Jennifer" had to console the teenage daughter at the end.

As for the subplot with Rossi - cheesier than Gorgonzola!

It is just so very, very sad.

[alexvillage]

Where to begin?

I deeply dislike the actress who played the unsub. Always have. Since I saw her in CSI a lifetime ago.

Could the casting people at least try to get better supporting actors? What was that daughter? She seemed so much older than a teen and she was terrible. The same for the first victim, yelling at the phone in a very forced way and the boss, straight from a daytime soap opera, down to the perfume and posed sitting on the bed.

I love Joe and I don't mind the lack of tears but it did seem out of the blue that he decided to run after the daughter and just get on the plane. I want to believe some scenes were left on the editing room floor, but that would give the writers too much credit. No, it was messed up.

JJ. Yes, even when she is not taking over the show they manage to give her a superpower. She is the one picking up the brother and taking the kids somewhere, all the while giving a girl who had her mother murder her father and almost cut her throat, a pep talk so good, the teenager lost her angst and understood completely her new role as the family stone. JJ, super therapist that "fixes" people.

Garcia. Everything about her.

And finally the computer. Seriously, NSA. You don't need to have all the people. Just get that computer. The gem of the week: the commuter not only founds out all the accidents that happened whenever, it also has newspaper articles about what each victim had to do to recover, the days the person spent in the hospital, rehab and the diagnosis (!). HIPPA people! The computer showed paper clips, articles. I live in a little piece of shitty town and there were pretty serious accidents in the highway very close to my house. I never hear about what happened to people afterwards, unless it is a trial. But no details about the victims unless it is to say they died.

[Old Dog]

I'd be interested to see the results if McCatry gets bored and does some timing analysis for this episode as well. I bet the unsub gets an even bigger share of the episode and Reid a lot less than the 214 words he had last time! I would look at it myself but I don't think I could sit through it again for a while.

[MCatry]

I will time the scenes. It is the only way I can 'watch' (more like 'stand') the episode, although with the previous comments it doesn't look like a task I will be looking forward. Maybe I could try to catch a good screencap of Reid and Morgan, like a proof they've been there... These two are the only ones who have never missed one single episode, even despite their respective accidents, and even though they (specially Reid) are just shadows nowadays...

I will post the results probably in around ten or so hours.

Prepare to be amazed! (Well, not really, right? More of the same old stuff... Unsub... Unsub... JJ.. Unsub... Garcia and laptop... Wheels up in 30.... Unsub, break, unsub,.., oh! I know that actress! ...isn't that an awful shirt?... JJ... Kate.., unsub.., unsub....zzz.... Shut. It is over already? When did I fell sleep?!?!)

[zannej]

Daniel, interesting points. I will point out that these episodes are filmed about a month before they air, so it was nowhere near Thanksgiving time. IIRC, Matthew was filming himself and a friend in giant pumpkin suits in his backyard and seemed to have a lot of free time. I don't know if that was in his contract or if they just didn't have much work for him. He was done with most of his filming of official side projects before filming of CM began, although he did go to some film festivals to promote them. That was months ago though.

 

As for the 911 call, there was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it line where they claimed that they were very busy that night and nobody bothered to go check on the 911 hangup from the house. Granted, I can believe that would happen in my town-- hell, a guy died a few months back because the paramedics took over 45 minutes to respond to a call for a heart attack when the patient was 5 minutes away (he had collapsed on the floor and his family couldn't lift him). 

 

I do wish they would return to at least some semblance of realism in terms of what Garcia could find on her computer. Being able to find everything so easily is just a quick-fix and I think it is lazy. I want to see them find a way that the BAU would realistically be able to look at to narrow down the suspect pool.

 

At least this time we didn't get multiple unsubs.

 

On the car crash thing, for a brief moment I thought it was going to turn out that nobody was really at fault for the accident and that it was a defect in the car that caused the steering to cut out and the airbags to not deploy (which is how the former mayor of my town died).

 

Someone on another forum pointed out something that I *did* actually like about this episode: Rossi confronting Joy and bringing her coffee when he realized he was being followed. I also liked that he was concerned enough that he was asking Garcia to look in to whoever was following him. I liked that he was observant enough to recognize that he was being followed/stalked and that he was concerned.

 

I really do think that if the daughter had been part of the case and it had tied in somehow so it wouldn't have been two different stories going on, that it might have worked better. They could have cut out the horrible flashback scenes and had more time to focus on profiling.

 

The thing that gets me is that I see that JSB has potential. She has potential for being able to tell interesting and emotionally engaging stories, but she needs to focus more on the intellectual aspects as well. She's big on shock value, but she has toned it down a bit (and I think that is one area where she listened to the fans-- at least in the gore department), but not so much on the profiling and police work.

Edited November 27, 2014 by zannej

[joelene]

How dumb was the husband calling the police RIGHT THIS SECOND when his hysterical impulsive death machine of a wife is yelling for him not to.

It takes Garcia's computer half a second to crosscheck ten different things and Garcia another half a second to check and read it out. The computer needs to be promoted to opening credits status or sue.

How do all these shit episodes have an average rating of over 8.0 on IMDb? I wanna meet these voters and punch them in the face.

[Danielg342]

Thank you, zannej. You raise some good points yourself.

Regarding the 911 call...must have missed that line, so thanks for clarifying. Of course, I don't think it makes the boss' killing any more believable- it essentially meant that her entire plan revolved around luck, and for a killer that is (I presume) as smart as she is, that seems like a massive oversight. Then again, she was massively remorseful so I suppose she could have dialed 911 without thinking but why it never clicked for her to just get out of the house (and not go through her other routines) I don't understand.

Good point about the coffee...I was going to mention it myself but my post was already too long :p. It was a nice gesture by Rossi, whose “profile” of his stalker was maybe the one well written part in the entire episode, and I think it embodies who he is. Of all the people who'd best understand “keep your enemies closer” it's him.

Lastly- another point I thought of. The killer was found because Garcia happened to find out she Googled the residence of the Bensons. First of all, I wonder if that's even possible (Garcia can quickly get into my computer and see what I physically type as I do it? Little too convenient if you ask me). More importantly though is why the killer was using her regular phone to begin with- whatever happened to the UnSubs who had burner phones? If the killer knew- supposedly- so much about forensics, why didn't think to get a burner?

Remind me to never move to the CM World...their policemen suck.

[JMO]

Failed the Reid-meter, so I've just watched it now. 

 

Things I don't understand:

• Why this was an FBI case, let alone a BAU case, from the beginning.
• Why there did not seem to be any police involved.
• Why they were running the case from the busy, noisy bullpen.  Did they get kicked out of the round table room?
• How Morgan leapt to the 'institutionalized' conclusion, let alone the 'recently released'.
• Why Reid reminds me of Professor Irwin Corey.  Never mind.  I do understand that.
• Why anyone should believe that Garcia is able to 'recover' information that simply wouldn't exist at all.  Ignore the privacy concerns, I'm sure she can get around that.  But the information just wouldn't be there.
• How a secure building of the FBI managed to admit an uncredentialed civilian.

 

 

Of course, I need to look for the positive as well---otherwise I'd have to give the show up altogether.  So I will say that I did see profiling, in that they put some pieces together to decide their unsub had a particular disorder, what might have led to it, and how she might behave.

 

As much as I like the character of Rossi, I waver on how much I enjoy how JM plays him. I think he's great in the casual scenes, but often stilted in the more heavily dramatic scenes, to the point where I can recite his line with him, with the exact cadence and inflection, because it is so predictable. But, in this episode, I thought he was GREAT!  His performance had depth, and nuance, and variability, and emotional resonance.  So, kudos to Joe Mantegna!

 

I have mixed feelings on it being Rossi who talked down the unsub.  It would have been a natural for Reid, and it would have given MGG something to do.  But I like to think that Rossi, having had a good experience with it a few episodes ago, decided he wanted another taste. 

 

Overall---not the worst episode, but only by a hair, and only because I like Rossi.'

 

And, speaking of hair------a large part of me wishes they would kill Reid off, so I could properly mourn him.  Because his 'death-by-a-thousand-disappearances' is killing me.

 

 

 

[MCatry]

Well, I'm done.

I heard such a big load of nonsense this episode I just can't believe it was indeed a CM episode.

 

Regarding screentime, Rossi was the winner this time, with 20 minutes and 49 seconds, followed by the unsub time with 19 minutes and 24 seconds.

Then in third place comes Hotch, with 10 minutes and 18 seconds.

After that we have the solid pack of "must have" nowadays>

Kate, with 8 minutes and 48 seconds

JJ, with 6 minutes and 44 seconds

Garcia, with 6 minutes and 40 seconds

 

Then, the losers of this week>

Morgan, with 5 minutes and 32 seconds 

Reid, with 4 minutes and 38 seconds

 

For the record, Reid had again 12 lines, but this time his contribution consisted in 204 words.

 

Considering the amount of nonsense this episode contained in its 40 minutes and 58 seconds (counting out the titles), I must say I am glad Reid was not there much, so I won't feel any remorse at not watching this one, ever.

 

Right now I am sorely disappointed with this show.  

[Danielg342]

Well, I'm done.

I heard such a big load of nonsense this episode I just can't believe it was indeed a CM episode.

Regarding screentime, Rossi was the winner this time, with 20 minutes and 49 seconds, followed by the unsub time with 19 minutes and 24 seconds.

Then in third place comes Hotch, with 10 minutes and 18 seconds.

After that we have the solid pack of "must have" nowadays>

Kate, with 8 minutes and 48 seconds

JJ, with 6 minutes and 44 seconds

Garcia, with 6 minutes and 40 seconds

Then, the losers of this week>

Morgan, with 5 minutes and 32 seconds

Reid, with 4 minutes and 38 seconds

For the record, Reid had again 12 lines, but this time his contribution consisted in 204 words.

Considering the amount of nonsense this episode contained in its 40 minutes and 58 seconds (counting out the titles), I must say I am glad Reid was not there much, so I won't feel any remorse at not watching this one, ever.

Well, I was right that Rossi had the only meaningful screentime and everyone else got shafted. I wonder- how many of Rossi's scenes involved his daughter? I don't recall him providing many clues.

Right now I am sorely disappointed with this show.

You and me both.

[Droogie]

Failed the Reid-meter, so I've just watched it now.

I have mixed feelings on it being Rossi who talked down the unsub. It would have been a natural for Reid, and it would have given MGG something to do. But I like to think that Rossi, having had a good experience with it a few episodes ago, decided he wanted another taste.

Overall---not the worst episode, but only by a hair, and only because I like Rossi.'

And, speaking of hair------a large part of me wishes they would kill Reid off, so I could properly mourn him. Because his 'death-by-a-thousand-disappearances' is killing me.

All of this. I tweeted to the Criminal Minds official Twitter but only bc it made me feel better, not because I expect any results. Matthew needs to leave.

I read on another forum that maybe he has said he is leaving and that's why he gets no lines, no character development. If he has said that, it is way on the down low. Meanwhile, Shemar told anyone who would listen that he is leaving and so far he has basically carried two episodes this season, plus he is always on screen. So that excuse does not hold water.

Edited November 28, 2014 by Droogie

[zannej]

Just out of curiosity, how many minutes of screentime did Rossi's daughter get?

[Old Dog]

Well, I'm done.

I heard such a big load of nonsense this episode I just can't believe it was indeed a CM episode.

 

Regarding screentime, Rossi was the winner this time, with 20 minutes and 49 seconds, followed by the unsub time with 19 minutes and 24 seconds.

Then in third place comes Hotch, with 10 minutes and 18 seconds.

After that we have the solid pack of "must have" nowadays>

Kate, with 8 minutes and 48 seconds

JJ, with 6 minutes and 44 seconds

Garcia, with 6 minutes and 40 seconds

 

Then, the losers of this week>

Morgan, with 5 minutes and 32 seconds 

Reid, with 4 minutes and 38 seconds

 

For the record, Reid had again 12 lines, but this time his contribution consisted in 204 words.

 

Considering the amount of nonsense this episode contained in its 40 minutes and 58 seconds (counting out the titles), I must say I am glad Reid was not there much, so I won't feel any remorse at not watching this one, ever.

 

Right now I am sorely disappointed with this show.  

Thanks for doing that MCatry. As I suspected. I'm with you on this - I am only still in for Reid and he is disappearing before our eyes.

How do all these shit episodes have an average rating of over 8.0 on IMDb? I wanna meet these voters and punch them in the face.

You and me both! I gave it a 3/10 over there and cannot say how much I hate those who blindly give it a 10/10 because they like Garcia's clothes or JJ's hair!

[alexvillage]

Picking up on a post above

We have listed all the bad in the episode

I am now going to list the good

 

….

[Kelda Feegle]

some really good points have been raised

now for my two bits ... a senior, high profile FBI agent is being followed and when he tells another agent (Kate I'm looking at you) it is brushed of with a haha maybe you have a fan? Seriously? I would think that such a scenario would call for a far greater reaction on the agencies part and some serious concern (and not just a GarciaGoogle)

 

secondly, and I know this might be a bit nitpicky but it really annoyed me, daughter has her ticket, is advised the door is closing - so presumably everyone else is boarded, and yet Rossi has time to go and get a ticket and screened and join her on the flight? not happening in any airport I have ever been in!

[ForeverAlone]

This was one of those episodes that I like the IDEA of in terms of unsub and motivation, but I didn't like the execution. I did like the fact that the team did talk a lot about the crime amongst themselves. However, like most of Janine's episodes, we saw way too much unsub from the very first scene. Again, it would be more interesting to see the team deduce that and THEN see the unsub. Hell, my mother who is only a very casual Criminal Minds fan, also felt the same way about seeing the criminal from the get go and not liking it. I can't think of other crime shows that show the unsub right off the bat. They always focus more on the main characters and leave the unsub reveal to the very end, most of the time anyway. It doesn't add anything to the story in my opinion  and it sort of renders the profile redundant for the viewing audience, because we have already seen more than the team knows. Also, and other people have remarked on this for previous episodes but it was especially annoying for me this time, but the absolute darkness of many of the scenes really detracts from enjoying the story.

 

As for the Rossi subplot, while I didn't HATE it, I personally am not a fan of sentimental storytelling, so I was just squirming when Rossi started crying at the end of the episode. I didn't really buy that Rossi would meet, marry and divorce a woman all within the space of three months, but that is about the only plausible explanation for why his second wife wouldn't tell him she was pregnant, since he left her and all that. So whatever. I didn't love it, but I am not going to dwell too much on it.

 

Some notes:

1. Seriously, why does CBS pay Matthew well into the six figures for episodes, when he is basically a non factor this season? It's becoming quite ridiculous at how ignored Reid is.

 

2. Does nobody lock their doors and windows anymore? It was amazing to me how the unsub was basically able to get into their homes. I don't buy that silly aside from Morgan that because she worked with doors and windows, that is how she was getting into their homes. Just because you work in some sort of design career, that doesn't mean you can pick locks or break into windows. There wasn't any signs of forced entry at any of the scenes, so one has to presume everybody was leaving doors unlocked.

 

3. I hope Rossi called Hotch to come pick up the government vehicle he lent him so it's not just sitting at the airport. 

[DrLar]

3. Indeed, must have left the keys at the airport counter, and what about the police that was stopping Rossi for speeding, must have flashed his badge, also won't the police recognize FBI vehicles just by looking at the plates or some marker?

 

4. I think the show's telling us Rossi is the Gibbs of this show, Giibbs also with multiple divorces but no offspring (except some son that died too quickly), so they needed Rossi to have one?

 

5. Yeah his son-in-law had to be Italian..

[normasm]

I didn't get if they said wife #2 is still living. Did they?

[alexvillage]

 

1. Seriously, why does CBS pay Matthew well into the six figures for episodes, when he is basically a non factor this season? It's becoming quite ridiculous at how ignored Reid is.

I understand and sympathize with the frustration but if he is making all this money and not having to be a full participant of the shitty episodes we have been seeing, I think he is better off. Hopefully he has some better plans to satisfy him artistically (assuming he does enjoy acting) while keeping the bank accounts full

[normasm]

Yeah. I've had some jobs that were all about the paycheck, at least eventually. I hope if Matthew is in the situation where his eye is on the door, for whatever reason, I hope he knows his real fans want him to be doing stuff he wants to do, even if the pay isn't in the millions. If he can't "be" Reid on this show anymore, I hope he skates and takes his residuals with him. His fans will follow.

[The Wild Sow]

 

I didn't get if they said wife #2 is still living. Did they?

Yes, still in Paris.  The daughter (whose name escapes me at this time!) told Rossi that her stepfather spilled the beans on his deathbed.

[normasm]

Joy. Her name. Thanks for explaining about the stepfather, I didn't recall.

[missmycat]

Well this fact was bought up by one of the CMRT people who is as perplexed as we are with the way Reid is being ignored. And that is if Matthew indeed signed a standard contract, which would have been one year with an option for a second year, they could totally see CBS exercising their  option.

 

In other words even if Matthew wanted to walk away due to the shitty way the show has been treating him. CBS might not give him that option.

Edited November 29, 2014 by missmycat

[normasm]

They did it to Paget.

[missmycat]

Okay I totally called it about Rossi being a grandpa even before the stupid episode aired.

It wasn't that hard to do since EM is so damn predictable.We all know how enamored she is with her mother characters.

Let's face it had either Elle or Emily stayed Messer would have found a way to make them mothers.

 

So I'm thinking perhaps Matthew needs to request that Reid be allowed to go through a sex change operation and adopt a kid.Maybe than Erica Messer would finally see to it that the character starts getting some decent screen time/focus.

Edited November 29, 2014 by missmycat

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Let's face it had either Elle or Emily stayed Messer would have found a way to make them mother.

 

And she did make Alex one just before kicking her out the door.

[normasm]

Oh, good one CoStar!

[zannej]

DrLar, I don't remember Rossi being pulled over for speeding. I remember him turning on the lights/sirens in the vehicle he was driving though. That whole driving scene seemed like an excuse to play the song that Joe's daughter sang. It wasn't anything great, but it wasn't horrible. I just don't think it was the right time and the scene dragged on. I get that Joe is proud of his daughter, and that is very sweet, but I don't think they should construct scenes just to play a song like that. I felt the same way about the song Thomas' son wrote-- it didn't need to be on that long.

 

As for Matthew, I admit I still hold out hope that Reid will get *something* even though I know its probably futile. I just can't figure out if his lack of involvement is because he wants it that way, or because they just aren't giving him anything. 

[normasm]

Zannej, I just can't imagine he wants it that way, he likes to work, he likes to stay busy. Unless he's doing something while in his trailer like writing or drawing (the latter he probably would have shared), I would think he'd be going batty, especially with this episode where he did almost nothing. And i know I've said that before, but they seem to pull the bar ever lower each week. "Amelia Porter" is by Sharon, and we have seen several "in character" bts photos of MGG, so I hope that means he'll get some story and some screen time. Then the next week is JJ's mess, so I don't expect much there.

[Knittzu]

I'm way late on this week's episode because I had house guests. Little did I know the utter boredom and irritation they were sparing me from!

 

What's that I'm doing? Oh, deleting this episode without watching it.

 

Good call. It was probably the worst episode of the season, including the awful JJ-centric mess. At least the JJ-centered episodes infuriate me to the point where I'm not nodding off with boredom.

 

I deeply dislike the actress who played the unsub. Always have.

 

Same here. I dislike her even more now that she reminds me of an aging Lena Dunham.

 

Why there did not seem to be any police involved.

 

At this point I'm kind of glad that they're no longer even pretending that the BAU is a resource for the local police. In fact I'd be fine if they dispensed silly "delivering the profile" scene and just went straight to door-kicking, gun shooting, JJ taking over, etc. This is no longer a show about criminal profiling, so why bother? I'd rather they all just communed around Garcia's magic computer, since it is the true star of this show.

 

Does nobody lock their doors and windows anymore? It was amazing to me how the unsub was basically able to get into their homes.

Right?? Especially considering that in this stupid universe there are approximately 1000 times as many psycho killers as there are in our world. FFS, citizens of the CM world! If I lived where you do my house would be a fortress. Every window would be secured with iron bars. My pets would be armored pit bulls, and I'd have my husband dig a ten-foot-deep moat around our house while I guarded him with a machine gun.

 

For the record, Reid had again 12 lines, but this time his contribution consisted in 204 words.

My guess was ten lines. *sigh* Why is he even on this stupid show anymore? Why can't he move on, so I can move on? He's so amazingly talented and he should be making the most of these years in his career, not stagnating in this mess.