The Bullpen

[JMO]

 I see Reid as intensely private and, when it comes to relationships with the opposite sex, self-protective. He's been hurt by the pretty girls of his past, and I think he is wary about the same thing happening in the present.  I think a woman needs to show him her integrity and trustworthiness before he'll let her into his heart.  That's what happened with Maeve and, whether in a romantic or platonic way, with JJ. I don't really think he fell in love with Maeve's mind.  I think he fell in love with her core.

 

But he also has hormones, and curiosity, and I suspect that's why he responded to Lila as he did.  And I agree that the brief flirtation with Austin was just that---a flirtation, an ego boost, because, as Droogie said, he tried something and it worked. I couldn't really call either of those episodes a romance, nor even a crush.  They were brief little encounters that sated his curiosity and stroked his ego, but they remained entirely in the realm of superficial. 

Edited February 25, 2015 by JustMyOpinion

[Cobalt Stargazer]

FA, why is it bad that Reid is attracted to pretty girls? There's nothing wrong with that, especially when one is so shy he never follows up on these attractions. The only reason he took JJ to the game (and do we even know that they went together? No...) is because Gideon gifted him the tickets and pushed him.

 

I'm not FA, obviously, but I don't think its so much that he/she is saying that its "bad" for Reid to be attracted to physical beauty, and had I not used the word "shallow" in a previous post it might not have come up. I do agree with Droogie, though, that if things had gone any farther with Lila or Austin he'd have found them dull sooner rather than ,later, and Lila sooner than Austin. When I'm feeling either contrary or perverse, depending on your viewpoint, I think he could have fallen for Alex, whose intelligence and maturity would have been compatible with what I think Spencer would have needed in a relationship other than trust. But again, she was married, and it kind of screws with my head canon anyway so I don't really seriously entertain the idea.

[ForeverAlone]

I am just saying that Reid mainly wanting pretty girls was obvious and shallow, and completely is at odds with the idea that Reid is only attracted to a woman's mind. Reid was not some special guy who only was attracted to a woman's mind, but rather just like every other straight guy in wanting a hot chick. The writers have always pushed the idea that Reid isn't someone most women would give another thought to, but they did write him like all other guys with what turned his head.

[normasm]

And I'm saying his eye being attracted to pretty girls does not mean he wants them, it just means he has an active imagination. I look at hot, gorgeous men like MGG and it definitely sparks my imagination, but I have my mate, to whom I was attracted by his humor and intelligence more than anything. Just as in real life, the character of Reid is not a monk, nor is he a whore dog, he's just a man.

[Droogie]

I dunno, Normasm! I'm starting to think he is going to come out as a monk, the way he is written. No love for Reid!

Edited February 25, 2015 by Droogie

[SSAHotchner]

I really liked the relationship that Elle and Reid had. She was always respectful of him and appreciative of his contributions. 

[zannej]

I always thought that one of the reasons Reid was attracted to JJ was 1) he knew her longer than he knew Elle, 2) she confided some secrets to him-- or at least opened up about her past interests and stuff more than she did to other people-- something I'm not sure if Elle ever did. 3) she didn't give off quite the same sisterly vibe that Elle gave off, and 4) Reid's mother has blonde hair and blue eyes so maybe he found that combination attractive because of that. It's not unusual for guys to be attracted to women who remind them of their mothers a bit. JJ's looks were more important to the job than Elle's looks because JJ had to present herself to the public and speak to the media. Something about that might have appealed to Reid as well. 

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with Reid being attracted to pretty women and maybe even developing a crush. I didn't actually ever get much chemistry with Austin though. I think one of my objections to it was that Morgan picked her out instead of Reid. She was sort of an experiment.

 

I do find it sad that one of the few times a woman was hitting on Reid and admiring his intelligence, it turned out the woman was a hooker (in "memoriam"). Although I'm still amused by the line Hotch got in another episode about how Reid got propositioned by every prostitute they talked to. I kind of miss those days. Now the writing staff seems to treat it like he's completely unattractive.

 

The way the side characters on the show react to the team in general is not the same as it was in earlier seasons most of the time. I think they use the cops less now.

[spinner33]

Hell, they're using most of the TEAM less now, let along local LEOs.   =( 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

To change the subject a bit, I'm up to the part in the thread/show where Emily has just arrived, and wow, not much love for Prentiss at all. Which surprises me, but apparently someone coined the nickname 'Morticia Sue', and there's lots of wishing that she won't take screen time away from Garcia and JJ. One poster even suggested that she should go back to Yale or back to her parents, but its the stuff about the screen time that perhaps inappropriately amuses me. Like, oh, you innocent kids, if only you knew what's coming.

 

Sometimes being snowed in has its uses.

[Danielg342]

Prentiss had, what, four minutes of screentime in her debut? Which she followed with very little feature time until “Honour Among Thieves” if memory serves me correctly. Not sure what the griping would be about.

[Old Dog]

It took a long time for fans to warm up to Prentiss. There were some really unpleasant things said about her. It is why I think it is a shame that Blake left when she did as the fans were really warming up to her despite the writing for her being so poor.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

And it isn't even that they were clamoring for Elle to come back, since there was plenty of "Good riddance!" when she left. They just really didn't like Emily/Paget for whatever reason. I'm retroactively feeling sorry for her because of the asshole tone of things right now.

[missmycat]

And speaking of TWOP, right now just about everyone loves Garcia. But we know that certainly isn't the case today. And there will come a time when some people are going to be bitching about the focus Reid gets. And I'd really love to hear from some of these people and have them tell me honestly that the show is so much more better now than when he was getting the focus. But let us not forget that back in those days the team  as a whole was still quite relevant both in screen time and what they contributed. As oppose to what CM is today ie The Unsub/JJ show where many on the team are not all that relevant anymore either in screen time as well as what they contribute.

Edited February 27, 2015 by missmycat

[normasm]

Man, they tore Prentiss UP on TWoP. Everything from her nose to the fact that she wasn't blond. I know since I wasn't a fan until late season 5 early 6, I didn't have to go through the online fandom (and probably wouldn't have bothered back in the day), but i like to think I would have liked my favorites back then as much as now. I know i would have loved Reid, even though it took me a while to "get" him, and I used to really like Garcia. I loved Hotch in the early days, when I came to see them.

Edited February 27, 2015 by normasm

[missmycat]

I miss the days when a newbie struggled to fit in and find their place on the team. It happened to Prentiss. And It happened to Rossi even though he was one of the founding members of the BAU. I really do feel it helped us to get to know them better as characters. Nowadays a newbie more or less fits right in like they've been there all along.

[normasm]

I loved Rossi's introduction and aftermath. He was such a tool, and I loved hating him until he had a few reckonings. He was totally plausible as someone who birthed the BAU, and thought they would strew palm branches on his return to it. He found that they ignored his overweening ego and prized his experience, and eventually, his big ol teddy bear heart.  It took a subtle arc for him to get with the team, and it was plausible and juicy-good.

[JMO]

You fall in love when you fall in love.

 

It sounds like a lot of us are reading through the old TWOP comments and seeing the protests when the cast began to change.  Having come late to the dance (Season 6), I didn't have to experience the loss of the familiar, original cast members, so Emily Prentiss was just fine with me.  I'm sure the same thing is happening now.  Newcomers to the fandom, those who've discovered the show over the past couple of years, probably don't understand why people bemoan the changes in JJ, and the prominence of both JJ and Garcia.  They fell in love with the show as they found it. 
 

 

Totally different note, but Minimal Loss is on right now.  I think it was the first episode I ever saw.  Like Cyrus (Luke Perry), I had no idea who the FBI agent was---but I was 100% sure it wasn't the skinny, geeky, guy. The next episode I stumbled upon was "The Instincts", after which I went out of my way to find "Memoriam."  And I was in love.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Man, they tore Prentiss UP on TWoP. Everything from her nose to the fact that she wasn't blond.

 

Also, apparently Emily talked too loud. Which....I don't know what that even means. Granted, I have middle-aged ears, but she sounded just as normal as everyone else on the show.

 

You fall in love when you fall in love.

 

This is definitely true, and some of the griping about Prentiss is based on the idea that the team worked better with fewer agents, which is what some people are saying in the present. But I used the words 'asshole tone' for a reason. As someone who is known to bitch at length - for years - when my TV shows let me down, I like to think I'm able to use logic as a basis for my complaints, whatever they happen to be. I've even grown used to Kate, and I was completely ready to be sick of her before she even opened her mouth after getting burned by what happened with Alex Blake. I might be only moderately fond of her, but I never wanted her to die in a fire. I'm wondering if these are the same people who will be bellowing about Alex taking Emily's place when the time comes for that.

[SSAHotchner]

The first ep I saw (on ION TV) was Penelope. I didn't even realize the show was still on CBS. I wandered through various eps on ION and A&E and soon bought seasons 1-5 on DVD. But, while I saw Prentiss in the first episode I watched, I quickly began watching the DVDs from the start. I loved the introduction of Emily to the team. Hotch gave her a hard time, and Gideon was not easy to convince, either, but the others quickly recognized her value when she was able to translate that message in Arabic for the team. What I also loved about her is that she wasn't cocky. She was appropriately grateful to be included on the team and respectful of Hotch and Gideon as its leaders. She was confident in her areas of expertise, but she was also eager to get to know the rest of the team and, like Elle, she asked questions of Hotch and Gideon to learn more about profiling. She was interested in the others as people as well as her fellow agents. It was only her 3rd full episode where we saw her geeky side when Reid was doing "physics magic." Really, I loved her right from the start. I will say, though, that my husband criticizes Paget's nose every time I'm watching an episode she's in. I think she's pretty and I really love the personality of Emily. 

[zannej]

I started watching in 2009 before season 5 aired, but I binge-watched marathons on A&E that showed it from the beginning and we got the DVDs, so I got to watch things in order. So I saw Elle first. I wasn't quite as fond of her, but I loved Prentiss. I didn't like Rossi at first. I initially started watching because I recognized Mandy Patinkin and Thomas Gibson. I remembered Thomas as "the slut from Chicago Hope". LOL. I ended up really finding Reid to be interesting and he quickly became my favorite.

I think the very first episode I saw was The Fisher King.

Edited February 28, 2015 by zannej

[spinner33]

It's very interesting to compare how they have handled the introduction of new characters over the years!

[idiotwaltz]

 

I didn't like Rossi at first.

 

Me too! I started off as a sporadic viewer in Season 1, so I was accustomed to the old team, and I found Gideon intriguing (plus I still thought of him as Rube from Dead Like Me), so it really took me time to warm up to Rossi. But once I fell in love, I fell in love hard. Same with Prentiss. I thought Elle rocked and was caught my surprise when an episode of Season 2 was on and somebody else was in her place.

 

Once I did a marathon of the series from Season 1 to ... I think mid-season 4? I floved Prentiss hard. I also really liked JJ in the first three seasons. Then she became a mother and we never heard the end of it again. 

[missmycat]

Me too! I started off as a sporadic viewer in Season 1, so I was accustomed to the old team, and I found Gideon intriguing (plus I still thought of him as Rube from Dead Like Me), so it really took me time to warm up to Rossi. But once I fell in love, I fell in love hard. Same with Prentiss. I thought Elle rocked and was caught my surprise when an episode of Season 2 was on and somebody else was in her place.

 

Once I did a marathon of the series from Season 1 to ... I think mid-season 4? I floved Prentiss hard. I also really liked JJ in the first three seasons. Then she became a mother and we never heard the end of it again. 

True, but at least JJ wasn't supermom back than. She didn't earn that title until EM officially took over as show ruiner. I still remember this one interview MESSer did about how excited she was to have AJ/JJ back because both the actress and her character were now mothers. And as a mother herself it was something MESSer could identify with. So you see it really doesn't matter if "JJ IS A MOMMY" helps to make the show as well as the character more interesting or compelling for us fans. All that matters is that MESSer herself can relate to it because she too is a mother. So sadly when it comes right down to it, it's really all about Erica MESSer and what she find intriguing and compelling. Hence the emphasis being taken off the team working the case and more on the unsub committing the crime.

 

Likewise the same goes for the individual team members. Is there any evidence Reid or Hotch are less popular than they use to be. I sure don't see it. But hey that doesn't really matter. The only thing that does is, does Erica find them to be interesting and compelling.And imho, especially where Reid is concerned, I don't think she does. Nowadays we are way more guaranteed to get a Garcia centric episode than a Reid centric episode.Simply because MESSer probably finds Garcia more interesting and compelling than the Reid plus she probably is a lot easier to write for especially where MESSer and these writers are concerned.

 

And then we have that on going story line with Kate and Meg her bratty niece. I seriously doubt that the majority of the CM fandom are all that intrigued with it. But hey I'm sure Erica MESSer is. And like I said it's really all about Erica, isn't it ?

Edited February 28, 2015 by missmycat

[spinner33]

We can blame Messer for the fixation on JJ and motherhood, and also for the fixation on FREAKING ROMANCE. 

 

I really dread the upcoming storyline with the niece too.  I don't understand how can you waste so much time on side characters that nobody gives a shit about, and still keep your job.  It is exactly like those fanfics where the original character gets the bulk of the story time. 

 

These writers are so heavy-handed.  I don't look forward to them wasting the screen time on hackneyed clichés.  =( 

[amensisterfriend]

Idiotwaltz, I just took that "Which Criminal Minds Character Are you?" quiz you posted a couple of weeks ago. I, too, mysteriously got Morgan...and I, too, am very un-Morgan-esque :) The part about fully trusting very few people is true, but Morgan is sociable and slick and very confident and tough and a ladies' man and super athletic and alpha and patronizing and prone to offering lots of unsolicited advice, and none of that is really me at all. Especially the sociable and super athletic part ;) 

 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/neonzelda/what-criminal-minds-character-are-you-fnuz#.yyKW2W71v

Edited March 1, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[Cobalt Stargazer]

So Open Season just finished on ION, and does anyone else get kind of irked at the end? I can see why Emily would be disturbed by the last near-victim's question, and she was still mostly new to the team at the time, but it struck me that she was comparing the team with the people they try to catch. It's a very small irk, but it is an irk.

 

Also, when I said upthread that I wanted  & E to stop airing the episodes out of order, I did not mean that I wanted ION to start doing it. They showed The Big Game this afternoon, then skipped right to Distress. What is with their scheduling people?

[SSAHotchner]

So Open Season just finished on ION, and does anyone else get kind of irked at the end? I can see why Emily would be disturbed by the last near-victim's question, and she was still mostly new to the team at the time, but it struck me that she was comparing the team with the people they try to catch. It's a very small irk, but it is an irk.

 

Also, when I said upthread that I wanted  & E to stop airing the episodes out of order, I did not mean that I wanted ION to start doing it. They showed The Big Game this afternoon, then skipped right to Distress. What is with their scheduling people?

Open Season was also on A&E this morning and they skipped my favorite scene with the ladies at the bar and Brad "the real FBI agent."

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Open Season was also on A&E this morning and they skipped my favorite scene with the ladies at the bar and Brad "the real FBI agent."

 

They did show that scene on ION, SSA Hotchner, so that was a small blessing.

[normasm]

Yeah, what was with that scheduling?! I'm nearly done with A&E with all the editing to squeeze in the extra commercial or 2. Yuck.

[Droogie]

A&E definitely cuts out things. Trying to fit in extra commercials maybe?

[SSAHotchner]

My husband and I have been working our way through Ed Bernero's series Crossing Lines on Netflix. Last night we saw an episode that was written by Ed's son Jason Bernero, who also works on Criminal Minds. It was very much a BAU kind of case. Serial killer drowning victims. It was trite and predictable. Unsub was a religious nut (of course) who found his victims on a religious pilgrimage trail, drugged them with Ketamine and then, in an effort to cleanse them of their "sins," "baptized" them in a river until they drowned. He also had both his deceased parents (also former religious fanatics) still inside the home with their rosaries and other religious paraphernalia surrounding them. 

 

I guess since Ed is the show's creator he can use his son as a writer, but any cop/mystery show buff could have figured this out so easily. It hardly took a special team of international crime solvers to get to the bottom of this case. I'm just so tired of this kind of predictable, rehashed writing and I'm tired of writers using religion as the catalyst for turning folks into serial killers. 

[FormerMod-a1]

So Open Season just finished on ION, and does anyone else get kind of irked at the end? I can see why Emily would be disturbed by the last near-victim's question, and she was still mostly new to the team at the time, but it struck me that she was comparing the team with the people they try to catch. It's a very small irk, but it is an irk.

 

It irks me, too.  The answer seemed so simple to me.  The BAU members are not obsessing about when they can kill next, nor plotting how to kill again, nor getting off on killing.  They may get some pleasure from taking down a serial killer, but that's more in a sense of relief, not real joy.  

[zannej]

It irks me, too.  The answer seemed so simple to me.  The BAU members are not obsessing about when they can kill next, nor plotting how to kill again, nor getting off on killing.  They may get some pleasure from taking down a serial killer, but that's more in a sense of relief, not real joy.  

Yeah. That was one of the things that bugged me when Prentiss asked that. I was like "How can she even think it compares?" I don't know how anyone could possibly equate "hunting" serial killers to stop them from killing to serial killers hunting victims. Its completely different. I thought that was some bad writing for the dialog there.

[SSAHotchner]

A&E definitely cuts out things. Trying to fit in extra commercials maybe?

Argh! Just watched the end of The Last Word on A&E and they actually cut Emily's lines to Hotch where she pleads her case as to why she belongs on the team and that her parents did not use their influence to get her the job. That is key to Emily's character and future on the team. 

[missmycat]

 http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/zap2it_social_media_showdown_2015_vote_for_all_platforms_in_round_3-2015-03

 

Okay all you Reid/MGG lovers and I include myself. Matthew needs our votes.

 

 

ETA: You are allowed to vote more than once.

Also since I don't post over at IMBD if someone else would post this link that would be great.

Edited March 16, 2015 by missmycat

[missmycat]

I am sorry to say but it looks as if those S.O.B. might have that poll rigged. I tried to vote for Matthew several more time but my vote wouldn't go thru.

So I decided to see what would happen if I were to vote for his opponent. So I did twice and both times my vote went thru.

[JMO]

Ever notice how MGG's social media posts explode just before and during the making of the episodes he directs? Then they taper back down, afterwards. It's like he has an overload of creative energy, and has to find something to do with it.

[missmycat]

Ever notice how MGG's social media posts explode just before and during the making of the episodes he directs? Then they taper back down, afterwards. It's like he has an overload of creative energy, and has to find something to do with it.

Yes. I wonder if part of it might be nervous energy. But he is such a creative person to begin with anyways. So I imagine that he tries to use his social media pages as an outlet for that so called creativity. And I have also noticed that for whatever reason the CBS/CM social media seem to be giving him a lot more attention than they have in the past.

[normasm]

He tweeted so much over the weekend, it seemed like he was awfully bored...

[JMO]

I really don't think it's boredom.  I think he has a lot on his plate, and he uses social media to expend some of the energy of it, maybe to distract his thinking, while he's letting things marinate.  But it's definitely tied to his projects, to the point where, if if he's not known to be directing, I'll wonder what other gem he's got going on.

[Russet29]

Watching Alchemy on Ion for the first time in a while and I was pleasantly surprised by how it begins. After the overly icky introduction Reid talks to Rossi about this case that he read about in a local newspaper and they have a nice, quick back and forth. Then, it cuts to Reid presenting the case, which makes complete sense because he's the one who found it and advocated for it. And that's when the promising start comes to a screeching halt. There's a technical issue with the clicker and Garcia steps in (of course) and she "already has it memorized so I don't have to look at the gross." Ugh. Typing all this out is remarkably cathartic.

 

Anyway, this got me thinking that maybe it wouldn't be the worse thing in the world if the team members took turns presenting cases. From what I understand each profiler goes through several files a day and essentially sends out profiles to various police departments, with the most serious cases getting in-person help from the team. I would imagine Hotch is mainly responsible for deciding where the team goes but I'm not sure that's ever been made clear (at least since JJ left). Maybe the person who initially got the case file should be the one to then present it. It might be a bit gimmicky and I would still prefer JJ back to her liaison position and presenting all of the cases, but seeing as that's not going to happen this scenario seems better and more realistic than Garcia being in charge.

[Danielg342]

Watching Alchemy on Ion for the first time in a while and I was pleasantly surprised by how it begins. After the overly icky introduction Reid talks to Rossi about this case that he read about in a local newspaper and they have a nice, quick back and forth. Then, it cuts to Reid presenting the case, which makes complete sense because he's the one who found it and advocated for it. And that's when the promising start comes to a screeching halt. There's a technical issue with the clicker and Garcia steps in (of course) and she "already has it memorized so I don't have to look at the gross." Ugh. Typing all this out is remarkably cathartic.

Anyway, this got me thinking that maybe it wouldn't be the worse thing in the world if the team members took turns presenting cases. From what I understand each profiler goes through several files a day and essentially sends out profiles to various police departments, with the most serious cases getting in-person help from the team. I would imagine Hotch is mainly responsible for deciding where the team goes but I'm not sure that's ever been made clear (at least since JJ left). Maybe the person who initially got the case file should be the one to then present it. It might be a bit gimmicky and I would still prefer JJ back to her liaison position and presenting all of the cases, but seeing as that's not going to happen this scenario seems better and more realistic than Garcia being in charge.

I think that would be a welcome change, and it would make more sense. Plus it could allow for some inter-team drama where a teammate might feel “snubbed” from having their cases rejected, and it could make for a great episode if the case that was snubbed was the one the team really should have gone on.

I'd also like to see a bit more episodes like “Damaged” or “The Crossing”, where the team takes on different cases, because that would be realistic too.

[normasm]

I really don't think it's boredom.  I think he has a lot on his plate, and he uses social media to expend some of the energy of it, maybe to distract his thinking, while he's letting things marinate.  But it's definitely tied to his projects, to the point where, if if he's not known to be directing, I'll wonder what other gem he's got going on.

I just meant he was bored because his direction was interrupted. Whe he gets onto a project, the interruption of a weekend must be awful.

[amensisterfriend]

Are there any seats left at the table of people who are utterly mystified by the networks' penchant to air CM episodes out of order?! Editing out certain lines and scenes doesn't bother me quite as much since I get why it's necessary...and because it provides me with the rationale I need to spend money on the DVDs :) (Because we all "need" access to the complete, commercial-free episodes, right? Right!) But airing the episodes out of order is just so unnecessarily ridiculous! It's not even like they're cleverly organizing the episodes according to featured characters or interesting themes (e.g., airing key 'Reid-centric' episodes all at once or airing all the episodes where, say, there's a youthful Unsub or where a team member is in immediate peril) They just randomly skip certain episodes and sometimes even jump seasons for no apparent reason. Granted, there's also no reason why I choose to record so many episodes despite owning them on DVD, but that's another story :) 

[Droogie]

I just meant he was bored because his direction was interrupted. Whe he gets onto a project, the interruption of a weekend must be awful.

I remember reading/hearing that once his initial foray into directing CM was finished (S5), he felt lost and not sure what to do with himself -- that was when he spontaneously cut his (glorious) S5 hair.

[JMO]

(The awful) '200' just came on. I haven't seen any of it since the inglorious day it first aired. Now, upon further viewing, I'm amazed that any of the actors were able to utter their lines with a straight face. It's kind of like watching an hour long SNL skit.

[Russet29]

(The awful) '200' just came on. I haven't seen any of it since the inglorious day it first aired. Now, upon further viewing, I'm amazed that any of the actors were able to utter their lines with a straight face. It's kind of like watching an hour long SNL skit.

On re-watch I think the biggest issue I have with it is how much they tried to squeeze in to one episode. I watch NCIS so I'm a master in suspension of disbelief. As a result the storyline doesn't bother me as much as does so many others. It's just ridiculous that they tried to fit so much into 42 some minutes instead of making it a two-parter. In one episode they had to explain the entire story of JJ's missing year, show her being tortured (would have been better without this but we know how much these writers love unsub heavy stories), bring Emily back in a fairly prominent role, show the team trying to find her in time, and resolve everything in a neat and tidy manner. It's just an overinflated mess.

[secnarf]

On re-watch I think the biggest issue I have with it is how much they tried to squeeze in to one episode. I watch NCIS so I'm a master in suspension of disbelief. As a result the storyline doesn't bother me as much as does so many others. It's just ridiculous that they tried to fit so much into 42 some minutes instead of making it a two-parter. In one episode they had to explain the entire story of JJ's missing year, show her being tortured (would have been better without this but we know how much these writers love unsub heavy stories), bring Emily back in a fairly prominent role, show the team trying to find her in time, and resolve everything in a neat and tidy manner. It's just an overinflated mess.

I'm also very good at suspending disbelief, and when I watch TV I am generally very forgiving in terms of ridiculous storylines. For me, the reason I watch TV is not so that I can watch something that could happen in real life. I'm much more interested in the characters themselves rather than whatever the story of the week is.

So, with 200, I was really just thrilled to see Emily. I love Emily. It doesn't matter much to me how ridiculous the story is (and I do realize that there are a LOT of issues with it and things to nitpick); I'm just happy that Emily is in it.

[amensisterfriend]

I just watched Instincts for the millionth or so time and had to share with people who would understand---aka. you guys---how much I love this episode. The actress who plays the mother of the abducted child is fantastic, the case is harrowing yet ultimately has a rare, well-earned happy ending, Reid's dreams are fascinating to me, we get to see angry, snarky Rossi and Emily interrogate a suspect...etc. And, of course, we get some terrific scenes between Reid and Diana. All things Reid and Diana are automatic series highlights for me :) 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I just watched Instincts for the millionth or so time and had to share with people who would understand---aka. you guys---how much I love this episode. The actress who plays the mother of the abducted child is fantastic, the case is harrowing yet ultimately has a rare, well-earned happy ending, Reid's dreams are fascinating to me, we get to see angry, snarky Rossi and Emily interrogate a suspect...etc. And, of course, we get some terrific scenes between Reid and Diana. All things Reid and Diana are automatic series highlights for me :) 

 

That actress is Kari Matchett, who would go on to play Joan Campbell on Covert Affairs opposite Peter Gallagher (and his eyebrows), and yes, she did a very good job as the frantic mother, even when she very much didn't want to go to the funeral of the other little kid. Also, notice that in the second half of the two-parter, Rossi and Morgan only caution Reid against letting his justified anger against Sperm Donor completely cloud his judgment. Even though he ends up being wrong, the writing still supports him for the most part and doesn't make him look like an idiot. Wonderful stuff.