S10.E13: Nelson's Sparrow

[Droogie]

Clearly this is one reason the woman doesn't use Twitter.

[Danielg342]

Danielg, I'm glad you were able to enjoy some aspects of the episode, and sorry you didn't enjoy the rest.

I can agree with you that this particular unsub seemed a bit too pedestrian to have been able to take out the founder of the BAU. But I also think it made the whole thing more poignant. That the great Jason Gideon didn't go out in a blaze of glory, but simply died, alone, at the hands of someone who shouldn't have been able to kill him. It certainly created a powerful message for the rest of the team.

Sudden, unexpected deaths are often like that. But for a happenstance in one direction or the other, they wouldn't have occurred. It's what makes them so difficult to absorb, and what tempts the survivor to go through the 'shoulda, woulda, coulda' process.

If we'd had a long term or powerful nemesis killing Gideon, this would have been a very different episode. But I'm not sure it would have had the same emotional impact.

I don't mind that there was no blaze of glory or that Gideon fell to someone who should not have felled him- it's just that I don't buy this version of events. As I said before:

1) I don't see how the UnSub could feel threatened by Gideon- in fact, the two never had a connection except being at the same diners and that both were bird watchers. As far as we know, Donnie Warrick and Jason Gideon never actually met until Gideon's demise

2) Gideon, despite knowingly baiting the UnSub (showing up at the same diners as the UnSub is baiting him), took no precautions to ensure the UnSub would have a challenge killing him. Why would Gideon stay at his home, and if he had to stay at his home, why did he not think to not sit in front of windows and be extra careful leaving the house? I could buy that the female victim in the episode wouldn't know a threat when she saw one, but Gideon? Come on, hard to believe.

No, Gideon was felled because he decided to carry the Idiot Ball, and there's just no way I can accept that.

At the very least, this would have been far better if, during the course of the investigation, they find one thing the UnSub did that Gideon did not take into account. If the episode's message is that the BAU guys aren't perfect, there's really only two plausible scenarios- they're matched against someone who is more formidable than they are or they come across someone who outsmarts them in some way. Quite clearly, Warrick is supposed to be the latter. This was supposed to be the UnSub who "made" Gideon who he is- how could he not think of some way to make a move Gideon could not anticipate, or draw Gideon to make a fateful move?

The UnSub didn't need to be a different guy- they just needed to define him better, that's all.

[MCatry]

Well, I just finished watching this episode.

On the bright side:

I didn't press the FWD button at all (not once)

Finally we didn't have the same sequence (unsub-round table-plane-running in different directions-profile delivery-magic finding of address-Chasing unsub-shooting and running-back home in an airplane)

They all put their brains to good use (and finally action sequences were just left out)

Garcia was not annoying

Morgan finally noticed Reid (it wasn't great, but at least he talked to him)

Hotch and Rossi exchanges were really smooth.

The flashbacks were fine, with nice transitions.

Gubler was really moving. Too bad he is more interested in comedy: he has a natural talent for drama.

Hotch laughing.

The lights finally allowed me to see clearly what was going on most of the time.

The background music.

And I liked JJ (believe me, I am more shocked than you... I just wrote that!).

On the 'not-so-bright' side:

Super boring unsub. Also, trying to believe that he outsmarted the old Gideon in the end is just too difficult.

Gideon showing up at that dinner, knowing he would be a visible target there, was out of character, and unfortunately that was key for his killing.

Annoying victim.

And I didn't like Rossi forcing the unsub hand in order to kill him. I understand him in the context of both the situation and the character upbringing, but I don't like the grey area in which Rossi may be considered a murdered, since he obviously had the psychological control of what was going on there.

On the weird side:

So Gideon was just a few minutes of Stephen and Reid, and yet he was not in touch with any of them? It reminds me of William Reid...

The car issue... I remember that Reid mentioned something about a Prius to JJ and Blake back in season nine, but I didn't know he owned that car. Nevertheless, and although I appreciate the detail of using the old vehicle, it didn't make much sense.

I though Gubler had put quite a few pounds, but apparently he still is able to get himself in clothes he used to use in the show five years ago. I wish I could say the same...

[Droogie]

But I wonder if I something was happening in Gideon's backstory that we just didn't know. Could it be he was lonely and depressed and just didn't care anymore? Like maybe in the last 8 years, he really hadn't recovered from what made him leave the BAU in the first place, and was out of sorts and reckless and made poor decisions? When Reid found his note back when Gideon left, the cabin was empty. Maybe Gideon slowly reclaimed the cabin out of nostalgia but never reactivated his security cameras -- never resumed the level of vigilance that he should have. But when push came to shove, and he knew the UnSub had him, he shot off the gun to the bird picture, to give a clue to those he just knew would come to investigate -- perhaps a message to Reid. And to Rossi. Like, "Oops. I really screwed up, and I am going to die. Here, solve it."

That was my take.

Edited January 30, 2015 by Droogie

[Danielg342]

You know how else they could have done this? With Gideon committing suicide because he realized he just couldn't solve the case. Cruel, but I think it befits his character- and at least is more plausible than the UnSub getting the drop on him.

But I wonder if I something was happening in Gideon's backstory that we just didn't know. Could it be he was lonely and depressed and just didn't care anymore? Like maybe in the last 8 years, he really hadn't recovered from what made him leave the BAU in the first place, and was out of sorts and reckless and made poor decisions? When Reid found his note back when Gideon left, the cabin was empty. Maybe Gideon slowly reclaimed the cabin out of nostalgia but never reactivated his security cameras -- never resumed the level of vigilance that he should have. But when push came to shove, and he knew the UnSub had him, he shot off the gun to the bird picture, to give a clue to those he just knew would come to investigate -- perhaps a message to Reid. And to Rossi. Like, "Oops. I really screwed up, and I am going to die. Here, solve it."

That was my take.

If the show wanted me to think Gideon got sloppy, then they should have adequately shown that in the episode- not hope that I'd think that. I can't picture a situation I'd never know to look for.

[ForeverAlone]

Reid doesn't have a Prius, or at least he didn't have one during the season nine premiere. In his first scene, he was talking to JJ and telling her that he was spending his evening determining how he could corner it. Then JJ said that he didn't even have a hybrid, and Reid agreed, but he wanted to know the answer anyway. I can't recall any other mention of Prius or Reid buying a car after that. 

[Droogie]

If the show wanted me to think Gideon got sloppy, then they should have adequately shown that in the episode- not hope that I'd think that. I can't picture a situation I'd never know to look for.

I hear you.

The way the episode was brilliantly written (to me), I genuinely think the purpose was for the fans to deduce for themselves why Gideon made the choices he did. And that, in my opinion, is the brilliance. Patinkin left the show, true, but he also couldn't resist taking stabs at it publicly. To depict his demise as they did puts a period on the end of the sentence. "He is GONE, people. Here's what happened. WHY do you think it got to this point?" The debate it is sparking is part of what makes it so brilliant.

Edited to add: I obviously love the word "brilliant" and all its derivatives.

Edited January 30, 2015 by Droogie

[ForeverAlone]

Trying to guess what present day was up to, but NOT show Gideon in any way, was one of the things that hamstrung this episode. I mean, yeah okay, if there was some indication that Gideon had lost it and gotten sloppy, or if we had actually seen HOW the unsub was able to kill Gideon, it might have been more believable. But since they had to do this episode without Mandy, there was no way they could show what present day Gideon was up to. So without that, I'm not going to give the writers the benefit of the doubt and do all the work for them. Gideon left on a hopeful note, wanting to find his new happy ending, and nothing depicted in this episode indicated that Gideon had lost his professional profiling ability. 

[missmycat]

So you guys know how they will post something on CM's official FB page informing fans that CM will be starting in about 10 minutes and than afterwards post something about the episode.

 

And I'm sure we remember how the JJ's PTSD episode went from a little over 41,000 likes down to just a little over 24,000 likes after people had seen the episode 

Rossi's episode the one JM directed went from over 26,000 likes to over 45,000 like after that episode was shown.

And then we have this episode which had less than 20,000 likes on CM's FB page before the episode,afterwards a little over 50,000 so far. 

 

And since many of us believe that the CBS/CM people pay attention to what is going on with CM's social media, I do hope they are making note of this fact.

Edited January 30, 2015 by missmycat

[Danielg342]

Trying to guess what present day was up to, but NOT show Gideon in any way, was one of the things that hamstrung this episode. I mean, yeah okay, if there was some indication that Gideon had lost it and gotten sloppy, or if we had actually seen HOW the unsub was able to kill Gideon, it might have been more believable. But since they had to do this episode without Mandy, there was no way they could show what present day Gideon was up to. So without that, I'm not going to give the writers the benefit of the doubt and do all the work for them. Gideon left on a hopeful note, wanting to find his new happy ending, and nothing depicted in this episode indicated that Gideon had lost his professional profiling ability.

It's probably why I think suicide might have been the better option- it doesn't require "Super UnSub". We could have learned Gideon's stalking led to a restraining order and later a conviction, and Gideon killed himself before having to go to jail.

[Droogie]

I agree that suicide could've been an option. It would've been even more heartbreaking -- but I'm really glad they didn't go that route. However, thinking about it, maybe that's just what happened, if you read my previous post -- sort of "suicide by UnSub."

[missmycat]

   This is just my take but maybe they thought it would just be too cruel of a thing to do to Reid having Gideon commit suicide like that. Many fans are already upset enough over the way Gideon's death affected Reid and having Gideon die by his own hands may have compounded the issues of the fans being upset about it.

 

Again just my take on it.

[Lillybee]

When Steven was having that convo with Hotch about feeling that his father didn't like him when he was growing up, I imagined Jack feeling the same.

[zannej]

Does anyone have a link to the tweet where CBS claimed Reid drove a Prius?

Idiots had the wrong Reid. It was William Reid who drove a Prius (Garcia mentioned he drove a hybrid and the articles on Garcia's computer showed that he owned a Prius) in "Memoriam".

 

Reid was driving the Volvo Amazon P130 122S (circa '65/66) in "In Name and Blood" and I have screenshots to prove it (but I will post them in the Reid thread).

 

I typed up a response to the episode that I am going to paste here. It was done before reading most of the posts here.

 

I'm trying to get my thoughts to be more coherent but I'm tired and have a headache. I will start with some nitpicks and things I didn't like

• The license plate on Reid's car was not the same and it didn't appear to be the same car (either that or Reid's car got some dings and deteriorated pretty badly). The color didn't look to be the same, although it was hard to tell in night shots.
• Waaaay too much unsub and torture porn. All we needed was to hear that he was repeatedly dislocating the legs from the ME. We didn't need to see it or see him being a creep and killing a bird.
• The unsub scenes could have been replaced with the team going to the family store to talk to people or having someone like Hotch call to ask questions rather than having it go from Garcia saying she'd find out to suddenly having the info next time she's shown.
• The guy's motive wasn't satisfactorily explained. We know the guy lived with his grandmother until she died and he liked birds for some reason (I can't remember why) but why would he be collecting young women if they were a proxy for an old woman? Why did he want to cause them pain and make them suffer? Did his grandmother or mother abuse him? This guy was a sadist, but I don't recall them mentioning that in the profile
• I know the episode was co-written by Erica, so I didn't expect too much contribution from Reid. He actually got more screentime than I expected, but I do wish there had been some moment of him showing his genius. I just felt that something was missing.
• I admit that the profiling of the victims as not having enough self-worth to scream or make a scene set off my BS meter (and not Behavioral Science). I wonder if such a thing actually exists, but I suspect they just made it up. I think it would be more likely that it would be out of fear that the victims wouldn't make as much noise or struggle as much. Also, it sort of flies in the face of how the last victim acted-- because she actually did try to escape. Which makes me wonder, what did the other shorter term victims do to end up dead? Did they try to escape? or did they fight so much that he felt he had to kill them? If that was the case, why did he let the last victim live?
• Not sure I like how things went down with Rossi and the unsub at the end
• I can't take credit for remembering that Gideon used to have a pretty good security system, but remember how he used to have motion sensors and cameras to see who was driving up? What happened to those? Surely he didn't get less paranoid over time and have them removed....
• In the episode where Stephen was first mentioned, I'm pretty sure that Gideon said something about Stephen being about Reid's age (but I could be wrong). IF I was remembering correctly, then this would mean that Stephen was actually older.
• I actually did not like how they showed Rossi and Gideon deciding to use the terms "signature" and "profiler" because I feel those should be attributed to the real people who came up with them. I liked it better when we could imagine that these characters fit somewhat in the "real" world and that they worked alongside the original real profilers; but that is just my personal preference.
• I was confused about what was going on with Gideon when he was killed. So, he deliberately got the unsub's attention to get the unsub to reveal himself? Did he expect the guy to hunt him? Or was he expecting to just see the guy? Why did the guy bother to follow Gideon all the way out to his cabin? How exactly did he know for sure who Gideon was? I just don't get it. That part wasn't well-explained. If Gideon had an accurate profile of the guy, why wouldn't he be on guard and expect the guy to come hunting him?
• While I liked the story Hotch and Gideon shared at the end about the sled on the steep hill, I really had a hard time believing that either Rossi or Gideon would have let themselves be goaded by children into doing something that stupid. So the story smacked of BS, but then Hotch said something about Gideon not letting truth get in the way of a good story-- but I don't remember them having Gideon make up stories to the team when he was on the show... So, I wish they'd come up with a more believable but funny story.
• I love to see hugs, so I sort of wish that Reid had run up and hugged Rossi when he saw that Rossi had killed the unsub-- not just because Gideon was avenged, but because Rossi was still alive. A little part of me sort of wanted it to be Reid to take the guy down-- and they could have shown the guy pointing a gun at Rossi and then falling because Reid had saved him. But I think they wanted it to be Rossi since he was retconned in to Gideon's former BFF.

 

The things I liked and other thoughts

• Am I the only person who expected the ice cream from Gideon's freezer to be freezerburned? I kept waiting to see them try the ice cream and then gag because it was no longer good. Well, not gag but say how disappointing it was and then laugh together.
•  agree that I didn't think JJ staying behind had anything to do with her PTSD. I think there were two reasons for it: 1) Hotch felt Garcia needed someone to stay with her and JJ seemed to be one of the least affected by his death-- since it never seemed like she was terribly close with Gideon. 2)Its been a very long time since we had some Garcia / JJ bonding moments. They used to have those moments in earlier seasons and then they sort of went away.
• It was nice to see Garcia not being all flirty with Morgan and not being too over-the-top with inappropriate rambling and such.
• It was really great to see that not everything was on computer and Garcia actually had to wait for some old paperwork to be scanned in.
• The team all seemed to get good focus and they had each other's backs. I really felt that they were a team/family in this without them having to say it. Everyone was believable in their reactions.
• I loved that we got to see Reid's car again, but I wish it had been in daylight (and used the same license plate).
• I liked the transitions and how they gave us just a peek at stuff without revealing too much-- like the top of the head with a bullet wound being covered as the only glimpse of modern Gideon.
• I really liked how the ME obviously recognized that Reid was upset about seeing Gideon dead and how she kept the body covered "out of respect. Clever way to not have to show the face. Reid's crying was believable.
• From what I understand, Matthew was the only person from CM that seemed to still have warm feelings about Mandy (although I honestly don't know what Shemar thinks of Mandy now) and I *think* that Matthew has actually talked to Mandy since CM and that Mandy has been supportive and nice to him. So its fitting that Reid was the most affected by Gideon's death.
• I like how they explained why Gideon was obsessed with birds.
• I could have sworn I saw a promo or behind-the-scenes photo of Reid sitting at a table with someone (I think Stephen?) but I didn't see that in the episode so I think it got cut.
• When the waitress mentioned that she was going to get some pie for Hotch and Rossi, I couldn't help but think of Twin Peaks and how Dale Cooper was always eating pie.
• I loved that Reid volunteered to go into the library. I had expected him to not resurface for the rest of the episode. LOL. I was like "wait, they issue temporary library cards? I don't know of any libraries that do that-- must be a nice town.
• The various supporting/guest characters seemed interesting and had some personality like real people. Many of them seemed pretty nice.
• The voices for young Rossi and Gideon threw me off a bit but I felt that the acting was good and they had chemistry. I think Ben Savage really looked the part of Gideon. I did notice the chewing that seemed conscious rather than subconscious, but I liked that it seems Ben studied Mandy's performances to really get the body language right.
• I liked how Reid was keeping it together until Hotch said "It's Gideon" and then he had to run out of the room. Hotch looked very concerned and you could see that a part of him wanted to go after Reid, but he knew that Reid needed some space.
• Did I already mention that I liked the hug between Reid and Stephen at the end? I hope that they actually keep in touch with one another. I'm willing to bet that Gideon talked a lot about Reid to Stephen. It would be nice to know what Stephen is doing (did they ever say what line of work he's in?) and how he is doing.
• I liked the return to the "I'm the unsub" thing and how the team actually looked at the scene and talked through what was happening and how Rossi used his knowledge of old cases as well as his memories of Gideon to help solve things. This was Rossi at his best. And Morgan was being a good and comforting friend to Reid, while also being able to profile the scene with Rossi. Hotch was in charge and on top of things.
• I admit I did do a facepalm when Stephen asked who or why someone would want to kill his dad (I can't remember the exact question) because my first thought was "A whole hell of a lot of people". I liked how Kate and Garcia had the conversation of all the people Gideon put away over the years and that 40 years seemed like a long sentence until the 40 years was up and those people were out.
• Even though Kate was never on the team with Rossi, I think she showed the appropriate amount of concern and empathy for the rest of the team and how she mentioned he'd only taught two times when she was in his class, but that she'd enjoyed it and was disappointed that he didn't stick around. That gave a nice link to bring her into the fold and show her as having known him somewhat, but not enough to have been super-attached.
• Did anyone else catch that they used Erica Messer's picture as Sarah in Gideon's book?
• I liked the use of the microfiche machine in the episode. I remember having to use one in high school.
• It was interesting to have that moment of moral ambiguity with the way Rossi took down the unsub at the end. On one hand, it goes against a lot of modern sensibilities. On the other, it actually fits somewhat with the oldschool police way of thinking. Keep in mind that the FBI would open fire and gun down mobsters without warning-- and there was an incident where they hit civilians. Back in the 70s and even 80s, if someone killed or harmed a law enforcement agent or member of their family, they did not have a high chance of survival. In the 90s my father told me that only 35% of the people who killed/harmed LEOs and family members actually lived to trial. He was told by his instructors at the FLETC (Federal Law Enforcement Training Center) to carry a drop weapon in case he had to shoot someone and wanted to make sure it was recorded as legit. So, basically, with the way Rossi was raised and trained, he probably could have just shot the guy outright.

 

Basically, this episode kept me interested the entire way through, and nothing really pissed me off (although the unsub torture porn parts came close and they kept it from being an excellent episode for me).

I know someone suggested that we needed to see what a scumbag the unsub was (by witnessing him torturing the victims) to have enough hatred of him to want to see him die. I disagree though. They didn't need to show that. They could have described what he did or at least the injuries and still tried to justify it. Honestly, for law enforcement, the fact that he took out one of their own would have been enough.

I do agree that it seems Erica really does need a co-writer to improve her episodes. Too bad that Kirsten declined to co-write the finale. And Kirsten was favoriting even constructive criticism about the episode as well as compliments on Twitter.

I just hope the writers can learn from what worked in this one and use it for the rest of the season.

Edited January 30, 2015 by zannej

[Old Dog]

Does anyone have a link to the tweet where CBS claimed Reid drove a Prius?

Idiots had the wrong Reid. It was William Reid who drove a Prius (Garcia mentioned he drove a hybrid and the articles on Garcia's computer showed that he owned a Prius) in "Memoriam".

 

Reid was driving the Volvo Amazon P130 122S (circa '65/66) in "In Name and Blood" and I have screenshots to prove it (but I will post them in the Reid thread

http://www.cbs.com/shows/criminal_minds/photos/1003321/5-cbs-sync-facts-from-nelson-s-sparrow-criminal-minds-s10-e13/73213/inside-criminal-minds/

 

Here is the link to the CBS post. I'm not surprised if they got it wrong!

[zannej]

Thanks! And ugh.. the BB code worked on other sites... Why wouldn't it work here? I'm too lazy to go remove all the ul stuff. lol.

[whitespace]

 

The guy's motive wasn't satisfactorily explained. We know the guy lived with his grandmother until she died and he liked birds for some reason (I can't remember why) but why would he be collecting young women if they were a proxy for an old woman? Why did he want to cause them pain and make them suffer? Did his grandmother or mother abuse him? This guy was a sadist, but I don't recall them mentioning that in the profile

It was his aunt not his gandma and he dislocated the legs of the victims to make them more like her, I think. Also they said something about that his mother had schizophrenia. Along with the isolation I think that are the main motives why he did what he did.

[MCatry]

[li]In the episode where Stephen was first mentioned, I'm pretty sure that Gideon said something about Stephen being about Reid's age (but I could be wrong). IF I was remembering correctly, then this would mean that Stephen was actually older.[/li]

[li]Did anyone else catch that they used Erica Messer's picture as Sarah in Gideon's book?[/li]

.

Regarding Stephen's age, I don't remember if it was stated in the show, but I would take that 'about's Reid's age' would be correct, since for me it means that it ranges from to or three years younger and older. Rossi's son was born in April 1979, so Stephen Gideon should have been born a few months later, tops, making them both older than Reid for just two and a half years.

And regarding Messer inserting herself in the show, I HATE IT. With passion.

That woman really cannot accept her place. I remember that I read they have to tell her to remove herself from a cast group picture at Palsey because she was not a member of the cast. Now not only she has to give more interviews that Gibson, Mantegna, Gubler and Moore all combined, but also she has to change the picture of someone who was very relevant in the way Gideon finally decided to quit? Love letter to the fans? Did she really think we wouldn't remember?

I liked the episode. But I didn't even want to mention those two little shots because they angered me. Yes, I noticed them, and I hate them.

Edited January 30, 2015 by MCatry

[zannej]

whitespace, thanks for clarifying that it was the aunt. I figured that the crippling was to make them like his aunt-- but why did he want them to be like birds? Did his aunt love birds? Was she abusive to him? It's one thing to want to make the victims be like the aunt-- its another to kill birds and to really enjoy torturing the victims. So I still don't see where the sadism came in. The mother being schizophrenic and him being socially isolated might make him more socially awkward, but I don't see why it would make him want to hurt people-- at least not in that particular way. I think it was partially going for the bizarre factor.

 

McCatry, I heard similar stories about the Paley Center, but I don't know if they are true. I do know that Erica was in at least some (if not all) of the cast photos there, though. I actually didn't really have a problem with her putting her own photo in the book, although I didn't like that she was labeled as Gideon's beloved Sarah. She could have been just some random victim. Its not the first time that a crew member/writer has been used in a photo lineup as a suspect, criminal, or victim. Maybe they couldn't be bothered to find the original photo-- like they couldn't find the license plate for Reid's original car. 

[whitespace]

whitespace, thanks for clarifying that it was the aunt. I figured that the crippling was to make them like his aunt-- but why did he want them to be like birds? Did his aunt love birds? Was she abusive to him? It's one thing to want to make the victims be like the aunt-- its another to kill birds and to really enjoy torturing the victims. So I still don't see where the sadism came in. The mother being schizophrenic and him being socially isolated might make him more socially awkward, but I don't see why it would make him want to hurt people-- at least not in that particular way. I think it was partially going for the bizarre factor.

His beloved aunty was one of the founders of the local bird watchers club. That she was abusive or not is never said.

Where the sadism part comes from is never clearly stated (I think).

[zannej]

His beloved aunty was one of the founders of the local bird watchers club. That she was abusive or not is never said.

Where the sadism part comes from is never clearly stated (I think).

Thanks again. I remembered that someone was in the bird watcher's club. I just wonder what happened that made the guy want to hurt birds (and women). Did he feel the aunt loved the birds more than him? 

 

I was also confused when he held up a presentation board covered in feathers and stuff and said "I'm going to do this to you".. Uhh. do what? I don't understand. I couldn't tell WTF that thing was....

 

Maybe it would have made more sense if he'd taken the last victim to a secondary location to hold her and they found his house-- and a journal that Reid could have flipped through and gained some sort of insight into what he was thinking and why he was doing what he did. Also, I wish they'd explained better how he managed to track Gideon and why he felt the need to kill him.

[Mari]

And if he was trying to make them into his aunt, why did he put them into nests? It just seems as if even though the unsub had plenty of screen time, he wasn't actually very fleshed out.

Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoyed this episode enough that I'm considering watching the next one. I really appreciated the screen time including people who aren't JJ.

However, as much as I enjoyed it, I think there should've been . . , more. I'm not a huge Gideon fan. I always thought the character was arrogant, dramatic, and a little self obsessed. But he was very smart, and he knew his criminals. I can buy that he got careless or outsmarted by someone, but there should've been more build up and evidence.

Add me to the list of people that think this concept should have been a two parter. If Gideon was reinvestigating the bird man case, it's not out of the realm of possibility that he'd have contacted one of the team to meet and discuss that. You don't need Patinkin onscreen to have a one sided phone conversation or two.

Have him go missing, or make it obvious he's disregarding the current character's request he wait. Gideon was arrogant enough to do that if he thought he had reason.

[whitespace]

Yeah I didn't get that "I'm going to do that to you" either (The only thing I clearly saw was that drawing of a bird with a womans head) or that bird killing thing.

 

I'd like to know how Gideon could be that stupid and let himself getting shot through the window.

But maybe it was a "suicide by unsub" for Gideon.

[idiotwaltz]

Oh, wow, this episode made me profoundly sad. I always found Gideon to be a selfish drama queen, but a compelling one, and although I had no illusions that he would drive off into the sunset and live a happier life after he ditches the BAU, the way they decided to off him makes me really sad for him. 

 

Good callbacks to Stephen, though, and James and Carolyn. Joe Mantegna knocked it out of the ballpark this ep with his subtle grief over the loss of his friend (I relate all too much to how close friends drift apart and then you wonder if you were all that close to begin with) and to see young Gideon and young Rossi and know that Rossi's son is going to die and Gideon's life is going to be, basically, a ball of suck (but which BAU member's life isn't?) --- it makes me ache for them, who they were and who they've become. Hotch, too, at the end, talking about the memory of sitting together with Gideon 10 years ago at a Denver airport. Hotch and Gideon were the original Mom and Dad of this show, and whenever I rewatch Season 1 and 2 there's a closeness they share that Hotch doesn't quite have with Rossi. 

 

In short, dammit show, WHY DID YOU GIVE ME ALL THE FEELS? 

 

I have no comment on the actual case or profiling or anybody else in this episode whatsoever. I am too verklempt with all the feels. 

[normasm]

OK, this is incredibly nerdy, but, hey, that's who I am. I couldn't help but wish that the Audubon print Gideon shot was not the Great-footed Hawk (a wonderful, violent print of 2 hawks tearing apart 2 ducks), but the American Sparrow Hawk, which depicts several sparrow hawks, one with a dead sparrow in its beak. Not as powerful an image as the one they used, but much more metaphoric, and spot-on, if I may say so my nerdy self.

[Danielg342]

Question: does this count as a “sweeps” episode?

[vanarnd1]

Even though there were some things about the episode I didn't like, the emotion of it was enough for me to enjoy. It felt important and meaningful like an old episode did.

 

It did seem like though some of the character's relationships with Gideon were retconned. They had JJ and Garcia talk a lot about Gideon, but those seemed to be the two original team members who he was least close with, so that seemed a little off. Also it did not seem in canon that Rossi and Gideon were previously great friends. The only two previous times I remember Rossi mentioning Gideon was talking with Morgan in "Lo-Fi" and in "Omnivore" during the conversation with Hotch, and he didn't seem to speak too fondly of Gideon in those moments. I guess because of the age difference they couldn't really show Hotch and Gideon in flashbacks but they would have felt more true to the show IMO. I also would have liked to have Reid a little more involved throughout the episode, but I thought MGG did a great job expressing his sadness without needing much dialogue.

 

Also as has been mentioned, the unsub was not impressive or interesting enough to warrant being in this story line.

 

I thought the actors playing young Gideon and Rossi did a really good job, I really liked the portrayal of Gideon and how he started his career. The team interactions and profiling were great as well and overall it was a heartfelt and entertaining episode and especially compared to other recent episodes, it was a nice change of pace that I hope continues.

[normasm]

If Nelson's Sparrow wasn't the neatest name, I'd vote for them to rename this one "200."

[JMO]

 

If Nelson's Sparrow wasn't the neatest name, I'd vote for them to rename this one "200."

 

And delete the other one.

[ForeverAlone]

I agree that this episode was a far better representation of the team, and it would have been a better "200" than what they came up with. I still want to know how they thought it would be a good idea. *shakes head*

[missmycat]

I agree. And fact we should send CBS feedback regarding this as followed...

 

Dear CBS/CM

This is how to do an episode celebrating a show's huge milestone episode instead of that piece of garbage that celebrated only one of the characters(JJ) instead of all the characters who helped make CM a success.

[normasm]

Question: does this count as a “sweeps” episode?

Daniel, i think it just missed by a day, unfortunately. Sweeps this year is from Jan 29 to Feb 25. Go figure. I bet a lot of folks will tune in next week because of this week, and they'll get a good Nielsen bounce.

[MCatry]

Daniel, i think it just missed by a day, unfortunately. Sweeps this year is from Jan 29 to Feb 25. Go figure. I bet a lot of folks will tune in next week because of this week, and they'll get a good Nielsen bounce.

Could you please explain this? What is a 'sweeps' and how come dates are important? (And what for...?)

I still have a lot to learn about this country, not only regarding language but also idiosyncrasies...

[normasm]

Look up Nielsen ratings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nielsen_ratings, it will explain better than i can

[Danielg342]

Daniel, i think it just missed by a day, unfortunately. Sweeps this year is from Jan 29 to Feb 25. Go figure. I bet a lot of folks will tune in next week because of this week, and they'll get a good Nielsen bounce.

That's true. I still it's a shame, though, since an episode this important to the series shouldn't be relegated to a non-sweeps period.

Could you please explain this? What is a 'sweeps' and how come dates are important? (And what for...?)

I still have a lot to learn about this country, not only regarding language but also idiosyncrasies...

The typical American TV season runs from September to May, which is why shows premiere in September and have their finales in May. Sometimes a show only runs for half a season, with one half being September-November and the other half being January-May.

The “sweeps” period are the times where advertisers evaluate the networks and their shows to see how valuable their advertising space is. Thus, typically, networks run the shows that they believe will generate the most ratings- and thus look more attractive for advertising money. It's here that shows will broadcast episodes that normally get described as “shocking” or “game changing”, with the episodes frequently described as “event television”. Promotional material will be in high gear, with networks stressing, “you don't want to miss this!” Usually- but not always- story arcs get concluded during sweeps, because resolutions to mysteries are one way to guarantee a high amount of viewers.

There are four times during the year where there are “sweeps”- September, November, February and May. September is typically the month for season and series premieres, while May is typically the month where season and series finales happen. November tends to be when the resolution of fall arcs happens, with “fall finales” falling just before American Thanksgiving. Some shows will air episodes into December, but new episodes will stop in mid-December at the very latest, since after that point it's Christmas season and people are not likely to watch TV. Shows tend to return in January simply because networks can't afford to keep shows on hiatus for too long- otherwise, its audience numbers get affected.

This leaves February, where shows are still technically in “mid-season”. Here, show writers will likely pull off as many stunts as they can to get viewers, designed in such a way that they'll stick around to finish watching the season. It's here that a show's season “heats up”, building things to the climax that is the season finale.

What does this mean on the network side of things? Since sweep periods are so dependent on ratings, networks are not going to air episodes or even shows that it does not believe can pull in big ratings. It's why when a show doesn't air in February it's a pretty big deal- because it means the network doesn't believe in the show. The latter is also a big deal- if a network fills February with episodes of a show, it means that it believes in that show, and if a show's episode gets moved to February, it means the show thinks it has a chance to be a “ratings grabber” for the network and not just a “run of the mill episode”.

What does this mean for “Nelson's Sparrow”? It seems that by airing it outside of February sweeps, either the network or CM brass did not think it'd be enough of a ratings draw to air it during the time period where advertisers are interested in the show's ratings. It could also mean that it's another “FU” to Mandy Patinkin, by suggesting that an episode surrounding his character isn't fit for one of TV's most important times of the year.

In any case, an episode that airs outside of sweep periods is an indicator that the network didn't believe it'd be good enough to draw high ratings. The networks don't always hit the mark- many of my favourite CM episodes were not ones airing during sweep periods, such as “Minimal Loss”- but if you want to know how an episode fits within a show's hierarchy, all you need to do is check its airdate. A sweeps episode is important- the rest, not so much.

[MCatry]

That's true. I still it's a shame, though, since an episode this important to the series shouldn't be relegated to a non-sweeps period.

The typical American TV season runs from September to May, which is why shows premiere in September and have their finales in May. Sometimes a show only runs for half a season, with one half being September-November and the other half being January-May.

The “sweeps” period are the times where advertisers evaluate the networks and their shows to see how valuable their advertising space is. Thus, typically, networks run the shows that they believe will generate the most ratings- and thus look more attractive for advertising money. It's here that shows will broadcast episodes that normally get described as “shocking” or “game changing”, with the episodes frequently described as “event television”. Promotional material will be in high gear, with networks stressing, “you don't want to miss this!” Usually- but not always- story arcs get concluded during sweeps, because resolutions to mysteries are one way to guarantee a high amount of viewers.

There are four times during the year where there are “sweeps”- September, November, February and May. September is typically the month for season and series premieres, while May is typically the month where season and series finales happen. November tends to be when the resolution of fall arcs happens, with “fall finales” falling just before American Thanksgiving. Some shows will air episodes into December, but new episodes will stop in mid-December at the very latest, since after that point it's Christmas season and people are not likely to watch TV. Shows tend to return in January simply because networks can't afford to keep shows on hiatus for too long- otherwise, its audience numbers get affected.

This leaves February, where shows are still technically in “mid-season”. Here, show writers will likely pull off as many stunts as they can to get viewers, designed in such a way that they'll stick around to finish watching the season. It's here that a show's season “heats up”, building things to the climax that is the season finale.

What does this mean on the network side of things? Since sweep periods are so dependent on ratings, networks are not going to air episodes or even shows that it does not believe can pull in big ratings. It's why when a show doesn't air in February it's a pretty big deal- because it means the network doesn't believe in the show. The latter is also a big deal- if a network fills February with episodes of a show, it means that it believes in that show, and if a show's episode gets moved to February, it means the show thinks it has a chance to be a “ratings grabber” for the network and not just a “run of the mill episode”.

What does this mean for “Nelson's Sparrow”? It seems that by airing it outside of February sweeps, either the network or CM brass did not think it'd be enough of a ratings draw to air it during the time period where advertisers are interested in the show's ratings. It could also mean that it's another “FU” to Mandy Patinkin, by suggesting that an episode surrounding his character isn't fit for one of TV's most important times of the year.

In any case, an episode that airs outside of sweep periods is an indicator that the network didn't believe it'd be good enough to draw high ratings. The networks don't always hit the mark- many of my favourite CM episodes were not ones airing during sweep periods, such as “Minimal Loss”- but if you want to know how an episode fits within a show's hierarchy, all you need to do is check its airdate. A sweeps episode is important- the rest, not so much.

Thank you so much! This was really enlightening. I am going to print this and start studying which episodes fell in sweep periods now... Well, after I finish the gun count...

[JMO]

Two additional observations:

Reid pocketed Gideon's book of victims.  Wonder if we'll see that again some day.

 

And, a snark at the medicine:  Gideon "died of hypovolemic shock"---after he got shot in the head?  No, I think not.

[Aeryn13]

I thought that was a good episode but with some flaws. Was completely unspoiled for it and had no idea the "return" of Gideon was coming. 

 

The most poignant parts of the ep for me was the nostalgia. The team reminscing about losing someone they had worked closely with for many years. Except Kate who provided the "that`s right, you knew one of the FBI legends very well" perspective.

 

Also the flashbacks were excellent. Granted, the origin of "signature" and "profiler" was cutesy but sometimes that works for me. I`ll also say that I found the young versions of Gideon and Rossi fantastic. In fact I had no problem with the speech patterns at all. Multiple times young!Rossi said something that made me think "that is EXACTLY how Joe M./Rossi would say it". Eerie. Likewise, young Gideon was so on point.

 

I also didn`t have a problem with Rossi doing the "give me a reason" routine. As personal as it was for him, I completely understood it. What I wasn`t sure about, did the entire team suss it out? They were giving each other looks all around. And that final convo with Hotch and Rossi made me think Hotch knows. Yet, he...lets it go? When Elle did something like this, he couldn`t.  

 

What didn`t work for me was the Unsub and his motivation. And what exactly did he do, break the girls legs multiple times in the span of mere hours? In all the heavens why? And, if he was THAT sadistic, how did he manage to keep his first victim alive for over 30 years? What was on that murder wall, the head of his previous victim of more than 30 years put on a bird`s body? It made me think he was trying to create a human/bird hybrid. Nothing about that made sense.

 

And Gideon being killed through sheer stupidity didn`t either. He sussed out that the murderer from back then had returned, started an investigation, baited the guy and then? He went home and let himself get shot just like that. It`s like his plan just weirdly ended after "I bait him". There is no way that makes any logical sense. Unless he meant to get killed and let the murderer walk free to torment more young women. Uh-uh.   

[zannej]

Good points, Aeryn. There were just some unexplained plot-holes. I hope some of them will be explained on the DVDs. I really really really hope they show Reid's car in the daylight on the DVDs. LOL. 

 

Also, I have to retract a comment I made earlier about Erica's picture being used for Sarah in this episode. Someone got a screenshot of the original book that Gideon had back in season 3 and they used Erica's picture back then. So it has been in that book for years and wasn't just something they changed in this episode.

[normasm]

Zannej, yeah, I saw that about the use of EM's pic in No Way Out, but the thing that bothered me in the first place still bothers me: why did they show it twice (in Nelson's Sparrow)? It became distracting the second time it was shown. They should have shown it once and panned down and zoomed in to see MP's crabby writing and the date. Editing problem/break in scene tempo. That is all.

Edited January 31, 2015 by normasm

[UncleChuck]

 

I though Gubler had put quite a few pounds, but apparently he still is able to get himself in clothes he used to use in the show five years ago. I wish I could say the same...

 

Anyone could easily wear clothes from five years ago--IF they had an entire studio wardrobe department to do the alterations.

 

And while I still don't buy that nerdy Reid has the ability (or the time--since is always out of town on a case) to maintain that ole Volvo and keep it running, I am not worried about his license plate change.,

If I still had the same plate on my car from 5 or 6 years ago, I would be ticketed for "expired plates".  Some things do change--even if we wish them to always be the same.

[normasm]

Two additional observations:

Reid pocketed Gideon's book of victims.  Wonder if we'll see that again some day.

 

And, a snark at the medicine:  Gideon "died of hypovolemic shock"---after he got shot in the head?  No, I think not.

 

I take exception to your comment, although I admit, I'm no medical expert. Hypovolemic shock, or severe traumatic blood volume loss, can come from a gunshot to the head, all it has to do is hit the major blood vessels inside the head and disrupt the volume of blood going to the heart, and it's all she wrote. Just as one can die of hypovolemic shock by a burst aneurysm in the brain, the way my mother died. There are those big vessels up in there, the internal carotid and the internal jugular (they aren't just in the neck, they travel to the brain). 

 

Specifically for Gideon, he had a gunshot wound to the right abdomen, one to the right shoulder, and the last to the right temple. The shot to the abdomen could have plausibly hit the aorta, causing massive bleeding and disruption of the blood volume, and the shot to the head shut down the already compromised autonomic nervous system. Death would still have been caused by the wound that was considered "mortal," the one that would have eventually killed him without any other wound, in this scenario, the abdominal wound.

 

I'm just saying he could have died from the shot to the head if the bullet hit his internal carotid or jugular inside his brain. Or he could have died from the one-two punch of the 2 most serious wounds, the abdominal one and the head one. But it would have been the combined blood loss that caused his death. IMHO

Edited January 31, 2015 by normasm

[zannej]

UncleChuck, from what I've read on various forums and fan pages for Volvos, the Amazon is easy to maintain. The parts were built to last, so it may require less maintenance than say newer car like a Kia. Just because a car is old does not mean it is going to break down or have problems all the time. And the Amazons are said to be very durable. Reid probably does not use his car a lot and the newer cars will stop working (computers shut down) if you don't drive them (or turn them on) for an extended period of time. From the looks of the second vehicle, Reid hasn't been doing much to maintain the outside of the car because it had dents. Also, Reid could have made arrangements to have someone he trusts work on his car whenever it has problems or at specific intervals. For the most part it seems like he takes cabs or public transportation instead of driving. The use of his car seems limited to going out to Gideon's cabin (and probably places where cabs would be prohibitively expensive & no public transportation was available).

 

I don't know about where you live, but where I live, the plates don't expire-- but you get a registration sticker that can expire. You can get it renewed for a year or longer (depending on how much you pay-- I think I just renewed mine for 2 years). So you don't have to change the license plate out. You would have to change the plate if the owners changed or you moved to a different state. They actually made my mother change the plates on her vehicle when my father died because his name had to be removed from ownership of it.

 

One thing I noted about the new license plate was that it did not follow the same format as the old plate and it didn't look like a DC plate.

 

Normasm, I agree that it seemed odd that they showed Erica's picture more than once-- and seemed to linger on it for awhile. I think maybe Erica thought showing her mug would be a love letter to the fans. :P

Edited January 31, 2015 by zannej

[JMO]

One of the things I love about this site is that we get to have this caliber of discussion.  And one of the things that's troubling is that, sometimes, there are real people involved.  So sorry about how your mother died, Normasm.

 

I started to type a long explanation for how things work,but it just didn't feel right.  Suffice it to say that the usual cause of death with any kind of bleeding in the brain is different from other parts of the body, mostly because it's an enclosed space.  Of course, with a gunshot wound, it's no longer enclosed, so there is a possibility to hit a major blood vessel and bleed out.  But you would be far more likely to stop breathing (and have that be the cause of death) before you were to go into shock. 

[normasm]

JMO, we do have a lot of good discussions here, don't we? Some thoughtful people here. And thanks for your kind words about my mother, i miss her a lot. It seems like most of us here have had at least one of these painful losses.

 

Aren't you in the medical profession in some capacity? I do agree that it's entirely plausible that gunshot wounds produced the death you describe. But it seemed within the realm of possibility that Gideon's death was caused by huge and sudden blood loss, whether by the gut wound or the brain wound, or both, so I didn't have much problem with it myself. Not like I have for some real howlers the writers have come up with !

[Lillybee]

The best part of Ben Savage's performance is that he was able to capture Mandy's lopsided half smile.

[zannej]

Something I wondered about... They said the unsub shot Gideon in the shoulder first (from the window) and then went to the door to shoot him in the abdomen and finally the head? I don't remember very clearly what they said happened, but they said something about the guy wanting Gideon to know who was killing him. A gut shot would likely be very painful. I noticed that the coroner said that he didn't suffer much (not that he didn't suffer at all). I also wonder how much time passed between shots. Reid is the type of person who would wonder about that, I bet. Reid could have argued that Gideon *did* suffer before the head shot, but I think he wanted to hear that Gideon didn't suffer. 

[RollTheHardSix]

I'm not exactly a dissenting voice, because on a positive note - I didn't hate it. Which is more than usual and more than expected. Last week was a snoozefest and I started cleaning up while it was on. 

 

However, I still feel that it was a let-down compared to early-CM and the focus on Gideon starkly reminded me of the way the show has gone downhill. 

 

I hated the first scene, the whole setup, their stupid pretend "sad" faces while we didn't know what was going on (I had no idea, don't read spoilers, don't watch trailers etc. - just not that interested anymore...oh my.) I hated the focus on Reid's sad face in the car. All I thought was "Oh no, not another character-centric episode... every episode has been one lately... first JJ (no comment), then Rossi (snoozefest) and now Reid (I don't mind him, but I don't worship the ground he walks on either).... please no!" Then I had an inkling that it was Gideon and all I kept thinking was that if Mandy was really dead (obviously he isn't) instead of just dead to this show (and CBS or whatever), he would so totally be turning in his grave that the show was doing a sad, little tribute episode. Sort of like spitting on his grave. Oh, the audacity of these horrible, horrible writers. Man, I was offended on his behalf! I don't really care for the actor (Mandy), but at least he is one.

 

I liked the flashback scenes, but it was bittersweet, because those scenes with non-castmembers clicked more for me than the regular scenes. Those guys weren't just phoning it in, they were working it. It was actually good.

 

The case kinda sucked. Too much unsub, too early, plus a nonsensical story - as usual. The flashbacks were the best part of the episode. I don't know why but the castmembers' acting seems wooden to me. Some of them were never that good, but others I sometimes wonder if they just don't care anymore or if the lines that they are fed are just that horrible. Rossi as case in point, because I don't remember JM always being this... stilted. Young Rossi was better than old Rossi, less pretentious, less dramatic pauses between sentences, even though his lines were also meh at best. Young Gideon was pretty good, too.

[missmycat]

I'm not exactly a dissenting voice, because on a positive note - I didn't hate it. Which is more than usual and more than expected. Last week was a snoozefest and I started cleaning up while it was on. 

 

However, I still feel that it was a let-down compared to early-CM and the focus on Gideon starkly reminded me of the way the show has gone downhill. 

 

I hated the first scene, the whole setup, their stupid pretend "sad" faces while we didn't know what was going on (I had no idea, don't read spoilers, don't watch trailers etc. - just not that interested anymore...oh my.) I hated the focus on Reid's sad face in the car. All I thought was "Oh no, not another character-centric episode... every episode has been one lately... first JJ (no comment), then Rossi (snoozefest) and now Reid (I don't mind him, but I don't worship the ground he walks on either).... please no!" Then I had an inkling that it was Gideon and all I kept thinking was that if Mandy was really dead (obviously he isn't) instead of just dead to this show (and CBS or whatever), he would so totally be turning in his grave that the show was doing a sad, little tribute episode. Sort of like spitting on his grave. Oh, the audacity of these horrible, horrible writers. Man, I was offended on his behalf! I don't really care for the actor (Mandy), but at least he is one.

 

I liked the flashback scenes, but it was bittersweet, because those scenes with non-castmembers clicked more for me than the regular scenes. Those guys weren't just phoning it in, they were working it. It was actually good.

 

The case kinda sucked. Too much unsub, too early, plus a nonsensical story - as usual. The flashbacks were the best part of the episode. I don't know why but the castmembers' acting seems wooden to me. Some of them were never that good, but others I sometimes wonder if they just don't care anymore or if the lines that they are fed are just that horrible. Rossi as case in point, because I don't remember JM always being this... stilted. Young Rossi was better than old Rossi, less pretentious, less dramatic pauses between sentences, even though his lines were also meh at best. Young Gideon was pretty good, too.

I agree about the personal stories. I'm getting sick and tired of them too. I prefer the way the Ed and the earlier writers did it because it didn't take away from the cases themselves.I Can't stand JJ and I really hope we are finished with the personal stories for her for the rest of the season. Although since she is EM's "Golden Girl" I won't exactly bank on it. Now Rossi I like, but I do hope that the tribute episode puts to rest that one particular story line of his.While I admire JM's real life dedication to the military I have to admit I've gotten tired of these so called "b" story line plots they've been giving him that has nothing to do with the cases themselves.I miss the episodes when they would harken back to his earlier days as an FBI agent as well as one of the founding members of the BAU. Which is a course what they did in this latest episodes which is one of the things I really liked about it.

 

Last but not least there is Reid, of course since I am a huge Reid fan I thought MGG knocked it out of the park.But one could hardly consider this a Reid centric episode.He wasn't any more prominent in it than the rest of the characters.And yes it was made clear that Reid was hit the hardest concerning Gideon death,but unlike that ridiculous "Forever People" where the case as well as the team itself pretty much took a backseat to JJ and her PTSD, Reid's grieving for Gideon did not overshadow either the team or the case itself.

Edited February 2, 2015 by missmycat

[MCatry]

I agree about the personal stories. I'm getting sick and tired of them too. I prefer the way the Ed and the earlier writers did it because it didn't take away from the cases themselves.I Can't stand JJ and I really hope we are finished with the personal stories for her for the rest of the season. Although since she is EM's "Golden Girl" I won't exactly bank on it. Now Rossi I like, but I do hope that the tribute episode puts to rest that one particular story line of his.While I admire JM's real life dedication to the military I have to admit I've gotten tired of these so called "b" story line plots they've been giving him that has nothing to do with the cases themselves.I miss the episodes when they would harken back to his earlier days as an FBI agent as well as one of the founding members of the BAU. Which is a course what they did in this latest episodes which is one of the things I really liked about it.

 

Last but not least there is Reid, of course since I am a huge Reid fan I thought MGG knocked it out of the park.But one could hardly consider this a Reid centric episode.He wasn't any more prominent in it than the rest of the characters.And yes it was made clear that Reid was hit the hardest concerning Gideon death,but unlike that ridiculous "Forever People" where the case as well as the team itself pretty much took a backseat to JJ and her PTSD, Reid's grieving for Gideon did not overshadow either the team or the case itself.

I am, too, tired of Rossi's B stories. They tend to work as an entirely different show inserted in the middle of criminal minds. He just walks off the team and develops a different story. Maybe if they were more integrated they would be better. With a huge cast like this one you have to put everyone in the screen, plus the unsub, and having an entirely different story going on takes screen time on everyone but the unsub (because in those days the unsub is normally the star...)

And I agree with you. This last episode was by no means a Reid's centric episode, and I don't think I could call it an arc. His mentor and friend died, he is sad. That's it. On the other hand, I felt it was more team balanced but at the same time it was a Rossi's episode. Not only because he was there as the younger version, but because of the anecdotes, the origins of Stephen's name, and the chats old Rossi had with Hotch and Reid. These two (Finally!!!) were on screen, but mostly to let Rossi develop his lines, as I felt they did it with forever people: Reid was there to stand in front of JJ and interact at minimum.

Still, I am glad I finally got to see Hotch doing something else than staring at boards, people and papers. It's nice to know that he is, indeed, still alive. And of course it was nice to see Reid doing something else than spouting out facts.

Mantegna, Gibson and Gubler are good actors: its a pity they don't get good stuff to perform.