S11.E17: The Sandman

[thewhiteowl]

The BAU heads to Wichita in search of an UnSub abducting children while their parents sleep. Also, Morgan tries to find who was responsible for his attack.

 

 

[Reghan]

I'm super pumped for this episode! Please be good!!! 15 minutes to showtime :) 

[secnarf]

I thought it was a pretty mediocre, run-of-the-mill episode, fairly indistinguishable from most of the other ones for the past few seasons.

I had pretty much totally checked out, and then the ending!

I didn't like the pause and then Savannah yelling Derek's name though. The pause seemed unrealistic (they might as well have put in a drum roll) and it would have been nice to spend the whole week convincing ourselves that Savannah was shot, only to find out it was Derek.

 

The one thing I did like about the ep was the unsub falling backwards against the hourglasses - I just wish it hadn't been quite so over the top. They really were beautiful hourglasses, though, minus the bits of mommy that were in them.

[Reghan]

I actually liked that one a lot! I wasn't bored and I was able to stay focused through the entire episode.

 

Loved the Morgan and Reid moment.

 

Reid looking through that stack of files was great and super like him.

 

So I guess Savannah was shot...no baby?

 

Hmmm next week's episode should be good though!! MGG directed and written by KV and EM! (They did an amazing job writing Nelson's Sparrow, let's see if they can do it again!)

Edited March 17, 2016 by Reghan

[SSAHotchner]

I thought it was crap, and I'm so over the excessive drama with Morgan. 

 

Joe Mantegna should not direct anymore. Granted, the script was garbage, but he made some really poor, amateurish choices. That scene where Reid and Lewis were walking in the hallway oh-so-slowly while discussing the case was ridiculously phony, especially since as soon as they finished talking they both sped up their walk. The woman cop was a robot. Poor casting choice and poor directing, if that's the best she could do. The makeup on the surviving mother was also very phony. There are so many instances where it seems like everyone involved in Criminal Minds is just phoning it in these days.  I found myself wishing someone would shoot Garcia again. I'm sick of these over the top killers with their convoluted plans that only seem realistic to the writer. 

 

What I liked: good use of Reid, although he still needs a comb. He has beautiful hands. And they finally fixed Lewis' hair. 

 

 

I actually loved that one a lot! I wasn't bored and I was able to stay focused through the entire episode.

 

Loved the Morgan and Reid moment.

 

Reid looking through that stack of files was great and super like him.

 

So I guess Savannah was shot...no baby?

 

Hmmm next week's episode should be good though!! MGG directed and written by KV and EM! (They did an amazing job writing Nelson's Sparrow, let's see if they can do it again!)

My take was that the gun was aimed at Morgan. We'll have to see next week, but it's too much for me. 3 episodes where he's in peril. It's overkill, no pun intended. It's like those Saturday Night Live sketches where they take one joke and beat it into the ground and don't know when to quit. 

[Reghan]

See I'm fine with the "Derek in peril" because he's leaving the show. Based on the preview for next episode my guess is that Savannah loses the baby. This would make sense as to why he leaves the BAU. 

 

Then again, I like anything that's better than "The Bond" and "Drive". Those were both very boring episodes compared to this one. 

[secnarf]

That female police officer - the one working with them - what was up with her? She seemed off from her very first line. I half-expected her to be in on it, the unsub's mystery sister or something. She was such a sketchy character. I don't understand what the point of that was.

 

Also, when the mom was screaming during the attack - the mom who survived - I couldn't help but laugh and I found myself wondering what the audition process is for those victim guest spots. Who can scream most convincingly?

 

I think part of the problem is that I watch Criminal Minds right after X Company, which imo is worlds above Criminal Minds - in writing, in acting, and in the thought that goes into the plot and directing. I need to learn to significantly lower my expectations when the clock turns to 9:00pm - I think that really affects how much I enjoy an episode.

[SSAHotchner]

That female police officer - the one working with them - what was up with her? She seemed off from her very first line. I half-expected her to be in on it, the unsub's mystery sister or something. She was such a sketchy character. I don't understand what the point of that was.

 

Also, when the mom was screaming during the attack - the mom who survived - I couldn't help but laugh and I found myself wondering what the audition process is for those victim guest spots. Who can scream most convincingly?

 

I think part of the problem is that I watch Criminal Minds right after X Company, which imo is worlds above Criminal Minds - in writing, in acting, and in the thought that goes into the plot and directing. I need to learn to significantly lower my expectations when the clock turns to 9:00pm - I think that really affects how much I enjoy an episode.

I'm thinking the actress playing the cop must have slept with someone or was owed some kind of favor. She was awful.

[MMC]

That female police officer - the one working with them - what was up with her? She seemed off from her very first line. I half-expected her to be in on it, the unsub's mystery sister or something. She was such a sketchy character. I don't understand what the point of that was.

 

Also, when the mom was screaming during the attack - the mom who survived - I couldn't help but laugh and I found myself wondering what the audition process is for those victim guest spots. Who can scream most convincingly?

 

I think part of the problem is that I watch Criminal Minds right after X Company, which imo is worlds above Criminal Minds - in writing, in acting, and in the thought that goes into the plot and directing. I need to learn to significantly lower my expectations when the clock turns to 9:00pm - I think that really affects how much I enjoy an episode.

The thing is from what I have been hearing this episode had potential to be a good one. First there supposedly was a decent amount of Reid and Hotch. And they were both used farely well or so I've been told. I also heard there was a decent amount of profiling in this episode. Granted I am so over the so called Morgan angst which I never really found all that compelling to begin with. And I have always felt this way even back when I considered Morgan one of my favorites. The only thing I find less compelling then so called Morgan angst would be JJ and/or Garcia angst. But I do find myself wondering if it would have made a big difference in the overall quality of the episode if someone other than JM had directed it. I am sorry but unlike MGG and TG when it comes to directing JM just doesn't seem to have much in the way of talent.

[ForeverAlone]

For me, this was a good and enjoyable episode undone by an eye rolling (but that not surprising) ending. Seriously show, you shoot a freaking pregnant woman? That is freaking low, and deeply manipulative to score maximum impact and presumably social media traffic. I am confident they won't kill Savannah, but come the freak on! So what, the next episode is Morgan on a vigilante attack to find her shooter? And I'm guessing he will either pull an Elle and have to resign from the FBI to prevent criminal prosecution, or he will retire to keep his family safe. Why not, a nice normal exit, where he wants something different in his life. I know I am prejudging the next episode (which is giving off "Lauren" vibes- again, never a good thing), but I hate these outlandish arcs like this.

 

But up until THAT "killer twist" everyone involved with the show kept hyping, I thought this was a very good episode and worthy of a 250th episode (but I also loved the 150th episode, "Unknown Subject", and I know a lot of people didn't). I was rather surprised to see a six months time jump, but I guess that makes sense, because it both allowed Morgan to physically recover and for Savannah to be far along in her pregnancy. Overall it felt more like a classic episode, with only tiny hints of the unsub, but the focus squarely on the team as they worked through the case. It was nice to see the team work different aspects of the case and they all contributed to catching the unsub in their own ways that played to their strengths. It was nice to see Hotch propose the idea that the unsub didn't intend to kill the first mother, so there must be some other behavioral reason for his actions.

 

I did like Reid determining who the likely unsub was, though I had to give the writers a side eye, because even though Reid isn't a fan of technology, it would have made much more sense and been more practical (and cheaper) to just send those files soft copy rather than Reid printing out all those hard copies that he didn't even need. That is an example of taking a character quirk too far, well out of the realm of practicality, because I don't see anyone allowing him to do that. Not when he could have just skimmed through .pdf files. But that is overall a minor quirk, because for the most part, I think Bruce writes better Reid than most of the current writers. It was nice to see Reid using his brain to determine what was going on. And it was also nice to see the empathetic side of Reid during his talk with Morgan. Usually it is Reid confiding in Morgan, so it was nice to see Morgan confiding in Reid and Reid providing some advice.

 

JJ was good in both her interviews with the surviving mother and with coordinating the media response to the abduction. It was a good example of knowing how to use an unsub's profile to effectively manipulate the unsub via the media. We haven't seen that too often these days (because even now, over five years after the position was vacated), the team still doesn't have an official media liaison. But it was a nice return to form, like the rest of this episode. jIn that same vein, this is the latest in a refreshing line of episodes that reined in Penelope back to the quirky, but professional tech analyst from earlier seasons.

 

So overall, I give this episode high marks, for both an interesting case that effectively used the team well and emphasized the profiling. But also, this was a good example of incorporating personal things (what was going on in Morgan's life) through work conversations and not weird bookends (I'm ignoring that ending again that was obviously there to set up the  next one).

[CarpeDiem54]

Delurking a moment to say that the Platte River is no where near Wichita. It runs through Nebraska, ending at Omaha and the Missouri River. I hate weird inconsistencies like that.

[Starchild]

Couple questions:

 

1) Who were all those guys at the poker game? I got the impression they were supposed to be real people playing themselves. What was the point of a celebrity poker game? To prove Rossi has a bunch of famous friends?

 

2) What was the implication behind Morgan setting up his desk after staring at Erin's photo? Did he take over her job or something? Or was it just underscoring the parallel between them both being targeted for being part of the FBI? Specifically this unit.

[ReidFan]

I'm thinking the actress playing the cop must have slept with someone or was owed some kind of favor. She was awful.

it was Lucy Walsh, daughter of Joe Walsh who was at the poker table with Rossi and company and is a good friend of Joe Mantegna's so I think there's your answer.

Couple questions:

 

1) Who were all those guys at the poker game? I got the impression they were supposed to be real people playing themselves. What was the point of a celebrity poker game? To prove Rossi has a bunch of famous friends?

 

dunno who they all were, although JM posted a picture of them all on twitter, but Joe Walsh (of the Eagles) was the blond guy, and Bill Withers (ain't no sunshine on these cards) were two of them, ancient rocker friends of JM's. Two of the other men were retired military friends of JM's. And yeah, Rossi has famous friends who drop everything to fly to DC and play poker with him. 

[ForeverAlone]

Delurking a moment to say that the Platte River is no where near Wichita. It runs through Nebraska, ending at Omaha and the Missouri River. I hate weird inconsistencies like that.

I also gave a bit of side eye to the idea that the show seemed to be trying to make Wichita to be this tiny, rural, backwards town, when in fact it is the largest city in Kansas, with near 400,000 residents. 

[Racbec]

That was a hot mess. Joe is a lovely person, but they need to stop letting him direct. I can't decide whether he did a worse job in this one or in Till Death Do Us Part earlier in the season. So many WTF moments. The whole opening sequence was just. not. good. The music/sound effects were horrible and amateurish. The blocking, the shot selection, the casting...I just think that Joe should stick to acting.

The actress who played the LEO must have gone to the same acting class that Shemar and AJ have attended. Lesson #1: To be a serious actor, speak in a monotone and lose all facial expression.

[zannej]

Ok, so Morgan got kidnapped, beat up, and had a burned line on his abdomen with no explanation of why his heart stopped and he's out for six months. But Reid didn't seem to miss much (if any) work after being kidnapped, tortured, drugged, and went into cardiac arrest. And later when Reid was shot in the knee and Hotch was stabbed multiple times in the abdomen, both were back in a month. Hotch's injuries should have taken much longer to heal enough for him to be back in the field. Does not compute.

At least they gave Aisha a better wig.

I thought everyone aside from the one unnatural acting cop was good in this one. There were some scenes I really enjoyed and others I could have done without. I agree that they likely would not have allowed Reid to print out all of that data-- they wouldn't have had enough paper for it and they surely would have run out of ink.

The makeup for the mother's injured eye was pretty bad. I know it is hard to hide things with HD cameras, but the seam for the prosthetic was too visible-- and really, they should have done something in post-production to smooth it out digitally. And why was only one eye messed up? Why wasn't her other eye at least reddish? How were the mothers able to see anything if their eyes were glued shut and they couldn't open them?

What was the unsubs endgame? Was he planning to kill the little girl all along? Would he have let the boy live if his mother hadn't died? Why not target just families with boys instead of girls?

Also, if they were out in such a rural area, I call BS on them having such good cell signal.

Plot hole alert: Garcia was trying to call Hotch but he wasn't answering because he was at the hospital, but JJ answered her phone at the hospital.

I did like that for once Reid was the one counseling Morgan. I liked that Morgan seemed to appreciate it. I do wish that Hotch had talked to Morgan briefly. After all, Hotch knows what it's like to bring a child into such a harsh world. He must have had some of the same feelings Morgan was having. I wish that Reid had at least suggested to Morgan that he should talk to Hotch about it.

The hourglasses were very cool.

Is it wrong that the most horrifying scene for me during the entire episode-- the one moment where I said "Noooooooo!" was when the shelf fell over and all of those lovely hourglasses shattered. I wanted that unsub to live so they could say he was continuing to make hourglasses in prison and teaching others the skill or something. Or maybe he would end up in a place for the criminally insane where he had some chance of rehabilitation.

Too bad the schmucks who make the promos had to ruin the surprise by revealing who got shot in the next one.

While I didn't want them to have Morgan get shot, shooting the female love interest was just cringeworthy. At least she wasn't dead and stuffed in a refrigerator, but I'm tired of them killing, maiming, or causing female characters to have miscarriages. It is such an old overused trope.

IMO, the entire poker scene at the end should have been cut. It did nothing for me and I had no clue who any of those guys were. Also, it didn't come across as real interactions. There was something about it that just screamed dinner theater/acting.

[Old Dog]

Meh. Case quite interesting, good team. Pretty awful, clunky direction. Morgan - I am so over this arc. The shock ending was totally wasted - they do not know how to do promos.

My main feeling was one of relief that Messer passed on having another awful "family" wedding. And it did feel a bit as though Joe Mantegna was giving his chums a jolly with their cameo roles at the poker game.

Overall, better than last week.

[Danielg342]

So if this episode had a time jump of six months...that means this episode happened in September. Which will be screwy should the show be renewed.

Unless my information is off.

[Lostinthehouse]

Why 'the sandman'?  There wasn't anything in the Unsub's past that reflected sand - unless it was shown while I was snoozing, which was pretty much this entire episode.  They showed the young sandman in bed, implication of abduction, but sand?  Help here please.

[normasm]

it was Lucy Walsh, daughter of Joe Walsh who was at the poker table with Rossi and company and is a good friend of Joe Mantegna's so I think there's your answer.

Ooh. Boy, I'm so sorry about that. She wasn't good at all. And the poker scene was just awful.

 

He's not the worst, but i do think Joe should stick to acting.

[Josette]

 

They showed the young sandman in bed, implication of abduction, but sand?  Help here please.

 

 When he was assaulted by his abductor, he was told to watch an hourglass. 

[JMO]

This episode wasn't the worst, but it didn't really do much for me. In my retirement, maybe I'll read an original BAU profiler's book that will prove me wrong, but I think they are way off base every time they come up with some convoluted back story to explain an even more convoluted MO for the unsub of the week. Childhood trauma can certainly breed psychopathy and sociopathy. But it's not that specific. It plays out as a lack of connection and valuing of human life, but they're not all out there replaying their own trauma. So every time I see that portrayed within an episode of CM, I see it as sensationalism and I'm turned off. I know it's a TV show, but it's a TV show that self-proclaims a grounding in reality.

 

I liked that Reid had a talk with Morgan, but I thought it was a wasted opportunity. It’s Morgan's first day back after six months off, his first time in the field after learning exactly how vulnerable he can be-----and Reid thinks his preoccupation is about becoming a father? Really? It was an amazing opportunity for Reid to turn the tables and give Morgan a pep talk about overcoming the insecurity of being vulnerable, of having to come to terms with a new image of yourself. And the writer didn't rise to the occasion.

 

I was fine with the timeline advancement. I think it took place mostly so Savannah could be 'that pregnant', so that the baby will be viable when 'things' unfold. And I don't think there's any chance that Morgan's abdominal scar will ever be invisible, or that his fully penetrated hand would have finished healing, even in six months. I think he'd still be in physical therapy. But I'm not going to get on the writers about that. They can't change what happened in the past, with the returns to work of Hotch, Reid and JJ. They can only write to the present. If they'd given Morgan a too-short time for healing, as happened with the others, I probably would complain 'why can't these writers ever learn'. But, what if they did learn, and so gave him six months? I'm not going to complain about that. If they can't win, why expect them to try?

 

I didn't know any of those guys around the poker table either, and found the entire scene self-indulgent and unnecessary. And I was more than a little turned off about how Morgan was talking about Garcia wanting to be a godmother again. It felt disrespectful of their friendship, somehow.

 

I did think the promo looked interesting, even if I think they should fire the person who created it. Why end an episode with a cliffhanger that's going to last under five minutes?

[ReidFan]

self indulgent! yes!! that's the word I was looking for yesterday and couldn't find. Don't get me wrong, I love Joe Mantegna, think he's a great guy and a terrific actor....but I do believe there's an awful lot of indulgence happening with him, possibly to keep him happy and on the show. He gets to direct, although he's not particularly good at it; they brought in his daughter for a guest appearance; they did the war veterans stories for him; and cast buddies of his in those eps; they let him bring his old vintage cars on the show; they wrote (pointless) scenes specifically for old buddies of his. 

 

it sounds like there's quite a bit of actor-indulgence happening on CM....Kirsten with her plays and a lot of her friends coming in as guest stars; letting Thomas and Matthew direct; giving Matthew the whole month of October off.....

 

wow, must be really nice bosses :D

[Shellie]

And yeah, Rossi has famous friends who drop everything to fly to DC and play poker with him. 

 

As a big Joe Walsh fan, I really wanted to like his appearance in this.  Before the episode began, I assumed he'd have a cameo as "poker player #3" during the midst of the show, but when Rossi invited Morgan to come play poker, I feared it would be some dumb tag at the end, and it was.  

 

Why does Rossi have good friends who are rock stars?  Wouldn't we have heard about this before?  Why would they fly from wherever to DC for a poker game?  Would Morgan really call Joe "Mr. Rock & Roll Hall of Famer" during the game?  Would anyone actually say "ain't no sunshine on these cards"?  

 

I can only imagine how many viewers were completely confused by that scene, not knowing who the guest actors were and what in the world the point of it was.  At least a couple people were probably wondering if the sunshine guy was Lenny Kravitz. 

[ForeverAlone]

I honestly had no clue who the men at the poker game were, and I had no desire to find out. But now that I know, I see that it was yet another Joe show indulgence. He definitely gets a lot of them. *eye roll*

[marceline]

I'm a fan of Bill Withers' music but I had no idea that was him. That "sunshine in these cards" line was clunky as hell.

[MMC]

It is probably just a coincidence.But has anyone else noticed that around the same time JM started getting to direct an episode per season MGG went from doing 2 per season back to doing only one, like when he first started to direct episodes.

 

Reidfan, I really didn't mind Gia getting a guest starring role in the one CM episode. Because I felt she was quite good in it.Granted I am willing to concede that her being JM's daughter probably paved the way for her to get that part

[Bookish Jen]

Mr. Sandman, how appropriately named because this episode damn near put me asleep. I'll add more of my critique once I get more time. But boy, I do a agree with many of you and your less than stellar remarks about Joe's, er, directing. Love him as an actor and as an all-around good guy, but his directing leaves much to be desired.

[ForeverAlone]

It's hard to know what is going on with Matthew and directing, but I would love to know. We heard that he was supposed to direct two episodes last year, but due to outside commitments, he only did one. So I wonder why he would only do one this year. I assumed that he directed two in seasons eight and nine, because he negotiated it into his contract. So I wonder what happened with his last negotiation. Did he want a vacation more than two episodes, or was it something else?

 

I don't side eye Gia's guest appearance, because it was back in season three. But I do side eye the inclusion of her song at the end of the episode Joe directed last year. But since this show has a history of nepotism (Lily's three songs in episodes her dad directed), it wasn't THAT surprising. 

[ReidFan]

I didn't mean anything disparaging by mentioning Mantegna's daughter getting the guest star gig. She did a pretty good job of it, I was actually leaning more in the direction of indulgences for *Joe*.... (as well as the other cast regs who get them)

 

and if I'm not mistaken, Matthew was supposed to direct an early season 11 ep, but it fell in the month of October where he was already scheduled to be off. (though knowing how much he loves directing, I'm surprised he didn't defer his vacation, unless perhaps the dates conflicted with his film festival appearances)

[ForeverAlone]

We never heard anything specific about Matthew directing an earlier episode this year. We heard it for last season though. Since they book directors at the beginning of the season, and they would have already known about Matthew's negotiated vacation, they could easily have slotted him in a different episode. So I bet he was not scheduled to direct two this season. 

[normasm]

Why does Rossi have good friends who are rock stars?  Wouldn't we have heard about this before?  Why would they fly from wherever to DC for a poker game?  Would Morgan really call Joe "Mr. Rock & Roll Hall of Famer" during the game?  Would anyone actually say "ain't no sunshine on these cards"?  

 

It's long been known that "Rossi" is pals with Ringo Starr, there's a pic of the 2 of them on his desk that we've seen at least twice. Mantegna knows a lot of older rock personalities like Joe Walsh, etc., as he's a musician himself (bass guitar).

 

I was sad to see the LEO who wasn't very good was Walsh's daughter (not Mantegna's daughter, who's actually been on and is fairly good), but, hey, she needs some experience if she's gonna be an actress. She should have learned the old-fashioned way, though, because when your connections get you exposure before you've got your chops together, it can be crushing. 

[Shellie]

It's long been known that "Rossi" is pals with Ringo Starr, there's a pic of the 2 of them on his desk that we've seen at least twice. 

 

Oh, OK, I did not know that. 

[secnarf]

Question for you all - at the end of this episode, it goes black and we hear a gunshot, then a relatively long pause and then Savannah yells "Derek!"

Savannah's voice at the end sure didn't sound like she had been shot. It sounded like she was more concerned for Derek, and I assumed it was Morgan who was shot. From the comments on here, it sounds like most if not all of you are fairly sure Savannah was shot. The gun sight before it goes black is sort of between the two of them, not clearly pointing to one or the other. Is there something I am missing?

[JMO]

The promo for next week gave it away, secnarf.  Morgan is intact, and Savannah's on a stretcher.

[secnarf]

The promo for next week gave it away, secnarf.  Morgan is intact, and Savannah's on a stretcher.

Thanks! I don't get the American promos, I have to go online and search for them.

[SSAHotchner]

Delurking a moment to say that the Platte River is no where near Wichita. It runs through Nebraska, ending at Omaha and the Missouri River. I hate weird inconsistencies like that.

They get so many things wrong. I'd be willing to fact check for them for probably a lot less than most of their staff earn. It makes me mad when I catch errors like this twice. Once, because there really isn't an excuse not to get it right. They have to have someone on staff who can check out the locations. And twice, because I'm sure they just think most of the audience is too dumb to notice when they get things wrong. Sadly, I fear they're right about that, but there's no excuse to get it wrong. 

[SSAHotchner]

Question for you all - at the end of this episode, it goes black and we hear a gunshot, then a relatively long pause and then Savannah yells "Derek!"

Savannah's voice at the end sure didn't sound like she had been shot. It sounded like she was more concerned for Derek, and I assumed it was Morgan who was shot. From the comments on here, it sounds like most if not all of you are fairly sure Savannah was shot. The gun sight before it goes black is sort of between the two of them, not clearly pointing to one or the other. Is there something I am missing?

I thought the same thing and I didn't catch the whole promo for next week, partially because I was so ticked off over this episode. Either way, it's just too much. I don't even care that he's leaving now that they've just bombarded us with Morgan peril and angst. 

[zannej]

I think Joe has gotten better at directing. The acting (with the exception of the one female cop) was very good. The child actress did quite well. There was still just something missing though. I don't know if it was the directing or the writing. Also, I wish Joe had made them fix the seam on the eye prosthetic on the mother in post. A little blending with a computer could have fixed that. And the woman's other eye should have been rimmed with red. Would it have killed their budget to get a contact lens to make her eye look irritated? The white of her eye should not have been so clear and unaffected. It was like they forgot she had both eyes glued shut. And they should have messed up her lashes (with makeup) to make it look like she was missing some or *something*.

[ReidFan]

Question for you all - at the end of this episode, it goes black and we hear a gunshot, then a relatively long pause and then Savannah yells "Derek!"

Savannah's voice at the end sure didn't sound like she had been shot. It sounded like she was more concerned for Derek, and I assumed it was Morgan who was shot. From the comments on here, it sounds like most if not all of you are fairly sure Savannah was shot. The gun sight before it goes black is sort of between the two of them, not clearly pointing to one or the other. Is there something I am missing?

I agree with you, sounded pretty much the same (I wondered if they'd even looped it from the previous one) as when she was on the phone with him at the end of the episode in which he was kidnapped. I was thinking the stress of him being shot sends her into labour. Dunno. The preview makes it looks like he's okay, but the shot of him was also 'later on' if that made sense.

[Droogie]

I just watched a video montage on YouTube of Reid's and Morgan's relationship over the past 11 seasons, and I have to tell you, I am going to miss it. It has been sporadic, and sometimes one-sided, but the respect and affection has always been there. Always. The show will be forever changed for me once Morgan leaves. My heart aches (as far as TV is concerned) for Reid.

They will have one more season, I feel certain. Oh please, PTB, let us see Reid have something good in his life.

[ReidFan]

Droogie, I don't suppose you could share the link to that?

[Guesswht]

i was going to complain about seeing only 2mins of JJ, but this explains everything :( https://www.instagram.com/p/BDGPnd4u2ZZfuEdQZaHduWCphH23TbYz1YdnOI0/

i knew she was sick... she looked / sounded so sick :(

As for the episode -it was good. They explained really well why the unsub did what he did and i felt bad for him. ..But once again, the unsub was shot at the end of the episode... I was hoping to see JJ talking him out of harming the little girl, the way she did in 6x01 (it was beautiful) I felt like there could've been a scene similar to that one in this episode.

 

As for Morgan... all these tragic events happening to him -they're overdoing it. There was more than enough torture in 'Derek', there's no need to shoot his pregnant wife. I have many ideas about what's going to happen but i'll wait until 11x18 airs to say something. Right now I'm dissapointed and feel like Morgan would deserve a much better send off.

[Droogie]

Droogie, I don't suppose you could share the link to that?

RF, I just went to YouTube and searched Reid Morgan, or some such combo (I really do have a life). Truthfully, lots of them looked like they were created by "shippers," but the scenes and stills were good.

[Bookish Jen]

Okay, I did like the scene where Spencer was being his lovely kind and empathetic self and offering wise counsel to Morgan about his impending fatherhood, very sweet and mirrored Matthew and Shemar's real life friendship. However, I thought it might have been more appropriate for Spencer to counsel Morgan on the PTSD he may be suffering in wake of being a victim of torture (something Spencer is all too familiar with). Still, it's always lovely to see two grown, straight men show genuine affection towards each other rather than the usual grunting, burping, and talking about beer, babes and sports that for some reason both society and pop culture seem to think men are only capable of when relating to each other.

 

What else did I like? Well, I did like the care and craftsmanship put into the hourglasses.  The Sandman may be a murderous maniac, but he sure is creative!

 

But for the most part, this episode was a pile of self-indulgent meh. I wish this episode wouldn't have jumped six months and instead of focused on Morgan's immediate fall-out and him coping of being a victim of torture physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally, while also finding joy in marrying Savannah and becoming a father. But this scenario may be too much of a challenge for the current version of CM, 'tis a pity.

 

I love Joe; he inspired my "Happy Wednesday, my nerds" concept; but his directing just leaves me cold. And self-indulgent is the right word. I could have done without the poker scene. Yes, we get it, Rossi. You have famous friends. Guess what? I know someone who went to high school with President Obama and Oprah's mom lives in my neighborhood so suck it!

 

I'm glad they gave Lewis a better wig; too bad they didn't have enough money left over to make the eye prosthetic the mother sported while in the hospital look more realistic. It looked like something made out of silly putty and Elmer's glue. Hmm, I could have made a better eye prosthetic with my crafting supplies!

 

Joe Walsh's daughter was so wooden she made a redwood tree look like Meryl Streep.

Edited March 20, 2016 by Bookish Jen

[normasm]

It's long been known that "Rossi" is pals with Ringo Starr, there's a pic of the 2 of them on his desk that we've seen at least twice. Mantegna knows a lot of older rock personalities like Joe Walsh, etc., as he's a musician himself (bass guitar).

 

Yes, I'm quoting myself, so shoot me! I was just reminded that Joe Walsh is Ringo's BIL (their wives are sisters), I guess that's as close as they could get to Mr. Starr. I love Ringo, but even he couldn't have saved that scene.

[Bookish Jen]

Yes, I'm quoting myself, so shoot me! I was just reminded that Joe Walsh is Ringo's BIL (their wives are sisters), I guess that's as close as they could get to Mr. Starr. I love Ringo, but even he couldn't have saved that scene.

Nothing wrong is quoting yourself. And though I love Ringo, you are right; he couldn't have saved the scene. It made me cringe and roll my eyes.

[Droogie]

I love Joe; he inspired my "Happy Wednesday, my nerds" concept; but his directing just leaves me cold. And self-indulgent is the right word. I could have done without the poker scene. Yes, we get it, Rossi. You have famous friends. Guess what? I know someone who went to high school with President Obama and Oprah's mom lives in my neighborhood so suck it!

 

Ohmigosh, I had the exact same thought! I once hung out with the Chili Peppers before they were famous; can I direct an ep of CM? I really, genuinely think Joe decided to direct bc MGG and then TG did it, and he was not to be outdone. Love the guy. Stay in front of the camera.

[BookWoman56]

I finally got around to watching this, and was seriously underwhelmed. The story arc around the unsub was not original in any way, but could have been salvaged by better acting and directing choices. I like Joe fine as an actor and he seems like a nice guy, but as a director, he needs help. So many of the camera angles/shots were just cheesy, starting with the shot of Morgan's shoes as he is walking into the BAU, finally pulling back to reveal that it is indeed Morgan. There were a lot of shots that seemed odd, such as a few where the camera angle made the actor's face seem to loom over the scene, and then the shot of the talk between Reid and Morgan, which would have worked better IMO as more of a closeup, but instead it seemed as if the focus of the shot was not them but the room, which pretty much seemed devoid of any interesting features. And the shots from the perspective of the first female victim looked like something out of a high school film project. As noted, the actress playing the local LEO was stiff, but I could fanwank that to be that she was a little intimidated by having the profilers there. However, that poker scene was truly self-indulgent and frankly seemed ripped off from The Sopranos, which did a similar scene years ago of a celebrity poker game, to much better effect. Not a fan of stunt-casting like that.

 

As for the Morgan-in-peril arc, the show has gone to that well way too many times for me to care about what happens. It is just unbelievable at this point that so many profilers and their families have been the target of individual unsubs or mysterious groups of unsubs. I used to joke that the reason Reid wasn't in a relationship was that anyone rational would run the other way when he described his colleagues: Hotch, whose ex-wife was killed by a vengeful unsub; Gideon, whose girlfriend was killed by a vengeful unsub and then later killed himself; Garcia, who was wounded by an unsub who targeted her; and the list goes on. Presumably he will have to add Morgan to that list, as being first kidnapped and tortured, and then either him or his wife being shot by an unsub. What makes these unbelievable is that these were not deaths or injuries that occurred in the field, so to speak. They didn't happen because of exchanging fire with an unsub while in the act of pursuing and apprehending the unsub; no, these are all instances of some unsub deciding to go after a profiler and the profiler's family, apparently without the recognition that doing so is the one thing most likely to make that profiler and his/her colleagues hunt down the unsub. So in this case, I just can't bring myself to care if it was Morgan or Savannah who got shot, and what the fallout will be. Maybe Morgan will decide he doesn't want his family at risk because of his career. Maybe Morgan or Savannah dies and the other is left to be a single parent. No matter how this arc is resolved, it makes zero impact on me emotionally as a viewer, because it's been done too often.

Edited March 20, 2016 by BookWoman56

[Bookish Jen]

In despair of this episode or perhaps inspired by it (take your pick), I wrote alternative lyrics to the classic song Mr. Sandman.

 

Mr. Sandman-CM version

 

Mr. Sandman, bring me a scream
But don't hurt anyone on the BAU team.
Don't anyone, not even our dog Rover.
You're a psycho; your killing days are over.
Mr. Sandman, you're all alone.
Except for hourglasses made with bone.
Please turn off you killing scheme.
Mr. Sandman, bring me a scream.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Bookish Jen