S12.E16: Assistance Is Futile

[Guest]

Quote

 

A mother steps forward with valuable information for the BAU to aid in their investigation of an unsub known as the bone crusher. Also, Reid must adapt to a new set of rules in prison life.

 

[Willowy]

Love the way they are looking at each other in this one. 

"I'm... okay. I'm just really glad to see you..." AUGH

http://extratv.com/videos/0-eisirafg/

[senin]

Thanks for sharing it, Willowy. I got a glimse of the "real Reid" when JJ was talking to him about the case. 

[Willowy]

Episode sucked. Not enough Reid, not by a long shot, and I didn't care one iota about the stupid case OR botox-faced Tatum O'Neal. 

The only thing I cared about was JJ and her visit and pic from Henry. And in the previews it looks like LUKE is the reason Calvin was protecting Reid.

I WANT EMILY ON REID'S CASE 24/7!

Also, Reid got hurt. Maybe badly. I am not a happy fan tonight.

[Bookish Jen]

13 minutes ago, Willowy said:

Episode sucked. Not enough Reid, not by a long shot, and I didn't care one iota about the stupid case OR botox-faced Tatum O'Neal. 

The only thing I cared about was JJ and her visit and pic from Henry. And in the previews it looks like LUKE is the reason Calvin was protecting Reid.

I WANT EMILY ON REID'S CASE 24/7!

Also, Reid got hurt. Maybe badly. I am not a happy fan tonight.

Yes to pretty much all you wrote. I pretty much felt both numb and nauseated the entire time. And it reminded me too much of my own experience being the victim of a violent crime.

[MMC]

I want the entire BAU on his case. In fact I am pissed as all hell at them at this moment. As far as I am concerned Reid got hurt because they dropped the damn ball. Why the hell aren't they doing anything about the fact that he is in the general population and not protective custody like he is suppose to be. Although it sounds like they are finally going to do something. It's just too damn bad Reid had to get beaten up in order for it to happen.

[Willowy]

Yeah, I was a victim of a violent crime too. A violent beating about every 3 months for 15 years and I nearly lost my life, because that was his pattern. Sorry for your experience too, Jen. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

I'm just sickened by what happened to him tonight. Even though we don't know the extent, and we know he won't die, it was torture to see that happen. It could have been much worse, I know that. But that's REID. Our Spencer...

[Hotchgirl18]

9 minutes ago, MMC said:

I want the entire BAU on his case. In fact I am pissed as all hell at them at this moment. As far as I am concerned Reid got hurt because they dropped the damn ball. Why the hell aren't they doing anything about the fact that he is in the general population and not protective custody like he is suppose to be. Although it sounds like they are finally going to do something. It's just too damn bad Reid had to get beaten up in order for it to happen.

Some team if you ask me. First Hotch and now Reid?

[Bookish Jen]

12 minutes ago, Willowy said:

Yeah, I was a victim of a violent crime too. A violent beating about every 3 months for 15 years and I nearly lost my life, because that was his pattern. Sorry for your experience too, Jen. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

I'm just sickened by what happened to him tonight. Even though we don't know the extent, and we know he won't die, it was torture to see that happen. It could have been much worse, I know that. But that's REID. Our Spencer...

God, Willowy. How horrible. Remember when I mentioned we don't just see art, entertainment and culture as they are, but as we are? This shit is getting way too real, and it disgusts me to my very core.

[PMPA]

Well I watched the show live and I thought it was beyond awful.  I looked at my watch 15 mins in and felt like it had been 2 hrs.  The only ONLY half decent scenes were those with JJ/Reid and JJ/Rossi at the end. I tried to imagine Hotch in any of the scenes and the fact is, it would still have been utter dross.  I have always been honest about my opinions on the show and have made my dislike of aspects known to TPTB way before anything to do with TG.  I watched episodes in other seasons that I will never watch again, Hotch or not.  Hotch may have been a favorite character just as Reid is a favorite of many on here.  Neither character or actor deserves this drivel.  I feel bad for AJ.  I would think this is the most significant contribution she's had in ages.  Here is hoping that MGG and AJ get out asap and move on from this mess.

Curious to see if Mr. Williams responds to any comments made on twitter.  He never did take well to critisism, construstive or otherwise.  Last episode he wrote, someone said she did not like all the violence against women - his response was as polite as you might expect.  

[Hotchgirl18]

13 minutes ago, PMPA said:

Well I watched the show live and I thought it was beyond awful.  I looked at my watch 15 mins in and felt like it had been 2 hrs.  The only ONLY half decent scenes were those with JJ/Reid and JJ/Rossi at the end. I tried to imagine Hotch in any of the scenes and the fact is, it would still have been utter dross.  I have always been honest about my opinions on the show and have made my dislike of aspects known to TPTB way before anything to do with TG.  I watched episodes in other seasons that I will never watch again, Hotch or not.  Hotch may have been a favorite character just as Reid is a favorite of many on here.  Neither character or actor deserves this drivel.  I feel bad for AJ.  I would think this is the most significant contribution she's had in ages.  Here is hoping that MGG and AJ get out asap and move on from this mess.

Curious to see if Mr. Williams responds to any comments made on twitter.  He never did take well to critisism, construstive or otherwise.  Last episode he wrote, someone said she did not like all the violence against women - his response was as polite as you might expect.  

Oh. I forgot who wrote this episode. Surprise. Surprise.

[Danielg342]

I really don't know if there's much for me to say.

Case of the Week was horrible. Yet another delusional guy striking at women because of rejection issues. A twist in the mother being the UnSub's drug dealer that really wasn't a twist.

Also, I was not surprised Reid did something stupid tonight. He's already been written to be very stupid in this entire arc, but falling for the old TV trope of "don't listen to guy telling you, 'I'm warning you' " is a new low, even for these writers. Do I really have to sit through six more episodes of this?

Oh, and I must throw shade on JJ being a sports fan and not being aware that the Chicago Cubs won the World Series. That story transcended the sports world- the wider media reported it- and every sports fan knew of the Cubs' World Series drought. That "W" is pretty iconic too- it got used in many newspaper reports.

(I should also groan that they decided a character played by a Canadian is a hockey fan...but...minor annoyance in an episode this bad).

Episode Grade: F. This one had me wishing, "is it May yet?", and not just because of the weather.

[Hotchgirl18]

13 minutes ago, Danielg342 said:

I really don't know if there's much for me to say.

Case of the Week was horrible. Yet another delusional guy striking at women because of rejection issues. A twist in the mother being the UnSub's drug dealer that really wasn't a twist.

Also, I was not surprised Reid did something stupid tonight. He's already been written to be very stupid in this entire arc, but falling for the old TV trope of "don't listen to guy telling you, 'I'm warning you' " is a new low, even for these writers. Do I really have to sit through six more episodes of this?

Oh, and I must throw shade on JJ being a sports fan and not being aware that the Chicago Cubs won the World Series. That story transcended the sports world- the wider media reported it- and every sports fan knew of the Cubs' World Series drought. That "W" is pretty iconic too- it got used in many newspaper reports.

(I should also groan that they decided a character played by a Canadian is a hockey fan...but...minor annoyance in an episode this bad).

Episode Grade: F. This one had me wishing, "is it May yet?", and not just because of the weather.

Well, shut my mouth! I know the Cubs won the world series and I don't know a damn thing about sports.

[CrimeFan12]

Well once again, I seem to be the minority, but I enjoyed the episode.  I found it interesting, but that is probably because my focus isn’t so narrowed on Reid.  I’m enjoying the whole arc and having the episodes a mixture of the cases and Reid’s situation.  It kept my attention the entire time.  Yes, I flinched when he swung the hammer and I’m ever so thankful that they didn’t actually show the impact. That would have been way too much. No one needs to see that.  That violence or any form of violence I wouldn’t wish on anyone. 

This time I didn’t mind knowing who the UnSub was because he wasn’t telling the story and the team was playing catch up and trying to figure out who he was.  They knew who he was from the beginning with the help of his mother and did everything they could to stop him.

To the Reid storyline, I enjoyed JJ and Reid’s scene.  She was truly upset at what was happening to him and she feels so helpless.  And I like Reid’s frustration about the drug test not showing the vital drug that could be linked to Mr. Scratch.  I do wonder at Reid’s motivation for purposely approaching the guard and leaning in to talk to him like he had something important to say?  It seems like he was setting himself up to be labeled a snitch.

This is a long arc so the writer’s are dropping tidbits here and there.  I’m not expecting everything to be answered immediately.  They have a definite plan of how this is going to play out and so I'm going to reserve judgment until it is over.I'm not going to second guess them.  If they decided to have every episode of the back nine of the season focused solely on Reid for the entire forty minutes, it would be the first time in twelve years of watching that I would turn the show off.  I watch the show for the team working cases, not to watch a show suddenly dedicated to one character.

[PMPA]

Not sure how to quote but this is reply to Daniel.  I thought the same with regards to JJ.  I'm neither Canadian nor American but even I knew who the Cubs were and the significance of the win.  The whole 'give Chicago hope sermon...yawn.  Also, AJ is Canadian but JJ is not.  Yes I know hockey is a thing in the US as well. I lived with a pyschotic NY Rangers fan for a while...shudder, but I never recall JJ making any reference to a fondness for hockey.  Her comment about football was off as well, as we saw from S1 when Gideon got match tickets for Reid so he could ask JJ out.  In fact I think Gideon's line was something like " I hear a certain lady is a fan of football..." or words to that effect.  And didnt she get a college scholorship based on her soccer skills....?  This to me, was the writer not making the distinction between the actor and the character, and as is the norm with most of the CM writers over the last fews seasons, displaying a total lack of knowledge of canon or continuity.

I also baulked at Reid going up to guard and whispering in his ear in front of the entire canteen. Remind me again, Reid's superior mind is his greatest weapon?  

The continuing destruction of this show is painful.

[PMPA]

Here are a few more of my observations re tonights episode.  They stood out for me as they were so off from what I would have expected.

Case was woeful, as was acting. Even the sfx looked below par, but wont make a definite judgement on that as I was viewing on a less than stable streaming service.

But here is what really bugged me - when JJ came back from visiting Reid, and went into Garcia's office, I would have expected that the FIRST thing that would have come out of Garcia's mouth was to ask about Reid.

None of the others mentioned Reid throughtout the episode.  Not one word from Prentiss???

Rossi asking JJ "what's going on with you"....? Did he think she'd broke a nail or something?.  

At a rough guess, I would say that Reid had maybe 8 mins screentime?  Shocking. 

And yet despite my complaints about these scenes and these actions or inactions, it was the minimal scenes between our old team members, Rossi/JJ, JJ/Reid and even JJ/Garcia (who drives me nuts), these were the scenes that stood out for me. The way those actors worked together, even with the script they had, just stood head and shoulders above the rest.  Walker character is just pointless. Alvez and Garcia trying to recreate the Morgan/Garcia theme, is cringey.  Alvez is no Morgan, in any way, shape or action.

[Danielg342]

7 minutes ago, PMPA said:

Not sure how to quote but this is reply to Daniel.  I thought the same with regards to JJ.  I'm neither Canadian nor American but even I knew who the Cubs were and the significance of the win.  The whole 'give Chicago hope sermon...yawn.  Also, AJ is Canadian but JJ is not.  Yes I know hockey is a thing in the US as well. I lived with a pyschotic NY Rangers fan for a while...shudder, but I never recall JJ making any reference to a fondness for hockey.  Her comment about football was off as well, as we saw from S1 when Gideon got match tickets for Reid so he could ask JJ out.  In fact I think Gideon's line was something like " I hear a certain lady is a fan of football..." or words to that effect.  And didnt she get a college scholorship based on her soccer skills....?  This to me, was the writer not making the distinction between the actor and the character, and as is the norm with most of the CM writers over the last fews seasons, displaying a total lack of knowledge of canon or continuity.

I also baulked at Reid going up to guard and whispering in his ear in front of the entire canteen. Remind me again, Reid's superior mind is his greatest weapon?  

The continuing destruction of this show is painful.

At the bottom left of every post there is an image of quotation marks in red. They're quite faded, and only if you hover over them will you see them. I have screenshot it just for your convenience.

As for your post- dead on. I forgot JJ was a soccer player, and furthermore, "North Mammon" established that she came from a small football town. Now, I could perhaps buy that, being a "Midwestern" Pennsylvanian, she became a Pittsburgh Penguin fan (Sidney Crosby's ascent into the NHL was at the same time CM debuted), but I would think JJ would be much bigger into football than hockey (especially in Steelers country- and I've been to Pittsburgh so I know).

It reminds me of how in S7, Garcia said that Morgan liked hockey not basketball yet in "Elephant's Memory" Morgan is proud to talk about the poster of Scottie Pippen he had hanging up in his room. Consistency...it's not hard to do, writers.

Also, I didn't think about that with Reid, but you're right- he should have "snitched" in private or as well away as he could from the guard as possible. What really frustrates me about this whole arc is that I would think Reid would have read a lot about prison dynamics and the prison environment and yet he doesn't even think to apply any of that. I would be much more comfortable with Reid getting into trouble if he tried to use what he read in a book and it failed, because reading about something and experiencing it are two different things. Of course, that would involve subtlety and these writers don't know anything about that.

I just hope that in an episode or two Reid can get his bail back and we can be done with this ridiculous prison storyline that's only meant to beat up a character who is already beaten up enough. Just like "Zugzwang", this is exploitation of the highest level.

[PMPA]

Thanks for that Daniel. 

[ReidFan]

:-(

I had to work tonight, so I only just saw the episode. Although I suppose I should be happy about that I guess, since I FF'd through the torture porn sequences and had NO freakin' interest in this unsub/victims case at all. I'd agree there wasn't enough of the Reid story in it, except I couldn't tell because I only watched that part; so my complaint about that wouldn't actually be valid O:-) . Of course Matthew and AJ brought it in their scenes together. 

JJ's a hockey fan?? Since when?

and that last scene. OMG why!? We know of course, he's not gonna die but wtf!? 1. why is he still in gen pop? why hasn't his lawyer/the BAU taken care of that BS yet? and 2. Really? Why is the team not working on HIS case? like full time! and for me, worst of all, :-( the d/l isn't working yet.

[threebluestars]

I thought Reid was making it obvious he snitched so the bullies would turn their attention to him and leave the other guy alone. 

[Willowy]

I believe you're right, arieswriting. I thought that too. I think he wants to be in the infirmary with the other guy, and he did that snitch thing on purpose.

[ReidFan]

15 minutes ago, arieswriting said:

I thought Reid was making it obvious he snitched so the bullies would turn their attention to him and leave the other guy alone. 

true. Good thought!!!.......although to what end? I realise he's gallant and a good guy and wants to help poor Luis. But how is getting himself <beat up, nearly killed, whatever> gonna accomplish that? How's that gonna help Reid at all?  <<thinks about it>> I suppose getting himself sent to the infirmary is an improvement on having to be in gen pop with all the thugs. And Calvin did mention that the thug bunch only 'broke a couple ribs' (whatever-ish) with Luis. Reid's been injured (countless times...) in the line of duty, and probably in his youth by the bullies too. Maybe he'll find a true ally in Luis. 

ff to the 'next week's preview'...he was obviously not too badly hurt by the thug bunch cause there he is at work in the laundry room. That long big scream though. Injuring him again? burning him? or perhaps he's discovered they've done something worse to Luis?

:-(

[Old Dog]

Tedious case - a poor shadow of similar themes we have seen before. The team now has completely zero chemistry - I really dislike Alvez, new guy (why is he there?) is still just new guy, Prentiss just does not have the presence as Unit Chief, Garcia's "banter" with Alvez is just Yuk and I find the almost total lack of energy and concern about Reid disturbing. "Hope is all we have"??? Just stop watching baseball and do something!!! I love that Reid has some focus and Matthew gets to show how well he can act but I am not looking forward to weeks of this pattern of sub standard and predictable cases with little snippets of prison tucked in occasionally. I wish they would get all hands to the pump and actually do something serious about helping Reid. However I know they're just wrapping the season so I can see a lot of Fast forwarding in my future for the next month or two. Sigh. :-(

[Danielg342]

I see a lot of "maybes" and not enough answers. Which makes me think the show deciding to do "A- Case/B- Reid" just isn't working, because we don't have time for an adequate exploration of what is happening.

[JMO]

I can only comment on the Reid-related portions of the episode. 

The scenes with JJ were a relief.  At least someone is prioritizing Reid!  But there had to be at least two more scenes worth of material to cover---like an update on what the team was currently doing to help him, and Reid informing JJ that he’s not in protective custody.  MGG broke my heart portraying Reid trying not to cry.  I appreciated that so much of each scene was delivered through body language, from the time they first spotted each other, through JJ’s breaking down at the end.  More, please.

I agree with those who think Reid purposely made himself a target.  It came right on the heels of ‘I don’t know prison, but I do know how to stop a psychopath’.  Although I hate the thought of Reid getting hurt, now I know that he won’t actually be a victim in the process.  Yes, he’ll be the guy with the injuries, and you can only have so much bravery when the foe is upon you, so I’m sure he’ll be frightened in the moment.  But he’s taking charge.  We’ve seen him put himself at risk to save the underdog before.  He’s just doing what he always does. 

I still don’t quite know what to make of Calvin Shaw, but I think he’s only on for three or four episodes, so I guess we’ll find out soon.

That final scene with Rossi was emblematic of the bizarre decision not to portray the team working on Reid’s case.  It was obviously an indulgence between JM and VW, both from Chicago.  I don’t begrudge the ‘W’ or the nod to the Cubs, but it should have been done in some other context.  Really, Rossi doesn’t know what’s bothering JJ?  Really, he wants to reference something that took more than a century to inspire her about getting her best friend out of prison?  Really?!

An aside re: JJ and sports. It was Gideon who said she liked football, not JJ.  That was when he turned his comped tickets into a makeshift birthday present for Reid and decided to play matchmaker.  All we know is that she played soccer.  Hockey is quite popular in Pennsylvania, where there are several pro teams.  So, if she says she likes hockey, I believe her. 

EM has pointed out that they’ve never done a long arc like this before.  I think their inexperience is showing in the pacing of the Reid story, in the dribbling out of details, and in their struggling to find balance between the arc and the case of the week.  They would have been much better off making this a three or four episode arc, fully devoted to Reid and Scratch. 

[normasm]

JMO, you read my mind down to the very punctuation marks you used.

We will have to depend on your ff stories to make a narrative out of this swiss cheese (Reid's saga) and baloney (the case) sandwich.

Edited March 16, 2017 by normasm

[Danielg342]

1 hour ago, JMO said:

Hockey is quite popular in Pennsylvania, where there are several pro teams.  So, if she says she likes hockey, I believe her. 

The Penguins nearly went bankrupt before Crosby...I mean, Pittsburgh is more of a hockey town than Phoenix but I wouldn't quite say it's No. 1. King in Pittsburgh are the Steelers, through and through.

Minor point. What really bothers me about JJ suddenly being a hockey fan is that the actress is Canadian. It sure feels like the same kind of indulgence that Joe Mantegna and Virgil Williams have by throwing in a reference to the Cubs, or at the very least Williams is pandering to A.J. Cook's "Canadian-ness". Truth be told, we've never seen anything that would suggest that JJ likes hockey. It's quite possible but it sure feels way out of left field for me.

[JMO]

I don't know if she likes Mozart, either.  Why can't she make a revelation about her preferences?

[Danielg342]

When those revelations are based on stereotypes, I have to give the side-eye. Just like when CSI:Cyber had Bow Wow's character prefer to "rap out" his clues to help him think better. Yeah, it's not definitive that the writer is not simply playing to our perceptions about the actor, but it sure feels like it.

[PMPA]

Yes we know it was Gideon who made the reference.  I pretty clearly stated that.  The point of the comment is that 12 seasons in, it is a revelation of sorts especially given the fact that JJ sporting interests were referenced in numerous other episodes but Hockey was not one of them. I think its pretty obvious to everyone that that was about AJ and not JJ. Then again, thats pretty much how it goes with these writers. How many different family scenario's does Garcia have? Regardless, it was silly and unnessesary.

[JMO]

14 minutes ago, PMPA said:

Yes we know it was Gideon who made the reference.  I pretty clearly stated that.  The point of the comment is that 12 seasons in, it is a revelation of sorts especially given the fact that JJ sporting interests were referenced in numerous other episodes but Hockey was not one of them. I think its pretty obvious to everyone that that was about AJ and not JJ. Then again, thats pretty much how it goes with these writers. How many different family scenario's does Garcia have? Regardless, it was silly and unnessesary.

To belabor the point, can you help me remember the episodes where JJ's sporting interests were mentioned?  The only one I can remember is the one where she said she'd had a soccer scholarship to college---i think it was North Mammon.

[PMPA]

46 minutes ago, JMO said:

To belabor the point, can you help me remember the episodes where JJ's sporting interests were mentioned?  The only one I can remember is the one where she said she'd had a soccer scholarship to college---i think it was North Mammon.

Not right of my head, no.  But you are correct that North Mammon was a big one. Loved scene with her and Hotch on the plane back.  Gideons reference to her liking football was definitely early in the show, and I'm pretty sure there was at least one other comment about JJ and sports, possibly from Morgan.  Now that I think of it, was she not at the baseball game with the rest of the crew when they all went to support Reid?  And yet she did not seem to recognise the significance of the W, or the Cubs reference. We know she trained alot in boxing/marital arts etc and on the whole I got the feeling that JJ was sporty person.  

I don't really see why specifics need to be made.  The general consensus seems to be that alot of people were surprised by JJ's apparent first love being Hockey, given that there had been NO indication of that for the last 11.5 seasons. Moreso it is the context that this dialogue occured in, that is the main talking point.

[normasm]

54 minutes ago, JMO said:

To belabor the point, can you help me remember the episodes where JJ's sporting interests were mentioned?  The only one I can remember is the one where she said she'd had a soccer scholarship to college---i think it was North Mammon.

Reid mentioned it when he wondered if she was a mean girl in season 7. Think it was "varsity soccer, corn-fed and still a size zero, were you a mean girl?"

[R3volver]

I'm new here but I've been lurking.  I just wanted to throw in my thoughts.  I really don't believe Reid is acting out of character or stupid.  He's always been known to not always make the "most logical" decisions and instead follow his conscience/moral values(much like the quote in the beginning of the episode).  He's a genius, but he's not a computer.  He's approached dangerous unsubs after taking his bulletproof vest off.  He's ventured off alone in search of unsubs multiple times in the past even when it was a bad idea.  He locked himself in a house with anthrax knowing the strong possibility he would die.  He's taken bullets for two different people.   Reid never has and probably never will play it safe or logical when it's a moral conflict. It's not that he doesn't know better, but that's just who he is, so it's not surprising when he makes ballsy moves to help someone.

[JMO]

4 minutes ago, PMPA said:

Not right of my head, no.  But you are correct that North Mammon was a big one. Loved scene with her and Hotch on the plane back.  Gideons reference to her liking football was definitely early in the show, and I'm pretty sure there was at least one other comment about JJ and sports, possibly from Morgan.  Now that I think of it, was she not at the baseball game with the rest of the crew when they all went to support Reid?  And yet she did not seem to recognise the significance of the W, or the Cubs reference. We know she trained alot in boxing/marital arts etc and on the whole I got the feeling that JJ was sporty person.  

I don't really see why specifics need to be made.  The general consensus seems to be that alot of people were surprised by JJ's apparent first love being Hockey, given that there had been NO indication of that for the last 11.5 seasons. Moreso it is the context that this dialogue occured in, that is the main talking point.

I guess my point is that we actually knew nothing of her preferences as a sports spectator----and now we do.  Maybe some day we'll find out her favorite work of art, or piece of music, and that will be news to us, too.  Personally, I like learning new things about the characters.  I would agree that I don't appreciate contradictions to what has come before.  But, in this case, nothing has come before.

[TheGreenWave]

The COTW did have potential with the angle of the agony of turning in your child when they've committed crimes (especially since I'm a fan of Investigation Discovery and just watched the episode in which parents turned in their arsonist son and their story was heart-wrenching).  But, of course, they could not strike the right balance between the COTW and the Reid Arc.  For goodness sake - just show Reid!!!

As a side note, Mr. Green Wave walked in at the moment where Garcia is asked to "search for broken bones injuries in the last five years," said, "are you F$%^ing kidding me," and then walked out.  Indeed.

[Hotchgirl18]

5 hours ago, JMO said:

I can only comment on the Reid-related portions of the episode. 

The scenes with JJ were a relief.  At least someone is prioritizing Reid!  But there had to be at least two more scenes worth of material to cover---like an update on what the team was currently doing to help him, and Reid informing JJ that he’s not in protective custody.  MGG broke my heart portraying Reid trying not to cry.  I appreciated that so much of each scene was delivered through body language, from the time they first spotted each other, through JJ’s breaking down at the end.  More, please.

I agree with those who think Reid purposely made himself a target.  It came right on the heels of ‘I don’t know prison, but I do know how to stop a psychopath’.  Although I hate the thought of Reid getting hurt, now I know that he won’t actually be a victim in the process.  Yes, he’ll be the guy with the injuries, and you can only have so much bravery when the foe is upon you, so I’m sure he’ll be frightened in the moment.  But he’s taking charge.  We’ve seen him put himself at risk to save the underdog before.  He’s just doing what he always does. 

I still don’t quite know what to make of Calvin Shaw, but I think he’s only on for three or four episodes, so I guess we’ll find out soon.

That final scene with Rossi was emblematic of the bizarre decision not to portray the team working on Reid’s case.  It was obviously an indulgence between JM and VW, both from Chicago.  I don’t begrudge the ‘W’ or the nod to the Cubs, but it should have been done in some other context.  Really, Rossi doesn’t know what’s bothering JJ?  Really, he wants to reference something that took more than a century to inspire her about getting her best friend out of prison?  Really?!

An aside re: JJ and sports. It was Gideon who said she liked football, not JJ.  That was when he turned his comped tickets into a makeshift birthday present for Reid and decided to play matchmaker.  All we know is that she played soccer.  Hockey is quite popular in Pennsylvania, where there are several pro teams.  So, if she says she likes hockey, I believe her. 

EM has pointed out that they’ve never done a long arc like this before.  I think their inexperience is showing in the pacing of the Reid story, in the dribbling out of details, and in their struggling to find balance between the arc and the case of the week.  They would have been much better off making this a three or four episode arc, fully devoted to Reid and Scratch. 

Which should've been Hotch, but never mind. I'm supposed to forgive and forget, right?

[JMO]

HG--which part are you referring to?  What (or who) should have been Hotch?

[Danielg342]

9 minutes ago, JMO said:

HG--which part are you referring to?  What (or who) should have been Hotch?

The arc should be Hotch's.

[JMO]

Don't think so.  I don't doubt that we would have had a Hotch arc, and that his would have been the big story.  But I believe it was MGG who said  that this particular story line was discussed, for Reid, during the filming of last season's Derek Morgan goodbye episodes.  Do I have that wrong?   I just don't know that it was intended to be during this season, or maybe it was just not intended to be this long.  

[normasm]

No, JMO, that's what Erica said. Now, it could be that she's prevaricating, but I tend to believe her. I don't think she would tell a public lie about Matthew, he wouldn't like it, I don't think.

[JMO]

Ah, okay, it was Erica.  I am the holder of the apparently unpopular opinion that she does not 'lie', but simply 'spins'.  So I agree that she would not have described it as a Reid story, if it had not been intended as such from the very beginning.

[zannej]

I forgot that the episode was on and only caught the last 5 minutes so I had to watch it online later. I tried to watch the parts I had missed without fastforwarding, but there was a LOT of boring stuff with the unsub menacing the victim and a lot of gore that wasn't necessary-- very fake looking gore I might add. The supposedly broken fingers looked like a fake rubber hand.

This was yet another torture porn episode. And we also had a case where the BAU didn't even have to solve it because the mother came forward. When she brought her son's journal in, I couldn't help but think that Reid would have been all over it and would have been analyzing it like the journal in Limelight.

I still thought the escalation to wanting to break bones because his father left him, he was awkward, and his mother gave him drugs didn't quite add up.

I actually thought the actress playing the mother did fine and I liked Alvez in this-- although he got way more screentime and contribution than the rest of the team. It almost seemed like Alvez was in charge because I barely remember Prentiss even being there. She and Tara were rather subdued. I'm glad they gave Rossi more to do, but I wish they could balance the team equally.

I thought it was a little odd that JJ actually stayed behind on the case--but I was hopeful that Reid would actually offer some insight when she told him about it. But instead they had Reid being utterly useless and being dumb enough to tell a guard in front of other inmates under the pretense of asking for more water-- which was really dumb, IMO.

I actually think Reid is stronger than JJ gave him credit for. And I wonder if the blood results were from the test taken when Reid got back to the US and whether or not any tests from Mexico are still forthcoming.

I also noticed that a LOT of the dialog was delivered as line-reading rather than people understanding or investing in what they were saying (particularly when "profiling").

Also, I really wish Garcia would stop with the "Newbie" stuff. I just find the "banter" between her and Alvez to be unprofessional and unenjoyable. I don't want Garcia to be hitting on him, but it would be nice if she just stopped treating him like that. If it came off more that they were good friends who were just messing with one another, that would be fine-- but it doesn't come across that way.

I was thinking that when JJ visited it would have been a good opportunity for him to mention that he's not in protective custody and that guard Wilkins was threatening to expose him-- BUT then I realized that he probably knew it would freak JJ out and he was trying to avoid upsetting her. I think that is something he would have to say to Prentiss, Rossi, or his lawyer (or all 3).

In some ways I like that Reid actually did something to protect the poor guy who was being bullied. And I wonder if he expected to get a beating for it or if he thought his prison buddy would protect him. If he expected he might get beat up-- maybe it would be likely they would put him in protective custody afterward. It would be something his lawyer would fight for.

But overall, that whole arc is being handled badly because it does not come anywhere close to what would happen in real life. I know it is fiction, but it goes beyond suspension of disbelief.

I'm not sure what to make of the former Fed who is in prison with Reid. His personality seemed totally different in this episode and he was more of a dick. Still debating on whether he will ultimately turn out to be an enemy or not.

I just wish they would end the arc already. I don't like stories that drag out-- especially when they don't dedicate the necessary time to it and they end up splitting the focus.

I was cringing at how cheesy the Cubs world series thing with Rossi and JJ was. I don't like sports and I knew about the Cubs winning. I'm going to just fanwank that JJ was indulging Rossi's mansplaining to be polite because he was obviously excited about it-- but the whole "hope" message made me gag the way it was delivered. Also, there were baseball fans who died while never seeing their team win-- what if Reid dies while waiting to get out of prison? I don't think that will happen, but it's where my mind went. Reid can't afford to wait 100 years. It just wasn't a good comparison and the amount of cheese involved was unpleasant. I like to eat cheese-- not see cheesy crap on TV.

Editing to add that I think Erica often likes to express "alternative facts". :P

Edited March 16, 2017 by zannej

[Willowy]

32 minutes ago, JMO said:

Ah, okay, it was Erica.  I am the holder of the apparently unpopular opinion that she does not 'lie', but simply 'spins'.  So I agree that she would not have described it as a Reid story, if it had not been intended as such from the very beginning.

Agree with you here, entirely. Not sure what deliberately "lying" would get her. Not seeing any advantage in that behavior, whatsoever. I'm not her biggest fan, but I think things sometimes change on a dime, and may contradict what came before, but that it really doesn't happen that often. 

[Danielg342]

Perhaps the specifics would be different but I would have assumed "the big arc" for this year would have been Hotch's. Reid's I imagine would likely have concluded in February if Hotch were still around.

[JMO]

2 minutes ago, Danielg342 said:

Perhaps the specifics would be different but I would have assumed "the big arc" for this year would have been Hotch's. Reid's I imagine would likely have concluded in February if Hotch were still around.

I can agree with you on that.

[senin]

Finished watching about an hour ago. Weird feeling about it. The ones before were so emotional that this one has left me with a strange feeling. 

Didn't like the case, not enough Reid (though what we got was really good acting),, what is the team doing about his case, where is his lawyer... I think all of this has been mentioned.

I really get the feeling that there's been no progress at all about Reid's situation since last week.  

[Autistic Queer]

JJ only likes hockey and football. Same JJ who went to college on a soccer scholarship (as a Brit you've no idea how hard it was to call it soccer), she's sport minded. And I might not have known what was in the frame but I knew about the cubs win. Mostly because it messed up my TV viewing. 

Tonight just confirmed for me not only that I hate the Reid in prison storyline, but I don't believe it. Not only don't I not believe that a white law enforcement official with no history of complaints or excessive force, wouldn't get bail, but I find it a stretch he would be charged for the murder of a woman of colour in the first place, even if he had killed her. 

The case was yuck, I totally didn't recognise Tatum O'Neal. I liked Luke working with her though. 

Garcia was on point about Walker's voice. 

[R3volver]

I honestly think that it's possible to play a sport without enjoying watching it on TV.  Some people just prefer playing than watching.

When I watched the scene, I interpreted it as that JJ had no idea what the "W" meant, not necessarily that she didn't know that the Cubs won.  She seemed A) understandably out of it, B) didn't know what the W meant or why he was nailing it to his wall, and C) was confused because Rossi isn't from Chicago(so it wasn't exactly obvious).

[Droogie]

11 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

The Penguins nearly went bankrupt before Crosby...I mean, Pittsburgh is more of a hockey town than Phoenix but I wouldn't quite say it's No. 1. King in Pittsburgh are the Steelers, through and through.

Well, I actually live near Pittsburgh and I can tell you, whichever sport is first in fans' minds depends on what season it is.  And right now, Penguins flags are flying with fervor.  We love Crosby and Fleury (And Haglin.  And Kessel.  And Bonino -- the HBK line!) but we loved the days of Lemieux as well.

Lots of people made great points.  I have nothing profound to add.  The COTV was beyond ridiculous, and borderline offensive, but I expected nothing less from Virgil Williams.  The ending, with JJ and Rossi somehow correlating Reid's horrible predicament with the Cubs' series win was absolutely baffling, made Reid's situation seem trivial and only seemed to be a way for Virgil to insert himself into the show.  Color me annoyed and unimpressed.

I for one appreciated and was moved by the opening scenes with Reid and JJ.  For a long time the show has played lip-service to their BFF-ness but it didn't really ring true for me, but I feel like I saw it in their scene when JJ visited Spencer.  MGG hit a home run with his acting in this, and Virgil wrote this scene better than I expected.  There should've been more to it, more exposition -- and more in general of the Reid story -- but I wasn't too displeased with what I received.  EXCEPT.  I hate the way they left it at the end.  My images for the next week have to be Reid being attacked in his cell -- the gentle genius, once again running the gauntlet to draw attention away from someone else, taking their punishment.  The CM whipping boy, indeed.  But Matthew Gray Gubler is a force.  I'm glad he's getting to flex his (pretty) thespian muscle.

That's all I've got.  Next week, hurry up and get here, so I can wipe a couple of these images outta my brain.