S13.E04: Killer App

[Aethera]

Quote

The BAU investigates a workplace shooting committed by a state-of-the-art drone in Silicon Valley.

[ReidFan]

interesting, different kind of case. A bit of the old style ghosting in the investigation, liked seeing that. Liked the closure on the Scratch thing (yay! true to police form, there's always (*@#^$#ing paperwork :) ) Writing was kinda uneven, some stuff seemed well researched, well presented, other stuff had me going WTF?

Very little Reid in this one, but as usual, he was instrumental in figuring it out. 

 

case wise/story wise/writing wise etc, I'd give this one maybe a 7.

 

but only a 3-4 on the Reid-O-Meter.  and he still has that awful scruff :(  although, so does Alvez.   Did CBS cut the razor budget or something?

[secnarf]

It was decent. I admittedly wasn't 100% focused on the episode (I rarely am these days) but it did seem different than the typical case and I liked that. I also felt like the directing and blocking and whatnot were different in this episode (and I *never* notice those things) - anyone know if there were different people for directing and editing? It seemed brighter/more colourful and more open with wider shots.

[ReidFan]

the director was Alec Smight who previously directed Green Light (also excellent) and Collision Course. He *used* to be an editor for the CSI shows, so he has that experience too. 

[JMO]

We knew Reid would still have the scruff because this week's episode was filmed before last week's. 

Staying up just long enough to make sure the DVR starts  I hope  

[Hotchgirl18]

VERY good episode. Knew something was up with that Tori chick. 

[ForeverAlone]

Eh...that's pretty much it. It felt like some drone version of the Jason Bourne series. I wasn't paying that close attention to the episode, so I missed how Penelope got access to the classified intelligence that detailed the real drone mission. Though if a school was bombed and 372 kids were killed, that sort of thing would make the international news. It would be impossible to cover up something like that. The only way would be to make it look like it was an attack by insurgents. Maybe that is what did happen. Like I said, this episode didn't keep my attention. 

[Annber03]

Well, gee, thanks, "Criminal Minds", for giving us all a new nightmare scenario to imagine: mass shooting via drone :/. 

I really liked this one, though. Immensely satisfying to see Emily announcing that asshole guy was under arrest towards the end, Tori's shadiness was an interesting twist, and I felt for Jake with the way that uber-shady contract stuff messed him up so much. What a fucked up setup. 

Nice way to tie that into the whole thing with Luke's report on Scratch, too. I liked Emily getting righteously angry about the body count mentions the company would include in its letters, and how that can trigger people. Given all the team's been through lately, that added some real "oomph" to her rant. All for seeing more of that side of her when and where possible on cases. 

[CrimeFan12]

3 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Nice way to tie that into the whole thing with Luke's report on Scratch, too. I liked Emily getting righteously angry about the body count mentions the company would include in its letters, and how that can trigger people. Given all the team's been through lately, that added some real "oomph" to her rant. All for seeing more of that side of her when and where possible on cases. 

Darn!  I missed that part.  My brother has horrible timing.  He picked the wrong time to call...lol.  I really liked what I did see.  This was one of the few times I felt sorry for the UnSub.  He got recruited for one thing and ended getting tossed into a war he was so not prepared for.  I also like the end with Luke bringing Emily dinner since he knew she was going to be burning the midnight oil  for a while to catch up on her paperwork.

The studio did the right thing in pulling this episode and not showing it right after the events in Las Vegas.  

[Annber03]

Just now, CrimeFan12 said:

The studio did the right thing in pulling this episode and not showing it right after the events in Las Vegas.  

Agreed. 

And also agreed on Emily and Luke having dinner together. They should have more downtime scenes together, they have a good rapport.

[Hotchgirl18]

Classic example of being recruited for one thing and it turns out to be something else. Could also serve as a cautionary tale about making sure you know what you're getting into. Felt bad for the unsub. Everyone of them in that company is guilty. 

 

And this aired a couple weeks after Vegas? Yeesh! They were right to not air it til tonight, but talk about bad timing! 

[Willowy]

53 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Agreed. 

And also agreed on Emily and Luke having dinner together. They should have more downtime scenes together, they have a good rapport.

I liked that Em didn't have to go it alone after all that, but I hope they don't veer into "EmiLuke". That just doesn't sit right with me. I do like that they are showing the rapport, and not every scene with a male and female alone leads to shipping... but I just wanted to put out my firm NO vote before this goes any further, which it will, especially on tumblr. 

Em and Fiona are a couple in my writing (at least until she finds out F was complicit in keeping Reid out of protective custody), and I don't want canon messing with that. How dare they. It's only THEIR show. ;)

There was much good tonight, a truly enjoyable episode. The profiling was kickass, and once they determined the angle of the (drone) shooter, it was over. LOVE YOU, REID!

[CrimeFan12]

8 minutes ago, Willowy said:

I liked that Em didn't have to go it alone after all that, but I hope they don't veer into "EmiLuke".

Agreed.  I have watched from day one and have never seen any hints of romance between any of the characters nor do I want it.  To me it would distract from the show.  It was just a nice scene between two co-workers, nothing more.

[Annber03]

LOL, understandable! I'd be fine with either option, myself :D. I would like to see Fiona again sometime-we didn't get near enough time with her. 

Edited October 19, 2017 by Annber03

[Annber03]

10 minutes ago, CrimeFan12 said:

Agreed.  I have watched from day one and have never seen any hints of romance between any of the characters nor do I want it.  To me it would distract from the show.  It was just a nice scene between two co-workers, nothing more.

I've got pairings I love on this show, and I'm pretty open to a good number of them in general. I didn't see the Emily and Luke scene from tonight as some potential romantic thing, but I can see where some would. 

But yeah, I don't expect any in-team pairings to ever become canon, and I'm perfectly okay with that. I think the show was smart to keep that stuff outside the series and leave it up to fans to ship whatever they wanted (or nothing at all if they so chose), and let the team find relationships outside their little group instead. There's just too many potential pairings, after all, so there's no way could they make some canon without ticking fans of other pairings off along the way, and it would also alienate people like yourself, who don't see any romance at all. This show is rare in that it doesn't have any romantic relationships among team members, unlike other shows in this genre, and I like that it stands out in that regard. 

Edited October 19, 2017 by Annber03

[Willowy]

I'm a huge Jencer shipper as several of you know, and I would love to see Will be off the page and Spencer be there for JJ, her realizing he has been all along and vice versa. I also am clearly aware that this will never happen. It's the only team romance I've ever conjured or wanted, and I would probably die of sheer heart-bursting happiness if it was ever canon. It won't be.

I've always thought, though never really "shipped", that Morcia could be endgame. I can just so easily see them growing old together and loving each other through it all. I don't advocate for it or root for it especially, but I could see it and it would be the most natural thing in the world if it ever happened. 

In the real world, co-workers get together. I don't see it as being so FAR REMOVED from reality that it could never happen, and in fact I think it's kind of weird that it never has, with our team. But I respect the stance they've taken on it, and it looks like it's here to stay, so there's that. 

[Willowy]

Also yes I know Reidfan, you don't ever want any team members together, especially my fave couple. ;P

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Other than providing the 'its a drone' and '3-month unemployment gap' angles, Reid was a virtual no-show this ep.  So, while the case was actually decent, I couldn't quite engage fully because of lack of screen time for my fave.

Feeling the desire for a Haven binge, for some reason... oh hi, Emily Rose.  Even though she turned out liable & shady, I went into this ep kinda hoping for some Reid & ToriH interaction on the show [being a fan of both MGG & ER].  But Reid was completely absent from all scenes after the team provided the profile - or at least, I don't remember seeing him after that.

 

46 minutes ago, Willowy said:

I liked that Em didn't have to go it alone after all that, but I hope they don't veer into "EmiLuke". That just doesn't sit right with me. I do like that they are showing the rapport, and not every scene with a male and female alone leads to shipping... but I just wanted to put out my firm NO vote before this goes any further, which it will, especially on tumblr.

If there were an 'agree' button, and could hit it multiple times, you'd be getting a bunch from this guy. 

I really don't think its meant as anything more than 'team comaraderie', in this sense, but it does come off kinda odd that he hangs back to eat dinner with her - friendly gesture, or not. 

(If someone were to [for some reason] look for it, I'm sure there'll be a post-ep fic about Garcia getting jealous over that shared dinner)

[Willowy]

She ("Emily Rose") annoyed me on twitter, saying she "wasn't sure" if her CM episode was on tonight. 

Seriously, who "doesn't know" if their episode is on. Right, lady. You're too cool, I guess.

[Mysteyman]

I liked the episode but some of the dialogue struck me as boilerplate CM.

"If this is about a kill list, the killer will strike again"

"finding the pattern is the key"

"Tori is hiding something"

"Tori is unfinished business"

Count me as another who didn't read anything significant  into that final scene.

Again I enjoyed it, but sharpen that  dialogue a bit please.

Edited October 19, 2017 by Mysteyman

[normasm]

Boilerplate is being nice, IMO. Garcia says one line, then Alvez says one line, then Lewis, then Reid and on and on through all the guys who happen to be gathered in that scene, until it gets to Emily, who says, "This will happen again. Wheels up in ten."

There were so many teammates that Reid, Rossi, and Lewis disappeared inexplicably numerous times. I did like the bookends with Prentiss and Alvez, especially when he said Roxy was at the pet-sitter. 

Very disappointed in the season so far. Good news for me: I don't feel compelled to strain to stay up and watch in real time anymore. Oh, well.

[Lostinthehouse]

Best episode in the last few seasons, but that's not saying much.  It did hold my interest, though.

The blond chick - horrible acting, horrible lines, horrible in general.

Best thing was the old-school CM profiling - I also liked the mis-direction of "Who's the real unsub here?"  The guy making the drones?  Blond chick?  Her boss - the old lab guy from CSI?  Good episode, not a great episode.  I'd give it a B- .

[Nerys]

1 hour ago, normasm said:

There were so many teammates that Reid, Rossi, and Lewis disappeared inexplicably numerous times. I did like the bookends with Prentiss and Alvez, especially when he said Roxy was at the pet-sitter.

Thought you were joking but nope. Good to know that Roxy is with the pet-sitter. I would have lost sleep over it otherwise.

Any news on Reid's mother? No?

 

MGG/Reid was exceptionally pretty last night and he got some nice lttle scenes. As for the rest .... I didn't care after someone declared that it can't be a hate crime because most of the victims were white. Yeah, whatever.

[Hasseltine]

Ha, the Emily Rose actress is married to a "Dairek Morgan."

RE: her Twitter post, it doesn't seem to be too out of line to wonder if/when a mass shooting episode is airing since the real life Vegas mass shooting only happened a couple weeks ago. Reminded me of a similar situation concerning the airing of an episode with a school shooting or a similar tragic/violent scenario being postponed after a real life event happened. It may have been CM or another show/movie.

More Rossi! I felt like he was barely even in the episode at all.

Edited October 19, 2017 by Hasseltine

[JMO]

 I thought the case was interesting enough, and it was a decent episode, marred by that clown car feel to the size of the team these days.  Random thoughts:

• I wondered what Simmons and Reid were doing in the conference room, while everyone else was in the bullpen, in the opening BAU scene.  Hopefully, they were looking for that mole.
• They used their new timeline software twice in the episode.  Guessing we'll be seeing more of that.
• I liked the individual victim/witness pairings with BAU members for interviews.  But I kept thinking, 'Are there so many that they don't have enough chairs?' because it seemed bizarre to make traumatized people stand in the middle of the crime scene to tell their story.  
• DHS sent only one agent to the case?
• Reid did, indeed, look good, and he made a crucial (and obvious) contribution, causing the Reid-meter to move upward with cautious optimism. And then it crashed and burned, after the (patently stilted) delivery of the profile.  

Edited October 19, 2017 by JMO

[normasm]

38 minutes ago, Nerys said:

Thought you were joking but nope. Good to know that Roxy is with the pet-sitter. I would have lost sleep over it otherwise.

Any news on Reid's mother? No?

Precisely.

[Old Dog]

Yikes! I fell asleep in the middle! I guess the magic is really gone.

[JMO]

6 minutes ago, Old Dog said:

Yikes! I fell asleep in the middle! I guess the magic is really gone.

That's about when Reid disappeared.  No worries.

[ReidFan]

I don't understand why they still do that, they MUST know, they must've heard/read/seen the complaints about the 'everybody recites a line' profile delivery by now.

Too  many team members at once. They really should take turns rotating them out:  "JJ (or Simmons) won't be with us today, <name of child> is sick" or "Reid's off doing research for his seminar/he's doing his seminar", "Tara's working on her special project", "Rossi/whoever has court today" ....and that's just off the top of my head. there's so many built in excuses for one or another to be missing, I'd prefer that to 7 people sharing 15 words week after week.  (my DVR and my harddrive would appreciate not having to keep every episode too LOL)

[normasm]

I watched most of it again, and i did like the ghosting parts, but then that momentum just falls apart when they give the profile. And the part with the unsub and the Tori lady was terrible, and the Big Bad Blackwater guy was terribly hokey.

Yeah, Riff, they don't just do it (one profiler=one line) for the profile, they started from the bullpen last night, continued it through the local conference room and the profile, and I just gave up. I wish they would try your idea, several of us have said the same thing, basically, but yours sounds more organic.

[ReidFan]

I thought 'Tori' was awful, tbh. Couldn't stand her from the getgo. I actually felt for the 'unsub' (who wasn't really the unsub as it were), being burdened with the knowledge.... 

Did very much like Reid figuring out the drone angle in the second shooting. (there's a very screencappable shot of him there that I must get on......)

[Mariana]

I liked the case. The interaction between Emily and Luke was nice.

And, for me, they looked more balanced, except when they’re together, but, come on!!! How can Reid just disappear like that?! That ruined it for me.

I don’t know and I don’t care who runs this show but, do they get feedback? I mean they can’t be so indifferent to the complains about the number of people on screen.

[normasm]

Mariana, I don't know how much our feedback would help them in real time, they can't change a season drastically once it's up and running (unless some big emergency-type thing were to happen). But they've heard this "the team's too big" for at least 2 seasons, probably more like 4, and if "they" look for feedback and take it to heart, I would think they already would have. Like i've said before, the network biggies can trump any suggestions a show runner might take to them from the fans, so who knows if Messer is just as frustrated as we are? But the end result does make them seem indifferent or hearing-impaired at the least.

[MMC]

It sucks that the network is insisting on that size of a cast. However is the network also responsible for the dialogue where each time member only gets one line. Or is that EM and her writers doing?

[normasm]

MMC, my guess is that all these cast members have it in their contracts that they get a certain percentage of dialogue, maybe not a hard and fast rule, but generally that each of the full-time cast has a certain amount of screen time and/or lines. In order to do that the easiest way (I'm not saying it's easy to do this) is to chop it up "giving the profile" style. Which has JJ starting a statement, Reid picking it up in speculation, someone else riffing off that.... until Emily says "Wheels Up!" This means the chopped apart dialogue doesn't really have a flavor of Reid, or JJ, because it's just one generic statement, split 8 ways. SMH

Edited October 19, 2017 by normasm

[ReidFan]

3 minutes ago, normasm said:

MMC, my guess is that all these cast members have it in their contracts that they get a certain percentage of dialogue, maybe not a hard and fast rule, but generally that each of the full-time cast has a certain amount of screen time and/or lines. In order to do that the easiest way (I'm not saying it's easy to do this) is to chop it up "giving the profile" style. Which has JJ starting a statement, Reid picking it up in speculation, someone else riffing off that.... until Emily says "Wheels Up!" This means the chopped apart dialogue doesn't really have a flavor of Reid, or JJ, because it's just one generic statement, split 8 ways. SMH

as long as *Reid* does all the *riffing*

 

xoxox

Riff

6 hours ago, Nerys said:

 

MGG/Reid was exceptionally pretty last night and he got some nice lttle scenes. As for the rest .... I didn't care after someone declared that it can't be a hate crime because most of the victims were white. Yeah, whatever.

actually, he'd be a lot prettier if he'd freakin' shave. but anyway...

 

 re: the bolded part. Yeah. I rolled my eyes at that..... and the screencap below? was taken from immediately after that line. It looks like Reid is rolling his eyes at that comment but in fact, he was completely engrossed in figuring out the trajectory of the shots that killed the victim. I was just amused by the thought process that occurred to me when I 'capped it.

[Mariana]

39 minutes ago, normasm said:

Mariana, I don't know how much our feedback would help them in real time, they can't change a season drastically once it's up and running (unless some big emergency-type thing were to happen). But they've heard this "the team's too big" for at least 2 seasons, probably more like 4, and if "they" look for feedback and take it to heart, I would think they already would have. Like i've said before, the network biggies can trump any suggestions a show runner might take to them from the fans, so who knows if Messer is just as frustrated as we are? But the end result does make them seem indifferent or hearing-impaired at the least.

Yep I know they probably don’t care too much about feedback, I guess for the network something must be working for keeping this ridiculous number of agents and ridiculous dialogues.

[MMC]

I actually feel that feedback does make a difference at times. A perfect example was the show bringing back AJ Cook and Paget Brewster. Yes Paget walked away after season 7 (only to return several seasons later) but that was her choice. And I am sure it played a part in them cutting RN loose from the show. Now all of this might not have taken place were they simple looking at the ratings. Because the ratings for the show were doing just fine during that time period.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Not having seen her in anything outside of Haven - before last night - I can't tell if ER's unsatisfactory performance was due to the script and/or direction, or actually largely just due to her & the acting.

It makes me curious because I liked her quite a bit - for the most part - on Haven, but I have to agree with what others are saying;  her 'Tori' character wasn't exactly an award-winning guest spot.

[secnarf]

7 hours ago, Hasseltine said:

RE: her Twitter post, it doesn't seem to be too out of line to wonder if/when a mass shooting episode is airing since the real life Vegas mass shooting only happened a couple weeks ago. Reminded me of a similar situation concerning the airing of an episode with a school shooting or a similar tragic/violent scenario being postponed after a real life event happened. It may have been CM or another show/movie.

It's happened several times with several shows. One big example that comes to mind is an episode of Buffy ("Earshot") - which is about Buffy trying to stop a school shooting. It includes lines such as "Who hasn't idly thought about taking out the place with a semi-automatic?" and "[school shootings are] bordering on trendy at this point". It was scheduled to air less than a week after Columbine. Obviously not ideal!

[Annber03]

Yep. Postponing shows because of mass shootings is practically a regular event at this point. 

[normasm]

32 minutes ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

Not having seen her in anything outside of Haven - before last night - I can't tell if ER's unsatisfactory performance was due to the script and/or direction, or actually largely just due to her & the acting.

It makes me curious because I liked her quite a bit - for the most part - on Haven, but I have to agree with what others are saying;  her 'Tori' character wasn't exactly an award-winning guest spot.

Yeah, TV, I haven't ever seen her that I know of, but it certainly could be bad casting or something similar. I guess I shouldn't be so harsh on actors, but I do often place blame at times on writers and directors.

[ReidGirl]

The case was different but I could not really bother to focus much. Most of the episode I was trying to see if Reid has come back from wherever he went after giving out the profile.

Seriously with MGG taking time off for 2-3 episodes cant they give him some more screen time. He is the only reason I am still watching this show. 

[Aethera]

Hey guys, I was off this weekend so I only just caught up here, and the thread had gone really off topic onto Reid's absences and how to handle them and how they did it last season and whether he's getting enough screen time, so I moved all of that discussion to the Reid thread. Let's try to keep this thread about the episode in question, please!

[Rockstar99435]

I get why the private security team would send each employee a letter with the stats of their mission, but why on earth would they tell the guy that the 374 kills were children? What's the point of covering everything up, to the extent of committing murder on American soil, if you're going to admit IN WRITING that your company committed a war crime?

[normasm]

Good question. The real counterparts to this fictional P. S. company wouldn't.

[Mysteyman]

While i did enjoy the story, I did feel they were definitely trying to vilify the security firm.

[normasm]

To me, it was based on fact. Numbers are not necessarily the same, but actions are.

[Danielg342]

Finally watched it. Wound up liking it, even though I don't think it was anything special.

Liked seeing Wallace Langham again- he was great as the security firm chief. I also thought Emily Rose did well, and I liked that the Homeland Security guy had a big role. We don't see it often enough.

I also liked that there was some depth to this story, even though it was a bit "paint by numbers" and relied on the luck of Rose's character escaping.

JJ and Luke also seem to be developing some chemistry. I hope they build on it.

[Annber03]

And here's my review for this episode:

https://www.spoilertv.com/2017/10/criminal-minds-killer-app-review-trigger.html