S11.E10: Future Perfect

[thewhiteowl]

The BAU searches for an UnSub who may be fascinated with medical experimentation.

 

Please feel free to add any relevant info and please hold your complaints till after you see it.

 

[smoker]

another sneak peek, this time on 

 

http://www.criminalmindsroundtable.blogspot.com.es/

 

they posted both, spoilertv posted only the first one

Edited December 9, 2015 by smoker

[Reghan]

Garcia and Rossi moments are pretty rare these days so that was cute. :)

 

Also the ending with her in her PJs looking for snacks(That's so me...except minus the yogurt..........) GARCIA YOU LEFT THE ICE CREAM OUT, POOR MELTY ICE CREAM...

[ForeverAlone]

I thought the episode HAD potential in the ideas, but they weren't really fleshed out or really connected well for me. I didn't really buy the connection between the unsub's obsession with extending life, but trying to cure neuro degenerative diseases. Those are really two different things to me. I also thought there was too much unsub, and too much old couple. This reminded me a lot of God Complex.

 

Two PSAs from the week. Don't meet a new date in a cemetery in the middle of the night. At least she balked at the prospect of putting on a blindfold, but still. And also, don't trust strange, non-doctors who come to your door, promising possible miracle cures that just happen to be illegal and the result of unethical experimentation. But if you do happen to disregard that PSA, please, please, please don't take the sick person to an abandoned medical facility, thinking you are going to get quality medical care.

 

I did like that Bruce wrote some respectful absent Reid scenes (unlike Kim, who just wrote snarky, disrespectful stuff, encouraging us to laugh at him). It seemed like Hotch and Rossi assumed the Reid role for providing relevant intellectual information, though thankfully Rossi mentioned that he called Reid to get the information he was giving. Since Matthew was in town for the filming of this episode, they COULD have written in an actual scene with Rossi calling Reid, but they didn't. Was Matthew's absence designated to be three full episodes?

 

And WTF was that ending...to be continued? Hotch comes running in and says to Penelope that they may have found a way to bring the entire network down!?! Granted, okay, that sounds like a nice cliffhanger for the winter finale. But, but, but...the next episode is Reid's episode. How are they going to possibly segue from being on the verge of taking down the hitman network, to Reid going on one of the worst dates in history? I'm sure the writers have SOME sort of plan (not that that is a comforting thought), but usually, when we have this sort of ending, we immediately go into resolving it, like we did in 200 and Penelope. But I am not seeing the path from this ending to Entropy. And if Reid gets screwed out of serious screen time in Entropy, I am marching on CM studios with a pitchfork.

[RearcherInReal]

if Reid gets screwed out of serious screen time in Entropy, I am marching on CM studios with a pitchfork.

Same here, same here.

But I'd rather like to find out who has been paying for this show and attack them.

However, seriously if the blindest and stupidest writers and showrunners of CM get screwed Reid's screen time in episode11, I think 80% of youngest viewers and about a half demos will be gone and I do think the ratings of CM will TANK soon.

[ForeverAlone]

Yeah, look on places like Facebook and the overwhelming response to this episode is "where the hell is Reid?" The second most common response seems to be displeasure with Aisha Tyler. The Reid fans are NOT happy, and it is furthered by the fact that nobody from this show has addressed Matthew's absence. 

[Reghan]

I think everyone needs to calm down about Reid he was gone for 3 episodes. He deserves a break just like everyone else deserves one. It's not like he left for good. He's literally back next episode. #ChillFam xD

[ForeverAlone]

The thing is though, you would not know that if you did not stalk social media. There has been nothing official about Matthew's absence, so it is no wonder many fans are upset and confused.

[Guesswht]

Yeah, look on places like Facebook and the overwhelming response to this episode is "where the hell is Reid?" The second most common response seems to be displeasure with Aisha Tyler. The Reid fans are NOT happy, and it is furthered by the fact that nobody from this show has addressed Matthew's absence. 

"The second most common response seems to be displeasure with Aisha Tyler"

You mean -terrible, pointless&pathetic HATE messages?

I think everyone needs to calm down about Reid he was gone for 3 episodes. He deserves a break just like everyone else deserves one. It's not like he left for good. He's literally back next episode. #ChillFam xD

They're not going to calm down.

JJ was gone for 7 !!! episodes. We (her fans) missed her terribly, it was hard to watch the show without her. But we did NOT take our sadness out on Aisha, JJ fans are better than that. We just stopped watching and then starting watching again when JJ came back <3

[ForeverAlone]

Uh, Reid fans weren't necessarily the ones targeting Aisha. It was just the same type of comments directed at her from the beginning. Which are the same type of comments directed at every female that has replaced Emily. Nothing new to see here. It is the same reaction as it has been for the last three years.

[Guesswht]

Uh, Reid fans weren't necessarily the ones targeting Aisha. It was just the same type of comments directed at her from the beginning. Which are the same type of comments directed at every female that has replaced Emily. Nothing new to see here. It is the same reaction as it has been for the last three years.

Oh, so it's natural for some people to write mean things about her. Well for me, it's just wrong.

 

Honestly, I hope CM gets cancelled. We don't deserve the show anymore.

Edited December 10, 2015 by Guesswht

[zannej]

I initially missed the first 20 minutes of the episode because I lost track of time and I couldn't stay interested in it so I watched it again later. I took notes while watching.

Ok. I'm watching the episode from the beginning. Aww. Cute fat froggy. I was hoping the guy would miss, but no. and the frog on the spear is smaller. Is it wrong that I'm more bothered by the death of that frog than by the death of any of the human victims? Poor froggy.

I call BS on them not smelling the corpses before they saw them. With that amount of moisture around, they would have been stinking horribly.

I actually liked the scene with Rossi and Garcia playing poker. Garcia wasn't whining incessantly, and her frustration is understandable. I felt there was the right level of warmth from Rossi.

Word of advice: Don't go to meet someone in a cemetery at night. If they say "Don't you trust me" while pulling out a blindfold, the answer is "Hell no". Ok. So she did develop some sense of self-preservation, but a little too late. It would have been better to have not met in a dark cemetery in the first place.

Clever pun in the opening quote-- the clock talked/tocked.

Ugh. So much for Garcia not being annoying. Saying she was going to mute them because the insect thing was too icky.. After all of these years and having worked with Reid, she must have heard MUCH worse. She would not still be in that job if she couldn't handle it by now. Her constant complaining about it got old a long time ago.

I like that JJ knew what spin the media would be putting on the case.

I like that we have Hotch delegating, and telling JJ to "reign in the media" reminds me of older seasons.

I see that Hotch opened the door for the female detective.

At first the elderly couple talking reminded me of something from one of those commercials for life insurance, and I felt the exposition dialog itself was a bit unnatural, but the actor did a good job with it. It was a believable reaction for someone who saw his plans for the future evaporating. And I can totally get the frustration with the medical facility-- especially since the doctor seemed somewhat cold and unmoved by their plight. She tried to give comforting words, but her facial expressions and such were distant. I've met doctors like that. Hell, I've met doctors worse than that.

Thus far, I think Garcia's search results are making sense and no magic computer solution just yet.

So the unsub has the old guy gagged and is surprised when the old man has a heart attack-- he starts doing chest compressions while yelling "breathe". Uh... Wouldn't it help to take the gag out and make sure the old dude didn't swallow his tongue or something? Oh wait, now he's gone full rage monster and is pointlessly beating a corpse.

Other than being elderly and sickly, there really isn't as much to link the 2nd elderly victim to the first crime. The body was all beat up-- which wasn't the same as the previous m.o.  For all they know, it could have been an attempted mugging gone wrong. Until they had more info from the coroner, it was premature to link him in.

The profile doesn't usually contradict itself, so its odd to me that JJ said one thing-- its personal, and Morgan says it might not be personal and the unsub is playing God. Uh, make up your mind before presenting the profile! That is just going to confuse people. Then Rossi has a 3rd motive. It seems like they were NOT ready for the profile if they haven't actually narrowed down the motive. Motive is very important to getting inside the unsub's head and figuring out more about who he is. This discussion of motives should have been what the team did while spitballing ideas BEFORE presenting the profile.

Given the divergence in methods, I'm surprised the team didn't assume it might be a duo where one was controlled and the other was irrational.

And once again, we have the killing of poor defenseless creatures. Those poor jellyfish. I wish they had stung the guy.

The first time I watched the episode, I couldn't stay interested. Watching it again, I feel bad for the elderly couple. Since I've mentioned that I had elderly friends, I've seen this sort of thing happen-- where one is ill and the other knows they will be left behind.

I love the shirt the "mad scientist club" woman is wearing! Kitties!

It seems like the PSA is not to trust strange men who want to meet in cemeteries or offer illegal experimental treatment. On one hand, the old man should have known better. On the other, I think his distress and desperation overrode his sense of logic.

I like that Garcia isn't instantly getting hits on her computer this time. Richard or Robert is rather vague-- and it make sense that the cat-shirt lady didn't remember the name. Good thing I've never been called as a witness. I am horrible with names.

Another example of a stupid person. "I'm calling security" and walking further into the room rather than leaving the room and going to get a different phone or shouting for security.

I wonder if the unsub bothered to wipe his prints off of things or if they will turn out to be all over the crime scene.

I like that Rossi called Reid to ask for info on stuff. I wish there had been some mention of how things were going for him, but a single mention was nice. For some reason, other than the bird, the list of creatures has me thinking of the "Under the Sea" song.

Unsub's story about the nursing home is booooring at first. I did like the way they filmed it so you could hear the unsub and the old man speaking the lines sort of at the same time. It did look sort of creepy, but still, it seems a little hard to believe that one incident would have traumatized the kid so much.

WTF, he couldn't have injected her in the arm or something? And why does he have her sitting in all that water and glass? Couldn't he have moved her somewhere dry and tied her? Like a chair and then tied the chair to the support beam?

I'm impressed that the old man was able to lift his wife, but you'd think his first call would be to 911. Nope. *sigh*

Sad that the old woman died. I kept wishing someone would give her a jacket or something to keep her warm. Frankly, as soon as the old man saw that the place looked abandoned, he should have turned around and taken her straight to the nearest hospital.

Garcia's pajamas look more appropriate for work than what she usually wears. Just because there's no "time to waste" doesn't mean you can't put the stuff back in the freezer!!

Next episode better have a satisfactory continuation to justify the rush to leave the office.

Second viewing kept my interest more. It wasn't a terrible episode. I was disappointed to see the unsub's face so soon, but it wasn't a terrible episode. I think it was good. Other than people behaving like idiots, overtly screamed out as horrible. I give it a B.

[Noirprncess]

The beginning of the episode felt like they borrowed it straight from BONES.

I'm still trying to figure out why a girl would agree to meet a first date in the cemetery in the first place. Let me get to know you first in a public place with lots of living people first.

[missmycat]

Overnight ratings has this episode getting a 1.9/6 and 9.22 million viewers. It will be interesting to see the final ratings. Of course it did help that both Empire and Law &Order:SVU were not on last night. What saddens me is that not too long ago Criminal Minds would have been able to get those sort of ratings or better even when competing against both those shows.

 

 

ETA: Okay It appears Empire was on. It aired at 8 and than at 9. But both were reruns.

Edited December 10, 2015 by missmycat

[Guesswht]

Overnight ratings has this episode getting a 1.9/6 and 9.22 million viewers. It will be interesting to see the final ratings. Of course it did help that both Empire and Law &Order:SVU were not on last night. What saddens me is that not too long ago Criminal Minds would have been able to get those sort of ratings or better even when competing against both those shows.

 

 

ETA: Okay It appears Empire was on. It aired at 8 and than at 9. But both were reruns.

Long story short: CM did better ratings this week than in a LONG TIME.

 

They've lost over 3 million (loyal!!) fans last year ..things will never be the same again.

[Bookish Jen]

Note to blonde victim: When going on a date with a guy you barely know it's always a good idea to meet at your local Starbucks, not your local cemetery.

 

Best parts of this episode:
Kitty Blouse! Not only is it totally adorable but "Kitty Blouse" could be the name of Spencer, Hold My Earrings latest song.

Speaking of Spencer; it was nice for this episode to have Rossi mention he reached out to Spencer to learn more about jellyfish, and he did it without being a snarky douche. Hmm, could this be a Xmas miracle?

 

I did like seeing Rossi playing cards with Garcia. You don't often see these two bonding very often. But damn it, Garcia. You're mother does not work at the BAU. Clean up after yourself!!!!!

 

Hotch opening up the door for the lady detective. He's such a gentleman.

 

Seeing JJ kick ass and take names as media liaison. It brought back memories of  JJ I actually liked and admired. Good times, good times.

 

Other than that, this episode was just a Xmas stocking of meh. Sure, aging and death can freak out an impressionable child, but most of us learn that getting older and dying is a part of life. One of these days we're going to have an unsub who didn't get the Barbie Dream House she coveted as a child so she killed a bunch of real estate agents when she got older.

 

 

[SSAHotchner]

I loved the kitty blouse!

[SSAHotchner]

So, I've seen several comments on the CM FB page that viewers thought it was not Hotch at the end rushing Garcia out of the BAU. I've already deleted the episode and don't really want to spend time looking for it online. Granted these are some of the same people that just exclaim, "It was awesome!" "Best show ever!"  no matter how crappy the episodes are, but I haven't read any comments on any of the "thinking people's" forums where anyone suspected that it was an impostor or Hotch under the influence of Mr. Scratch, as was also speculated on FB. Just curious. Did anybody think something was up? I just thought it was ridiculous that she had to be spirited out of Quantico. Why wouldn't it be safe there?

[ForeverAlone]

I can only hope that it was not Imposter! Hotch or Hotch under the influence of Mr. Scratch. The idea that this Hotch was really one of the hitmen in a plastic Hotch mask is too freaking ridiculous to contemplate. While under normal circumstances, Hotch under the influence of Mr. Scratch trying to spirit away Penelope in the middle of the night (though why not just kill her in the office) has intriguing possibilities, anything that threatens to take away focus from Reid in Entropy is a huge hell no for me. 

 

I didn't get the impression Hotch was taking Penelope out of Quantico, but rather taking her somewhere in the building that could facilitate the mission of taking down the network. Hotch did say they might have had a break in the case, so I assume he was taking her someplace to do something about it. 

[Danielg342]

Save the Ta-Ta's!

 

Oh wait, someone was with Garcia at the end? Sorry I was distracted...

 

Okay...in seriousness...Hotch being an imposter or Hotch under the influence of Mr. Scratch would be too ridiculous for this show. I know CM loves hiring Star Trek alums, but either scenario would fit better on ST than CM.

 

Now, if Hotch were an agent of the Dirty Dozen who kept Garcia at Quantico so that the hitmen could prepare to kill her, that might be something...

 

*takes several punches of fury from SSAHotchner* Come on...I need something to spice up this dreg of a show that I've been seeing for the past few seasons.

 

No, I think ForeverAlone has got it- Hotch has an investigative lead and is getting Garcia to look into it. While not being me and staring at her boobs.

[SSAHotchner]

I was just blown away by how many people posted stuff like, "That was not Hotch at the end." I know I'm distracted and bored with the episodes now, and I know there are a bunch of morons posting on the CM FB page, but it really surprised me how many folks believed that. It never occurred to me that it was anything but melodramatic. 

 

Daniel, I'm glad you're enjoying Garcia's ta-tas. As for me, my eyes wander a bit lower... on Hotch.  (wink, wink)

[Danielg342]

I was just blown away by how many people posted stuff like, "That was not Hotch at the end." I know I'm distracted and bored with the episodes now, and I know there are a bunch of morons posting on the CM FB page, but it really surprised me how many folks believed that. It never occurred to me that it was anything but melodramatic. 

 

Daniel, I'm glad you're enjoying Garcia's ta-tas. As for me, my eyes wander a bit lower... on Hotch.  (wink, wink)

 

Garcia actually looked very nice in this episode, I must admit that. I'm not sure I'd now say that Garcia is "one of TV's sexiest characters" or something (I'm partial to The Blacklist's Mozhan Marno at the moment), but I do think in this episode she found the right mix of clothes to give her figure a nice display.

 

Probably the only highlight of the episode.

[MCatry]

Garcia actually looked very nice in this episode, I must admit that. I'm not sure I'd now say that Garcia is "one of TV's sexiest characters" or something... 

 

Oh, absolutely.

But then she has to speak, and that's the end of the charm.

[Danielg342]

Oh, absolutely.

But then she has to speak, and that's the end of the charm.

I thought she was cute when she was babbling about the ice cream and yogurt...reminded me about the old days, when her being a “kid at heart” meant she was spunky and fun, not the “whiny brat” she is now.

[Bookish Jen]

I loved the kitty blouse!

I would love it as a silk scarf!

[needschocolate]

Imagine some random police show...they find two victims, and old man and a young woman, next to each other.  The medical examiner tells the detective that the man's blood was replaced by the woman's.  There is another young female victim who worked at the same restaurant as the first one.  There is also another old male victim (did they say that both of the men had gone to the same hospital or medical office?).  DNA from exotic animals is also found in/on the victims.  and a doctor at the hospital is murdered.  So, the detective checks out the restaurant and the hospital, they look into places that sell exotic animals. eventually they find some evidence linking this guy to the murders.  

 

What I am getting at here is that there was nothing about this case that required the BAU to solve it.  I get why they called the BAU in for help, but I want the cases on this show to be ones that couldn't be solved without the BAU special abilities.  

 

The CM gang eventually figured out that the guy was trying to find the fountain of youth, but it wasn't necessary to solve to the case. It would have been obvious to anyone that the unsub was performing medical experiments, and that would have been enough to lead investigators to check put people that work in medical offices or hospitals.  It wasn't important that he was trying to find the fountain of youth.  At least have the BAU figure out why he wanted to find the fountain of youth and use that to find the unsub.

 

Although, if they did have the BAU uncover the motive, then I would probably be complaining about Garcia's magical computer being able to cross reference "men named Robert or Richard" with "children who got lost in hospitals and met old cranky men."

 

As for he ending, I had a feeling that someone was going to kidnap Garcia or she would realize that bad guys were watching her.  So, I was already expecting something sinister to happen. Then Hotch walks in and told her she has to leave right now.  She can't change out of her pajamas? It sounded like someone was on their way to hurt her, not like "we need your awesome computer skills right this instant." So Hotch taking her out of the room seemed fishy to me.  I can see why people on FB are speculating that it wasn't really Hotch.  I don't think it is that far-fetched to think that it was a guy pretending to be Hotch - Heck, there just an episode where the unsub put on someone else's face.   

 

I am not saying it would be good writing, but I, unfortunately, think the writers could go there.  

[secnarf]

 

As for he ending, I had a feeling that someone was going to kidnap Garcia or she would realize that bad guys were watching her.  So, I was already expecting something sinister to happen. Then Hotch walks in and told her she has to leave right now.  She can't change out of her pajamas? It sounded like someone was on their way to hurt her, not like "we need your awesome computer skills right this instant." So Hotch taking her out of the room seemed fishy to me.  I can see why people on FB are speculating that it wasn't really Hotch.  I don't think it is that far-fetched to think that it was a guy pretending to be Hotch - Heck, there just an episode where the unsub put on someone else's face.   

 

I am not saying it would be good writing, but I, unfortunately, think the writers could go there.  

Well, it could happen: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1326885/Man-boards-plane-disguised-old-man-arrested-arrival-Canada.html

Although that doesn't explain how the voice sounded like Hotch's voice.

Honestly, it never even occurred to me that it wasn't Hotch - he was acting a bit mysterious, but I assumed that was for suspense.

[missmycat]

I finally caved and watched this episode.And maybe it is just me,but, I didn't see anything particularly strange about the situation or Hotch's demeanor. But maybe it's just me not wanting to see. Because I want that stupid boring snoozefest of an arc to be over and done.When the show returns in January the episode is going to be Reid centric.It has been a long time since we've had one of those. And if he ends up having to share a good deal of focus with that infantile clown I am going to be pissed.

 

Also I admit I actually liked that one scene with Rossi, JJ and Tari. I kept rewinding it, just so I could hear Rossi admit that he had called "The Kid"

Edited December 13, 2015 by missmycat

[MCatry]

I also finally got some time to kill, and I watched this episode.

Boring.

Annoying Garcia interrupting the screen far too much, specially when being in the same scene with people I really want to see and hear.

Not interested in the dirty dozen, unless they kill Garcia. But that's not happening.

 

Big Yawn.

[RearcherInReal]

Long story short: CM did better ratings this week than in a LONG TIME.

They've lost over 3 million (loyal!!) fans last year ..things will never be the same again.

W/O Empire and SUV? Actually, MF's rating jumped on that night and CM lost to MF again. Better ratings w/o Empire and SUV but worse than the last year means NOTHING.

And actually the rating of 18-34 dropped on that night. Or it kept dropping since Reid's gone.

The last year was terrible, yes. There was absolutely NO Reid.

All JJ and Morgan show.

When will CBS realize those two are our least favs?

Well, least may be too exaggerated, but over promotions of SM have NEVER helped any rating but feed noisy minority trolls, named SM sure-old fans, they rather pushed younger viewers and loyal viewers who were mostly connected with Reid and Hotch away.

I'm looking forward to seeing the ratings after SM leaves.

Because i'm sure that the ratings won't drop or actually rather rise in the long term.

I won't watch ep16-18 that are promised Morgan centric and I'm really not interested in.

I hope ratings will agree with me and I'm half sure of it.

Edited December 29, 2015 by RearcherInReal

[Reghan]

A true fan will watch all episodes. If you are a true fan of Criminal Minds then you should watch all of the episodes. We don't know for sure it's Morgan leaving, just speculation. Just thought I'd mention that.

[Old Dog]

A true fan will watch all episodes. If you are a true fan of Criminal Minds then you should watch all of the episodes. We don't know for sure it's Morgan leaving, just speculation. Just thought I'd mention that.

I consider myself a true fan of Criminal Minds having watched the show from the very beginning and some episodes so many times I know the dialogue by heart. However, so far I haven't been able to raise any enthusiasm to watch the Reidless episodes - I think if the quality of the writing had been there I would have watched even without Reid but in later years it is often only the sight of Reid that keeps me going!

[normasm]

A true fan of the series can't be so glibly defined. The quality of a TV series changes over time, and the perception of those changes is up to each individual fan. If the series consistently misses the expected mark, how am I less of a fan when I can't find the energy to watch it?

 

I have high expectations, even though this is just a TV show. If I think this show is being badly served by the people in charge, I will express my upset to them. I may or may not choose to watch, but I am still a fan of the show at its best. No one can tell me I'm not.

[JMO]

I have to agree with Old Dog and Normasm, and I would caution against deciding which opinions, or behaviors, constitute the identity of the 'true fan'.  

 

One could argue, for instance, that the true fan is 'true' to the origin of the series, and the original portrayal of the characters, and thereby dissatisfied when they undergo substantial changes.

 

On the other hand, someone who only discovered the show in recent years, and became a fan of how the characters and stories are currently written, might have difficulty relating to how they were in the past.  Yet, that person might consider themselves the 'true fan', because they are enjoying things as they are, and not wishing them to be as they were.

 

For better or worse, television is an art form, and the value of any type of art is determined by the individual beholder.

[Reghan]

I apologize for the way I worded it. There are episode that I didn't particularly like, but watched them. I don't like that people won't give episodes a chance because a certain character won't be in it or they heard it's supposed to be a morgan centric, jj centric, garcia centric etc. episode. It's not that hard to watch an episode. Plus for me, even if I don't love an episode, there's always a moment in the episode that I love. I don't know, I guess I shouldn't have tried to determine what a "True fan" is. It's not really my place to do so. Sorry If I upset anyone.

[normasm]

No, problem, Reghan. I did watch the Reidless episodes, because I felt the need to know what they did or didn't emphasize without one of the most important characters on the show, so I could criticize with ammunition if I felt the need. That's just how I roll. But if Old Dog can't be compelled to watch, it doesn't make her less a fan. As it turned out, I didn't have the energy to actually comment on this one, per se, but at least it wasn't as awful as the one previous.

 

Let's just call everyone who comes here to read and/or post fans of the show. It's up to the show, and how we react to the way it's run, as to whether we stay fans or give up.

[Old Dog]

No worries Reghan. But for me, it IS hard to watch an episode sometimes. Criminal Minds used to have me fluttering with excitement at the prospect every week but these recent seasons, with the shift to action, to the usub show and with the false "family" vibe, it's no longer must see TV. I am a Reid fan so however dire the episode I can watch him - I could watch him just reading case files for the entire episode quite happily! Without him in it the draw to watch just isn't there. I dislike the parody that Garcia has become so that made the Reidless episodes even more unattractive if that were possible as I knew about her absurd storyline. Nothing I have read subsequently about those 3 episodes, especially comments from people whose views I trust, has made me think they might be worth watching. Yes I am cynical and disillusioned about the show I love, and yes even with the change in the whole tenor of the show there are still the occasional episodes that give glimpses of the great show it was. But I still consider myself a true fan even though when I do watch now it is only for Reid and in the small hope we get a stand out episode.

[ReidFan]

if it helps, Old Dog, I did see the Reidless episodes. Only once each and all three likely never again, you didn't miss anything important. I've deleted them from the pvr. Didn't care for any of them but really really hated Awake. I have all the rest of this season's on the PVR still in case I do get the urge to watch any of them again. So far, the Morpheus one is the only one I'm even remotely interested in watching again. 

Unlike episodes like LDSK, Fisher King, Derailed, Revelations, Coda, Amplification, The Apprenticeship, Mr Scratch, The Lesson, Alchemy etc all of which I have on the harddrive and felt the need to get the dvds as well. These ones, as well as many others I watch over and over. Some are that good. And better. (and I didn't even list all the ones I love the most) This season. Meh, just not there. Reid is just comic relief now. Hotchner's almost always left behind in the field office. I'm just not as excited to see 'new' episodes when they won't come anywhere as close qualitywise as some of the reruns. And I'm still finding 'old' episodes I haven't seen before come up on A&E once in a while. Always a nice surprise, cause even the crappiest episode from five or six years ago is better than the ones that are on nowadays. I saw one yesterday I hadn't seen before and while it was Reid-lite, what Reid there was was good Reid. Smart, relevant, useful Reid. No giving away of the unsub before the opening credits, red herrings galore, and produced by Edward Bernero (that alone probably made it)

[BookWoman56]

I finally got around to watching this, or at least most of it. I couldn't force myself to watch the last 15 minutes because by that time my willing suspension of disbelief had vanished. Unless there was some big reveal in the last 15 minutes, the show seriously wants me to believe that the motivation for the unsub was that as a child, he encountered some random old person with wrinkles, who was blunt enough to tell him that if you live long enough, wrinkles will happen to you too? So the moral of this episode is never let your kids see someone old, because otherwise craziness happens.

 

Aside from that, the episode did not make me feel anything other than frustration about the victims. Who is stupid enough to have a first date with someone at night at a deserted cemetery? How would a request for that meeting place not set off alarms for the woman? While I don't hang out with a ton of people that age, the people I do know in the age bracket have all had it drilled into them that on a first date, you meet in a public place, with good lighting and other people around. Hell, people my age (i.e., old as dirt) know that you meet in a public place for the first date. The older couple didn't appeal to me either. Yes, it sucks that you waited most of your life to do things you really wanted to do, and now that you finally retired, your wife is terminally ill. However, when someone who is apparently an orderly or assistant of some sort at a medical facility knocks on your door and offers you a miracle cure that involves blood transfusions being performed at your home, again, how does that not raise alarms?

 

Other things that bugged: as soon as I saw the aquarium, I knew that at some point the unsub would smash it in anger and frustration. Also, the reveal that the unsub insisted the area was magical because of the legend around the fountain of youth seemed a bit lame. The plot felt very formulaic and most of the profilers were blandly interchangeable props. My issues with this episode aren't based on who was there and who wasn't, but that the episode was essentially deep-fried stupidity.

 

The kitty blouse that the former medical experimentation club member wore, though, was awesome.

[normasm]

Essentially deep-fried stupidity. Yes.