S12.E04: Keeper

[thewhiteowl]

Quote

The BAU team searches for a serial killer along the Appalachian Trail in rural Virginia.

[ReidFan]

I worry about the ratings/viewership for this one. Isn't there some kind of significant baseball game on tonight?

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

4 minutes ago, ReidFan said:

I worry about the ratings/viewership for this one. Isn't there some kind of significant baseball game on tonight?

Significant for me, if nobody else.  My Cubs are playing in the WS, currently have a lead and trying to tie the series.

Plan to watch tonight's episode soon after the game though.

[ReidFan]

I'm gonna disappear upstairs into the bedroom and lock the door and watch the episode without the Peanut Gallery.  :) baseball is dead to me until next season now O:-)

I'm looking forward to this scene :)

[JMO]

Was 'Into the Woods' (you know, the one where the unsub got away) supposed to be along the Appalachian trail, too?  Is this a follow up episode?

[ReidFan]

1 minute ago, JMO said:

Was 'Into the Woods' (you know, the one where the unsub got away) supposed to be along the Appalachian trail, too?  Is this a follow up episode?

yes it was, and I'm not sure. That was a child molester -and killer?- wasn't it? This one didn't present as a pedophile, and the previews didn't indicate it was a followup, but if ever an episode needed a followup, it's that one!

[normasm]

Yes, JMO, and Reid wa every affected by the inability to catch the guy. It would be nice if we see a holler back to that, at least. I hope Reid is the lynchpin in this episode, not just some lame bookends.

[smoker]

31 minutes ago, JMO said:

Was 'Into the Woods' (you know, the one where the unsub got away) supposed to be along the Appalachian trail, too?  Is this a follow up episode?

That was my first thought too!

so sad Hotch isn't here for something like this :(

[secnarf]

Of course there is some magical clinical trial with some magic drug that cures Alzheimer's. And of course nobody will even consider that Reid's mom might be randomized to the placebo group, because this is TV magic. Instead she has to get rejected because of 'budget cuts', as if a trial for such a magical drug would have its funding cut.

It was nice to see Reid happy, but it would be better if it was over something actually reasonable. And with the speech from Rossi at the end, I wondered if they were setting up Reid's exit from the show.

"The store owner has video of the unsub queued up and ready to go" - did I miss something? Why did they think it was the unsub? Also, I loved that they were talking about the video being "queued up".

I started off very bored by the case, but it was better when they caught the guy and started quasi-profiling. Good to see a bit of a change to the usual formula. The team all seemed to get relatively equal time. I'm glad Garcia is finally over herself regarding Alvez.

I'm surprised at how little I am feeling Hotch's absence. I wonder if that will change when his character is permanently written off.

[Willowy]

I liked how they all looked at each other when Appalachia was brought up, and how Spencer articulated what we were all thinking. They did try to make us think it might be the same guy for a little bit, even down to the limp, but they dropped it when they found out the vics weren't kids. 

I liked how even though Emily seemed annoyed by the unsub, she was aware that this one required a delicate touch and it was great to see her work her magic. It reminded me how she worked with the daughter in Foundation. Peeling away the layers, and recognizing what each layer revealed. 

I liked Roxy. A lot. I'm becoming very fond of that dog. I thought JJ and Rossi worked well together. What was with that weird jacket on JJ? Wasn't her style at all.

Alvez and Lewis seemed extraneous to me, and I was okay with that. As the newest members of the team, I'm not nearly as invested in them as our classic team. The Garcia bit with Luke and Roxy at the end was cute, though. 

Reid. There was quite a bit of him, and I relished every bit. Despite the unlikelihood of a budget cut, I really felt sorry for his disappointment and it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out with Diana. I do wish his co-workers would have noticed him more. Both Garcia and Prentiss were a bit dismissive and JJ wasn't even with him at all... Rossi took time with him, but seemed generic with his advice, and disinterested. Maybe I'm just sensitive because it's HIM, and everyone should be wholly invested in his troubles, always. I make no apologies for that. ;)

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

2 hours ago, Franky said:

Reid. There was quite a bit of him, and I relished every bit. Despite the unlikelihood of a budget cut, I really felt sorry for his disappointment and it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out with Diana. I do wish his co-workers would have noticed him more. Both Garcia and Prentiss were a bit dismissive and JJ wasn't even with him at all... Rossi took time with him, but seemed generic with his advice, and disinterested. Maybe I'm just sensitive because it's HIM, and everyone should be wholly invested in his troubles, always. I make no apologies for that. ;)

I'm not trying to be argumentative, and I say this as a person who favors Reid over everyone else who usually notices & feels the same way.....  but I honestly felt like Reid & his situation with his mom was not ignored tonight, which genuinely surprised me.  Usually Reid's personal situation gets a short general mention, but then immediately tabled again for later mentions (in the season).  They pretty much had it up-front and center three separate times in the episode; beginning, middle, and end.  And what I liked most is that it was the core group who knew and supported him.  The 'newbies' (Lewis & Alvez) haven't been around long enough to really garner importance in terms of them knowing or not.  We also gained a Reid/Prentiss hug out of the whole dead, even if just a platonic one.  Score.

I agree about the Roxy love.  But then again, I'm a sucker for all dogs, cats & general household pets.

[smoker]

Just reading quotes and Prentiss is OOC, her grandfther lived in a cabin in the mountains. in France I think, and she told she spent a lot of time there without electricity and shitting outdoors. 

I understand you, sernacf, characters are so exchangable now, I think most of people only miss their fav nowadays because they aren't physically there. I never missed Prentiss or Morgan. I did miss Elle a lot more than Gideon. But the show was really solid by MP's exit. JJ the liaison... she had good moments, but the worse thing was Garcia stepping in the briefing room and using part of AJ's minutes. 

I didnt watch, so I cant say anything about Reid, but I also understand the urge of being biased.

Edited October 27, 2016 by smoker

[Bookish Jen]

Roxy is now my second favorite character on CM, after Spencer, of course.

Edited October 27, 2016 by Bookish Jen

[Princess Lucky]

That last scene with Garcia, Roxy and Luke was adorable. And it was good to see a lot of Reid. I liked this episode and I'm liking this season.

[zannej]

I liked that we got a twist where the person who appeared to be the killer wasn't. At first I was annoyed that we were seeing the unsub so soon but I was ok with it when they showed the team seeing his face on security footage. It meant the audience was only a little bit ahead of the team.

I liked the interactions between the shop owner and the cop, and pretty much most of the interactions with the cops. They weren't just extras-- they had personality and were treated like human beings. I liked that Rossi actually asked the one cop something about himself and I thought that the reactions were realistic.

I'm not a dog person, but I do love animals and I like how Luke works with the dogs and how he brought Roxy in.

I was glad to see Lewis back.

I was hoping they would at least have mentioned Hotch and I missed him.

Too much gore with the fake body parts. We didn't need to see all that or have them pan to the body parts so many times. Also, I'm no expert on DNA analysis, but I suspect it may have been BS about the oldest body being too degraded to get a decent sample. They can get samples from ancient corpses now. Mitochondrial DNA people! Actually, I will have to ask a friend of mine who does DNA analysis and see what she says...

I felt sorry for the poor piggies. I used to raise pigs and they can be very sweet and funny. Now, I get that they said the little brother just snapped, we were supposed to infer that the father's death was the trigger for his killing, but there still wasn't really much explanation of how he went from leading a seemingly normal life to suddenly kidnapping people. The father's death didn't really seem like enough to me. We got very little insight into his mind. Were the men he was killing surrogates for his father? or were they for his brother? I don't get it? And why exactly was the homeless brother collecting the body parts? Btw, those would have really stunk to high heaven and the severed hands looked fake / too fresh.

I wish they'd had more of the team actually interviewing some of the people instead of having Garcia look stuff up on her computer. Once again, the magical computer solved the crime.

I did like that they treated the homeless people with respect when speaking to them.

I don't like the "Reid's mother has alzheimer's" story so that part was meh to me.

Garcia continuing to be rude to Alvez is annoying. I did figure she would like Roxy though. I wish they would just have Garcia grow up and not act so juvenile though.

I was fully expecting the call for Reid (second one) to mean he was going to disappear for the rest of the episode, so I was pleasantly surprised that he stayed. I liked the hug from Prentiss near the end.

Overall, I think it could have used some tweaking, but it wasn't a bad episode. It actually had some mystery and the acting was good.

[ReidFan]

they did mention Hotch...... Rossi came into the bullpen while they were getting organised and said "Hotch is still on TDY but he's said he's available for consult if necessary" (paraphrasing cause I don't remember the *exact* quote)

 

and I. Love. Roxy.

[smoker]

3 minutes ago, ReidFan said:

they did mention Hotch...... Rossi came into the bullpen while they were getting organised and said "Hotch is still on TDY but he's said he's available for consult if necessary" (paraphrasing cause I don't remember the *exact* quote)

 

and I. Love. Roxy.

Thanks for the intel Reidfan!! 

I would have liked they didn't say "he's available for consult if necessary" if they didn't have the intention of playing a fake call. They didn't need TG for that. 

Edited October 27, 2016 by smoker

[Bookish Jen]

7 minutes ago, ReidFan said:

they did mention Hotch...... Rossi came into the bullpen while they were getting organised and said "Hotch is still on TDY but he's said he's available for consult if necessary" (paraphrasing cause I don't remember the *exact* quote)

 

and I. Love. Roxy.

"I Love Roxy" Spencer, Hold My Earrings latest single!

[Bookish Jen]

Is it just me or did Reid's reaction to finding out about his mother being on the list for the miraculous Alzheimer drug seem more Matthew than Spencer? I have a feeling Matthew is more of an extrovert than an introvert. Spencer is a introvert as we all know. Often introverts need to process both good and bad news before they share them with others. But then again, maybe that's the way I act as an introvert.

[ReidFan]

I thought that too at first, Booky. But he said he'd been holding back, and I suppose at some point even an introvert needs to celebrate a little bit. I loved the little twirl around in the chair.

[smoker]

I've been checking some scenes. I can't tell about the pace, it would be unfair.

I didn't like AJ acting, I saw her really wooden. And there is something weird about AJ's face, I can't put a finger on it, but she looks different. There was a scene with Rossi where she was speaking like she was mimicking Morgan. And she was cold with Reid about the bad news about his mom; kudos to PB there.

There wasnt anything wrong with Rossi consoling Reid, but I can't stand grandpa Rossi.

The Hotch reference, I've already said it above. It would have taken the same time another line if just for doing something different from last episode.

Half of the scenes PB was doing Hotch part, I mean, the part where she was with Garcia, I couldn't stop thinking of Entropy.

 

46 minutes ago, Bookish Jen said:

Is it just me or did Reid's reaction to finding out about his mother being on the list for the miraculous Alzheimer drug seem more Matthew than Spencer? I have a feeling Matthew is more of an extrovert than an introvert. Spencer is a introvert as we all know. Often introverts need to process both good and bad news before they share them with others. But then again, maybe that's the way I act as an introvert.

I didn't want to mention it because I've already said something similar no long ago, basicaly, Reid, as a character, as the rest of the characters, is gone most of the time.

38 minutes ago, ReidFan said:

I thought that too at first, Booky. But he said he'd been holding back, and I suppose at some point even an introvert needs to celebrate a little bit. I loved the little twirl around in the chair.

If we were talking about these things once in awhile, I would agree with you, but this is like "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". 

Do you remember that goodbye hug between Hotch and Kate? or Rossi and Hotch double date? this last one still gives me nightmares...

Edited October 27, 2016 by smoker

[Clemgo3165]

For me it just seems like 11-12 years of familiarity with the same people. Introverts can act like extroverts at times around people they know well and are comfortable with. Reid isn't the same young whippersnapper that he was 11 years ago. Gideon is long gone from the BAU and Reid's been through a lot and seen plenty in the intervening years. I wouldn't expect him to be the same person he was at the start of the show. 

I didn't have issue with Reid's interactions with Prentiss, Garcia, or Rossi either. Prentiss hugged him quick because she was still working the case. I wouldn't expect her to drop everything at that moment. Garcia seemed warm, comforting, and shmoopy - her usual self. And Rossi gave genuinely great advice, delivered in a very sweet way. What I thought was interesting was Reid's longing looks after Prentiss - right after she hugged him and again from outside the glass after she broke through with the brother. 

[zannej]

I forgot to mention, during the commercial break at some point, the station just went black for several minutes and when it came back it was mid-conversation with Rossi and Tara. They were looking at a board out in the field. I'm pretty sure it cut out some of the dialog, but I'm not sure how much I missed.

I completely missed Rossi mentioning Hotch. Thanks for bringing that up.

[Bookish Jen]

1 hour ago, ReidFan said:

I thought that too at first, Booky. But he said he'd been holding back, and I suppose at some point even an introvert needs to celebrate a little bit. I loved the little twirl around in the chair.

Thanks for reminding me that Reid had been holding back, needing process this possible positive moment regarding his mom's dementia. Now, that things had been confirmed (however briefly), Reid's outburst of happiness shouldn't be too out of the ordinary. And the twirl was just so cute!

"Reid Twirls in His Chair" latest dance track from Spencer, Hold My Earrings.

As for the rest of the episode? Meh. Other than Roxy, of course. I just love my fur babies!

[Willowy]

11 hours ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

I'm not trying to be argumentative, and I say this as a person who favors Reid over everyone else who usually notices & feels the same way.....  but I honestly felt like Reid & his situation with his mom was not ignored tonight, which genuinely surprised me.  Usually Reid's personal situation gets a short general mention, but then immediately tabled again for later mentions (in the season).  They pretty much had it up-front and center three separate times in the episode; beginning, middle, and end.  And what I liked most is that it was the core group who knew and supported him.  

Oh, you don't seem argumentative! In fact, I agree with this (that the show featured it upfront and quite a bit thereafter), and I could've been feeling greedy as we won't see him for a while... the specific parts I referred to were when Garcia came up and said her 'lottery' line, but then Rossi filled her in and she was all "Great, can't wait to hear it, but now we've got a case." It seemed kind of uncaring on her part. Then the perfunctory hug from Prentiss lacked her usual warmth (agree too, that she was busy). It seemed to me like when she walked off Reid was looking after her wishing they could talk more about it. 

Not a big deal, just wanted to clarify. :)

[JMO]

The episode was fine, if not memorable.  I liked it well enough, but there was something about it that felt clunky, the exposition too deliberate. I like it when the show makes me think, and demands my attention, neither of which things happened with this episode. I think that was a combination of the writing, the direction and the editing. 

I like Alvez more and more, but it was still strange to have a series of scenes featuring just Luke and Tara. They're just not quite yet 'team' to me. JJ was subdued, Emily looked troubled, or like she was hiding something. Matthew bordered on playing Reid as the lost little boy---which I think he should have outgrown, even where his mother is concerned----but he didn't quite go over that edge. I ardently hope he doesn't do so in future episodes.   

Rossi was good, Garcia appropriate, although the scenes she shared with Emily felt oddly forced on both sides.  Love Roxy.

But the main thing, the thing that was unavoidably obvious in this episode, was that THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE IN THIS CAST!!!!

I like an episode that features the entire team, but even with this many people (and a dog), there were too many scenes where one or another (chiefly JJ, this time) only had time to nod, or say 'yes'. I cringe to think what it will be like when the new new guy shows up. If we include Roxy--and it seems like we should----there will be nine regulars! 

I'm less nervous about losing Reid early now, because I realize Matthew had to be around for the shooting of episodes 5 through 7, because of his directing gig--and because he was in the promo. He hasn't always had less of a role in his directed episodes, or the ones before and after, but it's happened sometimes. Given that he'll be AWOL (absent without MY official leave), I hope we'll see enough of him to stave off withdrawal.

This one scored as 'acceptable' on the Reid-meter. 
 

[Bookish Jen]

Well, it looks like a lot of us love Roxy. Matthew needs to start drawing pictures of Roxy and sell them with the proceeds going to his favorite charities.

On-Topic: Yes, there are way too many people in this cast. Maybe if each character had well-defined roles like in the early CM years, I wouldn't be so pissy about this development. But everyone seems to be a big bowl of profiling porridge. 

Also, way too much unsub. And of course, CM once again went down the "troubled childhood" route when explaining the unsub's murderous ways. Can't an unsub just be a truly evil person?

And the severed limbs looked like a really bad middle school art project. Those limbs looked like they were made out of play-dough, silly putty, corn syrup and red food coloring.

[JMO]

Yes, re: the severed limbs.  They looked too healthy to me.

Personally, I don't believe there is such a thing as a 'truly evil person' as set apart from those who are ill or who have been traumatized.  I know it's a popular concept, and it would certainly make life less complex, because we could simply condemn those people and be done with it.  But I don't think the entity exists, and I think we are stuck with the complexity.  

[secnarf]

4 hours ago, Franky said:

Oh, you don't seem argumentative! In fact, I agree with this (that the show featured it upfront and quite a bit thereafter), and I could've been feeling greedy as we won't see him for a while... the specific parts I referred to were when Garcia came up and said her 'lottery' line, but then Rossi filled her in and she was all "Great, can't wait to hear it, but now we've got a case." It seemed kind of uncaring on her part. Then the perfunctory hug from Prentiss lacked her usual warmth (agree too, that she was busy). It seemed to me like when she walked off Reid was looking after her wishing they could talk more about it. 

Not a big deal, just wanted to clarify. :)

This was similar to my take on the scene as well. I just wonder if it's more due to clunky writing/editing, rather than anything we are supposed to read into in terms of the characters' behaviours/actions.

Re: the "evil person" business, I think there are some people who had perfectly normal childhoods who are evil. You can see this even in some child murderers.

[JMO]

3 minutes ago, secnarf said:

Re: the "evil person" business, I think there are some people who had perfectly normal childhoods who are evil. You can see this even in some child murderers.

While I agree that they do evil things, I think those things spring from pathology.  

[secnarf]

1 minute ago, JMO said:

While I agree that they do evil things, I think those things spring from pathology.  

I suppose I don't see the distinction, then.

[JMO]

8 minutes ago, secnarf said:

I suppose I don't see the distinction, then.

Maybe it's semantics, and maybe it's only my interpretation of how people use the words.  But I see pathology as something that happens to someone.  I've gotten the sense--not from what Booky said, so much as from other conversations I've seen here---- that when the idea of someone being 'truly evil' is raised, it implies willfulness, apart from disordered thinking, on the part of that person, that someone is inherently filled with hate and seeks to destroy, with no root cause, identifiable or not.   That's what I don't believe in.

Not sure that helped at all.

[normasm]

47 minutes ago, Bookish Jen said:

Also, way too much unsub. And of course, CM once again went down the "troubled childhood" route when explaining the unsub's murderous ways. Can't an unsub just be a truly evil person?

Well, IMO, people who are what we would call "truly evil" have been made that way through the way they are treated, usually by people who have power over them when they are children. I believe no one is born "evil," even those with severe mental compromises, such as the "psychotic" brain profiles of people like Ted Bundy, etc. It may be true that people with such injured or thwarted brains may be more vulnerable to being turned to evil deeds, but isn't that the point of profiling, to find out what turns a mentally compromised teen, say, into a drug addict, or a serial rapist or killer, so that we can learn to spot them early, maybe avoid having them turn toward that behavior? I find it interesting that Dr. James Fallon, the neuroscientist who was featured in Outfoxed, and was expounding on the brain scans of psychopaths, found, when he turned the science on himself, that he had the same psychotically-prone brain structure as those serial killers he was lecturing about in the episode. Yet, he has no tendencies toward "evil." (https://curiosity.com/topics/dr-james-fallons-brain-studies-led-him-to-discover-hes-a-psychopath-curiosity/)

And I just read JMO's point about disagreeing with the idea that someone is willfully evil, instead of damaged and disordered. I agree with her, that there is pathology involved, whether congenital or later in childhood. Or both.

[zannej]

It was pointed out that some of the scenes were a bit jumpy and not very smooth. I think the directing was a little bit of the problem. It was a new director, so I wonder if that was slightly awkward. Whenever someone new comes in, it can be awkward for actors. They have to learn to trust the director and the director needs to know the actors and how to motivate them to elicit the best performance. I think that may have been one of the missing elements here. I felt like there was a little bit of holding back going on in some scenes.

JMO, yeah, those limbs just looked way too fresh. And if dead possums and armadillos in my area are anything to go by, they would have absolutely reeked. I think the parts with flesh still on them would have been kept in some sort of container to keep them cool instead of just sitting out like they were. The ME wouldn't be examining them all at once like that. They would store the ones not being checked out at the moment. A photo of the various parts would have made sense though. Or pulling open the containers instead.

[MMC]

We need Andrew Wilder back. I hear tell that he may be available again real soon. I will say that I did like this episode a lot better than last week's. But seriously if they are going to survive the loss of both Hotch and Morgan they really need to start upping their game more when it comes to the overall writing for this show. I think their money would have been better spent on getting some better writers instead of adding to the cast the way they have.

[Lostinthehouse]

Quote

 And there is something weird about AJ's face, I can't put a finger on it, but she looks different.

I mentioned this during the second episode this season.  Has she had plastic surgery - very subtly, of course.  But something is most definitely different.

I was actually surprised when the unsub turned out to be the homeless guy's brother.  Well done!  <based on others opinions here, I guess I'm a little slow on the uptake, but whatever.>

[normasm]

If you guys are interested, her's my review.

Keeper - first off, the name. With the unsub(s), we find out one is being his brother's keeper. Within the team, of course, it is Reid who is his mother's keeper. Well named. Basically well-written Bruce Zimmerman episode. Nothing fell too far out of canon, and outside of the stupid remark of a year-old corpse being "too degraded from exposure" to get DNA from (?!), nothing was too forensically dumb in the writing. OK, there's probably slim-to-none chance that a patient under treatment for schizophrenia for 30+ years would be chosen for an Alzheimer's study, but I understand the story motivation.

The set and design elements: the body parts looked like the wax and paint they were made from, not very convincing. And a bit too much gratuitous gore, but we've seen worse. The direction, and especially the editing, were not the best, IMO. Especially in the bullpen scenes, there were jumpy cuts and lame continuity. I've seen worse with this, too, and at least we got some beautiful closeups of the beauty that is Reid! I really liked the LEO, and I liked the ME. And Roxy should be made a regular, ala Angie Tribeca!

The tone of the episode: still kinda seems like everyone's in shock at the lack of Hotch, and this also points to the lack of Morgan. It almost seems like Bruce wrote the episode with the credits in mind (this percentage of the story is Rossi, followed by Prentiss, then Reid, with a little extra emphasis, etc.) in order that the fandom would be satisfied. It definitely wasn't an Unsub Show, even though we see what we think is the unsub very early - though, to be honest, I thought very early on that he wasn't the unsub. The whole thing really felt like the writers were trying their very best to harken back to the halcyon days of the team spirit. 

Rossi was very well written and acted, connecting in a fatherly way with Reid, interacting nicely with Lewis (I like their relationship), conversing easily with the LEO. Prentiss, since she has returned, seems very different, no longer the Queen of Compartmentalization, but that could definitely be due to Doyle, distance, and time. She seems sad. Her profiling/interrogating the suspected unsub was sympathetic, and her last comments to him, which gave him great comfort, were poignant, and I loved that we saw Reid's reaction to them as he was thinking about his mother's confusion. Prentiss also was tender with Reid, which she never really was before. She's just a different woman, which I can accept. 

JJ, as a character, has really stepped back to where she was before certain elements tried to make the show Alias 2.0 with her in the lead. I like her much better, and, even in Sick Day, she plays true to the character's canon as we now know it. Garcia was more professional, less annoying, and is now friends with Luke through the adorable Roxy (love that dog!), and I thought she was helpful and her computer wasn't too-too magical! I love the way Aisha plays Lewis, serious, engaged, listening when she's supposed to, etc. And, they got her a better wig, Yay!! 

Alvez continues to fit in well with the team, with the exception of knowing quite what to do with Dr. Reid, which is OK. I'm kinda glad they have Reid having to learn to cope without Morgan or Hotch coming to his rescue, explaining him to others. I look forward, if they have time, to develop a relationship between him and Alvez that is mutually admiring, similar but different from the way Reid was with Morgan. Finally, Reid was good, trying to be the agent while also being the son desperate to help his ailing mother. All of the veterans, starting with Rossi and rolling through the rest, offered their sympathy and support to Reid (even though it took Garcia till the end to really interact with him). 

All in all, I am cautiously optimistic. I will miss this show when it's all over, so I hope that whatever time they have left is well-written and produced.

[JMO]

4 minutes ago, Lostinthehouse said:

I mentioned this during the second episode this season.  Has she had plastic surgery - very subtly, of course.  But something is most definitely different.

I was actually surprised when the unsub turned out to be the homeless guy's brother.  Well done!  <based on others opinions here, I guess I'm a little slow on the uptake, but whatever.>

Thanks for the reminder.  I forgot to mention that I, too, was surprised (and happy to be so) that the actual unsub was the brother.  I just wish they hadn't gotten there in such a clunky way.

Re: AJ.  I don't think it's surgery.  I can't think of anything she could have had surgery on.  She's a beautiful woman in her late thirties, who no longer has the baby face she had when she arrived to the show twelve years ago (just like MGG).  The pony tail was pulled back a little too severely, which made the thinness of her face more obvious.  And I couldn't help but wonder if she'd been up all night with little Phoenix.  But I think that's all it is.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

8 hours ago, Clemgo3165 said:

I didn't have issue with Reid's interactions with Prentiss, Garcia, or Rossi either. Prentiss hugged him quick because she was still working the case. I wouldn't expect her to drop everything at that moment. Garcia seemed warm, comforting, and shmoopy - her usual self. And Rossi gave genuinely great advice, delivered in a very sweet way. What I thought was interesting was Reid's longing looks after Prentiss - right after she hugged him and again from outside the glass after she broke through with the brother. 

Curse you!  :)  I saw that as well, but decided against mentioning it because doing that (& thinking about it) just gets my hopes up for something that probably won't ever be canon.  I think canon-wise, they'll just play it off as something like he realized how much he missed her as a teammate and friend, or something else totally non-romantic.  Or the writers/TPTB could just completely ignore and never deal with it just like with so many other (potentially possible) interpersonal storylines in this show's past.

The second instance, of Reid looking at/watching Prentiss, I saw more as his considering her words (to the unsub's brother) as being helpful to his own situation concerning his mother.

[Danielg342]

I feel like Reid's story with his mother is far more compelling than the actual case. Maybe much of that is Matthew Gray Gubler and his actual display of emotions when dealing with his mother, but I was far more interested in learning his story than I was in this dredge of a case.

...and his story looks like it'll take place off-screen. Again. Can we just give Reid his own show and call it a day?

This case...there's not much more to it that I can say other than it sure felt like a lot of random things the writer decided at the last minute to stick together. Of course, all the talking and the lack of action put me half to sleep, so quite possibly there was some connectivity but I missed it.

I was initially excited that perhaps we were getting Shane Wyland back...until it became painfully obvious that this was just going to be another, rudimentary sick transient, and not a particular interesting one at that.

Furthermore, I'm pretty sure Sheriff "I couldn't sound more Virginian if I tried" could have solved this case in his sleep...he just decided that, despite having dealt with homicides before, this time...he was going to "check out" and call the feds. Maybe so he can let them solve the case while he has more of those pepperoni sticks.

(Which are pretty good, by the way)

In the end, I just felt, for perhaps the first time, CM had run its course. This case just screams "we've run out of ideas" and the show just generally feels like it's got nothing left. I hope I'm wrong...but this sure feels like a turning point.

Episode Grade: D-. Reid was a joy to watch, and at least Roxy was cute.

[CrimeFan12]

Well here's my less in-depth review, as I said before I stink at those.  Overall I enjoyed the episode.  At first when they showed Todd so early, I groaned thinking this was going to another UnSub show, but a little later I realized he was the red herring.  I didn't guess it was his brother and we didn't get to see him until the very end.  I was able to follow the plot.  The team was profiler and everyone was out there doing something.  Nobody seemed to wander off for half the show which is good.

As the the b-plot.  It was nicely interspersed throughout the episode and not just done at the beginning and the end.  I'm not a fan that on top of the schizophrenia they had to give Diana Alzheimer's. It's not needed.  Everything would have worked fine if they simply made her schizophrenia get worse.  Reid would still be worrying about his mom and doing everything he can to help her.  I was disappointed that he chose to ignore Rossi's advice and go see his mom.  He could have made that call from Vegas when she was resting.  I thought the reactions of JJ and Emily to his situation was genuine.  Garcia's seemed to be more on the dismissive side.  I'm not a huge fan of Reid (I don't see the appeal of him...lol.  It probably is just me. :-)) but I like him and feel for what he is going through.  Dealing with a parent with both illnesses is hard.  It's hard with just one.

Someone said somewhere that Emily was different.  I expected that.  She's been gone for four years and people change during that time.She's moved into a position of power, she's in a steady relationship (not a fan of Mark.  He reminds me of a Derek lookalike. Bald, black, well built).  I wouldn't want the writers writing her the same way  she was back in season 7. They did that when she returned for that season, writing her like Doyle never happened.  I can see that (and the crap she dealt with in season 6) playing in to why Paget deciding to leave. Actors can get bored with their character if they are always playing them the same way year after year.  Now she has a chance to take Emily in new directions and I'm looking forward to seeing that.  

I would give it a solid B.  

Oh...I did get the dog Luke had in the woods right.  It was a Golden and a cadaver dog. :-D

[Danielg342]

13 hours ago, Bookish Jen said:

And of course, CM once again went down the "troubled childhood" route when explaining the unsub's murderous ways. Can't an unsub just be a truly evil person?

My personal opinion is that the best antagonist is the one whose motivation differs from that of the protagonist- in other words, if the story's perspective was flipped, the antagonist could still be considered the "hero" of their own story.

What this means is that I just wouldn't find someone who is "simply evil" to be at all interesting- I want to know why they are what they are. I'm a big believer in the axiom that we all are "heroes of our own story" and I believe for fiction to be effective, it needs to display that.

Not to mention that I feel an antagonist who is "simply evil" feels one-sided and heavy-handed, as if the writer intends to use their story as a personal soapbox. Not that this kind of story can't be done but they're so easy to fail- and too easy to write- that unless it's really well done, it's cringeworthy.

As for CM, the basic premise is humanizing the monster, and I believe for that to happen they need to tell us how the UnSub came to be how they are. I'll agree they go to the abused child route too often, and I didn't like the choice for this episode. In the early days, they used to have jilted exes, people taking it out on their jobs (or former bosses) or simply people who had delusions of grandeur.

In other words, a wide variety- not just messed up childhoods. I also think in some cases, like this one, the UnSubs would be too old for their childhoods to really trigger their crimes- I feel like they should be "past" them- and for this case, I would have preferred a different reason for the trigger. What, I can't think of one at this stage.

[Bookish Jen]

Perhaps someone who is just plain out evil is way too simplistic. I get that. I'm just a little sick of an unsub's evil doings is due to an abusive childhood. I'd like CM to research other motivations. I still think my idea of a female Charles Manson who inspires her followers to commit evil acts due to her blog, social feed, etc., might be an interesting angle, but that would also have to include why people are attracted to someone like her in the first place. And that may be a bit too much for the current stable of CM writers to handle.

[ReidFan]

15 hours ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

 

The second instance, of Reid looking at/watching Prentiss, I saw more as his considering her words (to the unsub's brother) as being helpful to his own situation concerning his mother.

this. Yeah, he's definitely thinking about mom and how apropos Prentiss' words are to his situation.

there is nothing romantic between any of the team members. except in the eyes of the fanfic writers and readers.

[smoker]

2 hours ago, ReidFan said:

there is nothing romantic between any of the team members. except in the eyes of the fanfic writers and readers.

so true

[Droogie]

...sadly.

[Danielg342]

Well, Garcia blew a kiss to Reid, which I found particularly interesting. Sure, I figure she's an affectionate woman anyway, but I'm not sure she's ever done that before (at least with anyone other than her boyfriends or Morgan).

[normasm]

She kissed her fingers and pressed them to Reid's forehead once.

[zannej]

I didn't think Reid was looking at Prentiss longingly. When he was watching through the window, I thought he was thinking of his mother but also wanting to help with the case. Matthew and Paget have always had an interesting chemistry though. There is clearly a lot of affection between them. I remember at the 100 episode party he was still in pain and she was putting her arm around him and rubbing his back and such.

I do agree that the just plain evil unsubs can be boring. I did like the guy who was on death row who had no remorse yet still wanted to know why he felt compelled to kill women. I think it also helped that the whole scenario was based on real events with a BAU member. I think when it is based on stuff that actually happened, there is more of a ring of truth to it and it ends up being more interesting than just completely fabricated crazy guys.

[amensisterfriend]

Quote

I like an episode that features the entire team, but even with this many people (and a dog), there were too many scenes where one or another (chiefly JJ, this time) only had time to nod, or say 'yes'. I cringe to think what it will be like when the new new guy shows up. If we include Roxy--and it seems like we should----there will be nine regulars! 

THIS. Now, honestly, overall I'm liking this season so far. It's meeting or even exceeding my (admittedly VERY comfortably low!) expectations. But it suffers from the same issue that IMO has been plaguing this show for several seasons: way too many characters who seem totally interchangeable in terms of both professional function and personality. A lot of us get annoyed with Garcia---and I'm very much including myself here!---and understandably so, but you could argue that at this point she's actually the ONLY one of the many characters on this show who has anything resembling a professional niche/specialty and distinctive personality traits. Everyone else, with the occasional but certainly not consistent exception of Reid, now seems to have the same blandly pleasant personality to me.

Someone once mentioned that skilled characterization is when you could cover the name of the character and still logically infer who's speaking based on the line itself---the content, how it's phrased and delivered, etc. But whether it's in a professional or more personal context, CM would fail that test about 98% of the time for me.

At this point the characters all bring more or less identical skillsets and perspectives to every case, perform the same exact roles while conducting an investigation and compiling a profile, all seem to know roughly the exact same amount and type of information about any subject that might arise along the way,  etc. They all present as having the same personalities and interact in the same dully nice ways with one another, all seemingly having the exact same type of smooth but ill-defined professional and interpersonal relationships with one another. 

And not only does it make these characters and the overall show vastly more boring than it should be IMO, but it's not even relatable and realistic. I've never been part of or even heard of a workplace where every single member of a 'team' has the exact same skills, roles and degree of expertise in every single area. And what group of coworkers all seem to have the same personality and the exact same professional relationships and friendships with one another?! Some people have always been (very understandably!) baffled when I've said that I watch primarily for the cases and profiling, but CM's characterization and interpersonal relationships are so dreadfully undefined that for me a lot of my enjoyment really does depend on the quality---or lack thereof!---of that week's case and whether they impart anything interesting about criminal psychology along the way. 

I get that this is a procedural, not a character-based drama---and nor would I event want it to be!---but even by those standards CM's characterization is so, so bad. And on most other crime shows they at least valiantly keep up the charade that different team members bring DIFFERENT strengths, skills, roles, specialties etc. to the table! 

Usually I agree with people who think that cutting the cast by at least 2-3 characters might solve this issue, as they could then focus more on defining and developing the characters who remain. Other times, though, I'm so cynical about the writers' ability to give their characters any distinguishing personal or professional characteristics that I'm not sure they'd do any better with a smaller cast!  At this point Roxy is the best defined, most compelling character on the entire show :)

Edited November 5, 2016 by amensisterfriend