S11.E19: Tribute

[thewhiteowl]

When former team member Prentiss tracks an international serial killer, she enlists the help of the BAU when she believes the UnSub's next victim will be on American soil.

 

 

[Reghan]

I'm so ready for this! Bring on the Prentiss<3

[secnarf]

I miss Emily making the episodes a million times better just by being there.

I was just so happy to see her that I didn't even think about the plot. To me, the plot was irrelevant beyond "need to catch unsub". I feel like it probably had many holes in it. Although, I was satisfied with the explanation as to why the unsub was emulating serial killers, and I thought it was a refreshing change from the usual childhood trauma.

 

I seem to remember Emily being a bit more closed off, though. She was more open with them than she used to be, and way more open with Tara than she would typically be for someone she just met. Emily usually would only open up in one-on-one situations, so the scene with JJ on the plane felt more in character to me than the scene right before it. I was totally fine with Emily getting most of the screentime because really, if she wasn't there, 90% of that screentime would have gone to the unsub.

 

Did they change Tara's wig again? I don't like this new one, but it does seem like they made an effort to give her a softer look.

[ForeverAlone]

Overall...eh. I didn't hate this episode (even if it was basically an international Zoe's Reprise, but not as good), but it felt all over the place. To me, it honestly felt like Virgil was just making stuff up and throwing stuff at the profile  to see what might work. None of it seemed to actually make sense to me and didn't add up. This guy just unhinged too quickly for someone who had been a controlled serial killer for years.  There is no global database to track entries into countries, so there is no way that Penelope could have found out that information. All that stuff about the unsub's relationship to money just felt off. Hell, there was no solid evidence this unsub was an American citizen in the first place. I also didn't see how they actually tied this guy to the murders. Then the weird fact that the FBI walked into a dorm with guns and the police had never locked the place down in the first place, so students were just wandering about.  Combine that with the fact that this was basically the Emily show (including two gratuitous nightmares), and it just left me with an overall feeling of...eh. 

Edited March 31, 2016 by ForeverAlone

[SSAHotchner]

The writing was weak, but Paget was wonderful. Her delivery elevates the writing. I enjoyed this more than most of the episodes this season, but then that's not saying much. But my enjoyment was really centered on having Prentiss back. Her friendship with JJ is believable, and she even made Garcia tolerable for me. In fact, I was much more moved by the scene between Prentiss and Garcia than the final scene between Morgan and Garcia last week. 

 

I also liked that they brought in the Richard Speck case. Born and raised in the Chicago area, I was a young girl when Speck killed the 8 nurses. The horror of that crime stuck with me for a long time. How Virgil handled it was not good. There was potential there, but, as usual, it feels as if very little effort was made on this script. Does anyone else feel that they read their scripts and say, "Eh, that's good enough?" 

 

As for the warm fuzzy moment at the end, I would have preferred if just Emily, Garcia and JJ went out instead of pulling in the whole team to show how much everyone loves each other. Not that I don't enjoy seeing them all, but it would have felt less contrived. 

[Reghan]

I LOVED this episode. Paget brings so much to the screen every time she's on CM. I really enjoyed those last five minutes or so especially. I especially liked Prentiss impersonating Morgan. 

 

I do agree though that it should have been a girl's night, but it was still great. I wish Paget could come back full time :/

[SSAHotchner]

I LOVED this episode. Paget brings so much to the screen every time she's on CM. I really enjoyed those last five minutes or so especially. I especially liked Prentiss impersonating Morgan. 

 

I do agree though that it should have been a girl's night, but it was still great. I wish Paget could come back full time :/

I do, too. But I'm sure she won't. CBS treated her poorly and should have bent over backwards for her when she returned in season 7. I understand why Paget chose to not renew her contract and leave at the end of season 7. I miss her, and I wish good things for her. Her new sitcom just isn't that funny. Feels to me like they're just trying too hard. I'd lie to see her get something really special. 

[smoker]

everything is so lazy and condescending I can't enjoy anything :(

so I'm not spreading my bad blood this week, I'll keep my strength for next episode. The creepy case and Rossi's love life are going to hurt my senses.

Edited March 31, 2016 by smoker

[Save Yourself]

As others have said, Paget Brewster elevates the whole show just by being there. I don't know if it's the way she says her lines but they seem to not give her as many stupid things to say as they do other cast members. So much wish Emily could return, it was almost a bad thing to have her back on, it just highlights what a hole her absence left.

Garcia just sucks worse every week, why can she not get through a bloody profile without some squeamish sound or face, they should transfer her, she is clearly never going to be psychologically prepared to handle the type of cases they work on. And she's excruciatingly immature, when she and Emily were together you can see that Emily is actually an adult woman and Garcia is like a slightly dim 12 year old girl even though they are around the same age. I can't believe for a second Emily would want to have dinner with Garcia, that's like cruel and unusual punishment.

The sighing about Morgan was so annoying, you'd think that he died. I know you miss a work mate if you were friends, particularly when you're working under close conditions like that but really, they are all having the sads on the plane together?! Ugh.

[ReidFan]

The sighing about Morgan was so annoying, you'd think that he died. I know you miss a work mate if you were friends, particularly when you're working under close conditions like that but really, they are all having the sads on the plane together?! Ugh.

I found that kind of amusing, to be honest. Almost like it was a shout out (or a morose sigh out) to the fans..... Sure, they'll miss the guy, but I don't think it would affect anyone to the point of The Sads, as you say. In fact, dunno about the others because obviously I'm an MGG fan, Matthew even said he'd probably see more of Shemar now than he used to.

[Lemur]

I read an article not too long ago about the effect of "Peak TV" on the major networks, which basically boiled down to the comment, "When you can go write for AMC or Starz, why would any good writer work on NCIS?".  I think Criminal Minds is having a bit of the same thing going on.  The writing was incredibly weak here, and I concur that Paget elevates just about everything she works on (see also: Community's last season on Yahoo Screen).  I was really hoping that her boyfriend Mark turned out to be the serial killer, because that might have been interesting than seeing the mash up of themes we'd seen at least a dozen times before.  Random observation, I'm glad she asked about Sergio.

[Old Dog]

I was underwhelmed. But then, while I liked Paget as Prentiss, at least before the stupid spy arc,  I don't worship her blindly as so many appear to do. It felt more like this episode was the actors having a fun reunion - more than a bit indulgent and as a result, together with the weak writing, not a memorable episode.

[normasm]

This was so badly written and choppily edited, it almost swamped the allure of Paget Brewster for me. First of all, Virgil was known for writing "Morgan and" scenes, but when there is no Morgan, he falls back on the very most basic cliches of the other characters. I did find it funny that Garcia, JJ and Emily wore black, and Reid had black pants and a black vest. Snerk.

 

I'm glad the first Morganless episode had Emily, because it needed something to distract us from the mess of a story. Paget is so watchable, but I had trouble right out of the box with that boyfriend scene. That was awful. Clunky. And the repeated dreams melding with the repeated shoot-outs/almost shoot-outs. The guy who played the unsub was suitably creepy, but his motivation made no sense. The thing on the bus with the kid was good and creepy, but his looking at the student and making note of all her jewelry, etc., served no purpose, and him getting caught so easily was downright stupid.

 

On the plus side, I thought Garcia was suitably restrained (loved the meltdown she had with Prentiss on the phone and Hotch intoning, "Garcia" to get her back on track.

 

I loved the opening credits! Is it too much to ask that we get to keep it this way going forward to the end?????? Please????

[JMO]

You nailed it, Normasm.  I agree with those who think Paget elevates the material, but she had a mighty heavy burden to shoulder with this.

 

Did anyone besides me think the unsub bore a resemblance to John Stamos?  

 

Apart from Paget---who, in my opinion, is always done a disservice by CM's hair and makeup---the others looked unusually good.  Hope we can keep at least that much up for the rest of the season.

[zannej]

I don't remember much from it. I had a headache and still have one. I basically remember a bobbing ponytail as Prentiss ran around in her dream-- JJ all bloody in a dream-- and Emily's boyfriend had horrible line delivery and zero chemistry with her.

[BooksRule]

One thing (I'm sure there were others as well) that I didn't understand were their initial guesses as to why the unsub didn't operate during certain months (October through February?).  They thought that he was a thief, drug dealer or part of organized crime.  Did I miss something?  I'm pretty that people in those 'professions' don't operate during certain months of year.  That just seemed weird to me.  I didn't guess fisherman at first, but I did immediately think that he had some kind of a job that was seasonal (like migrant worker). 

 

Once again, I was distracted by how Garcia walks.  I couldn't see her shoes, but I'm guessing she was wearing the big, clunky type.  As she entered Morgan's old office, she was walking stiffly and awkwardly.  At least I didn't hear the clump, clump as she walked.  Seomtimes it's almost painful to watch.  .

 

Overall, not a bad episode, but it kind of went all over the place at the end (like someone else said, he seemed to change up his MO. quickly).

Edited March 31, 2016 by BooksRule

[illdoc]

It wasn't that thieves, etc. only operate certain times of the year. It was that the unsub only killed during Mar-Sep, so they were speculating as to what he did (for a living?) the rest of the time. Someone with a full time regular job (a businessman for example) couldn't take off Mar-Sep, so it would have to be someone who worked irregularly, but could still have a high income.

[SSAHotchner]

It wasn't that thieves, etc. only operate certain times of the year. It was that the unsub only killed during Mar-Sep, so they were speculating as to what he did (for a living?) the rest of the time. Someone with a full time regular job (a businessman for example) couldn't take off Mar-Sep, so it would have to be someone who worked irregularly, but could still have a high income.

Yes, the way the team comes up with their ideas makes sense to the authors of the scripts, but not so much to the viewing audience. It reminds me of an anthropology class I had in high school. We were supposed to invent a culture and then bury some artifacts that the other class could dig up and decipher what our culture was. It really proved how you could be on completely different wave lengths. One group buried some paper clothes and paper clocks. Their idea was that the people wore paper clothes because time was so important to them that they didn't want to waste it by washing clothes. But we all thought they "Oh, they must have come from a very warm climate and that's why they wore light-weight paper clothes." If the writing were better in general, the characters could make the points that we don't get from the evidence and we'd buy it. But as it is now, you're just left thinking that they're too lazy or untalented to come up with something plausible or clever.

[Bookish Jen]

Despite the lovely presence of Emily Prentiss, I could not buy into this episode, way too much ridiculousness and it seemed all over the place. I kept calling it "Tributt."

[MMC]

I am sorry to have to say this but after 200 and then this episode it is my hope that Paget Brewster doesn't become available again any time soon.

[Racbec]

Meh. I thought the writing was poor. After several weeks of mature Reid, I was disappointed with his response in the threesome scene. I hope we get grown-up Reid for the remainder of the season. It was nice to see Emily, something I hope they do again next season if the show is renewed, but as stated by many here, she couldn't fix this one.

[ReidFan]

 

Apart from Paget---who, in my opinion, is always done a disservice by CM's hair and makeup---the others looked unusually good.  Hope we can keep at least that much up for the rest of the season.

"Brainiac! I love the 'do!"

[Danielg342]

You know what would have been fun? A serial killer emulating the ones that were already once on this show. In this universe, they did exist and many likely did capture the public's attention- so why wouldn't someone want to copycat them? Seeing the team have to contend with the eyeball snatcher or the maggot killer or the Road Warrior or True Knight or even George Foyet...that would have been fun.

 

This? Who cares. As ForeverAlone already pointed out, this was a rehash of "Zoe's Reprise", only not as good and not nearly as well planned out (it was also minus the cuteness of Amy Davidson, but that's another matter). I just can't get excited about another guy who wants to copy the Son of Sam...seriously? So what. Been there, done that. Maybe in S2 that's okay, but by S11...if we're going to have copycats, can we start calling back some of the guys we've had on the show? It's not like we haven't had any that are worthy.

 

Also...any reason why this UnSub didn't fly out when had a chance? I didn't buy the episode's explanation that increased patrolling at the airport would have stopped him- no one knew who he was, so why would he be worried about being stopped at the airport?

 

Furthermore...why Chicago? Why not go to Milwaukee? Jeffrey Dahmer is arguably more famous than Richard Speck. Why not go south? Emulate Eric Randall Rudolph or something.

 

Heck...why not go to Toronto. You know, a city in a whole different country where, conveniently, no one would know that they're looking for you. We only had Paul Bernardo and Robert Pickton...not like we don't have anyone worthy of copying. The other plus is that he wouldn't need to fly.

 

There was just no rhyme or reason for what this guy was doing, no patterns that made his actions believable. It's not like he was after the serial killers with the highest kill counts, or serial killers considered "the most notorious" or even serial killers who shared the same type of victim. This guy could literally go anywhere and there was nothing the team could do.

 

Sure, I get that he went to Chicago because he was from that area and his father was incarcerated there...but he seemed to go there arbitrarily. I could understand if we had seen that he was seeking attention, saved news clippings of his crimes and then, when he became "famous" on TV that's when he decided to go to Chicago but we didn't get any of that. It's like Virgil Williams decided "I need to end this episode, so he's going to Chicago". What lazy writing.

 

Another point- with all this crying about missing Morgan, how did no one think about saying "hello" while they were there? Not even a mention about Morgan's past in the city or even a comment like "he's back in DC right now" or something.

 

I'll give the episode this much- Paget Brewster. Real treat to see you again. You were electric, like you always were, elevating absolutely atrocious material. I really don't know how you do it, but it was a real gift. Emily Prentiss was really whiny tonight...only Brewster's performance made that watchable, but barely. I really couldn't care less about how conflicted Prentiss was about this case, because I had no attachment whatsoever to the Inspector who was killed because of the case. As much as I hate to say it, if it had been someone I knew- like Clyde Easter- I could have gotten behind it, or if the relationship between Prentiss and the Inspector was better established, even if it was just by Prentiss looking at her picture by her nightstand and declaring, "I'm going to catch this guy for you".

 

Everything else...well, this was The Prentiss Show, so, predictably there was not much to see. Still, what was there wasn't much to write home about. Reid was his usual factoid self but little more, Rossi had that heart to heart with Prentiss but little else, Garcia was a child (surprise surprise), Lewis did absolutely nothing of note (I think she may have had four lines, tops) and other than Hotch being a real prick to Prentiss (c'mon, she's an old friend, surely you do better than trying to find every excuse not to help her), Hotch had little to do too.

 

Oh, and JJ? Well, she had little to do too, but seeing her all blood-splattered with blood oozing from her mouth in that skimpy black dress...made up for all that. This is cruel, but I kept thinking there's likely more than one person who wished that death was real.

 

I'll give Williams some credit- that ending scene, where the team gathered and acted "like family" for once actually felt genuine and heartfelt, instead of the forced affairs we'd seen before. I also dug Prentiss imitating Morgan...far better than when Morgan and Rossi tried and failed to do the same with Reid.

 

I still miss the real Morgan though...he had a commanding baritone that filled a presence that will be hard to replace. No one else does it justice. Oh well, glad he's gone so we can move on...he deserved a better show than what he got here.

 

Episode Grade- D-. It only avoids an "F" because of the "family" scene, but, without it, that clearly was one of the worst efforts CM has put forward.

[ReidFan]

After several weeks of mature Reid, I was disappointed with his response in the threesome scene

LOL!

I was just thinking, gee, if anyone unfamiliar with Criminal Minds read this sentence, boy they'd be wondering WTF!? Threesome?!

sorry.....back to the gutter with me

[secnarf]

Heck...why not go to Toronto. You know, a city in a whole different country where, conveniently, no one would know that they're looking for you. We only had Paul Bernardo and Robert Pickton...not like we don't have anyone worthy of copying. The other plus is that he wouldn't need to fly.

...

I also dug Prentiss imitating Morgan...far better than when Morgan and Rossi tried and failed to do the same with Reid.

Well, Robert Pickton was in BC, so if they decided the unsub was imitating him in Toronto, I think plenty of people would be quite annoyed. Also, they already went to Canada to deal with a Robert Pickton-esque killer.

 

I loved Prentiss imitating Morgan - I think there is a video of Paget Brewster imitating Shemar Moore on a talk show and it was hilarious also.

[Danielg342]

Well, Robert Pickton was in BC, so if they decided the unsub was imitating him in Toronto, I think plenty of people would be quite annoyed. Also, they already went to Canada to deal with a Robert Pickton-esque killer.

My bad...I was tired last night. I meant that he could have escaped to Toronto and start another life as a Canadian serial killer, and Robert Pickton's name entered my head. There's also Clifford Olson that he could have imitated...not sure if he was Torontonian.

[needschocolate]

I am confused  - did they do away with sweeps months?  The past few episodes dealt with Morgan being tortured and almost dying and his wife and unborn child almost dying and him leaving the show after almost 11 seasons and this one had a beloved character return after being gone for years and all of these episodes were in a non-sweeps month.  This makes no sense to me.  Don't shows try to put the episodes that will get the most viewers in the sweeps months?  I would think that Morgan's last episode and Emily's return episode would pull in some former viewers that don't normally watch anymore.  I can't imagine what they have planned for the May sweeps that they think it will attract more viewers and I don't remember any episode from February that had a premise that would entice more people to watch than these March ones have.  

 

I liked how the unsub made friends with the boy on the bus and then really didn't kill him or his mom.  As soon as he started talking to the boy, I thought "this is the final victim - the one who almost dies, but the BAU comes in just in the nick of time."  It was nice that it wasn't so predictable (although, I suppose one could argue that the bus scene was a waste of time - time that could have been spent making the profiling and unsub's actions make more sense). 

 

The sighing about Morgan was so annoying, you'd think that he died. I know you miss a work mate if you were friends, particularly when you're working under close conditions like that but really, they are all having the sads on the plane together?! Ugh.

 

I thought this was so ridiculous, especially Emily's little pep talk as they walked out of the SUV "I didn't want to bring up Morgan because I didn't want to make anyone sad.  I know it is so hard to lose someone and you miss him terribly...."   Huh?  He's not dead.  He didn't even move, as far as we know. They could have easily invited Morgan to join them at the restaurant for their little reunion.

 

And their reaction is even worse because Morgan was gone for 6 months (recuperating from being tortured) before he came back for one or two cases and then decided to quit - they had time to get used to him not being around. Were they this depressed during those 6 months he was gone?  

 

I felt like they originally had Morgan die, then shot this episode, then went back and re-shot the last one so that Morgan quits instead of dying.    

 

One thing (I'm sure there were others as well) that I didn't understand were their initial guesses as to why the unsub didn't operate during certain months (October through February?).  They thought that he was a thief, drug dealer or part of organized crime.  Did I miss something?  I'm pretty that people in those 'professions' don't operate during certain months of year.  That just seemed weird to me.  I didn't guess fisherman at first, but I did immediately think that he had some kind of a job that was seasonal (like migrant worker). 

 

And them figuring out that he was a fisherman led to yet another sudden, awkward, decision to give the profile.  

"He must come from money or have a job that is very lucrative so that he can spend half the year emulating serial killers."  

"And travelling the world isn't cheap!"

"But he didn't steal the watch"

"Hmm, maybe he is actually poor and he works a seasonal job - like being a fisherman"

"Okay, let's give the profile!"

 

Most people would think "Well, if he is a fisherman, then everything we were thinking up to now is wrong. Hmm, maybe this poor fisherman idea is wrong too.  Let's play out this new theory..how would he have the money to travel the world if he worked as a fisherman?..." But instead, they go down the wrong path for a while then someone comes up with a different theory and they immediately give the profile.  

 

The writers probably come up with a backstory for the unsub.  Then they have the BAU make assorted assumptions and once they have someone make the correct assumption, they have them give the profile, but they don't give any support as to why the BAU would be so sure this new idea was the correct one.  It is just bad writing.

 

Just like him killing the rich couple in the car was bad writing  The only reason why had that scene was so the BAU could speculate that he was rich or that he was poor and hates rich people.  But they never explained why he would bother killing this couple when he spends so much time copying other serial killers - did they happen upon the scene and he had to get rid of witnesses?  And him being wealthy or hating wealthy people really didn't help them catch the guy.  It was a lot of time and effort put into something that took away more from the plot than added to it.

 

Furthermore...why Chicago? Why not go to Milwaukee? Jeffrey Dahmer is arguably more famous than Richard Speck. Why not go south? Emulate Eric Randall Rudolph or something.

 

 Maybe the unsub was picky eater.

Edited April 1, 2016 by needschocolate

[thewhiteowl]

"Brainiac! I love the 'do!"

 

 This made me chuckle and distracted me because I was thinking "Wait, that's a 'do?? Like, on purpose? " I thought it was just wicked bed head and everyone was too polite to mention it.  How terribly hipster.

[Kara101]

Meh. I thought the writing was poor. After several weeks of mature Reid, I was disappointed with his response in the threesome scene. I hope we get grown-up Reid for the remainder of the season. It was nice to see Emily, something I hope they do again next season if the show is renewed, but as stated by many here, she couldn't fix this one.

I completely agree. I wasn't quite sure what the point of that line was,either. Was it there for comedic effect and they wanted Reid to have a line in the scene(I know that they want to portray him as a germophobe)? Or were they trying to imply that he thinks sexual acts are icky? Considering he said he wanted kids, I wouldn't think this would be the case.

[smoker]

Everything else...well, this was The Prentiss Show, so, predictably there was not much to see. Still, what was there wasn't much to write home about. Reid was his usual factoid self but little more, Rossi had that heart to heart with Prentiss but little else, Garcia was a child (surprise surprise), Lewis did absolutely nothing of note (I think she may have had four lines, tops) and other than Hotch being a real prick to Prentiss (c'mon, she's an old friend, surely you do better than trying to find every excuse not to help her), Hotch had little to do too.

 

 

Totally out of character, but that was Morgan's attitude most of the time. They exchanged JJ and Prentiss characters when PB left the show, using JJ to kick down doors with Morgan. Now, the prick is gone and someone else has to be an asshole, the question is...why Hotch? Rossi was a prick, they should reset him, just saying.

[Danielg342]

Maybe the unsub was picky eater.

I read this while having my lunch, so A+ to you.

Edited April 1, 2016 by Danielg342

[Danielg342]

Totally out of character, but that was Morgan's attitude most of the time. They exchanged JJ and Prentiss characters when PB left the show, using JJ to kick down doors with Morgan. Now, the prick is gone and someone else has to be an asshole, the question is...why Hotch? Rossi was a prick, they should reset him, just saying.

Completely agree. I remember the Hotch of "200" finding every loophole he could to help JJ, not hinder her. Why the about face?

As for the contrarian, I agree Rossi could do it, but what about Lewis? It would give her something to do and it's be believable- oftentimes, job veterans get so comfortable in their positions that they can be prone to bending the rules, because they know how to get away with it. Newcomers, especially an eager one, can keep them on track.

[Droogie]

I'm finally getting around to watching this episode. It's just the first break and what I mostly noticed up to now is that Paget isn't even on the show anymore and it took only about 13 seconds of this episode for Prentiss to get a love interest...

Poor Reid...

[Bookish Jen]

I'm finally getting around to watching this episode. It's just the first break and what I mostly noticed up to now is that Paget isn't even on the show anymore and it took only about 13 seconds of this episode for Prentiss to get a love interest...

Poor Reid...

Even though I thought the love interest seemed more like a hook-up, at least Emily is getting some.

 

So when it comes to Poor Reid...fan fiction it is! Perhaps, I should thank CM and MESSer for inspiring to hone my writing skills and take a stab at writing some fan fiction where Reid can actually have a love interest. And perhaps I will work on my treatment this afternoon after I do some boring chores-laundry, mopping the damn kitchen floor, making my cheesy buttermilk biscuits (okay, making my biscuits is fun-you know how I love to bake).

[CoolMom]

You nailed it, Normasm.  I agree with those who think Paget elevates the material, but she had a mighty heavy burden to shoulder with this.

 

Did anyone besides me think the unsub bore a resemblance to John Stamos?  

 

Apart from Paget---who, in my opinion, is always done a disservice by CM's hair and makeup---the others looked unusually good.  Hope we can keep at least that much up for the rest of the season.

 

I did but I thought he bore very little resemblance to the drawing they posted on the board which looked like David Hasselhoff to me.

[Sharpie66]

More than a year late, but I just watched this on rerun, and I just had to comment because the unsub was from my hometown of Joliet, IL. The rest of the show was rather meh, but when Garcia said Joliet, I was all "Holy shit!!" And I guessed that he would go with Speck to copycat, unless he pulled on a clown outfit. 

I have a distant few-degrees connection to both Speck and Gacy since my great-uncle, a Joliet dentist, was also contracted to go to Stateville prison several times a year to work on the prisoners. He had his hands in both those creeps' mouths, ugh. I also worked with a bookstore assistant manager who once had a landlady who was Gacy's first wife. Again, ugh and chills just at the idea of having been married to him.