Season 5 Episodes Talk

[Fashionista7]

The 100th episode of Criminal Minds just re-ran.

And may I say, wow!

Everyone brought their A-Game!

[Annber03]

Such a tough episode to watch. The poor Hotchner family...:(. 

Agreed on everyone bringing their A-game, though. I love how steadfast the team is in defending Hotch and his actions, and given Morgan's the acting unit chief at this time, hearing him defend Hotch is especially meaningful, considering how concerned he'd been about him and his obsession with catching Foyet up to that point. He was clearly ready to shoulder whatever blame the higher ups might've brought down on the team and their actions, and it's proof of how right Hotch was to trust him to take over. 

I also like seeing Strauss' hard mask break at the end when she's talking to Hotch. It's a touching moment. I like the reminders that Strauss isn't hard on these guys just for the hell of it. She has orders she has to follow and people she has to answer to as well, and that forces her to be tougher sometimes than I think she otherwise might be. 

[normasm]

Oh, I think Strauss had her own agenda in the beginning, it's just that things like what happened to Hotch got to her real "self" and she was never as hard on him again. I think, the way her canon turned out, that Strauss was a driven overachiever, who knew as a woman she had to be 12 times better than the guys, and she assumed Hotch was one of those guys who had it easier than she, and he might be angling for her job. Her alcoholism might have stemmed from this anxious overachieving, too, at least for the canon. 

I really liked hating her, tho.

[Fashionista7]

One of my favorite Season 5 episodes! Re-ran earlier today!

Love the David Rossi/Dr. Spencer Reid duo confronting the "Doctor" about his daughter.

But may-may-may, MGG can sure play Dr. Spencer Reid....

Loved the part where Rossi called Reid "Agent."

[normasm]

As ridiculous as the premise and execution of this case is, I love-love-love this episode! Reid is superb. And Rossi calling him "Agent" Reid at the end was proof positive of his maturation as a character in the show. In season 6, they monkeyed so badly with his character, it regressed him back to non-functioning nerd. This was wonderful the way he dealt with everyone, including ME's and others. Mature man. 

[Annber03]

I love that we get both sides of Reid here-one minute he's all angry and no nonsense in his confrontation with the doctor (and I like how he can be threatening without even raising his voice), and then the next, he's being his usual compassionate, gentle self with Samantha, and managing to get through to her the way he's gotten through to other unsubs like Owen or Amanda. The whole episode just encompasses so much of what makes him such a wonderful character. 

I also like seeing him at the chess park, too. It's a nice glimpse of his life outside the team/job. I wish we could see more of that. 

And yes, he looks damn good in this episode. I do very much love his season 5 look in general :D. 

[Annber03]

Good point. She was trying to get Emily to play mole at one time after all, so yeah. I think you're spot on about her reasons for targeting Hotch in the beginning, and that leading to her alcoholism as well. 

I am glad that she was able to kinda make peace with the team in general later on, but I get the whole "love to hate" thing, too :p. She did make for a good antagonist for the team. 

[Fashionista7]

52 minutes ago, Fashionista7 said:

One of my favorite Season 5 episodes! Re-ran earlier today!

Love the David Rossi/Dr. Spencer Reid duo confronting the "Doctor" about his daughter.

But may-may-may, MGG can sure play Dr. Spencer Reid....

 

Loved the part where Rossi called Reid "Agent."

Not going to lie...

I got TURNED ON!!!

With Morgan, it seems to be aggressive and tough macho-man, but with Reid, he has more of a...cold anger; almost Tranquil Fury.

[Annber03]

Reid's anger can be particularly cutting, yeah. I wouldn't want to tick off Morgan either, mind-he can be pretty intimidating in his own right (as can any of the men, really)-but yeah, "cold anger" is a good way to describe it for Reid. Morgan's anger tends to burn hot and quick a lot of the time. Reid's can last a while. 

What's that saying, "It's always the quiet ones"/"Beware the quiet ones"? 

[ReidGirl]

This is my favourite episode from season 5 for the same reasons all of you have posted already. 

Personally season 4 is my favourite Reid season as it showed his growth from a awkward young nerd to a mature, more socially confident man. And on more shallow level, season 4 Reid hair (around The instincts/Memorium) is my most favourite Reid look :-) .

I really disliked the childlike competition Reid and Garcia had in season 5 and as normasm mentioned in season 6, Reid was just a facts sprout-er without contributing anything to the profiling aspect of the cases.

[senin]

I didn't like The Uncanny Valley at first, I found it too creepy. But now I like it very much. Angry Reid is so good, we haven't seen it many times and this one may be the best of them. And, as Annber mentioned, the contrast to the way he treats Samantha makes it even better. In fact, I think that contrast makes us forget that Samantha is the real unsub of the case, not her father (he is just an absolute bastard!!)

The chess scenes are also very good, with the not-so-subtle reference to Gideon, and I do like the way he looks in this episode. 

Ah, I was forgetting something, the music, which really contributes to the creepy atmosphere. 

 

Note: in some previous discussion of this episode, I don't remember when or in which thread, someone mentioned that the scientific-medical aspects are nonsense. Well, maybe, but once you put that aside, it's an episode worth watching. 

[normasm]

Yeah, one could write an entire book on what's wrong with the physiology/medicine/physics implausibility, but I still love it, mostly because it has something to say about the fragile mind of a child going off the rails, and the possible consequences.

[Annber03]

The issues with realism on this show have never bothered me, personally. I've just always tended to assume going into a crime drama/medical show/law show that most of what happened on there was going to be unrealistic to some degree :p.  I appreciate it when the show does keep things believable, of course,, but that's not my main focus when watching the show.

But I can totally see how people who actually work in the fields depicted on these kinds of shows, or have a general interest in those specific aspects of the show, or whatever, would get all nitpicky and critical, though, and where these problems would bother them. 

normasm hit exactly on what did attract me to this show, though, when it comes to the case side of things-the issues that they bring up. That's the part of the cases I've always been the most interested by, moreso than the whodunit/"solving the case alongside the team" aspect. I like a case that gives us something to think about in regards to society and what makes people turn out as they do and whatnot, and I like how the cases can create debate among the team, or between the team and the local officers/the higher ups/the people they're trying to help and protect/whomever, in regards to the right course of action. And of course, the moments when a case hits a personal nerve for a team member can also be quite interesting, too. 

[Danielg342]

On 09/08/2017 at 2:35 PM, normasm said:

Yeah, one could write an entire book on what's wrong with the physiology/medicine/physics implausibility

I hate to ask you to rehash something you've probably said 100 times before, but what's wrong with the health issues in this episode? The non-medic in me is very curious.

I loved this episode, still. The concept was nice, if a little "out there", and I would agree Reid killed it. I also loved Jonathan Frakes' turn as Arthur Malcolm- pity we only had one scene with him and Rossi and Reid, but everyone more than held their own. Frakes should come back at some point, methinks.

[Fashionista7]

Just re-ran on A&E, you know what would have made the scene with Reid, Rossi and the "doctor:"

Dr. Malcolm: You'll tell them, right? That I cooperate.

Rossi: Sorry, doctor. That deal went off the table the second we walked out that door.

Reid: But we did take what you said as a confession and we'll be sure to let the D.A. and the medical board know that, doctor.

[Fashionista7]

Exit Wounds is re-airing,

I said it before and I'll say it again for as long as I can breathe:

got...me...TURNED ON!!

[Mislav]

Pretty good season with some great episodes like "100", "Uncanny Valley" and "Internet Is Forever", but probably also the season when the show starter getting less and less realistic.

[smoker]

On 9/8/2017 at 7:43 PM, senin said:

I didn't like The Uncanny Valley at first, I found it too creepy. But now I like it very much. Angry Reid is so good, we haven't seen it many times and this one may be the best of them. And, as Annber mentioned, the contrast to the way he treats Samantha makes it even better. In fact, I think that contrast makes us forget that Samantha is the real unsub of the case, not her father (he is just an absolute bastard!!)

The chess scenes are also very good, with the not-so-subtle reference to Gideon, and I do like the way he looks in this episode. 

Ah, I was forgetting something, the music, which really contributes to the creepy atmosphere. 

 

Note: in some previous discussion of this episode, I don't remember when or in which thread, someone mentioned that the scientific-medical aspects are nonsense. Well, maybe, but once you put that aside, it's an episode worth watching. 

I understand you Senin. The Uncanny Valley seems like a fan favorite, but I've never liked it. It gets on my nerves.

Edited August 18, 2017 by smoker

[Bookish Jen]

On 8/8/2017 at 1:00 PM, Fashionista7 said:

The 100th episode of Criminal Minds just re-ran.

And may I say, wow!

Everyone brought their A-Game!

ION is showing Criminal Minds again, and I watched 100 yesterday. And even though I've seen this episode countless times, I'm still gutted. I did the whole ugly cry.