S10.E23: The Hunt

[thewhiteowl]

 

When Kate’s niece, Meg, and her best friend, Markayla, are kidnapped, the BAU suspects an online predator engaged in sex trafficking who poses as a teenage boy.

 

 

[normasm]

qwerty I hope it's good! Glad you're excited...

[Bookish Jen]

Well, being CM's bitch, I'm usually pretty excited for an episode. I don't expect "The Hunt" to be masterclass like Matthew's "Mr. Scratch," but I'm hoping it's not the disaster like "Protection."

[Old Dog]

I just saw this so I'm not excited at all!!

 

www.tvguide.com/news/exclusive-criminal-minds-first-look-finale-meg-kidnapped-kate/

[normasm]

I wish i hadn't looked at that…. once again, the edge of Spencer's hair made an appearance! That's about all I'm expecting.

[Old Dog]

I wish i hadn't looked at that…. once again, the edge of Spencer's hair made an appearance! That's about all I'm expecting.

It's looking like a finale all about the girls! I missed the edge of Spencer's hair but I don't want to watch it again!

[Bookish Jen]

I didn't see Spencer's hair. And I'm shocked, shocked Erica Messer allowed Kirsten to speak considering both Kirsten and the character she plays, Garcia, don't have children.

[Danielg342]

So for the last two weeks, Gotham has had a woman held captive suspended in the air with her wrists bound and her arms over her head. The Blacklist did the same this season. Now Meg is getting that treatment, as is, I suspect, Markayla. What's up with hanging women from the ceiling this year, Hollywood?

[Bookish Jen]

And a few years ago, "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" did this to Eames. Originality, look it up, Hollywood!!!!

[secnarf]

I just saw this so I'm not excited at all!!

 

www.tvguide.com/news/exclusive-criminal-minds-first-look-finale-meg-kidnapped-kate/

From that article: "Kate's niece Meg and her BFF were grabbed and thrown into a van at the end of last week's Criminal Minds, but as we'll learn on Wednesday's season finale, this ain't no simple kidnapping."

I think that's a bit of an exaggeration...as I recall, they stupidly got into the van on their own free will.

 

I'm going to set my standards low, and put myself in a just-accept-don't-question mindset, and hopefully then I will enjoy it.

I don't mind JJ at all (then again, I also missed most of season 9) so I don't really have much of a problem with seeing lots of her on screen as well. And we know Reid gets at least one scene, when he finds out that JJ is pregnant :P

Basically, it seems like the finale is going to happen like this:

-The realization that Meg and Markayla are missing

-The realization that they have been kidnapped (likely with some help from Garcia)

-OMG GUYS WE HAVE TO FIND THEM

-JJ being motherly and protective towards Kate and Markayla's mother

-Kate freaking out, possibly some issues with her pregnancy and then being put on bed rest

-We find out JJ is pregnant (and JJ and Reid find out as well) **Might happen after the SWAT takedown as part of the "happy ending"**

-They storm the place where the girls are being held, all SWAT-like

-The girls are rescued, probably just in the nick of time, and there are lots of hugs and OMG I LOVE YOUs

-They live happily ever after, +/- Kate having her baby +/- Kate deciding to leave the BAU

[Bookish Jen]

From that article: "Kate's niece Meg and her BFF were grabbed and thrown into a van at the end of last week's Criminal Minds, but as we'll learn on Wednesday's season finale, this ain't no simple kidnapping."

I think that's a bit of an exaggeration...as I recall, they stupidly got into the van on their own free will.

 

I'm going to set my standards low, and put myself in a just-accept-don't-question mindset, and hopefully then I will enjoy it.

I don't mind JJ at all (then again, I also missed most of season 9) so I don't really have much of a problem with seeing lots of her on screen as well. And we know Reid gets at least one scene, when he finds out that JJ is pregnant :P

Basically, it seems like the finale is going to happen like this:

-The realization that Meg and Markayla are missing

-The realization that they have been kidnapped (likely with some help from Garcia)

-OMG GUYS WE HAVE TO FIND THEM

-JJ being motherly and protective towards Kate and Markayla's mother

-Kate freaking out, possibly some issues with her pregnancy and then being put on bed rest

-We find out JJ is pregnant (and JJ and Reid find out as well) **Might happen after the SWAT takedown as part of the "happy ending"**

-They storm the place where the girls are being held, all SWAT-like

-The girls are rescued, probably just in the nick of time, and there are lots of hugs and OMG I LOVE YOUs

-They live happily ever after, +/- Kate having her baby +/- Kate deciding to leave the BAU

Perfect sum up. Now I don't have to watch this episode and I can concentrate on writing a book review. And you probably put more thought into your post than EM and the writers did in this entire episode.

 

...Then again...my cat puts more thought into licking his butt.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Bookish Jen

[Danielg342]

And a few years ago, "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" did this to Eames. Originality, look it up, Hollywood!!!!

I guess there's a “grace and elegance” about seeing a person hanging from the ceiling by their arms, since you get to see the entire person, in profile. Which would be OK, if we weren't talking about 13-year-old girls used in this manner.

The other problem is that Hollywood does this wrong. Torture basics dictates that you bind the person's wrists behind their back and then you hoist them up to the ceiling by their arms. Since the shoulders are not designed to rotate in this manner (just try it yourself), the shoulders get separated, causing excruciating pain and rendering the arms useless for any attempt at an escape. The legs might still be functional, but unless you're a ballerina and good with your toes, there's no way you can use them to escape (nor is subduing the captor with your legs as easy as Hollywood makes it out to be).

I mean, I get it- comfort, thus you can't actually separate an actor's shoulders- but you can still have the effect by telling the actor their arms should be limber, not struggling to get out of the chains.

[spinner33]

So I watched the video in the link from Old Dog.  Oh my word.  It's even worse than I imagined.   So many clichés, so little time.   It's like a cartoon version of CM! 

 

They should have ended the season with "Mr. Scratch".    

[thewhiteowl]

Please save some of your trashing of this episode till it actually airs. Thanks.

[MCatry]

I think this video-related stuff should be posted in the spoilers thread...

Edited May 5, 2015 by MCatry

[zannej]

I couldn't even get the last video to load.

I did like what I saw in the sneak peeks. I'm willing to give it a chance. But it will be a wait and see thing-- and I'll be sure to take some painkillers first. My new medicine gives me headaches.

[Guesswht]

lol @ E.M. praising herself :D

 

I hope that the whole episode will be good and the sneak peeks = the worst parts of the episode.. haha i'm crazy.

:(

Edited May 6, 2015 by Guesswht

[zannej]

Ok, got it to load... Ugh... crazy freight train ride sounds like a train wreck to me. LOL. Not bashing the episode, just not thinking that was the best word choice. 

 

I'm still going to give it a chance. With Jim Clemente co-writing, maybe it will actually have some halfway decent profiling.

[Bookish Jen]

Ok, got it to load... Ugh... crazy freight train ride sounds like a train wreck to me. LOL. Not bashing the episode, just not thinking that was the best word choice. 

 

I'm still going to give it a chance. With Jim Clemente co-writing, maybe it will actually have some halfway decent profiling.

From your keyboard to God's ears. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this episode to not suck.

 

And I saw some preview ads earlier this morning while watching "CBS This Morning" (i'm just dotty about Charlie Rose). I have yet to see a snippet of Spencer's hair. I have a feeling I'll see a snippet of my own damn hair in tonight's episode's commercial, before I ever see Spencer's.

[ForeverAlone]

More info on the OTHER Criminal Minds baby. *sighs*

http://www.tvguide.com/news/mega-buzz-criminal-minds-finale-baby-jj-aj-cook/

[Bookish Jen]

More info on the OTHER Criminal Minds baby. *sighs*

http://www.tvguide.com/news/mega-buzz-criminal-minds-finale-baby-jj-aj-cook/

I think I lost some IQ points from reading the insipid comments. I've written grocery lists that were more intelligent.

[normasm]

A nice LITTLE moment

[Russet29]

Maybe I'm missing something but what's so bad about the comments? Half of them are blasting one commenter for getting upset over spoilers.

[missmycat]

Okay I am thru biting my tongue. The notion that JJ cares so much more than the rest of them( aside from Kate) about what has happened to Meg, just because she is a mother, is extremely irritating.Damn it, Hotch is a parent too. He also knows what it feels like to have the life of one's child in mortal danger. But hey I guess none of that matters because HOTCH IS NOT A MOTHER.

[secnarf]

So it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Of course the whole notion of human trafficking specifically for serial killers was ridiculous. My pre-episode prediction was more or less accurate, but there were some nice surprises such as Markayla escaping. I would have liked to see Meg's reaction to finding out that Markayla was actually alive. I'm not so sure how I feel about it as a season finale, but as an average episode I thought it was okay. There was a decent mix of the team - better than it has been lately.

It seems like JJ did go on the SWAT mission knowing or at least suspecting that she's pregnant. Questionable judgement and I think it seems out of character for her as well.
They left it kind of ambiguous as to whether or not Kate will return. I'm assuming that was a resignation letter? Or possibly a leave of absence letter? I don't understand why Kate wouldn't just take paid maternity leave and then unpaid time after that (or resign after that, if that's what she wanted).

[YoureSoUrban]

Hated it. But I think the thing that bugged me most about this episode was we're supposed to believe a teenager stupid enough to fall for the cute-boy-online trope is clever enough to escape death by playing mind games with a serial killer.

[Saje]

Well, everyone was completely non-ridiculous! I even thought Meg held it together. Had heard JLH was the one to leave so no surprise, and loved how happy Spencer was for JJ (and how he assumed he'd be godfather again). Morgan was strong, Hotch was no-nonsense, and Kate... she was really brave and really convincing. The one who really broke my heart though was the grown lady victim, what was her name, Dana? Very sad.

[Chaos Theory]

Honestly that wasn't half as bad as I thought it was going to be. I actually liked the girl when she was just hanging there.

That last profiler spot must be unlucky. No one sticks around longer then a season. Is that intentional or has the show been unable to find anyone who clicked with the rest of the cast?

Not sure if I will be back next year. But I say that every year. Haven't found anything to replace the show with and 10:00 Wednesday is big for me so 9:00 is convent to watch something.

Edited May 7, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[normasm]

This would have been okaaaaaaaaay in the middle of the season, but as a finale, it was a yawn. Mr. Scratch would have been the finale in a perfect world. And what was up with JJ all preggers and jumping around shooting people in cold blood? But because she's pregnant, and because she's JJ, hey, it's OK...

I thought JLH was good in this, and I will actually miss her. I bet she won't miss those of us who can't give credit where due, but she'll be fine. I do hope she comes back on a recurring basis next season, if there is one.

They had Spencer more than I thought they would, but not a lot of Morgan, so I'm 99% sure he's back for at least some of next season, if there is one.

Also, what is it about being a young girl getting kidnapped on this show that requires you to receive a bad wig?

Edited May 7, 2015 by normasm

[missmycat]

So it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Of course the whole notion of human trafficking specifically for serial killers was ridiculous. My pre-episode prediction was more or less accurate, but there were some nice surprises such as Markayla escaping. I would have liked to see Meg's reaction to finding out that Markayla was actually alive. I'm not so sure how I feel about it as a season finale, but as an average episode I thought it was okay. There was a decent mix of the team - better than it has been lately.

It seems like JJ did go on the SWAT mission knowing or at least suspecting that she's pregnant. Questionable judgement and I think it seems out of character for her as well.

They left it kind of ambiguous as to whether or not Kate will return. I'm assuming that was a resignation letter? Or possibly a leave of absence letter? I don't understand why Kate wouldn't just take paid maternity leave and then unpaid time after that (or resign after that, if that's what she wanted).

But why would it be out of character for JJ considering the fact she knew she was pregnant, but still allowed herself to be sent to a war zone. And further more she also allowed herself to be sent out on that mission that cost her the life of her unborn child. It's is beyond mind boggling that they want to continue to portray her as someone who has some sort of special insights when it comes to all things motherhood, but at the same time once again she is shown to be a clueless nitwit when it comes to the notion that there are just some situations you do not put yourself in while pregnant or at least suspect that you may be.

[Russet29]

It was better than I was expecting. The plot certainly seemed similar to the movie Hostel if anyone here has seen it. If you haven't seen it, don't. It stayed with me for a while in the worst way possible.

 

Things I liked:

-Hotch was his old authoritative self. It was clear he was the leader and it was nice to see him giving orders and guiding the investigation.

-I love whenever they bring an ME back and I think this is the third time we've seen this woman. I also love Molly Culver and she was believable in her role.

-I appreciated Meg not being an idiot and finally getting her crap together. I was also pleasantly surprised by Markayla surviving. She seemed like a prime candidate to get offed: a recurring character whose death won't affect the team long term.

-I like JJ talking to the female unsub. I know most everyone on this board hates her but I found the scene to be well acted on both ends. The subtle pregnancy announcement was nice. I was expecting some big moment but it was as small as EM hinted it would be.

 

Things I didn't like:

-Too much unsub. In this instance I'm fine seeing some of Meg and Markayla being held captive but some of the unsub stuff seemed unnecessary.

-The blonde unsub, the woman's son, was a pretty bad actor. Thankfully he's the one who got killed cause I just wasn't buying the line delivery.

 

Misc. thoughts:

-Yes there was lots of JJ. Everyone remain calm. Please keep in mind that she's gonna be MIA for a handful of episodes next season.

-I'm wondering if Kate's exit was written that way so EM can get out of adding a new cast member. 

-Did anyone catch what the female unsub said to Reid with about 10 min left in the episode? It then cut to those parents getting arrested so I imagine it's somehow connected to that but I missed it.

[Droogie]

I was pleasantly surprised. I actually thought it was a very good episode. There were some completely implausible bits and some things I hated but all in all, I genuinely liked it as a CM episode. However, I've been up for 33 hours, so I'm not even safe to drive but my judgment isn't completely shot. Should've been a mid-season two-parter with "Mr. Scratch" as the finale, but it wasn't. So I am working with what I have. Never, ever enough Reid, but I'm kinda used to it by now.

I thought JLH was simply wonderful. So sorry we didn't get to see more of her. And Chris? He's a doll. Pleaseohpleaseohplease, don't replace her, showrunner.

I was pleasantly surprised by Meg and Markayla (no idea what their real names are). I thought they sold it.

I loved Reid's implication that he would be a godfather again.

I was prepared to hate JJ-is-a-mother, but I thought she was very effective with the female accomplice.

Loved times infinity Hotch's scene with Kate at the end. He is the bomb.

[RedheadZombie]

. The one who really broke my heart though was the grown lady victim, what was her name, Dana? Very sad.

 

I think the character's name was Paige.  The actor's name is Melora Walters, and she was on Big Love.  Her character was a very broken and disturbed woman, very similar to the CM character, and she broke my heart on that show.

[ForeverAlone]

Well...this was certainly better than seasons 6, 7, 8, 9. Probably because Erica didn't write this one. Jim's influence could be seen in the quality of storytelling. Though I didn't particularly think it was necessary to show Meg with her abductor, or her getting abused. Yes, the scenes were just about showing how smart Meg is, but it still felt unnecessary.

 

I will say that it was nice to see Meg finally showing some intelligence ONCE she was abducted. I just wish that she had showed some of those smarts beforehand when they were being lured online, by a boy they never met. But of course, if she HAD shown those smarts, the writers would have had to write a different season finale. I do call BS on the group somehow knowing that Kate was on to them. They certainly never explained on how this group knew that Kate was tracking them. I personally just wanted to roll my eyes when I found out that this whole abduction debacle was simply payback. It just didn't ring true to me.

 

For me, something was a bit off about the acting. Maybe it can be chalked up to the intensity of the emotions of tracking Meg. But normally, Reid and JJ are more empathetic in interviews, but this time around, they were much more aggressive. Yeah, yeah, JJ was taking this all personally, because she is a mother. But still, even then, her acting felt off to me in those scenes. And something felt off to me about the interaction between the two male unsubs. Maybe it was the words, or how they were said, but it felt a bit fake. And all of a sudden, the main baddie just shoots his son? Yeah, okay, whatever.

 

And YES, JJ has known she was pregnant for who knows how long. And THAT does NOT ring true to me. Yes, JJ is supposed to be this super badass ninja mother. But considering how her last pregnancy ended, you would think she would be much more cautious and take herself out of tactical situations, because in an instant, anything can go wrong. So I had to give some side eye to this episode where JJ was leading the charge (while Reid babysat the female unsub). Though I will say, the moment between JJ and Reid was nice. It felt natural and real (probably because both of them are thrilled for AJ's real life pregnancy). The emotion between them didn't feel forced or anything, and for the first time in a while (for me anyway), their interaction felt like real, natural friends.

 

No surprise, but Jennifer is leaving. I am honestly a bit surprised CBS didn't  hype this all to hell in their promo like they did last year about who will say goodbye to the team. Maybe the promo creators learned from that buzzkill last time. But in any case, those of us who read fan sites knew this was likely coming (thanks Kirsten for spilling those beans when she probably wasn't supposed to). Her departure was understated but believable. I liked the character of Kate and wish she was not leaving, but such is the way things go on this show. Now I just hope she is not replaced.

 

As for Shemar, we can infer from this episode, that as of the filming, Shemar was at least negotiating in good faith. Now that doesn't necessarily mean contracts will be concluded, because there is ample precedent on TV for negotiations to collapse over the summer. So it will be interesting to see what happens.

[mtmjr]

I thought this was actually a pretty good episode, and since Ciminal Minds doesn't have such a great track record with season finales since Lo-Fi, it worked.  But I loved that Kate's daughter was able to buy just enough time with her psych-out-the -serial-killer-because-my--mom-is-a-profiler schtich to keep from being mutilated.  She may not have had much to recommend her during her prior appearances, but that was great.

 

And this is probably for another thread, but I hope they replace Kate.  This show needs a middle-aged woman.  I thought Jeanne Tripplehorn was perfect, but that didn't work out, so whatever.  Why not cast some terrific, under-utilized character actress who would stay with the show.  I think they need someone in that role.

[smoker]

Did they make Hotch give Kate a hug??!!!! Are they insane???? Hotch didn't hold JJ in 6x02 and that was really odd and he didn't hold Jessica a few episodes ago and she was really needy, I mean, her father is sick and she was crying and she and Jack are the one family Hotch is close to. He was there for her but it was a bit cold too. AND THEY MADE HIM HOLD KATE? are you kidding me?? he met her like 12 seconds ago...
crappy characters writing

*sorry for any grammar mistake

[smoker]

By the way, I just joined this forum and it's awesome, thanks for sharing your opinions and comments

[smoker]

This would have been okaaaaaaaaay in the middle of the season, but as a finale, it was a yawn. Mr. Scratch would have been the finale in a perfect world. 

I do agree!!! We all want to know what happened with Hotch after that. It's been the most interesting thing in a while

[Racbec]

I thought it was okay.  JLH did a really good job, and I love the actor who plays her husband.  My biggest problem was the auction website.  A site that is used for human trafficking that a handful of serial killers happen to also use would be more believable than a site specifically directed to serial killers.  I also was bothered by some of the close up shots of JJ. 

 

Count me in the group who thinks Mr. Scratch should have been the finale.

[Calamity Jane]

Hmmmmmm -- shouldn't this crime have been solved by that crack team over at CSI: Cyber?  

[normasm]

I know this is totally off-topic, so i'll be brief; speaking of CSI: Cyber, i caught the first few minutes of  it last night, and i swear James van der Beek called a raid on Tobias's house and barn, or it looked exactly like it to me!

[Droogie]

Did they make Hotch give Kate a hug??!!!! Are they insane???? Hotch didn't hold JJ in 6x02 and that was really odd and he didn't hold Jessica a few episodes ago and she was really needy, I mean, her father is sick and she was crying and she and Jack are the one family Hotch is close to. He was there for her but it was a bit cold too. AND THEY MADE HIM HOLD KATE? are you kidding me?? he met her like 12 seconds ago...

crappy characters writing

*sorry for any grammar mistake

Welcome to the forum!

I've thought a lot about this hug (which, by the way, I loved) and I'm coming to the conclusion that Hotch is still emotional after what happened to him in "Mr. Scratch." He is the master at holding himself in check, but I would bet that we will see more of this side of Hotch. I hope so.

Edited May 7, 2015 by Droogie

[WordFreak]

This was definitely better than I thought it would be, but add me to the list who thought Mr. Scratch would have been a better choice for the finale.

 

I also was bugged that Meg was smart enough to figure out how to try and save herself, but somehow stupid enough to get herself into trouble in the first place. The writing there didn't make much sense.

 

Also, it was stupid that yet again, JJ was front and center shooting the unsub, knowing that she was pregnant. Just once, couldn't another team member have been the one to save the day?

 

That said, I did like JJ's pregnancy reveal to Reid, and I loved the scene at the end with Hotch and Kate. I thought the hug was really sweet, and I thought both actors played the scene really well.

 

This season, I learned it is important not to judge things before they've happened. When I first heard JLH was going to be joining the cast, I was a bit worried, and thought she might be out of place on the show. However, I found myself really enjoying her character, and now I'm sorry she won't be back next season (assuming there is one). Maybe she can come back in some kind of guest capacity once she's had her baby.

 

Overall, pretty good episode, and definitely better than the last few season finales, IMO.

[JMO]

Just had a chance to watch it (fast forwarded for Reid last night).  With very little reservation, I'm in the 'loved it' camp.  This may be an unpopular opinion, but there were ways in which I liked it better than Mr. Scratch.  Maybe the subject matter resonates a bit more. Maybe, as bizarre as it was, it seemed a little more realistic, which always makes things more frightening for me. 

 

Not sure I have any new insights to offer, but here goes:

 

• I loved the whole 'team coming together' and the high stakes nature of the case.  I just wished we'd gotten to know Kate better before, because, even though I was invested, I think I would have been more invested if I'd felt more of a relationship with the character.
• I wondered if we would have gotten as good a mix of the team if JLH hadn't been quite so pregnant at the time of filming.  So I'm glad she was.
• So many unsubs!  But also so many FBI agents taking them down.  I very much liked seeing more than our one team in action.
• Thought the female agent who assisted was good, but if she was properly introduced, I missed it.  Who was she?  And, might we see her again?
• Creepy to see the older couple and the guy with kids running around his den 'shopping' on that web site.
• The interrogations---loved Hotch and Rossi, and I thought JJ's interrogation of his 'trauma-bonded victim' (new term for me, but so accurate) was spot on, and some of the best work AJ has done.
• I felt for Reid at the end, having to listen to the list of names of serial killers buying victims.  I know they were probably recording it, so maybe he didn't have to memorize it.  But it occurred to me, as he was taking no notes, that those names will be engraved on his brain forever.
• Loved the relationship between Kate and Chris.
• I thought the JJ baby / Reid godfather scene was cute, if rushed.  And it seemed apropos to the relationship between the two.
• Passed the Reid-meter in quality, with enough quantity that I wasn't starving.  And he does look good in that dark blue dress shirt.

 

I know a lot of people don't think this served well as a finale.  To me, it ran as the 'part 2' that might have started the next season.  So I don't think it was all that far off the mark.  But I really do hope we get a season 11.

[normasm]

Kelley, the agent (Mollie Culver), was in last season's Gabby as an FBI agent in Mississippi, and i really liked her then, gald they brought her back. Maybe she'll be an occasional guest next season, ITIO.

 

Yeah, in addition to being sad to see Kate go, I'll miss her hubby, he was good.

[Droogie]

I liked the Reid/JJ scene too (and I agree: rushed. Maybe we could've had four seconds less with the UnSub, or perhaps been spared the slovenly dude in the open bathrobe <--- although it was effective; he made my skin crawl) -- it was very fitting that he was the first on the team to know. And I loved his confident assumption that he would be the baby's godfather. AND, the hug was nice and bittersweet: it was the one he couldn't give and she couldn't receive in The Forever People.

[zannej]

This one seemed to go by quickly. I should probably watch it again when my brain is working. My new meds are making it harder to concentrate. I'm glad that we got some actual profiling and good team presence.

 

I liked it when Hotch hugged Kate. It just seemed very natural and I think when to hug someone depends on the vibe you get from them. Some people, even after knowing each other for years, are not giving off a vibe of being open to a hug or giving the sense that its appropriate to hug them. In this case, Kate was leaving on happy terms (which is the first time we've seen that with a team member leaving) so it wasn't quite the same. Also, Kate just came off as more approachable for hugs than some of the other female characters on the team. I don't know why.

 

I'll have to try to pull my thoughts together on this one and comment more later.

[normasm]

I agree, zannej. Kate always seemed open, even to the more difficult members of the team to figure out, like Hotch and Reid. She wore her heart on her sleeve more than others have. She was more up for gentle joking of Reid and bonding with Garcia, etc. I think Hotch responded to her appropriately. Now, if he were to, even now, come from behind the desk and wrap JJ in a hug, that would be OOC for me! There has always been this reserve from JJ to Hotch and vice versa, even though they are "family" (Oh my Gosh!!)

 

BTW, Zann, I hope you feel better soon, girl!

Edited May 8, 2015 by normasm

[Danielg342]

Well that fell off the rails rather quickly. I lost count about how many lucky coincidences these criminals seemed to have gotten from the FBI lunkheads unable to find a clue. "I deleted the picture off my phone!" "The hard drive is wiped clean!" "Reid's hair is stuck in my mouth again!"

 

I can't remember them all but...holy cow. Was there a checkmark for the "ways a criminal could get away" that this episode did NOT check?

 

Furthermore...how dumb are these abductors? At the transfer point, you somehow decide it's a good idea not to chain your goods or drug them so that they're unable to beat any kind of escape? Seriously...if this were their first kidnapping, I might be able to understand the faux pas, but these guys were presented as "genre-savvy" kidnappers, and they really were anything but.

 

First of all, I probably don't need to explain how ludicrous it was for supposedly nationwide kidnappers to conveniently have a base in Maryland, do I? We don't want to be wasting precious fuel for the Gulfstream, now do we? Second of all, I do find it rather nice that the kidnappers agreed to keep Meg and Markayla so close by to where they were kidnapped- didn't these guys learn from CSI:Cyber that you ship your products immediately? Also, how bright was the guy chasing Markayla to not have a flashlight? I get while running it's not convenient to have it out, but when he stopped to scan the bushes, why didn't he pull it out? It's not like Markayla ran very far, and the forest didn't look very big. Plus, I'd imagine if a victim escapes the chaser would be given the time to find her, and a 13-year-old girl would run out of breath pretty quickly (especially one, admittedly enough, as "unfit" as Markayla was), so he'd likely have enough time to comb the woods to find her.

 

Finally, how convenient was it that Markayla just happened to escape to a place where a subdivision was nearby, and how stupid are the kidnappers for conducting "business" near residential areas?

 

I also call BS on how the BAU found the customers. Newsflash to the CM writers who are so afraid of the Internet they have no idea how it works: you can't just take the customer, have them log into their account and trace them back to the original website. First of all, modern day proxies- or "VPNs", or "virtual private networks"- take your IP and "convert" it to any number of random IP addresses, so that the IP address seen online isn't the one used by the user. Furthermore, VPNs only record the date and time that a user logs on and off, and doesn't track which websites a user visits. So if the FBI wanted to find out who the customers were, they'd need to ask the VPN for a list of customers that used their system at a specific date and time and narrow it down from there. They could also try getting the customers' original IPs and "monitor" them to see if they visit the shady website again, but that would involve an inordinate amount of luck and time, which would not be on their side.

 

Second of all, if the traffickers were smart, they'd be using VPN services, and likely many different ones, paid for with prepaid credit cards made with forged documents or stolen identities- this way, the FBI couldn't just match "name and record" and get the criminal, they'd have to dig in to that name and figure out who bought or stole it.

 

Third of all, once every customer is "vetted" (which was never explained), they'd likely be given their own "website" to log on to, with the provision that they use a VPN themselves- and, likely, a whole new computer that is not registered under their real names. Discretion should be the name of the game, yet I don't think I saw a single person display it in this episode.

 

Then I go to the fat dude, who started off promisingly before conveniently breaking. He had no reason to divulge any information and, for once, he seemed to understand that he held the power in the situation, not the BAU. Sure, Meg was in danger, but why would he care? He could have challenged the BAU to come up with the evidence themselves and could have held on, but nope- the writer needs Meg saved, so he eventually sings like a bloated canary for no good reason. At worst, I was hoping he'd troll the BAU by giving out a fake username/password- how would they know the difference?

 

I knew also, right away, that the female participant in the caper was a "trauma bound" participant, because CM's gone to that well far too many times. It was also another point that was very convenient, since it ensured the BAU had someone to "break" later in interrogation to reveal the customer that bought Meg. Melora Walters was beautiful, though, which made her scenes more bearable, but her writing was very weak.

 

Then we get to her lover, or the man I presume was her lover, shot in the forest after failing to find Markayla. Again, how stupid is this guy? Just for the sake of not getting caught, he should have just let it go and allowed the chaser to go back home, where he could meet him later and mete out a punishment then if he so chose. Shooting and leaving the body there was just asking to get caught, and was vital to the interrogation of the woman later...and yet all of that could have been avoided.

 

The actual UnSub himself...well, there's not much I can say that hasn't been said already, but I have a few other points. Not once did I understand why he was targeting Kate, or even why Kate suspected a wider network in the first place. The case in "X" was pretty open and shut right from the get-go, leaving no traces (to the BAU) that something more was afoot after Steven Parkett. Perhaps I could fanwank that Parkett's computer revealed that he bought the runner from somewhere, but this should have been explained. Even so, why didn't Kate or Hotch or, well, anyone pursue the case upon discovering that?

 

At the very least, Kate could have told Meg about the ring and remind her about how to watch out for predators online.

 

*Ahem*

 

Speaking of Meg, I could bring up her stupidity before, or that her "love blinders" would have made sense had the writers fleshed it out decently but didn't...but that's all been explained before. What I will bring up is that I never did see just how "smart" this girl really was- we were told multiple times that she knew how to keep the criminals at bay, but I didn't see the criminals really slow down around her, except at the final moment. Well, okay, credit to Meg for telling Markayla that she should try to escape, because that was a bright thing to think of and not too many kidnap victims (unfortunately) think of something like that. Rest of her brilliance? Just didn't see it.

 

I will say I did appreciate the backslap to her face and that it left a visible bruise...too often TV just won't "go there" with women or children, so I appreciated that the show did so. I doubt such a slap would leave that kind of a mark, but that's just a minor quibble.

 

Other points:

 

-Reid had quite a few things to do and say. A good performance, especially in interrogation.

-Morgan didn't do much, though he did make a tackle. Missed those lately.

-While it did annoy me that JJ used her "mother senses" to crack the female participant, at least she wasn't as dominant as she had been in other cases like this.

-Rossi and Hotch also had lots to do themselves- in fact, it very much was a vintage performance by them, especially when interrogating the UnSub. It was only that scene that really rang true for me.

-Garcia may not have been around much, but I think her supercomputer once again did more work than it needed to in this episode.

 

Finally...I couldn't finish before bringing up Kate. I hope there's a S12 and that Kate makes a few appearances next season, because- wow, Jennifer Love Hewitt knocked it out of the park with her acting. It's a pity that this could be the last we will see of Kate, but at the very least no one can say that Hewitt's tenure, however brief, wasn't memorable. Goodbye to you, congrats on your kid and a job well done. You also get a good hearty hug from me...Hewitt, you deserve it.

 

So, rating...not a stellar case by any means, but not a complete trainwreck. It was watchable, although I doubt I'd look for it again. C-.

[missmycat]

Sad to say  that CM didn't end the season on a very positive note ratings wise. this episode was adjusted down from a 1.9 to a 1.8. Yes I know that television has been down in general but this is the season finale we were talking about. So it is disappointing, but sadly not surprising.I still say it was a huge mistake to hand over the CM finale to Kate and her niece. I just don't feel enough fans were invested in Kate's character or her niece for that matter for her to have warranted being given this season finale. This is nothing personal against Kate, because as I've said before I actually liked her better than JJ.

 

Anyways even though I have yet to see the episode, based on the feedback, I have to concur with those who feel this would have been passable as a filler episode, but as the season finale it just wasn't up to par. At least with the season 9 finale they gave us something to look forward to. But not this time around, at least not for me.

Edited May 9, 2015 by missmycat