Season 12 Spoilers, Speculation and Anticipation

[SSAHotchner]

1 hour ago, Franky said:

Yesterday I watched the one where Gideon leaves and Strauss is gunning for Hotch. When he profiles her in her office, and she stops him, the differences in their voices is amazing. His is all calm, steady, confident. Hers is a screechy horror. It's supposed to be like that, we're not supposed to like her or what she's doing.

But then there's just the smallest measure of difference when he starts talking about his team. His tone is still calm, and informative... but also caring. He says things that only someone who cares would know: "Reid's intellect is a shield that guards him from his emotions, and right now that shield is under repair." He could have just said the first half of that sentence to make his point, but he added the second half because he sees and is worried about his agent, his charge. 

I love that scene for him and him alone. He commands that we listen to him through sheer inflection and a turn of his head and I will miss that quiet strength, so much. All this to say that I agree with you, Senin. :)

Yes. That speech for me parallels the one at the end of To Hell and Back when he talks about the toll witnessing these horrific crimes takes on his team. And then there's the powerful ending where you don't know if he's been shot by the Reaper.

[ForeverAlone]

Paget was always coming back to the show for multiple episodes this season. Originally we heard it was only six episodes, but she was always going to be a part of the show. I agree that she would not be coming back as a series regular if Thomas hadn't been fired, but if Thomas hadn't been fired, there would not have been an open spot on the team and they wouldn't need a new unit chief. Paget coming back full time for anything less than serving as BAU unit chief would just not happen, because there would have been no need for her presence full time. 

[SSAHotchner]

3 minutes ago, ForeverAlone said:

Paget was always coming back to the show for multiple episodes this season. Originally we heard it was only six episodes, but she was always going to be a part of the show. I agree that she would not be coming back as a series regular if Thomas hadn't been fired, but if Thomas hadn't been fired, there would not have been an open spot on the team and they wouldn't need a new unit chief. Paget coming back full time for anything less than serving as BAU unit chief would just not happen, because there would have been no need for her presence full time. 

Oh, I agree, and I do think they're doing the right thing putting her in charge. It's just that none of these things makes it easier for me to deal with the loss of Hotch. 

[Danielg342]

I guess yay for Reid getting an arc this season, and yay for Jane Lynch coming back...it's been too long ("Memoriam", I think, was the last time we saw her). Still...can't we have a story for Reid that doesn't involve his mother? Or a storyline for anyone that doesn't involve their family?

I hate to beat the dead horse...but c'mon!

[Willowy]

28 minutes ago, Danielg342 said:

 Or a storyline for anyone that doesn't involve their family?

Like what, Daniel? Shoe shopping? Volunteering at a soup kitchen? Hobbies? Any of that would take all of three minutes of screen time.  ;)

I'm joking, but really most people have work, and then they go home to, or interact with their families in some fashion. It's humanizing. What would you like to see for our team that does not involve work, or their families in some way? Travel? How would the budget allow for a single character to take off on a trip for an extended period. 

I'd love to see Reid with a full-blown romance, from first bloom to cohabitation and growing old together. Sort of like what they did with The Inner Light on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Picard was given an entire other life when he was suddenly swept off the bridge of the Enterprise - I mean an entire lifetime. When the crew ultimately rescued him, only 12 minutes had passed for them. It was one of the most lauded, most beautifully poignant episodes of any tv show I've ever watched.

There's no suspension of disbelief like that for our show, but maybe there could be... a coma? Something to take Reid away from everyone for a while. And it wouldn't take any $$ at all to have him lay in a bed (though his 'new life' would take some bucks). But then see, he'd have to grieve all that when he eventually woke up and realized it was all in his head... so no. No, I don't want him to suffer that. Hmmm.

Never mind me, I'm just thinking out loud.

[smoker]

5 hours ago, SSAHotchner said:

Yes. That speech for me parallels the one at the end of To Hell and Back when he talks about the toll witnessing these horrific crimes takes on his team. And then there's the powerful ending where you don't know if he's been shot by the Reaper.

OOOH this one is a total panty-dropper*!

*Thank u Booky ;P

[smoker]

8 hours ago, SSAHotchner said:

Or when she tells him that his father would have liked to have a houseful of kids but she stopped at one because "why mess with perfection?" 

I see bringing Jane Lynch and Paget back as damage control. Both are great , but I doubt we'd have gotten either if it hadn't been for the pickle they put themselves into when Thomas was fired. I don't have any confidence in the current writers so I have no idea what you're likely to get. I could imagine them announcing that Diana was miraculously cured of all her conditions. But, seriously, I'm happy for all of you who will still be watching. I will keep tabs on what actually happens through your comments. Any other season I would have been jumping up and down at the thought of having either of these magnificent ladies back on CM. My heart is still heavy over the loss of Hotch. It's strange to think that we have known about it for so long and the season hasn't even begun yet. And I am a little ticked off that it took a major incident like firing TG to get them to do this. Wonder if the scripts will actually be any good this season? Maybe they'll quit focusing on the unsubs and give the team something to do. 

We think pretty much alike :)

The sad/infuriating thing about this, as fan of the show as a whole, is seeing all the effort to balance the show now after the lazy job for years.

I guess we'll know before winter hiatus if  they stop making the unsub so central and all those new ideas are something else than missing opportunities again.

Edited September 22, 2016 by smoker

[normasm]

I do agree they were bringing in Paget before any of this happened, and only brought her on permanently because of the loss of TG. But I think they might have had JL lined up for a while, because it takes a while to line her up! (And because, as some have said, they are winding down some personal storylines in anticipation of the end of the series.)

[Bookish Jen]

9 hours ago, SSAHotchner said:

I enjoy Matthew as long as he doesn't rush through the lines. I know they've experimented with the speed delivery for Reid, but that throws away the lines and his wonderful thought process.

Excellent point. Spencer doesn't seem like the type to rush through the words he says; he'd be more thoughtful and measured. Rushing while speaking is more of a hyper-Penelope on a pixie stix/caffeine bender.

[smoker]

I am not sure if they are getting  personal stories ready in anticipation of the end or they are going to shove down fans throats those sickeningly sweet Disney family moments we have been used to lately.

Of course, it's possible they're doing their homework, but unless EM and writers had been warnned with a lot of anticipation, I wouldn't wait for it. My educated guess is that the brass will study the profitability at the end of the season. Anyway, they haven't left us on a cliffhanger since season 5.

Edited September 22, 2016 by smoker

[Willowy]

32 minutes ago, Bookish Jen said:

Excellent point. Spencer doesn't seem like the type to rush through the words he says; he'd be more thoughtful and measured. Rushing while speaking is more of a hyper-Penelope on a pixie stix/caffeine bender.

Right, while I remember him doing the speedy thing as early as the Frank episode (when he was talking about 'love chemicals' in the brain, and peas), I prefer it when they have to pull it out of him. Rossi's "I can see your wheels turning from here", and JJ's "Uh oh, I know that look. What is it, Spence?" come to mind.

[Danielg342]

11 hours ago, Franky said:

Like what, Daniel? Shoe shopping? Volunteering at a soup kitchen? Hobbies? Any of that would take all of three minutes of screen time.  ;)

I'm joking, but really most people have work, and then they go home to, or interact with their families in some fashion. It's humanizing. What would you like to see for our team that does not involve work, or their families in some way? Travel? How would the budget allow for a single character to take off on a trip for an extended period. 

I disagree in principle that the only way a character can be humanized is by giving them a family. There's only one way to humanize a character and that's to give them a flaw or a challenge to work through or overcome. Unless the family plays a role in that challenge (like it did for Hotch), a character does not need one for their storyline to work.

When it comes to CM, it initially was always about the cases and their work and family rarely ever got involved. I don't mind, in principle, that we have, over time, met their families, but at least at first they only got involved when it mattered to a case. Truth is, I don't tune in to CM to meet their families and deal with their personal lives- I tune in for the cases.

Of course, it hasn't helped that I have yet to see a CM family storyline that has been remotely interesting since The Reaper (and maybe Maeve before they killed her off), but that's a side issue.

The main point though is that CM is about the cases- their personal lives should rarely come up.

As for what kind of storylines they could do:

-Intra-bureau drama. The real life FBI is a complex maze of departments and jurisdictions. The BAU should have stepped on a few toes by now and even incurred dome jealousy.

-Teammates having ambitions for higher offices or even just to have a greater role in the team. Morgan was tailor made to be a "challenger" for Hotch but they never really explored it. JJ becoming a profiler could have also been such a storyline.

-Regular, organic intrateam conflicts. Seriously, the BAU gets along too easily.

-As for Reid, why can't we see him study different paraphilias and have an interest in human behaviours? He has an exploring mind, why can't we see that journey?

I would think of more but I need to get back to work.

Edited September 22, 2016 by Danielg342
Spelling

[Willowy]

I like your suggestions, though disagree that CM is just about the cases. I watch fir the team, the individuals. Part of who they all are should include their personal lives. Joe said that he feels after all these years that we the audience have earned that.

Remember back when we were all excited because we were finally going to get to see Reid's apartment? Plowing through bts photos to get a glimpse of more than just those green walls. Good times. That's just one example but I as a fan eat that stuff up. As ever, YMMV.

Also, to clarify, I didn't mean family as just those related, but any downtime with people close to them, including each other. :)

[ReidFan]

if the characters didn't have personal lives, they wouldn't be as interesting, IMO. Part of what makes any one of them more interesting to me is knowing at least a little bit of what makes them tick 'off' screen, so to speak. Morgan is the perfect example of that for me. I don't particularly care for Shemar Moore. And I didn't much like Morgan at all, at first. I liked his  big brother approach to Reid, but too often he was an a-hole to him as well (which is, of course, what brothers do. I'm thinking the bs in LDSK, the prank wars etc) But once I saw him doing the house restorations, the discovery that his dog was on the couch (LOL!), the references to his mom and his aunt and sisters, it made him more appealing to me. We saw more of what Morgan was really like, above and beyond kicking down doors and making handcuffs too tight. He was more believable as an agent, cause he was more believable as a person. The same would be for any of them, as long as said personal story doesn't take over the person's life (ie, if they had made Morgan's  ALL about child abuse. It was always there, it just didn't consume every moment of his life)

wow. did I just make a case for this being a well written show?

*off to flog myself*

[JMO]

So, Spencer would be one of the roughly 27% of the US population who doesn't go home to a family.  But that doesn't mean he's home, alone (besides the fish), doing nothing.  

We already know he enjoys film, we know he's taught at university, we've seen him in the park with the chess kids, we've seen him lugging that keyboard along a city street.  While I wouldn't object to a well-done romance, I'd be happy enough to see him teaching an evening seminar, maybe discussing foreign film with his students, or even rooting his protege on at a chess tournament. I would love a glimpse of him at home when he isn't moping about a lost love---maybe painting, or creating music, finding a new side of himself.  

Maybe that's why I'm not as excited about the prospect of Jane Lynch returning.  I know I'll enjoy the episodes, because there will be such nice visuals on my TV screen.  And, who knows, maybe it will prove to be a fantastic storyline.  

But I feel like I already know that side of Spencer.  I want to learn something new. 

[Lebanna]

I've been waiting for the team to attend Reid's first piano recital for years now. If Penelope gets them all at her play, why not?

But yes, it would be nice to see him hanging out at his advanced Korean class or, yes, teaching. In fact, since they're all teachers, I always liked the little glimpses we used to get of them doing that side of their job.

[Danielg342]

I think I might enjoy an arc where JJ or Rossi (or both) get a little miffed that Prentiss got the top gig over them. Both would likely feel they have more experience than Prentiss does, and way back when Rossi was first conceptualized, it was said he wasn't "used" to having women around.

[smoker]

1 minute ago, Danielg342 said:

I think I might enjoy an arc where JJ or Rossi (or both) get a little miffed that Prentiss got the top gig over them. Both would likely feel they have more experience than Prentiss does, and way back when Rossi was first conceptualized, it was said he wasn't "used" to having women around.

it's a good idea, if you don't mind, I would add that Prentiss is a chieff in another organization in another country, the way she focus the job should be different and bringing in some tension. I hope you get your arc Daniel.

[ReidFan]

hmmm this one qualifies as 'Spencer gorgeous gray matter' but I also thought it was relevant to season 12, so:

[Willowy]

On 9/21/2016 at 4:12 PM, Lebanna said:

Oh, and in the flashback I think she was reading from 'Du côté de chez Swann' which is the first book in the 'À la recherche du temps perdu', ('Rememberence Of Things Past') series, which is just so unbearably meta. Because that would be exactly the kind of connection that Reid would make. Just perfect. God, this show, sometimes.

I meant to come back and quote this but I forgot but now I remembered. What a great post! Thanks for sharing that tidbit, Lebanna. I never would have noticed had you not pointed it out. *high five or fist bump - whatever the kids are doing these days* 

[smoker]

http://www.spoilertv.com/2016/09/criminal-minds-episode-1203-taboo-press.html?m=1

[ReidFan]

*ooooh Bounce bounce happily in my chair* CTV just ran an ad for the season premiere of CM. Hotch and Rossi talking about the escaped prisoner who has someone else doing his dirty work. And then a shot of Bodhi Elfman (MrScrath/PeterLewis) leaning up against a wall with a really smug look on his face. And the voiceover says 'and here he is, the Crimson King' (and there's a shot of the actor playing that role but I don't know who it is). No visible Reid in this ad (but also no JJ, no Tara, no Luke.... just Rossi and Hotch).. It. Looks. Fabulous.

http://www.ctv.ca/Criminal-Minds/Video/S12E1-Preview-All-New-Season-Begins-September-28-At-98C-On-CTV-vid955063

 

not sure if that link will work outside Canada, but... 

 

and I lied, unintentionally. There is a brief shot that includes Reid et al. 

Edited September 22, 2016 by ReidFan
to add link and correction

[smoker]

21 minutes ago, ReidFan said:

*ooooh Bounce bounce happily in my chair* CTV just ran an ad for the season premiere of CM. Hotch and Rossi talking about the escaped prisoner who has someone else doing his dirty work. And then a shot of Bodhi Elfman (MrScrath/PeterLewis) leaning up against a wall with a really smug look on his face. And the voiceover says 'and here he is, the Crimson King' (and there's a shot of the actor playing that role but I don't know who it is). No visible Reid in this ad (but also no JJ, no Tara, no Luke.... just Rossi and Hotch).. It. Looks. Fabulous.

http://www.ctv.ca/Criminal-Minds/Video/S12E1-Preview-All-New-Season-Begins-September-28-At-98C-On-CTV-vid955063

 

not sure if that link will work outside Canada, but... 

 

and I lied, unintentionally. There is a brief shot that includes Reid et al. 

It doesn't work, it says "Please, try later", but I think you are right and it's related to be in a different country.

Anyway. Thank you for posting!

Edited September 22, 2016 by smoker

[secnarf]

Thanks!!
Also a weird shot at the beginning of someone in a gas mask?

[ReidFan]

That's the sandman guy from the eponymous episode....

[smoker]

episode 3 press release

http://www.spoilertv.com/2016/09/criminal-minds-episode-1203-taboo-press.html

that first picture looks weird, isn't it? as if they used a cheap photoshop program 

Edited September 23, 2016 by smoker

[ReidFan]

it looks almost like someone took a photo of the tv monitor.

[smoker]

6 minutes ago, ReidFan said:

it looks almost like someone took a photo of the tv monitor.

yeees!

the others looked fine. 

I am trying to compare Prentiss ID with others, I thought she would be wearing a visitors ID in her first episodes.

[SSAHotchner]

2 hours ago, smoker said:

episode 3 press release

http://www.spoilertv.com/2016/09/criminal-minds-episode-1203-taboo-press.html

that first picture looks weird, isn't it? as if they used a cheap photoshop program 

What I like most about it is that Garcia isn't in any of the pictures. I can barely stomach her anymore. 

How can AJ have two babies and still be that thin? I didn't get that gene. In fact, I don't think my waist was as narrow as hers when I was in elementary school . She's such a pretty lady. 

[smoker]

14 minutes ago, SSAHotchner said:

What I like most about it is that Garcia isn't in any of the pictures. I can barely stomach her anymore. 

How can AJ have two babies and still be that thin? I didn't get that gene. In fact, I don't think my waist was as narrow as hers when I was in elementary school . She's such a pretty lady. 

I can relate to that feeling LOL

yes, she is pretty and probably she works a lot to stay that way. Another impresive woman after a pregnancy was Anna Paquin, she had twins and a handful of months later she was even better than before! 

[SSAHotchner]

2 hours ago, smoker said:

I can relate to that feeling LOL

yes, she is pretty and probably she works a lot to stay that way. Another impresive woman after a pregnancy was Anna Paquin, she had twins and a handful of months later she was even better than before! 

That's funny. My twins were the start of my obesity. Not blaming them, but what carrying them did to my body caused lasting damage. 

[CrimeFan12]

4 hours ago, smoker said:

I can relate to that feeling LOL

yes, she is pretty and probably she works a lot to stay that way. Another impresive woman after a pregnancy was Anna Paquin, she had twins and a handful of months later she was even better than before! 

Ah ha!  Figured out how to quote.  Sweet.  I'm having a good day.

I believe in 'Tribute' Emily said that she was still with the FBI, but she is on loan to Interpol so I would assume she would still have her FBI badge.

[TKL]

5 hours ago, SSAHotchner said:

What I like most about it is that Garcia isn't in any of the pictures. I can barely stomach her anymore. 

How can AJ have two babies and still be that thin? I didn't get that gene. In fact, I don't think my waist was as narrow as hers when I was in elementary school . She's such a pretty lady. 

Crossfit.  She's made more than a few social media reference to a crossfit gym.

[MMC]

1 hour ago, TKL said:

Crossfit.  She's made more than a few social media reference to a crossfit gym.

Plus her husband is a big fitness buff. Personally I thought she looked better when she had a little more meat on her bones. I also miss the lighter shade of blond hair she use to have. AJC has some of the prettiest blue eyes that I have ever seen. And to me that shade of blonde made them stand out even more. I am also not a fan of her current hairstyle. I thought she looked really good in the one hairstyle where she had her hair cut just above her shoulders. I remember her saying she had to cut it because the baby(firstborn) kept trying to chew on it. I was really hoping that she would do the same thing after the birth of Phoenix. And speaking of Phoenix. My goodness, What an adorable little baby. Now I could be wrong but it looks as if he has more hair than his brother did at the same age.

[ForeverAlone]

Here are a couple sneak peeks for The Crimson King.

http://www.spoilertv.com/2016/08/criminal-minds-episode-1201-crimson.html

[zannej]

Looks like Garcia is in one shot of the Taboo promo picks. I think Kirsten lost even more weight, but she looks healthy. The team doesn't look like they are in mourning so I wonder if Hotch just disappeared.

[normasm]

Glad to see Reid isn't pouting and hating on Luke. 

[ReidFan]

1 minute ago, normasm said:

Glad to see Reid isn't pouting and hating on Luke. 

yeah, I wondered about that when Erica first mentioned after he was cast and there was that piece in i think it was TVGuide where she was all up in Reid missing Morgan and there'd be fallout blah blah blah.

1. Reid isn't like that. He's not a grudge holder- save for the prank wars but I think that was more indicative of the brotherly relationship he has/had with Morgan. And, more importantly 

2. deliberately shunning/avoiding/hating on the new guy would be sorta like bullying in the work place --not that I believe for a second that Alvez would be 'bullied' since he's an elite FBIer but--, that just wouldn't be Reid either, to be deliberately mean (for lack of a better word) towards New Guy, it's not HIS fault he's not Morgan.

The codicil to that would be if Alvez is an a-hole and "I'm better than Morgan ever could be" and if they wrote the character like that, I'd be heaving patio stones through the Samsung--and I could see Reid and the others wanting to throw him out one of those plate glass windows if that were to be the case.

[TKL]

3 hours ago, normasm said:

Glad to see Reid isn't pouting and hating on Luke. 

I'm waiting to see what happens.  I can almost see Reid being polite and friendly and chipper when it's about work but if this new guy brings up Morgan or tries to be too ingratiating on a personal level I can also see Reid politely and happily telling him to go take a hike.  In a sense trying to separate work from personal to protect his heart.  Something along the lines of "You're a good agent and I appreciate the work you do but you're not Morgan so let's not go there."

[normasm]

It would be nice to have a bit of honest, in-the-field conflict among the team.

[JMO]

In the brief snippets I've seen, Luke comes across as a tough guy who might not know what to make of Spencer Reid.  I can see him keeping his own distance while he tries to size up the reputed genius who is, apparently, known as 'the guy who doesn't shake hands.'  (Except by all the people whose hands we've seen him shake.) 

I think it would be interesting to watch Luke come around on Reid, rather than the converse, and I think it would be interesting to see some conflict in the process.  But I really don't want them to intimate that the two could ever have anything like the Morgan/Reid relationship.  I don't even think Morgan and Reid could have it again, if they were just meeting now.  I think it was a thing of its time, based on the relative ages and experiences of the two characters.

So, who in the FBI is spreading the word about "the guy who doesn't shake hands"?

[smoker]

2 minutes ago, normasm said:

It would be nice to have a bit of honest, in-the-field conflict among the team.

I would be nice whatever well written, as I said to Daniel a few days ago, I hope you get a good plot or scene.

I remember they tried that with Blake and Morgan in season 8. Reid seemed oblivious to their behavior, suddenly it was like he got a person only for him. The resolution was a crap, kind of 'pasta party' fashion.

[senin]

On 20/9/2016 at 8:58 PM, Bookish Jen said:

Emily is also kind of a dork, which is one of the reasons why I like her so much.

I've meaning to ask this for a few days, what's the meaning of "dork" here?

I've checked a few dictionaries, and all the meanings I seem to find are insults, so I think there's some other meaning which I'm missing. 

(Did I already tell you that my English is improving a lot since I started reading this forum... and writing in it?)

[smoker]

24 minutes ago, senin said:

I've meaning to ask this for a few days, what's the meaning of "dork" here?

I've checked a few dictionaries, and all the meanings I seem to find are insults, so I think there's some other meaning which I'm missing. 

(Did I already tell you that my English is improving a lot since I started reading this forum... and writing in it?)

I hope this helps

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Dork

I use this web all the time

[senin]

Thank you. I've used this web before, but I'm having problems with it lately, could you copy the definition, please?? (If it is not against the forum rules, of course)

[smoker]

8 minutes ago, senin said:

Thank you. I've used this web before, but I'm having problems with it lately, could you copy the definition, please?? (If it is not against the forum rules, of course)

Someone who has odd interests, and is often silly at times. A dork is also someone who can be themselves and not care what anyone thinks.

You are such a dork.

 

 

someone who does things that are kinda silly and not neccessarily cool but always cute

He's such a dork. I love dorks.

 

 

An individual who exhibit the following characteristics: 
- Funny in their own way 
- Has some odd personality or unique way of thinking 
- Can be themselves

[senin]

Thanks a lot!!

[smoker]

Just now, senin said:

Thanks a lot!!

you're welcome! ;D

[Bookish Jen]

On 9/25/2016 at 7:17 AM, senin said:

I've meaning to ask this for a few days, what's the meaning of "dork" here?

I've checked a few dictionaries, and all the meanings I seem to find are insults, so I think there's some other meaning which I'm missing. 

(Did I already tell you that my English is improving a lot since I started reading this forum... and writing in it?)

You're English is fine. Believe me, you handle English better than some people whose first language is English.

[zannej]

So, I'm guessing that the undercover partner Luke mentioned in the sneak peek will turn out to have been killed and he is on a mission to catch whoever did it.