S12.E21: Green Light

[Aethera]

Quote

When Reid fears his mother has been abducted, he asks the BAU to investigate while he’s stuck in prison.

[ReidFan]

Also, "Alvez drops a bombshell on Shaw"  :D karma is about to arrive apparently

[normasm]

Riff, where does that come from?

[Willowy]

TVGuide

http://www.tvguide.com/news/exclusive-criminal-minds-sneak-peek-alvez-shaw-prison/

Edited May 3, 2017 by Willowy
add link

[ReidFan]

9 minutes ago, normasm said:

Riff, where does that come from?

I just watched it, someone posted a link on twitter; from tvguide.

LOL! there you go, above. 

Edited May 3, 2017 by ReidFan

[normasm]

Thanks, Riff, yeah, I saw it. I hope they don't have too much in the way of sneak peeks, at least not to the extent they have in the recent pass. We saw almost every Reid scene for last week. (Yeah, I know i could just not watch, but, hey!) They do need to generate buzz about this, though.

[ReidFan]

I guess it's a fine line they tread, but the 'sneak peeks' for last week freakin' gave away ALL of the Reid stuff. And we don't know, going into the sneak peek, just how much it's gonna give away.

This week's drops quite the bombshell, but it does say that in the blurb accompanying the video. (If I was a huge fan of being kept in suspense, I'd've been po'd by that but I suppose if I didn't like being spoiled, I wouldn't be watching those anyway now, would I? :D )

Edited May 3, 2017 by ReidFan
argh!!!! *($@#(@$^* autocorrect. Must stay off phone when on forums. cannot see such small type on phone.grrrr

[senin]

Sneak peeks, promos and spoilers, my favourite topic!!

Some of you know that I don't like knowing too much about episodes before I see them. But this prison arc has got me so nervous that I have seen some of them, last week for example.

I try to wait as much as possible, last week I saw the promos the day before I saw the episode. And yes, they gave away too much, but I liked the scenes so much I didn't mind it!! (In fact, when I watched the episode, I was reciting the lines along the actors)

[normasm]

Another peek; don't watch if you don't want to be spoiled, but.... boy is he pissed at her!

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/criminal-minds-preview-prentiss-visits-135500061.html

[MMC]

18 minutes ago, normasm said:

Another peek; don't watch if you don't want to be spoiled, but.... boy is he pissed at her!

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/criminal-minds-preview-prentiss-visits-135500061.html

I agree. He said what he thought was important to her and nothing more. Afterwards he made no effort to say good bye or allow her to say good bye to him. He just wanted to get out of there and away from her. Also I am not at all sure why Prentiss would tell Reid that he should try and isolate himself.

[ReidFan]

well it foreshadows something else that happens in the episode......

[Fashionista7]

HELL...WILL...BREAK...LOOSE...

AND...FREEZE OVER, EVEN IN HELL'S DEEPEST ABYSS...

IF ANYTHING...AND I MEAN, ANYTHING HAPPENS TO REID'S MOTHER!!!

I must admit, I am scared S***LESS!! And I have finals this Friday! Not to mention papers!

Just...would it kill these people to give this man just a spoonful of happiness, but nooooooo.

They just love making him miserable, don't they?

[Kara101]

Ergh, I feel like all the sneak peeks gave so much away! I am mad at myself for watching them. I'm not mad at the show for releasing them bc I don't have to watch them if I don't want to. I just have no self control and can't help it!

[Hotchgirl18]

2 hours ago, normasm said:

Another peek; don't watch if you don't want to be spoiled, but.... boy is he pissed at her!

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/criminal-minds-preview-prentiss-visits-135500061.html

Can't say I blame him. She's a pitiful excuse for a unit chief. 

[Willowy]

When he says

Spoiler

"She's a daddy's girl", it made me think that's what triggers him that Cat is involved. She was one too. Remember that's how he got her out of the restaurant in Entropy, by saying her dad was outside waiting.

[Fashionista7]

THIS IS IT!!!

IT'S STARTING!!!

[ReidFan]

Aubrey plaza is credited as a guest star ?

[ReidFan]

Is anyone else bawling?

"let's get my mom back"

I'm a sobbing mess. 

[autumnmountains]

13 minutes ago, ReidFan said:

Is anyone else bawling?

"let's get my mom back"

I'm a sobbing mess. 

yep yep

[Hotchgirl18]

I just saw the promo. Didn't know Reid could be so....aggressive. :) Hmmmm. 

[Fashionista7]

9 minutes ago, Hotchgirl18 said:

I just saw the promo. Didn't know Reid could be so....aggressive. :) Hmmmm. 

Have you seen The Instincts/Memoriam, Uncanny Valley and let's not forget Zugzwang?

Not going to lie; I got turned on.

Edited May 4, 2017 by Fashionista7
Quick change.

[Hotchgirl18]

1 minute ago, Fashionista7 said:

Have you seen The Instincts, Uncanny Valley and let's not forget Zugzwang?

Not going to lie; I got turned on.

Ok. I'll cave. So did I. He actually yelled. 

Ok. I wish I was Lindsey Vaughn or whoever he's interrogating. Am I that desperate?

[Hotchgirl18]

That's it. I'm caving. Dr. Reid, can I be one of your unsubs right now?

[Fashionista7]

10 minutes ago, Hotchgirl18 said:

Ok. I'll cave. So did I. He actually yelled. 

Ok. I wish I was Lindsey Vaughn or whoever he's interrogating. Am I that desperate?

Nope; totally with you.

I still get chills from his moments from Instincts/Memoriam and the father from The Uncanny Valley.

But I especially get serious chills when Reid declared Diane Turner as "bitch;" which she totally was:

Quote

Maeve is somebody and this bitch is a nobody!

2 minutes ago, Fashionista7 said:

Nope; totally with you.

I still get chills from his moments from Instincts/Memoriam and the father from The Uncanny Valley.

But I especially get serious chills when Reid declared Diane Turner as "bitch;" which she totally was:

Oh, and I almost forgot, It Takes A Village with the senator:

This is calm and it's Doctor.

Edited May 4, 2017 by Fashionista7
Quick change.

[Hotchgirl18]

I can't believe I'm saying this. Lol. He can actually be quite intimidating and dominating. I like this side of him. ;) 

So what would happen if I told him no. I wasn't gonna tell him anything. Ooh. 

Didn't know he was capable of this. 

[CrimeFan12]

All I can say right now is hot diggity damn.  That was good episode.  All they needed was the one piece and everything fell into place.  Now that they have the bit between their teeth and know who they are after, there is no stopping them.  Beyond all shadow of doubt, tonight Emily proved that she is the leader of team and justly deserves that title.

[Danielg342]

Well...seeing Cat again and all the twists and turns were kind of fun...and the team actually did things as opposed to just sitting around and moping. Also, Alvez was actually menacing against Shaw.

Still, shoehorning Cat Adams into this was pretty convoluted and kind of messes up the whole Scratch narrative...plus I'm not entirely convinced Scratchy isn't a part of this.

I also think they were a bit over-dramatic about the seriousness of the crime...they sounded like Reid was a poor little child who'd never be able to handle what's going on with his mother. C'mon, he's a grown man, and he didn't crack under pressure from Hankel or Cat the first time or when The Fisher King put Diana in peril so many years ago.

Belch.

Really also think this was all underwhelming, especially knowing that Reid's prison storyline ultimately meant nothing. Granted, there's still one more episode, but there was nothing, not even Malcolm, tied to Reid's greater storyline. Worse, you could take out the past seven episodes and you'd still have a coherent story- again. I'm tired of CM doing a "serial" that it oh too conveniently enough wraps up in 84 minutes.

Seriously...do these writers even known what a "series" even means?

Here's hoping next week is a worthy finale.

[Fashionista7]

4 minutes ago, CrimeFan12 said:

All I can say right now is hot diggity damn.  That was good episode.  All they needed was the one piece and everything fell into place.  Now that they have the bit between their teeth and know who they are after, there is no stopping them.  Beyond all shadow of doubt, tonight Emily proved that she is the leader of team and justly deserves that title.

Totally agree!

Had my cover my eyes a couple of times; my jaw dropped when I was Cat;

NOW it's really on!!!

Just wonder how Maeve will play a part into this.

Edited May 4, 2017 by Fashionista7
Quick change.

[roamyn]

I knew it!  I called it weeks ago that Cat was involved.

But it seems like all that evidence against Lindsey has been there all the time.  Weren't the BAU at least working with Mexico?  Or were they not allowed any contact?

They couldveygotten Reid out sooner, but I must say that the scene with JJ telling him that "we're taking you home", was worth all the angst.

[Hotchgirl18]

So was Lindsey involved or not? 

 

And I'm still flustered by Reid in that promo. I thought only Hotch could pull that off! 

[PMPA]

16 minutes ago, CrimeFan12 said:

All I can say right now is hot diggity damn.  That was good episode.  All they needed was the one piece and everything fell into place.  Now that they have the bit between their teeth and know who they are after, there is no stopping them.  Beyond all shadow of doubt, tonight Emily proved that she is the leader of team and justly deserves that title.

Personally feel that Prentiss and more specifically PB is the weak link in this saga. I'm not even counting Walker/Gupton because I still cannot figure out his puropse.  I found this episode the best so far on pacing and MGG was great in it.  I like JJ/AJ, she has been woefully underused this season, so it was nice to see her back...somewhat.  PB is just not up to it.  Her line delivery throughout and even tonight where she was so off the pace of the episode, is poor.  So no, she is no leader.  My opinion.

[Hotchgirl18]

.....I'm still stunned. 

[PMPA]

Alot of questions on this episode.  A whole lot going on.  Alot went on that really did not need to go on over the last few weeks I think.  

I guess the days of such things as continuity are long gone with CM.  How did Prentiss recognise Cat Adams? I'm pretty sure she was not there first time round. How did Cat Adams contact L Vaughan? How did Cat find out about Scratch and how he operates? Was she not in Solitary for the last 6 months?  

So Shaw was really just a bad guy in a bunch of bad guys?  Did Reid actually poison the drugs after all? 

Why did it take so long for Garcia to match finger prints?

None of Reids neighbours got a whiff of the dead body in the apartment..literally?

So much talk about WitSec and still not one mention of Hotch.  If it was just a lack of writing, it would be ridiculous, given the character.  The fact that it is most likely pettiness on behalf of the TPTB is even more ridiculous. 

So if Scratch is not involved with Cat, then is Morgan's appearnce next week totally separate to Reids storyline?

[Willowy]

22 minutes ago, roamyn said:

I knew it!  I called it weeks ago that Cat was involved.

So did like, all of us. ;)

[Hotchgirl18]

Just now, PMPA said:

Alot of questions on this episode.  A whole lot going on.  Alot went on that really did not need to go on over the last few weeks I think.  

I guess the days of such things as continuity are long gone with CM.  How did Prentiss recognise Cat Adams? I'm pretty sure she was not there first time round. How did Cat Adams contact L Vaughan? How did Cat find out about Scratch and how he operates? Was she not in Solitary for the last 6 months?  

So Shaw was really just a bad guy in a bunch of bad guys?  Did Reid actually poison the drugs after all? 

Why did it take so long for Garcia to match finger prints?

None of Reids neighbours got a whiff of the dead body in the apartment..literally?

So much talk about WitSec and still not one mention of Hotch.  If it was just a lack of writing, it would be ridiculous, given the character.  The fact that it is most likely pettiness on behalf of the TPTB is even more ridiculous. 

So if Scratch is not involved with Cat, then is Morgan's appearnce next week totally separate to Reids storyline?

Still determined to forget about him aren't they?

So is it Scratch? Cat? Lindsey? Or are they all in cahoots together?

[Willowy]

This was a beautiful episode. The details were all there, it was phenomenally acted, and Erik Stiller has more than proven his mettle in writing this one. 

Reid out. JJ there. I canNOT! My daughter and I burst into tears and were clinging to each other, so wrecked! LOVED IT!!

Emily's power, decisiveness, and willing to go around the norm to get the end result for her friend. Her resolve. It was goosebump-inducing to see her take such charge! GO EMILY!

I even thought that stupid judge redeemed herself with her willingness to trust them and let Reid out. 

CAT, we knew it, we did. Great to see Aubrey, and to see Reid's determination to get in there and get answers. JJ will help, she knows he's on the edge. 

AUGH!! This was so, so good. 

[Hotchgirl18]

Why am I not Aubrey Plaza? Lol. 

[autumnmountains]

I loved this episode, a solid "A" from me. :) I could talk about a lot of things, but one thing i'll mention is that though I'm really not a JJ fan (don't wish her harm, she's just not a character I care for much) and am only a Garcia fan when she's not acting like a middle school kid, I absolutely LOVED the fact that Reid could hug both of them. If memory serves, both attempted to hug him in "Spencer," and he couldn't hug back because of the handcuffs and the first things he does upon release in Greenlight is hug them both.   

[R3volver]

34 minutes ago, Willowy said:

This was a beautiful episode. The details were all there, it was phenomenally acted, and Erik Stiller has more than proven his mettle in writing this one. 

Reid out. JJ there. I canNOT! My daughter and I burst into tears and were clinging to each other, so wrecked! LOVED IT!!

Emily's power, decisiveness, and willing to go around the norm to get the end result for her friend. Her resolve. It was goosebump-inducing to see her take such charge! GO EMILY!

I even thought that stupid judge redeemed herself with her willingness to trust them and let Reid out. 

CAT, we knew it, we did. Great to see Aubrey, and to see Reid's determination to get in there and get answers. JJ will help, she knows he's on the edge. 

AUGH!! This was so, so good. 

 

I'm really glad that moment happened.  It was so emotional and made perfect sense that she was the one there to get him out.

I liked this episode a lot, especially Emily in the latter half.  It was nice to see her put her foot down on how the Cat situation needed to work.

I felt like Garcia was meant to speak for the fandom, in that she was worn down with everything that happened and unsure of her future with the BAU. 

[MMC]

13 minutes ago, autumnmountains said:

I loved this episode, a solid "A" from me. :) I could talk about a lot of things, but one thing i'll mention is that though I'm really not a JJ fan (don't wish her harm, she's just not a character I care for much) and am only a Garcia fan when she's not acting like a middle school kid, I absolutely LOVED the fact that Reid could hug both of them. If memory serves, both attempted to hug him in "Spencer," and he couldn't hug back because of the handcuffs and the first things he does upon release in Greenlight is hug them both.   

Nor am I. But at this point in time I was just so relieved as well as overjoyed seeing that beautiful man out of those awful prison clothes and finally being sprung from that hell hole that I really didn't give a damn which team member had been sent to fetch him. All I cared about was that he was finally out.

I also agree with you about Garcia. I can abide her when as you say she's not acting like a middle school kid, otherwise I tend to find her somewhat irritating.

[UncleChuck]

Quote

So much talk about WitSec and still not one mention of Hotch.

Didn't bother me.  The show I was watching was the current BAU team racing the clock and multiple federal agencies to help their friend and colleague Reid.  They had to FOCUS and not waste one second of precious time to get him out before something terrible happened.  What were they supposed to do when Garcia was trying to get information from WITSEC--just stop for a break and reminisce about the good ole days with their former boss? 

[autumnmountains]

57 minutes ago, MMC said:

Nor am I. But at this point in time I was just so relieved as well as overjoyed seeing that beautiful man out of those awful prison clothes and finally being sprung from that hell hole that I really didn't give a damn which team member had been sent to fetch him. All I cared about was that he was finally out.

I also agree with you about Garcia. I can abide her when as you say she's not acting like a middle school kid, otherwise I tend to find her somewhat irritating.

Oh trust me, I was so relieved to see him out of prison, I didn't really care who was there. I just found that bit with the hugs very nice. 

[Danielg342]

No one mentions that Garcia momentarily resigned from the team, giving us- some of us anyway- a faint glimmer of hope...

[MMC]

26 minutes ago, Danielg342 said:

No one mentions that Garcia momentarily resigned from the team, giving us- some of us anyway- a faint glimmer of hope...

Well maybe it was recognized for what it was, something that was just too good to be true. I liken it to having heard that MESSer was stepping down and a better and much more capable show runner was being brought in. You want so much for it to be true yet sadly realize it likely isn't true.

[Willowy]

Why would anyone want Garcia gone? That just doesn't even compute on any level for me.

[ForeverAlone]

Overall I would consider this to be a pretty tightly plotted episode. It had some action, suspense, and somewhat of a twist ending (at least to those who don't look at behind the scenes pictures). I liked it, and I am looking forward to the finale next week.

HOWEVER, I also feel (unless the finale proves otherwise) that this just proves how pointless of a story Reid's prison adventures have been. It seems like it has all ended and there was no reason for it to have existed. MAYBE next week will tie how Reid's power struggle with Shaw was tied to his case somehow, but that certainly did not seem to be the case from this week. And next week better address how Reid was not put into protective custody when he was on the list, because the BS reason the warden gave this week made me roll my eyes. Because from my perspective, that just seemed like a stupid explanation for why this arc has dragged down the back half of this season. As it stands, I think this would have been a much better story if this was a three episode arc, going directly from "Spencer" to this one and "Red Light" next week.

If Cat truly has been in solitary the past six months, it will be an interesting explanation for how and why she and Lindsay have conspired to concoct this very elaborate plot to take down Reid. My feelings about this arc hinge on that explanation.

Edited May 4, 2017 by ForeverAlone

[Old Dog]

At last an episode with some serious suspense where the team actually did something to help Reid. There are lots of questions as to how Cat orchestrated this and why Reid had to suffer for months in genpop etc but this episode had me gripped from start to finish. Finally a pretty good episode and I am looking forward to how it wraps up and what exactly the cliffhanger ending will be. And Matthew, despite the long, dismal prison storyline this season, has consistently acted magnificently and the emotions he displayed here were tangible and heart wrenching.

Edited May 4, 2017 by Old Dog

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Finally an episode in this whole arc that wasn't sidetracked by a "who really cares!?" UnSub-CotW... too bad it took until the 2-part season finale to reach what should have been the norm instead of the very rare exception during this long arc.

Aubrey Plaza!  (she's awesome on Legion, for anyone who hasn't seen it)

I agree with the feeling that even though its currently being played as Scratch having never having been involved, I don't buy that.  If its true, they better have one hell of a good plot reason as to how Cat orchestrated all this from prison, especially as Scratch's choice of drugs was involved.

The team actually being proactive for once and working to get Reid out... incredibly refreshing after watching them sit on their hands for the past 6 or so episodes.  Emily finally showed some mettle as team leader, stepping up to the plate for Reid and also marshaling the troops to 'follow the plan' that (hopefully) limits casualties and damages.

As much as I really appreciated the Reid/JJ scenes, I can't help but feel like the writers were kinda giving the 'just keep on wishing & dreaming' finger to a portion of the fanbase.  That hug when she came to take him home?  Are you kidding?  If subtext was an actual set of subtitles on screen, that scene's would have been in big bold letters.  "These two are only friends.  And she's married /w kids.  Seriously."

Edited May 4, 2017 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[JMO]

I liked this episode a lot, and in the future, I’m sure I will love it.  Last night, I was unable to turn off the part of my brain that kept shouting (or was that me, out loud, at the television?):  Why didn’t this happen four episodes ago?  What, you all just remembered you had these ‘contacts’ in all the federal agencies now?  Are you kidding, Garcia has never tried to look into that ‘degraded female DNA’ before?  What do you mean, you haven’t even talked to the warden about getting Reid into protective custody before this?!!

So, I will wait for the distance of time to watch the episode out of context, and just enjoy it for what it’s worth as a stand alone. And it's worth a lot.

There were the usual errors in logic or omissions of explanation that seem to spike in number in their finales, as they cram way too much into a single episode.  And I didn’t particularly care for Emily’s ‘take a moment’ speech at the end (too hokey, even for me), nor Garcia’s creating her own personal drama in the midst of a crisis. 

I was surprised to see that affable Luke has a nasty side to him, both with his colleague from WitSec and Shaw.  I was also surprised that he has such pull that he could get Shaw moved.  Maybe he should have been the one asking for Reid to be in protective custody.

But the good outweighed the bad in the episode.  Despite cramming it with plot, the pacing was steady and uptempo, but not frenetic.  Despite the frustration of when it finally happened, it was great to see the team actually working Reid’s case. 

I loved the embrace between Reid and JJ---knew it would be a team member, and was threatening my poor TV if it hadn’t been JJ.  I love that she’s with him as he deals with Cat, and look forward to more of it next week.  I loved that little touch of Reid waiting for permission to leave the round table room.  It reminds us (like we need it) that he is changed.  I sincerely hope we’ll see a lot more fallout than that.  I loved that Reid found the message from Cat in his mother’s memory book.  And I love that he is facing his enemy head on.  It will help him heal (because we know he’ll win!).

[Danielg342]

47 minutes ago, JMO said:

I love that she’s with him as he deals with Cat

I felt this infantalized Reid, and I didn't like it. Not how it was presented. Reid has handled far worse before and handled it like an adult, Cat should be nothing to him.

If JJ had merely been there because he needs a FBI agent to accompany him (because he's not yet reinstated) I would have been more comfortable with it.