Jennifer Jareau: Pennsylvania Petite

[normasm]

And she wears them well.

[Wilowy]

Ugh. I'm sorry, but AJ's new "Home and Family" appearance?

 

"Ooh, AJ's son is also her son on the showwww!" (cue excited pandering)

 

Exactly who are they targeting? WHO doesn't fucking know this? And if you don't know this, you probably don't watch or give a shit. I hate how CM does this. Panders to the first-year fans like they haven't been on the air for an entire decade. None of the other shows I've ever been a fan of do this. They expect you to keep up.

 

Bleah.

[kdm07]

Interesting views in this thread. As a long time viewer of CM, I never once entertained the thought of JJ/Reid. Now that could be because I just don't see any of the team dating each other and I've missed all the cues but I just don't see how their relationship could be anything but platonic. However, I don't think I'll ever buy that JJ is in love with Will and would've preferred her to be paired up with someone else.

 

Also, I never quite understood the fandom's resentment of JJ. Every single member of the team has traits that make you shake your head countless times but for some reason, JJ seems to get the majority of ire. Do I think that the whole contract situation with CBS/AJ messed up the character growth or timeline of JJ? Yes but I don't buy into the theory of "oh they've made her into Super!JJ" either.

 

I do acknowledge my thoughts could make me into my own little party of one here :)

[Wilowy]

I've always sensed an overt hostility towards JJ by some that frankly, I don't get. She's not a bitch (except to Reid for s7 and I screamed about that) any more, she's not a horrible person... she's just a career FBI agent trying to have a life. I like both JJ 1.0 and 2.0 and hope she continues what they started last year, in finally moving forward with the integration of those two sides of her personality.

 

kdm07, I'm glad you like her too, although we part ways on the 'ship' topic. I LOVE her with Reid, and write about them almost exclusively. ;P 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I'm wondering what's going to happen this season, if JJ will end up taking a back seat to Kate and her awful hair. We've seen the evidence of what Erica does when she decides she really likes a character, and Kate was a bit everywhere in the premiere. Will JJ's apparent status as the Golden Girl be not so obvious now?

[Wilowy]

I still think JJ's the female lead, but that may change as Kate hits her stride. I kind of hope she takes a while to do it, I like that she has a learning curve and isn't all perfect out of the gate. 

[amensisterfriend]

Much to my relief, I actually think JJ seemed a little softer and warmer last night---not her look, but her mannerisms. I'm hopeful that they may be revisiting JJ's empathy and calmness as strengths (as opposed to making her so hardened and robot-ninja-esque), and I think it could be a really nice contrast to what seems like a more reactive and snarky Kate Callahan. I actually liked when the two women were bonding on the plane ride home. 

Edited October 2, 2014 by amensisterfriend

[missmycat]

Ugh. I'm sorry, but AJ's new "Home and Family" appearance?

 

"Ooh, AJ's son is also her son on the showwww!" (cue excited pandering)

 

Exactly who are they targeting? WHO doesn't fucking know this? And if you don't know this, you probably don't watch or give a shit. I hate how CM does this. Panders to the first-year fans like they haven't been on the air for an entire decade. None of the other shows I've ever been a fan of do this. They expect you to keep up.

 

Bleah.

Probably the same Einsteins who have not yet realized even after 2 seasons that Paget Brewster left on her own,so they continue to demand that she'd be bought back.

[zannej]

I actually adored the original JJ. She was sassy, strong, vulnerable, and human. She had flaws. She had fears. She was affected by the job, but she still persevered and was able to manipulate the press. She had this warmth and gentleness without being wibbly or wishy washy. The new JJ just stretches beyond believable character development and no longer seems human. Her attempts at warmth most of the time seem insincere (and I don't know if its the acting or the directing or the way its written). She wasn't seeming so bad in the premiere until she just laughed off the thing about being tortured. Something about that bugged me-- although I do know that humor is a classic coping mechanism-- I just felt it was too flippant.

 

That said, I'd like to see her get a little balanced out with Kate and have a good rapport with her. She never seemed to hit it off well with Elle, but she and Emily had a genuine seeming friendship.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

That said, I'd like to see her get a little balanced out with Kate and have a good rapport with her. She never seemed to hit it off well with Elle, but she and Emily had a genuine seeming friendship.

 

I agree that JJ and Emily had a real friendship. In Elle's defense, though, I watched their first meeting recently on ION, and JJ more or less said "Hey, how're you doing, look at this stuff, if you need anything I'll be over there, k thx bye." That's an exaggeration, mind you, but it wasn't a great first impression and they never really interacted much after that.

[Wilowy]

That was the first time anyone ever saw JJ, including Reid (Compulsion). She was friendly, but damn busy. I thought it was a swell introduction to her character, and I really liked how she said "My door is always open, pretty much because I'm never there." But she said it with a smile. :)

[zannej]

I know I've heard rumors that AJ and Lola didn't really get along well (I don't think they fought, but maybe they just didn't warm to one another), so I wonder if that had more to do with it than anything. It actually would have been interesting to see Elle and JJ interact more. They were such different characters with different backgrounds. There was some potential for some interesting dynamics if the two of them teamed up.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

So In The Blood is running on ION right now, and I'm sitting here blinking because there was a vibe between JJ and Cruz that I hadn't noticed before. They were finishing up a run, and she says, "We really shouldn't be meeting this way" or something similar, and he answers, "Yeah, I know." They go offscreen together talking about loading up on carbs, and JJ says, "Doughnuts?" Call me Captain Subtext, but there seemed to be a little flirty thing going on there.

[Wilowy]

They wanted to float that, knowing that's where our heads would go, but at the same time Erica said "JJ would never have an affair." Personally, I don't mind red herrings, but I don't like to feel fucked with. 

 

Also if JJ were to have an affair it better be with Reid. ;)

[normasm]

Just something that crosses my mind every time i see Birthright: just why is JJ so very disturbed by this particular case? When she is researching and vetting it, she looks almost like she's remembering something, or something is so familiar it totally freaks her out. She presents the case to the team in her usual somber manner (paying attention, Miss Penelope?), but we see whenever she turns away how unusually deeply affected she is by this case.

 

I remember the first time i watched it, i thought, she knows one of those girls. No. Then, I thought, she looks like one of them. No. She remembers the old case?

 

Did I miss something? Did they ever explain why this case would turn her inside out?

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Wasn't that the episode where Hotch tells JJ that the cases that come across her desk often involve women she resembles as victims?

[normasm]

No, Costar, I can't swear, but I think that's another one. Maybe some of you know better than i.

[Old Dog]

That's the one where the murders are the same as 25 years ago isn't it? I thought that was where JJ identified with the victims and Hotch said it was because the majority of victims were females like her. It always makes me mad when the feminist fans complain that the victims are always youngish women when that's just following real life and it is what actually happens. JJ was pretty good in that episode - vulnerable. Good times.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Yeah, Old Dog, it was the one where the UnSub turns out to be the son of the original killer.

[normasm]

OK, I stand corrected. Maybe it just was so unusual for them to focus on her reaction, but yeah, it makes sense that they might use the JJ character, the one who chooses most of the cases, to showcase the facts; i.e., that victims are very rarely anything but female, that it's not some prejudice of the show, or obsession (as MP might purport). That was a long sentence.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

*hands normasm a brownie* :-D

[Old Dog]

I've never understood those people on Tumblr and FB who complain that CM's victims are mostly young females and the unsubs are mostly white males because this is the reality and what I loved about the show was that at its core it was true to real life.

[ForeverAlone]

Yeah, me too. For serial killers, you have roughly three victim pools to choose from: women, men and children. I will assume that those who complain about the number of female victims aren't wanting more child victims, so they must want more male victims. However the vast majority of serial killers don't target men, and I bet there is a greater percentage of male victims on the show than there is in reality.

[normasm]

And a much greater percentage of female serial killers than in reality. But maybe that's another thread.

[zannej]

I need to find the link again, but IIRC, the most prolific serial killers in recorded history were actually hispanic-- some of them with body counts up to 400 or so. But that was in other countries. In the US, the serial killers tend to be white males.

 

I think JJ was actually tolerable in last night's episode.

[JMO]

Moving this over from the 'X' thread, because I think I'm sufficiently off the 'X' topic.

 

I guess I understand why people are still venting....but I actually still like JJ, because I remember her original incarnation, and see signs of that persona now and then.  The writers have toned her down quite a bit so far this season, for which I'm grateful, and I really do think there's a possibility that Kate's personality will help bring back more of the original JJ.  We haven't seen Kate in true take-down mode yet, but I'm hoping she will prove that one can be both feminine and strong at the same time. Then maybe the writers will feel freer to write JJ the same way.

 

I was as dissatisfied as anyone with the writing changes to the returned character of JJ. It certainly felt like the writers were turning a deaf ear to those concerns over the past two years.  But, now that they may be paying attention, I think it's important to reinforce them in making the change.  I don't want her to fade into the background.  I want to see the character that won me over when the show was in its youth. 

 

I still think it's possible.  I've seen it happen in too many real people to doubt it can happen in a fictional character.  It just takes desire, experience, and a deft hand.

 

 

 

[Old Dog]

I certainly agree that this season so far they have toned her right down and there have been glimpses of her former self. It's just a shame that they have so damaged the character for me that even the sight of her flawless hair annoys me at the moment! (does JJ have a personal stylist in kevlar following her around the morgues and interview rooms?). I'm also not sure there is a "deft hand" to reel her back in - and don't forget we have to endure the PTSD episode they are cobbling together to satisfy the tweenies. I have no hope for that at all.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I still think it's possible.  I've seen it happen in too many real people to doubt it can happen in a fictional character.  It just takes desire, experience, and a deft hand.

 

Just My Opinion, I would love to think that it's possible to return JJ to her original iteration, where she wasn't running around acting like she'd just done a workout session with Hans and Franz, but like Old Dog I'm not sure it isn't too late. She could be eating crackers or something, and I'd think, God, would you stop chewing so loudly? Even now I don't hate her, but I don't think the extreme changes in her character did her any favors, as we've seen from the backlash. If the writers are finally listening to the "Enough, already!", then good on them. Perhaps if Messer's (yes, that again) fangirling hadn't been so extreme, people would stop venting. IMO, it isn't a chicken-and-the-egg situation, because to me at least it's pretty clear which came first.

[JMO]

To each his (or her) own, I guess.  If you really can't stomach the character any more, no matter what, then that's that.

 

Me?  I'm a believer in rewarding positive behaviors.  If there's no reward, the behaviors may extinguish.  Which means that, for as long as JJ is viewed as an irredeemable character, no matter what the writers do, there's no point in them trying to amend things.  But I also don't see them doing away with her altogether.  So I will root for 'old and improved'.

[Old Dog]

I hope you are right JMO! I will try to keep an open mind but we have had 3 seasons of her getting worse so they have a long way to go to redeem her.

[amensisterfriend]

What's really astounding about the heavy amount of screentime for JJ these past few seasons is that I still don't feel ANY better able to describe her personality (other than the fact that she doesn't seem to have one!), interests, fears, dreams, etc. than I was nine long seasons ago. JJ was always really dull to me---I blame both the writing and the charisma-deficient actress---so I might not have even minded this increased focus on JJ if it had served to make the character even a little more layered and interesting. Instead, she actually seems more flat and generic to me than ever before. How is that even possible?! 

[Knittzu]

I might not have even minded this increased focus on JJ if it had served to make the character even a little more layered and interesting. Instead, she actually seems more flat and generic to me than ever before.

 

 

I think it's even worse than that. IMO, the increased screen time they give her actually undermines their goal of making her the sweetest, most caring, most compassionate Mary Sue who ever Sued. For example, if they had left out the "JJ and Kate bully a mentally ill woman during an interrogation" scene, I would have at least attempted to buy into the final bit where poor poor JJ is distraught because a few words from her golden lips don't instantly cure a serious psychiatric disorder. But that interrogation scene was so incredibly ugly that my mouth was literally hanging open when they threw things into reverse at the end and tried to tell us how empathetic JJ is. 

 

That's one hell of a difficult pill to swallow when I had just finished watching a scene where JJ seemed to take great pleasure in needling her, triggering her disorder, etc. Watch the expression on JJ's face while she's smugly asking her questions. She's entirely pleased with herself during that encounter. 

[alexvillage]

 

I think it's even worse than that. IMO, the increased screen time they give her actually undermines their goal of making her the sweetest, most caring, most compassionate Mary Sue who ever Sued.

Plus it gives more screen time for the actress to show how untalented (if I am being polite) or straight up terrible actress (because I don't want to be polite) she is.

 

And "Mary Sue who ever Sued" is golden!

[normasm]

For example, if they had left out the "JJ and Kate bully a mentally ill woman during an interrogation" scene, I would have at least attempted to buy into the final bit where poor poor JJ is distraught because a few words from her golden lips don't instantly cure a serious psychiatric disorder. But that interrogation scene was so incredibly ugly that my mouth was literally hanging open when they threw things into reverse at the end and tried to tell us how empathetic JJ is. 

 

That's one hell of a difficult pill to swallow when I had just finished watching a scene where JJ seemed to take great pleasure in needling her, triggering her disorder, etc. Watch the expression on JJ's face while she's smugly asking her questions. She's entirely pleased with herself during that encounter. 

I'm quoting this because it needs to be quoted again and again...

Edited October 23, 2014 by normasm

[normasm]

You know, to your point, knittzu, I wonder if they intended the contrast between the JJ interview/distraught interviewee and the Hotch interview/made-to-realize-her-own-strength interviewee? Because the contrast is certainly there, eh? Hotch was empathetic, and let her go. She discovered her strength in the midst of her greatest weakness, and not only survived but got better. JJ was derisive and pushy, and triggered a response in the girl that made her feel like she betrayed someone. She then blamed JJ for making her life worse and she was right, in that what little strength she had found with the unsub (which actually came from within her) was made to look like stupidity and victimization.

 

I'll grant you, the black glove lady was not mentally ill; she was suffering from a skin disorder and her anxiety made things worse. The lover girl was disturbed and was swamped by her anxiety; i think her skin disorder was also real and also exacerbated by anxiety, but she was severely disturbed in addition, probably from being "handled" by people like JJ who only derided her and made her feel worse. Just my take.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

 JJ was always really dull to me---I blame both the writing and the charisma-deficient actress---so I might not have even minded this increased focus on JJ if it had served to make the character even a little more layered and interesting. Instead, she actually seems more flat and generic to me than ever before. How is that even possible?! 

 

 

That's one hell of a difficult pill to swallow when I had just finished watching a scene where JJ seemed to take great pleasure in needling her, triggering her disorder, etc. Watch the expression on JJ's face while she's smugly asking her questions. She's entirely pleased with herself during that encounter. 

 

I didn't know how to say this earlier without being wildly off-topic, but I'll take a shot at it now.

 

IMO, there's something very brittle about AJ Cook as an actress, for lack of a better word for it. It's as if she isn't entirely engaged with the material they've given her to perform, or as if she just isn't very talented, and after ten years I still can't figure out which one is the case. Before, when she wasn't so much in the spotlight, it was less noticeable, but now that she's constantly around it's as if a ten-thousand watt bulb is shining on that brittleness. And to a point, that can work. What Fresh Hell was on A & E this afternoon, and the scene where she gets snappish at that reporter after he asks about the body the authorities found that might be the daughter of the worried parents the team was dealing with is effective precisely because JJ was supposed to be cool and snappish. The guy was out of line and the parents, who were already distraught, got even more upset because they hadn't been informed yet.

 

But what doesn't work is when she's coming off like a playground bully with a woman who has at best a physical illness, and at worst a mental disorder. Not when I'm supposed to buy the idea that she's all warm and fuzzy. Kate backing her up doesn't exactly make me think well of her, either, but this is JJ's topic, so. I don't know if emotional warmth is something that can be "faked", as it were, and Tilda Swinton also has a level of brittleness to her acting, but Tilda is also legitimately talented, IMO. Regardless, I would think that after ten years, AJ would at least be able to make the effort.

Edited October 23, 2014 by Cobalt Stargazer

[alexvillage]

Cobalt Stargazer, I am with you.

I never liked the actress. I don't know what it is. I never saw any interview with her - and if there is something she said that can be considered "nice", maybe I should read - so I don't know anything about her. And the character matches my impression of the actress: the blonde beauty, perfect in every way. It is as if AJ Cook tries to hard to be always the most beautiful, the most popular and this spills over to her (bad)acting. 

I know she is the model of beauty (for TV), but I don't even think she is beautiful. All I see is superficiality and blandness. No sparkle, no personality.

Maybe if I knew that AJ Cook is (insert quality, as defined by my values, here) I could change my impression. Not about the acting, because I think this boat has sailed and it sunk. But she must have SOMETHING going on for her.

[normasm]

Ooh, Tilda Swinton, wow! She's amazing.

[kdm07]

Cobalt Stargazer, I am with you.

I never liked the actress. I don't know what it is. I never saw any interview with her - and if there is something she said that can be considered "nice", maybe I should read - so I don't know anything about her. And the character matches my impression of the actress: the blonde beauty, perfect in every way. It is as if AJ Cook tries to hard to be always the most beautiful, the most popular and this spills over to her (bad)acting. 

I know she is the model of beauty (for TV), but I don't even think she is beautiful. All I see is superficiality and blandness. No sparkle, no personality.

Maybe if I knew that AJ Cook is (insert quality, as defined by my values, here) I could change my impression. Not about the acting, because I think this boat has sailed and it sunk. But she must have SOMETHING going on for her.

As someone who has seen interviews of AJ Cook, I'll just say that you're way off base with this.

Edited October 24, 2014 by kdm07

[alexvillage]

 

As someone who has seen interviews of AJ Cook, I'll just say you're way off base with this.

As I said, it is my impression of her. I would read if you point me in the right direction and maybe my opinion will change. Until I read or see something, I only have my impression to go with

[JMO]

Alexvillage, I have to admit--- you've piqued my curiosity. If, as you say, you know nothing about the actress and have never seen nor read an interview with her, what is it that forms your impression of her as a person?

[alexvillage]

I think it is because she is so flat and the other things I saw her in - guest at some other show(s), don't remember which one(s) now - she  had the same inflection, same facial expression, same posture.

I do really think she sucks as an actress, as in really, really bad (for a main character). 

I saw some pictures of her, some behind the scenes and red carpet, maybe? And I thought she had what I call "bitchface" in all of them. 

I admit that this could be my own bias because I don't like her as an actor and I don't like the character (but she is not the only one that I would put in this category).

All I have seen from her, so far, feels "unpleasant" to me

[JMO]

Thanks for responding, Alexvillage.  I think it's fair game to criticize a performance, but I also think there are both helpful and unhelpful (which are usually also unkind) ways to do so.  These kinds of specifics from your last post: 

 

"I think it is because she is so flat and the other things I saw her in - guest at some other show(s), don't remember which one(s) now - she  had the same inflection, same facial expression, same posture."

 

would, I think, fall into the 'helpful' category, because they give real feedback, and something for the recipient to work with. 

 

It's completely expected that some will like a character, and how that character is written and/or portrayed, and some will not.  But I would caution against painting the actual actor/actress with the same brush, and especially without any real reason to do so. I think it's important for all of us on the site to remember that, while it's inherent to their jobs that their performances will be evaluated by people who don't know them, the same is not true of their personal lives. 

 

 

 

[alexvillage]

I usually don't really care about the personal lives of actors, unless it is something that affects me directly (good or bad). Then I pay attention. 

I also don't claim to judge people. We all do it, all the time. And unless I see something that soften her image (to me), that's how I see her. Not that it matters to anyone else other than me, or that I will dig for interviews that corroborate my views or not (I would read a "good" thing though, just because). I made an observation that it was not intended to change people's mind one way or the other, it was just as an aside to my disliking of her acting.

And by no means she is the only one. I feel the same about the actress who plays Garcia and the one who plays Morgan and (heresy! ;) ) a little bit like that about Matthew Gray Gubler (can't say he is too bad an actor, and really like quirky, nerdy, awkward Reid) 

[idiotwaltz]

 

IMO, there's something very brittle about AJ Cook as an actress, for lack of a better word for it. It's as if she isn't entirely engaged with the material they've given her to perform, or as if she just isn't very talented, and after ten years I still can't figure out which one is the case.

 

I've seen AJC in a couple of things (Dead Like Me, Final Destination 2, SVU, Higher Ground and obviously CM), and I can honestly say that Higher Ground is the only show where I thought she was a decent actress. She's actually really good in a couple of scenes. But she's pretty bland in everything else. 

 

I liked the first incarnation of JJ but I didn't think it was that challenging of a role to play, so I thought AJC carried it well enough. But Ninja!JJ is insufferable and I think it's both a combination of the writing and AJC starting to get lazy with her acting. Sometimes I get the impression that all of the actors have gotten lazy in their roles, because they've been doing it for ten years. 

 

Actually, in my point of view, I think having the baby ruined the character of JJ. (It is a truth universally acknowledged that babies ruin television.) Even as early as Season 4, JJ's storylines became all about BEING! A! MOTHER! Balancing work and family! Which, I get it, motherhood changes a person. Being a working mother is difficult. But jeezus, don't bore me with it, show! So I blame the baby, and I blame the writers, and I blame Erica Messer/AJ Cook for using the show to work out their working mommyhood woes. 

[normasm]

babies ruin television

I love this!!!! XD

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Actually, in my point of view, I think having the baby ruined the character of JJ. (It is a truth universally acknowledged that babies ruin television.)

 

Does that mean that the fact that Henry is played by AJ's real son made it doubly ruinous? :-P

[JMO]

Be nice to the babies---they're the ones who will be picking out your nursing homes!

 

Honestly, it's all cycle-of-life stuff, and I like that some of our team have growing family at home. 

 

I loved that episode where JJ brought Henry in to the BAU as the rest were returning from a case, to remind them that there's something besides darkness out there.  Even Morgan showed a soft side in that one.  Since then, apart from two unfortunate, glaring, exceptions (noted below), it's been a very minor side story in a few other episodes, including the Halloween dressing-up-like-his-favorite-profiler, which was, for me, worth putting up with the rest.

 

Maybe the reason it feels like it's been a constant harangue is because it was given such major emphasis in (the awful) 'Hit' and 'Run', which were, in my opinion, at least as bad as (the awful) '200'.  In '200', the pregnancy came and went so quickly, and without aftermath, that it was almost a non-event, so I found it hard to react to. 

 

I, for one, would love to see Henry again (provided the actor has grown into his role)----but I want to see him with his godfather.  Forget having him dress up like Reid---I want to see them trick-or-treating together!  Or doing pretty much anything else. 

 

[alexvillage]

 

I loved that episode where JJ brought Henry in to the BAU as the rest were returning from a case, to remind them that there's something besides darkness out there.  Even Morgan showed a soft side in that one.

THat was cute. There is one moment though that i cringe. When Morgan says he is smiling, immediately Emily and Garcia say in unison "gas!". Fine, maybe it is gas, but the scene, as write, is sexist. It made the WOMEN say that , as if every woman just *knows* things about children. 

[JMO]

 

Fine, maybe it is gas, but the scene, as write, is sexist. It made the WOMEN say that , as if every woman just *knows* things about children.

 

Well, this woman knows it's not gas.  It's angel dreams.