S13.E01: Wheels Up

[Aethera]

Quote

Agent Matt Simmons joins the BAU team in a race to take down Mr. Scratch and save one of their own in the process.

[Willowy]

Woo hoo! It's open!

 

I love Garcia, and I'm loving that she is finding them. People discount her, but she's on point when her people are in trouble. 

Edited September 26, 2017 by Willowy
Bad video link

[Willowy]

Second sneak peek is chock full of Reidy goodness!

[ReidFan]

Riff's Reid-O-Meter (meter is apparently the preferred spelling everywhere when referring to a device that measures something)

for 'Wheels Up' :

is a 7. Solid. Reid's PTSS (apparently it's called Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome now, because it's not a disorder, it's an injury) is the secondary plot point and it's addressed throughout the episode. 

more later.......

[normasm]

Thanks, babe!

[mythoughtis]

3 minutes in and I'm already sick of Mr Scratch.  And don't we have enough agents already 

[Fashionista7]

Just now, mythoughtis said:

3 minutes in and I'm already sick of Mr Scratch.  And don't we have enough agents already 

OH...that RAT-FACED SON OF A BITCH(ING) MOTHER******!!!!!

[Fashionista7]

OH NO, SCRATCH DIDN'T!!!!!!!

[ReidFan]

SPOILERS  if you're still watching..............(cause I saw it at 8 pm and had until now to write up my thoughts)

 

first off, a solid 7 on my Reid-O-Meter... for a non-Reidcentric episode, there was enough Reid in this one to satisfy me..

and on to my thoughts on this episode....

Okay, other than any of my favourite ‘Reid centric’ episodes, this might be one of my favourite episodes of the show ever.

 

“Hold on. When there is nothing in you except the will which says, hold on”—Rudyard Kipling. Always a good thing when I love the quote, and it’s delivered by Matthew.

 

So much goodness. So many questions answered, ends tied up. Surprised me who reinstated Reid and how :)  We find out how Scratch came to know everything, and although it wasn’t directly addressed, I’m willing to bet this is how Cat came to know everything too. 

 

The loss of Stephen Walker, handled with grace, class and love by the team members. Like he *meant* something to them all, even though he was there for such a short time. And his death, as we’d all predicted since we heard Damon Gupton was leaving, wasn’t pointless. Walker actually had a hand in fulfilling the purpose for which he was brought on board in the first place: Catch Scratch. And they did.

 

We find out, as others have also suspected, that Hotch has been in some limited contact with Prentiss and the team uses this to their advantage as well, using that knowledge to profile Peter Lewis.

 

Rossi. Oh man, Rossi was the Rossi I loved when he first came on board. Snarky, no BS, smart as a whip Rossi:

 

“Jagoff ambushed us” (reporting on what happened)

 “You two need to get a room”(to Will and JJ caught in a PDA)   and

 

  “You two ass clowns will do me the courtesy of following my orders!” ….

(Alvez:) “This has  nothing to do with season’s tickets” (Reid:)“Ass clown?”

 

yet Rossi knew *exactly* what he was saying and why.

 

Luke won me over with two lovely displays of compassion; one with a broken-hearted Garcia and one with the breaking down but strong widow. His gentle handling of Reid’s mental state was well done too. I might like this guy more than I want to.

 

Reid. PTSS. Not firing on all cylinders and he knows it. But he forges ahead despite his fragile mental state because he knows Emily needs his help. More on that in a sec.

 

And Emily. Even in her injured and drugged state, she’s not gonna give up her team. Present or past. She figures it out. And puts the bite on Scratch in a spectacular way. I loved how she never really stopped being in charge, even when she was strapped to a bed and being drugged. When she’s figured it out and they go after Scratch, she knows she has to call Reid off and does so. And he gets it, even though he’s struggling, he knows she’s right.

 

There’s a lovely moment with Will and JJ. This is why I like Will so much. He’s a decent man, a great husband and father, and the loss of Walker gives the couple a moment of reflection on life. Reaffirmation of the ten years they’ve loved each other and how they support each other. 

 

There are several family like moments throughout the episode, reminding us all of just how close these people all are. JJ’s brought into the hospital, Reid sees her and she says ‘I have to call Will!’ and he tells her ‘I did. He’s on his way!’ Garcia refuses to leave Stephen ‘alone’ in the wrecked vehicle and stays with him until Luke comes to pull her away when the EMS arrive. At the funeral, Prentiss has some tender words with Walker’s widow. And of course, at the end, in the round table room, Prentiss affirming that Hotch is enjoying being a full time dad and won’t be back. He’s lost so much already. And, in what I think is a total homage to Hotch, Emily tells them what got her through the drugging and torture and hallucinations was the repeating of two words. Two words that each of the team repeats back to her, “Wheels Up”

 

well done, Breen and crew. Well done.

Edited September 28, 2017 by ReidFan
typo

[secnarf]

44 minutes ago, ReidFan said:

Riff's Reid-O-Meter (meter is apparently the preferred spelling everywhere when referring to a device that measures something)

for 'Wheels Up' :

is a 7. Solid. Reid's PTSS (apparently it's called Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome now, because it's not a disorder, it's an injury) is the secondary plot point and it's addressed throughout the episode. 

more later.......

Yeah I don't think PTSS is going to gain any more traction than STI (rather than STD) or PJP (rather than PCP).

*Same disclaimer as Reidfan*

I thought the ep was decent. A little too stressful for my liking. A touch predictable/over-explained at times, but well-acted. I'm certainly beyond thrilled to close the book on this storyline. I have a very hard time suspending disbelief re: the specificity of the hallucinations Scratch is able to induce. I know I have ranted about this at length before, but it's just not remotely plausible in a world that is supposed to closely resemble our own, with all of the same rules that would apply in real life.

I liked Emily figuring things out and biting (?) Scratch, but I was also a bit disappointed she didn't grab the scalpel on the table, after they made a point of showing that that was the only real object there.

Although I have to admit - I did actually think for a moment that the writers were going to 'go there' and kill off Hotch. Thinking of the uproar that that particular writing choice would cause made me laugh, but I was glad they didn't go that route. Do we know for sure that he was in contact with some of the team, or was that all 100% a ruse?

I still have my totally irrational hatred of Will that I don't think he has done anything onscreen to deserve.

[Hotchgirl18]

19 minutes ago, ReidFan said:

SPOILERS  if you're still watching..............(cause I saw it at 8 pm and had until now to write up my thoughts)

 

first off, a solid 7 on my Reid-O-Meter... for a non-Reidcentric episode, there was enough Reid in this one to satisfy me..

and on to my thoughts on this episode....

Okay, other than any of my favourite ‘Reid centric’ episodes, this might be one of my favourite episodes of the show ever.

 

“Hold on. When there is nothing in you except the will which says, hold on”—Rudyard Kipling. Always a good thing when I love the quote, and it’s delivered by Matthew.

 

So much goodness. So many questions answered, ends tied up. Surprised me who reinstated Reid and how :)  We find out how Scratch came to know everything, and although it wasn’t directly addressed, I’m willing to bet this is how Cat came to know everything too. 

 

The loss of Stephen Walker, handled with grace, class and love by the team members. Like he *meant* something to them all, even though he was there for such a short time. And his death, as we’d all predicted since we heard Damon Gupton was leaving, wasn’t pointless. Walker actually had a hand in fulfilling the purpose for which he was brought on board in the first place: Catch Scratch. And they did.

 

We find out, as others have also suspected, that Hotch has been in some limited contact with Prentiss and the team uses this to their advantage as well, using that knowledge to profile Peter Lewis.

 

Rossi. Oh man, Rossi was the Rossi I loved when he first came on board. Snarky, no BS, smart as a whip Rossi:

 

“Jagoff ambushed us” (reporting on what happened)

 “You two need to get a room”(to Will and JJ caught in a PDA)   and

 

  “You two ass clowns will do me the courtesy of following my orders!” ….

(Alvez:) “This has  nothing to do with season’s tickets” (Reid:)“Ass clown?”

 

yet Rossi knew *exactly* what he was saying and why.

 

Luke won me over with two lovely displays of compassion; one with a broken-hearted Garcia and one with the breaking down but strong widow. His gentle handling of Reid’s mental state was well done too. I might like this guy more thank I want to.

 

Reid. PTSS. Not firing on all cylinders and he knows it. But he forges ahead despite his fragile mental state because he knows Emily needs his help. More on that in a sec.

 

And Emily. Even in her injured and drugged state, she’s not gonna give up her team. Present or past. She figures it out. And puts the bite on Scratch in a spectacular way. I loved how she never really stopped being in charge, even when she was strapped to a bed and being drugged. When she’s figured it out and they go after Scratch, she knows she has to call Reid off and does so. And he gets it, even though he’s struggling, he knows she’s right.

 

There’s a lovely moment with Will and JJ. This is why I like Will so much. He’s a decent man, a great husband and father, and the loss of Walker gives the couple a moment of reflection on life. Reaffirmation of the ten years they’ve loved each other and how they support each other. 

 

There are several family like moments throughout the episode, reminding us all of just how close these people all are. JJ’s brought into the hospital, Reid sees her and she says ‘I have to call Will!’ and he tells her ‘I did. He’s on his way!’ Garcia refuses to leave Stephen ‘alone’ in the wrecked vehicle and stays with him until Luke comes to pull her away when the EMS arrive. At the funeral, Prentiss has some tender words with Walker’s widow. And of course, at the end, in the round table room, Prentiss affirming that Hotch is enjoying being a full time dad and won’t be back. He’s lost so much already. And, in what I think is a total homage to Hotch, Emily tells them what got her through the drugging and torture and hallucinations was the repeating of two words. Two words that each of the team repeats back to her, “Wheels Up”

 

well done, Breen and crew. Well done.

Explain how Cat and scratch learned everything. I just got in.  Watching the last half. 

[ReidFan]

well we *know* Scratch knows everything, he's been listening to them for months. I just figured that he would/could/may have shared ReidDirt with Cat Adams. Scratch wants Hotch, not Reid.

[Hotchgirl18]

Nice move prentiss. 

[Fashionista7]

Enjoy hell, Scratch.

[Danielg342]

Episode Grade:

Ding dong, the Scratch is dead.

I guess the reason why is exactly why this episode plodded- the writers just got tired writing for him. Which is a shame...Scratch could have been a great criminal if the writers had bothered to write him properly, which they never did.

Kind of like this episode- it tried to hit all the right notes, and many of them did. All the scenes I expected to be there were, and there were misdirects too.

...but something felt "off". Like Emily's "death" scene, nothing really had the impact that it should, mainly because I felt like I knew what was going to happen, anyway.

I did enjoy tunnel-vision Reid. I also did dig that Breen Frasier found a reasonable way to tie Matt Simmons to the case, even if it was a bit of an end around.

Also, the more said about snarky drugged up Rossi...the better.

Oh, and the "Wheels Up" tribute to Hotch and, in a roundabout way, Walker. Sounds like a closure, and this time it worked.

Only thing I can say is that I hope with Scratch out of the picture, the writers get some closure themselves. Sounds like they need it too.

[ForeverAlone]

I'm glad the Mr. Scratch story is wrapped up, because it got completely ridiculous last season. So now the team can move on and put it behind them, and hopefully the show will be better for it. 

I enjoyed watching Reid struggle with PTSS, but in the end, he pulled out the information needed and was there for Emily when she needed him. 

I liked Emily in this episode, and found her interaction/interrogation with Mr. Scratch interesting. Though the whole "Wheels Up" thing was cheesy at the end, but at least my eyes didn't roll out of its sockets, like it sometimes does in recent seasons. 

Overall, I liked this episode and like the new team configuration. At least Hotch's permanent absence was addressed plausibly. 

[TigerLynx]

There are still to many members on the team.  If I never see one of the team tortured again, it will be to soon.  I wish they would go back to the original premise of the show.  They are profilers who solve cases and catch bad people.  No more serial killers getting fixated on the team.  It's been done to death.  As much as I like Reid and MGG, I don't think I can take another season of latest serial killer who screws with the team.

[Hotchgirl18]

Nice tribute to Hotch. A damn shame he can't come back. But it is what it is.  It shouldn't be, but it is. I still wish Emily wasn't Unit Chief. 

Oh, and Scratch, KARMA. It's a bitch. 

Oh, and Emily, cut the motivational crap. It's a BAU team for Pete's sake. But overall, solid episode. Glad scratch is gone. 

[Fashionista7]

9 minutes ago, Fashionista7 said:

Enjoy hell, Scratch.

WHAT...A...PREMIERE!!!!!
ENJOY HELL/ROT IN HELL, SCRATCH
RIP SSA WALKER!!!
WELCOME BACK, REID!!!!!!
STAY SAFE, HOTCH AND JACK!!!!!
WHEELS UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HAD A LITTLE LUMP IN MY THROAT!!!!

[ReidFan]

favourite moments:

 

'Ass clown?'

chucking a book at the window

taking a bite out of crime

creepy weirdness shall forever mean people retching and rolling around on a floor surrounded by candles to me now

wheels up

[CrimeFan12]

All I can say, it was an awesome way to start the season.  I enjoyed that from start to finish.  Gives me great hope for the rest of the season.  Glad Scratch is gone for good and we won't see that idiot ever again.

[ReidFan]

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee  my D/L is here already! Do I stay up now til gawdonlyknowswhen to do screencaps or do I sleep now and get to work fresh in the morning?

[Annber03]

53 minutes ago, ReidFan said:

The loss of Stephen Walker, handled with grace, class and love by the team members. Like he *meant* something to them all, even though he was there for such a short time. And his death, as we’d all predicted since we heard Damon Gupton was leaving, wasn’t pointless. Walker actually had a hand in fulfilling the purpose for which he was brought on board in the first place: Catch Scratch. And they did.

Well said. I appreciate the writers for finding a way to give him a proper sendoff.

My heart went out to Monica throughout this episode, my god. When she was at the morgue, and when she collapsed in tears....I wanted to hug her, too! That was a truly moving moment. I also liked the conversation between her and Emily at the funeral, with Monica not blaming Emily or the team for Stephen's death. I hope that can bring Emily a little comfort going forward. 

Quote

 

 “You two need to get a room”(to Will and JJ caught in a PDA)   and

 

  “You two ass clowns will do me the courtesy of following my orders!” ….

(Alvez:) “This has  nothing to do with season’s tickets” (Reid:)“Ass clown?”

 

That made me LOL :D. 

Quote

Luke won me over with two lovely displays of compassion; one with a broken-hearted Garcia and one with the breaking down but strong widow. His gentle handling of Reid’s mental state was well done too. I might like this guy more than I want to.

I've liked Luke from the start, but still, yes. He was so good here. He's got a nice, steady calm about him that works really well. 

Quote

And Emily. Even in her injured and drugged state, she’s not gonna give up her team. Present or past. She figures it out. And puts the bite on Scratch in a spectacular way. I loved how she never really stopped being in charge, even when she was strapped to a bed and being drugged. When she’s figured it out and they go after Scratch, she knows she has to call Reid off and does so. And he gets it, even though he’s struggling, he knows she’s right.

Again, yes. SO much good stuff with Emily here tonight. All the callbacks to Doyle, and what she's learned from that, proving how strong she is, were perfectly handled. And I freaking loved her speech to Scratch about how she'd protected Declan, and would protect Jack just as much. That had me sitting here going, "YEAH! Tell 'em, Emily!" The bite was a nice touch, too :D. Ah, Scratch, if only you'd known just who you were messing with. 

The moments between Emily and Reid in the warehouse were very sweet. Her whole "I want to be with someone who's real" thing...awwwww. Watching Reid and Emily walk off together in that warehouse gave me some serious "Minimal Loss" vibes. 

Quote

There’s a lovely moment with Will and JJ. This is why I like Will so much. He’s a decent man, a great husband and father, and the loss of Walker gives the couple a moment of reflection on life. Reaffirmation of the ten years they’ve loved each other and how they support each other. 

That was a really sweet moment, yeah. Especially their talk about what their plans were if JJ were to ever give up her job. I liked the images that gave me :). 

Seeing Will so openly supportive and understanding about JJ's desire to keep working was especially meaningful, considering that had been an issue for them in the past. 

Quote

There are several family like moments throughout the episode, reminding us all of just how close these people all are. JJ’s brought into the hospital, Reid sees her and she says ‘I have to call Will!’ and he tells her ‘I did. He’s on his way!’ Garcia refuses to leave Stephen ‘alone’ in the wrecked vehicle and stays with him until Luke comes to pull her away when the EMS arrive. At the funeral, Prentiss has some tender words with Walker’s widow. And of course, at the end, in the round table room, Prentiss affirming that Hotch is enjoying being a full time dad and won’t be back. He’s lost so much already. And, in what I think is a total homage to Hotch, Emily tells them what got her through the drugging and torture and hallucinations was the repeating of two words. Two words that each of the team repeats back to her, “Wheels Up”

Hear, hear. All of this. 

I'm so, so glad they left Hotch and Jack in a significantly happier place, too. The moment Scratch mentioned Hotch I got scared and, like @secnarf said, I too briefly wondered if we'd lose him. But we didn't and for that I'm very grateful. The thought of Hotch finally properly getting to enjoy his life with Jack makes me smile. 

And Reid. Oh. Poor, stressed out Reid. The guy's got a long recovery ahead of him, but hopefully, with time, we'll get to see him begin smiling again, and coming to terms with (and hopefully getting proper help to deal with) what happened. The team's clearly got his back, so hopefully he'll learn to lean on them more again when he's struggling, and talk to them. 

I really liked this premiere. Very intense way to kick off the season. Glad Scratch is finally out of everyone's hair...here's hoping the only unsubs they have to deal with the rest of this season are just the typical weekly ones that they can easily take down. I think they're all well overdue for a long break from being targeted. Let's let them breathe and be happy for a while. 

[Hotchgirl18]

At least they didn't kill Hotch off. 

Still wish he'd come back. 

[Hotchgirl18]

16 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Well said. I appreciate the writers for finding a way to give him a proper sendoff.

My heart went out to Monica throughout this episode, my god. When she was at the morgue, and when she collapsed in tears....I wanted to hug her, too! That was a truly moving moment. I also liked the conversation between her and Emily at the funeral, with Monica not blaming Emily or the team for Stephen's death. I hope that can bring Emily a little comfort going forward. 

That made me LOL :D. 

I've liked Luke from the start, but still, yes. He was so good here. He's got a nice, steady calm about him that works really well. 

Again, yes. SO much good stuff with Emily here tonight. All the callbacks to Doyle, and what she's learned from that, proving how strong she is, were perfectly handled. And I freaking loved her speech to Scratch about how she'd protected Declan, and would protect Jack just as much. That had me sitting here going, "YEAH! Tell 'em, Emily!" The bite was a nice touch, too :D. Ah, Scratch, if only you'd known just who you were messing with. 

The moments between Emily and Reid in the warehouse were very sweet. Her whole "I want to be with someone who's real" thing...awwwww. Watching Reid and Emily walk off together in that warehouse gave me some serious "Minimal Loss" vibes. 

That was a really sweet moment, yeah. Especially their talk about what their plans were if JJ were to ever give up her job. I liked the images that gave me :). 

Seeing Will so openly supportive and understanding about JJ's desire to keep working was especially meaningful, considering that had been an issue for them in the past. 

Hear, hear. All of this. 

I'm so, so glad they left Hotch and Jack in a significantly happier place, too. The moment Scratch mentioned Hotch I got scared and, like @secnarf said, I too briefly wondered if we'd lose him. But we didn't and for that I'm very grateful. The thought of Hotch finally properly getting to enjoy his life with Jack makes me smile. 

And Reid. Oh. Poor, stressed out Reid. The guy's got a long recovery ahead of him, but hopefully, with time, we'll get to see him begin smiling again, and coming to terms with (and hopefully getting proper help to deal with) what happened. The team's clearly got his back, so hopefully he'll learn to lean on them more again when he's struggling, and talk to them. 

I really liked this premiere. Very intense way to kick off the season. Glad Scratch is finally out of everyone's hair...here's hoping the only unsubs they have to deal with the rest of this season are just the typical weekly ones that they can easily take down. I think they're all well overdue for a long break from being targeted. Let's let them breathe and be happy for a while. 

Just because I'm giving this season a go doesn't mean I don't miss him. But oh well. I'm invested in a great relationship. ?

[UncleChuck]

Quote

We find out, as others have also suspected, that Hotch has been in some limited contact with Prentiss and the team uses this to their advantage as well, using that knowledge to profile Peter Lewis.

It seemed pretty clear (to me, at least) when they discovered that Walker already had a copy of that incriminating text message between Prentiss and A.H. that the text chain was fake--two highly trained agents trying to be secretive would NEVER sign the text as "A.H."   They suspected that Scratch was monitoring their phones so they set up a sting to force his hand--and it worked.

Personally, I do not believe that Prentiss, or Rossi, or anyone else had any idea in the world where Hotch was hiding.

[ReidFan]

oh yeah, and when they all repeated "Wheels Up" for Emily....loved Rossi's 'damn right wheels up' and Reid's hesitant but resolute 'wheels. up.'   OH..... and that Reid got the last word. Somehow, that mattered to me too.

Edited September 29, 2017 by ReidFan

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

I am so very glad the Scratch deal is done and over, but really, seriously now... this super-villain you've built up for a few seasons dies by his fingers slipping off the edge of a building?  Its not funny, but I'm still laughing.  That hardest to catch criminal (to date) meets his maker because his fingers and hands ran out of strength to hold him up.  I just, *giggling still*

Even though it would have created repercussions for him, I found myself hoping Reid would have been the one to kill Scratch.  And had this been on a cable network, I'd have found myself wishing Reid would have made sure he was truly dead. 

I'm guessing they've already got a storyline in mind to create a new 'super villain', what with Emily saying "there will always be a 'Scratch' out there".  If so, hopefully they'll prove a more competent (& interesting) foil than the Original Recipe Scratch ever was.

All the emotional and serious moments were spot on, no complaints.  Especially the moments shown of the team, and his family, dealing with Walker's death.

I really hope they show us Reid's struggle with PTSS, more than just telling us.  Not that I enjoy seeing him be less than ok, but you can't introduce something like this and then have him magically be 'mostly fine' in the next episode or 2.

I would complain about the over abundant amount of team members, but its kinda useless to.  If they hadn't of killed off Walker, it'd have been the same number of people on the team, only it was done as subtracting one then adding one.

I want to get this out there, to explain my side on this (comments made on last season's eps)......  I don't hate, or even dislike, Will.  His place in the show, and JJ's life, is perfectly fine and ok.  Its just that as a 'Jencer' fanon enthusiast, its very hard for me to put that aside and "root for" JJ/Will, when all my heart & irrational mind wants and likes to see is JJ/Reid, and their bonding moments.

This is all just my own aggrieved opinion, but I only wish they had never introduced that tiny little - now long forgotten - bit about Gideon trying to set Reid & JJ up with the Redskins tickets 13 years ago.  If TPTB never had any intention of going there, the show was really cruel to set up a PLI and then abandon it with no warning and no real resolution as to why it never worked out, or would have worked. 

[Lucky Thirteen]

I'm a little confused. Weren't Emily's legs broken? How was she able to get up? Did I miss something?

Also, I can't believe they decided to kill off Hotch after toying with us throughout the episode. :( 

[Josette]

Quote

Weren't Emily's legs broken? How was she able to get up? Did I miss something?

It was just a delusion caused by drugs and suggestion. 

 

Quote

Also, I can't believe they decided to kill off Hotch after toying with us throughout the episode. :( 

Hotch is alive.  He's happy being with his son and not dealing with crazy killers anymore.

[Lucky Thirteen]

55 minutes ago, Josette said:

It was just a delusion caused by drugs and suggestion. 

 

Hotch is alive.  He's happy being with his son and not dealing with crazy killers anymore.

Thanks for explaining it to me! And yes, I agree with Hotch being happy with his son but TG was such a vital character in the previous seasons. I've been binge watching the show and now that I started the new seasons, the show feels like it's missing something. I guess he's really not coming back after all. It was a great start though!

[Danielg342]

3 hours ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

If so, hopefully they'll prove a more competent (& interesting) foil than the Original Recipe Scratch ever was.

I would like a "Villain with Good Publicity", a pillar of the community whom the BAU has trouble investigating since everyone wants to defend him. Maybe this case is a play on "The Collector" where his wife is really a kidnap victim, or he's a vigilante who "rescues" abused kids or adults. This show can be heavy-handed in painting its UnSubs as pure evil (which many are, of course)- it'd be nice if there was a bit of grey every now and then.

[BooksRule]

What did Matt say right near the end when Emily was thanking him for helping out (and about his future with them)?  He said something about being happy to help ever since... (and I didn't hear what he said).  'Ever since my other show got canceled', maybe?  (ha ha)

[JMO]

For me, it was a serviceable episode, meaning that it served the purposes of:

·         Getting rid of Scratch and saying goodbye to Walker

·         Giving (semi-)finality to the Hotch situation

·         Introducing Simmons

Perhaps because it had so many tasks to accomplish, it felt like one of those jam-packed season finales with way too much crammed into one episode.  But the acting was good, and I appreciated the various relationships among the team.

Like others, I enjoyed Rossi’s taking charge.  But I still don’t understand why no one, especially Garcia, called their actual boss, Mateo Cruz.  I realize the actor probably wasn’t available, but we’re talking about a phone call. 

Simmons was fine, and he’ll work well with the team.  Couldn’t help but picture him hanging out on some FBI street corner hoping someone would hire him after the international team disbanded.  Is there no structure left to the FBI?

Thought (and still hope) we might see some kind of existential crisis for JJ, after she effectively greeted her husband by asking him to ask her to leave the team.  Unless they’re going somewhere with this, it would have made sense for it to happen at the end of the episode, or even next week, so they’d both had some time to think about it.  Its placement here was odd, and rushed.  But maybe that was purposeful?

For my taste, there was too much time spent on Emily’s psychological and (fake) physical torture, to the detraction of other scenes.  I did like how she kept Reid back at the end.  For me, it felt like some kind of watermark for how she will manage the team differently from Hotch.

I don’t know if we’re supposed to think that Scratch let go, or that Luke ‘assisted’ him.  Affable Luke does have a dark side, which he showed us with Calvin Shaw last season.  So who knows?  But it looked like Scratch let go.

And then, my reason for watching:  Reid.  It pushed the Reid-meter about half-way, more for quality than quantity.  Points off for the weird eye-rubbing thing and for diagnosing PTSS (which, around here, is not a new term for PTSD, but simply considered to be an earlier point on the spectrum) before there’s even been a change of underwear.  Kudos for the book-throwing thing and the impatience with his addled brain.  And the fact that he spoke in his grown-up voice for the whole episode.  Please bring this Reid back next week, and forever more.

Edited September 28, 2017 by JMO
stray apostrophe

[normasm]

35 minutes ago, JMO said:

And then, my reason for watching:  Reid.  It pushed the Reid-meter about half-way, more for quality than quantity.  Points off for the weird eye-rubbing thing and for diagnosing PTSS (which, around here, is not a new term for PTSD, but simply considered to be an earlier point on the spectrum) before there’s even been a change of underwear.  Kudos for the book-throwing thing and the impatience with his addled brain.  And the fact that he spoke in his grown-up voice for the whole episode.  Please bring this Reid back next week, and forever more.

I agree with all your other points, but really agree with this paragraph, JMO. 

Overall, I enjoyed it. I'm glad Scratch is dead, kinda thought it appropriate that no one directly "killed" him, that should have been Hotch, and he's safely elsewhere for the duration of the series. I liked that Rossi was fighting to stay upright and making sure the secret Scratch files were found (and I really like Reid and Alvez together: "Assclown?"). They should have mentioned Reid's mom at the start, just to say that she was safe and asleep. He promised her hours before that he wouldn't leave her ever again! Liked the JJ/Will moment, but thought they neglected Tara in favor of Retread.

I agree with others that the prolonged drug/mental torture of Emily went on a bit long, especially when we knew she had to be drugged because you don't get those halo braces on til after surgery, etc. But she was strong and competent, and i loved her pleading for Reid to stay behind with her (his immediate acquiescence was really good, and so Reid to give up the pursuit of someone's death in favor of supporting a loved one).

One request I will make, although I know it won't be gifted to me: now that Retread accomplished his job of backup Keymaster of the Scratch Files, can't he please go back to unemployment, and we don't replace him? There are too many agents! Too many!

Guess I'm looking forward to next week, but i hope all Reid's PTSD (not PTSS) isn't magically dissipated. 

[Danielg342]

46 minutes ago, normasm said:

Retread

Agent Retread=Matt Simmons? I never heard the expression before.

[idiotwaltz]

I agree with the others above who feel that the Emily-torture scenes were too long. I found themhard too watch. Also, I feel like I've watched this before, both in Minimal Loss (a much better episode) and Lauren, so I wasn't all that engaged. 

I enjoyed PTSD!Reid but I can't stand men with unkempt hair, so I want to order him to get a haircut and shave immediately. 

Not a huge fan of Emily's motivational speech at the end and rolled my eyes at everyone's repetition of "wheels up" a bit, but I'm so happy that Hotch found some happiness! 

[TheGreenWave]

3 hours ago, JMO said:

Simmons was fine, and he’ll work well with the team.  Couldn’t help but picture him hanging out on some FBI street corner hoping someone would hire him after the international team disbanded.  Is there no structure left to the FBI?

LOL!!!!!!  Tin cup and all.... 

And, agree with you.  Obvs they've tried some temp agents before that just haven't gelled (hello, JLH and Tripplehorn), but I thought he was pretty good - especially with Garcia.

[threebluestars]

I liked Simmons on Beyond Borders, so I'm happy to see him here. I like that he's aware of the BAU and knows everyone, so there's no need to show him learning the ropes since the audience already know how this show goes. Sometimes when newbies get added there's so much re-explanation of everything it gets tedious. He fits nicely because we know he's been there the whole time.

[Aethera]

I thought the episode was pretty good, though the Wheels Up thing at the end felt pretty hokey. I like that they all had their part to play in figuring it out, and I love seeing Emily kick some ass. I, too, hope we go back to Episodic Villains for a while before they introduce another Big Bad - they have Reid's recovery to focus on as an arc, and really, they're all dealing with trauma after this episode, so that should be enough to deal with without a multi-ep bad guy.

[Danielg342]

A few thoughts:

• Scratch managed to blindside and virtually incapacitate the entire (available) BAU. Why didn't he kidnap them all? Why just Prentiss? He would definitely know the risks of leaving the other agents behind.
• How did Luke escape unharmed? More to the point, if Luke was unharmed, why didn't he arrest Scratch at the scene? It's not like Scratch made a swift getaway- he spent time drugging Prentiss, after all.

[Willowsmom]

Scratch grabbed Prentiss because he thought from her texts that she knew where Hotch is.

[ReidFan]

why would Simmons, who lives somewhere in the DC area obviously, want Chicago Bears tickets?    why would *anyone* want Chicago Bears tickets?

Did anyone think to call Hayden/Joy re: Rossi. And Tara's dad.

Why did Garcia include Reid in that text giving Scratch's warehouse address? (obviously, so he'd go too, even though he ain't ready) but she KNEW that, why would she exacerbate (sp?) the situation? AND, how did he get there? And when/how did he manage to get his gun back and requalify to use it so quickly?

How did Garcia know to call Simmons, when he was telling them all that he'd been put in place as the failsafe in the event of emergency, if Prentiss had marked that entire investigation need to know eyes only or whatever...and they all know what a big mouth Garcia has (re: Mirror Image) Again, obviously, she called him--coincidentally, it was him-- in to help when she lost all their signals, but what if she'd called someone else instead of him?

why didn't Luke stomp on Peter Lewis' hands?  O:-)

those are just a few minor observations and in no way did they lessen my enjoyment of the episode. :)

Edited September 28, 2017 by ReidFan
typo (I live for those)

[Hotchgirl18]

So is Reid being instated or what? I missed the first half. 

[normasm]

I rewatched, and i really want to say how well I liked Walker's wife (Monica, is it?) in both her scenes, especially the first one, viewing his body. Well-written and superbly acted. I really wish she could find a place on the show, instead of replacing her husband with another agent.

Also, I really think Luke has a special place in his heart for Reid. Just saying, he always gravitates to him when he's around. And vice versa. Maybe he is a replacement for Morgan after all.

[MMC]

20 minutes ago, Hotchgirl18 said:

So is Reid being instated or what? I missed the first half. 

Rossi made the call to put him back on the team. And then Rossi told Reid not to worry because he would take whatever heat he might get for putting him back on the team. 

[Old Dog]

Not too bad an episode. Too much crammed in. I liked how they showed Reid's fragile state. Rossi was really good and sharp like he used to be. I disliked Scratch's underwhelming end - would've preferred someone to actually take him down comprehensively. I don't believe he would have let go like that. He got out of jail before and I think he would have carried on with his vendetta right till he died of old age in prison if necessary. A really, really good thing was that they seem to have listened to all the fans' moans about night scenes being dark. You could actually see what was going on this time - they used to be usually almost pitch dark with odd shapes running around. Much improved lighting for the night shots - hope they keep it up. Hokey ending. Team still too big. I wish they had just mentioned Diana and how Reid managed to leave her. Overall I'd give it a C+

Edited September 28, 2017 by Old Dog

[JMO]

Good point about the 'running around in the dark', Old Dog.  It was the first time in forever that I was able to tell who they were, and what they were doing.

[Hotchgirl18]

Would like to see more of Re Reid and his state of mind.

[threebluestars]

Did it look to anyone else like Scratch let go and didn't just fall?