S13.E08: Neon Terror

[Aethera]

Quote

When an UnSub in Miami sensationalizes his crimes by giving the local media exclusive footage, the BAU is called in to investigate.

[Annber03]

Damn, Sandra would get on quite well with that Jill from "Limelight". So much similarity there. 

Interesting concept for a case, but I had a pretty good idea of how it'd all play out fairly early on in the episode. 

Nice to see Rossi's still writing books. The whole thing of the team sitting around the conference room watching his interview was cute. 

Wish we could've gotten a brief update at the end on how Reid's lecture went-one of the team getting a text or something. I liked everyone hoping it'd all go well for him :).

[Danielg342]

Am I such a sadist that I kept telling the UnSub to just shoot the news editor? You know...do something different for this show instead just doing the same old story week after week?

For a while I thought that maybe this was going to be the episode I wanted last week- some guy who's killing and who will only keep on killing until the BAU stops him.

With the city in terror as well.

...but, we just had to have that bit with the news editor. Because her life apparently means more than the other victims in this episode.

I suppose he didn't actually have an "endgame"...but the effect was still the same. 

Really, the only thing that could have saved this episode- maybe- was the UnSub defying the BAU and killing the news editor.

Because, you know, "sometimes, we just can't save everyone".

Still, this was complete and utter dreck.

You have an UnSub who takes numerous risks, doesn't hide, does everything to draw attention to themselves, manages to leave just before the police get there, sends videos to news crews and posts them online, left behind a witness...I mean, is there a box for "things the UnSub needs to do in order to get caught?"

Seriously, this is Miami. Once home to a CSI unit...one that Alvez was once a part of.

(OK, it was just the actor...but still...)

Maybe this requires some technical know-how...but how the Miami police just couldn't handle it themselves is beyond me.

I just don't think these writers even try anymore. We used to have cases where criminals found ways to evade capture and outwit every piece of police technology available, necessitating the BAU.

Now we just have lazy cops who can't be bothered to do any work, because the BAU nowadays acts like regular detectives.

Seriously, did anyone at Miami PD provide a lead? Anyone? No? Thought so.

There's just not much more I can say about this other than "no redeeming qualities". I'm not sure I can find a single positive.

(Maybe Rossi's interview at the beginning...except for the fact the interviewer asked questions no interviewer would ever ask and just seemed to "guess" what Rossi would say next...I get that the writer wanted to create a vibe where the interviewer and Rossi were chummy but it came off as awfully forced)

Oh, and one other point:

Matt Simmons has been featured quite a lot lately, but can you really say the show has done anything to really make him stand out amongst the other "know-it-all" agents? I get that he's already somewhat developed from Beyond Borders, but so far we've seen nothing to suggest that he's brought something new to the BAU.

I mean, I like Daniel Henney...he's a great actor (and I say this not because he shares my name). He literally brings Simmons to life and it's a joy to watch him act. I just wish he had actual material to work with instead of spouting exposition.

[ForeverAlone]

For me, this was the best episode of the season so far. Except for some quibbles, I thought this was a well written episode, where the crime was interesting, the profiling was interesting and plausible and the course of the investigation was focused on the BAU rather than spending too much time on the unsub. The fact that we didn't see the unsub until 30 minutes in (though honestly, there was no reason to see him at all until he showed up at the news station) deserves serious points. I think there was a good use of all the team, and they all got to make contributions to building the profile and investigating the killings. 

Sandra was also an interesting character, and by the end, she really reminded me of the FBI agent in "Limelight" who was so ambitious about making her career, that she was perfectly willing to exploit her encounter with a serial killer. And to have Rossi be the one person who tried to talk sense into these women was also a nice balancing. In "Limelight" Rossi drew a direct line from his ambition to her ambition; though there wasn't anything like that this time, it was still interesting to see Sandra so hungry for career recognition again, that she was grateful to Jeffrey for holding a gun to her head. It was an interesting contrast to what we see from most survivors. 

My one quibble is that even though I felt the psychology of the unsub matched his behavior and MO, it really does seem the show is tying itself into knots to avoid any sort of sexual motivations for the serial killings. This has been a trend for a few seasons now. I guess I understand why the show doesn't want to overdo the sexually-motivated homicides, but most serial killings have a sexual motivation, so the show really shouldn't shy away from having that be part of the story if that makes sense. But since the show didn't want to go there with this episode, how they constructed these killings at least added up in terms of victimology and recreating the crime he witnessed as a child.

[ReidFan]

watched it this morning.

 

ugh.

 

although, two good things:

1.  I did like how the profile was done (FINALLY!!!!) *just* Prentiss, and one other (Alvez), I'm sorry but didn't I (and probably a million others) suggest this ages ago? Have the boss (Prentiss) and one of the profilers (this time, Alvez) deliver the profile, and intersperse that footage and audio with visuals of the other team members working the case.

2. "Not today Satan."

Edited November 23, 2017 by ReidFan

[Danielg342]

4 hours ago, ForeverAlone said:

My one quibble is that even though I felt the psychology of the unsub matched his behavior and MO, it really does seem the show is tying itself into knots to avoid any sort of sexual motivations for the serial killings. This has been a trend for a few seasons now. I guess I understand why the show doesn't want to overdo the sexually-motivated homicides, but most serial killings have a sexual motivation, so the show really shouldn't shy away from having that be part of the story if that makes sense.

I tend to think the show has shied away from that for its entire run- you'll hardly find any UnSubs who were also rapists as well as killers, when we know reality is far different.

I suppose I understand why- network TV and all that- although I do agree the writers shouldn't shy away from it considering it is the reality (wouldn't even take much- just a line, they don't have to show the rape occuring).

I do miss the days where Hotch and Rossi (and Gideon before him) would talk about the UnSub's actions in a sexual nature, equating what he is doing to a sexual act. Perhaps Erica Messer felt that was too grotesque to continue, even if, again, it's realistic.

[Hotchgirl18]

4 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

I tend to think the show has shied away from that for its entire run- you'll hardly find any UnSubs who were also rapists as well as killers, when we know reality is far different.

I suppose I understand why- network TV and all that- although I do agree the writers shouldn't shy away from it considering it is the reality (wouldn't even take much- just a line, they don't have to show the rape occuring).

I do miss the days where Hotch and Rossi (and Gideon before him) would talk about the UnSub's actions in a sexual nature, equating what he is doing to a sexual act. Perhaps Erica Messer felt that was too grotesque to continue, even if, again, it's realistic.

Or too PC. 

[illdoc]

I have a question---When was the BAU invited into the case??? They can't just show up--they have to be invited! First time they even heard of the case was during Rossi's interview. Two minutes later, they're on their way to Miami!!!!

[ForeverAlone]

Apparently the Miami PD called the team while they were watching the interview. 

5 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

I tend to think the show has shied away from that for its entire run- you'll hardly find any UnSubs who were also rapists as well as killers, when we know reality is far different.

I suppose I understand why- network TV and all that- although I do agree the writers shouldn't shy away from it considering it is the reality (wouldn't even take much- just a line, they don't have to show the rape occuring).

I do miss the days where Hotch and Rossi (and Gideon before him) would talk about the UnSub's actions in a sexual nature, equating what he is doing to a sexual act. Perhaps Erica Messer felt that was too grotesque to continue, even if, again, it's realistic.

The early days (meaning the Ed Bernero years), a good chunk of the unsubs were rapists and their crimes had a sexual motive. I noticed a dropoff in sexual motivations when Erica took over, but that has accelerated in recent years, to where it is rather rare for an unsub to actually rape his victims or have a sexual motivation. My impression is that Erica has tried to shy away from the reality that most serial killers attack women, and for sexual reasons, so they have come up with all sorts of other motivations (seemingly all tied back to some childhood trauma on the part of unsubs). The show could get away with it if that is where they wanted to go story-wise, considering L&O: SVU is almost exclusively sex crimes. 

[JMO]

It turns out that the advantage of a Reidless episode is that one can 'watch' it while cooking. 

I thought it was okay, at least as regards the involvement of the media, even if it was a variant on 'Limelight'.  CM was overdue for an acknowledgement of the role of the media when the presence of a serial killer becomes known to the affected community.  We used to see a little bit of that, back in the days of JJ as the media liaison, but very little since.  Luke Alvez seems to work well with each of the other members of the team, and I like him more and more.  Matt Simmons, on the other hand, is inoffensive but blah.  I don't see what he adds to the team.

As to the other discussion, I'm inclined to agree that the pendulum has swung too far, and too long, in the direction of the 'explainable unsub', especially when said unsub's prior trauma is so specific to the murders.  Trauma leading to emotional stunting, yes.  Trauma leading to such specificity, recreating the trauma, no---not even remotely to the extent CM tries to portray it.  The other big problem with the 'explainable unsub' is that it so often results in bad storytelling.  We've had several examples already this season, including this one, where they had to utilize an exposition dump to create the unsub's history.  There is no deducing from earlier scenes, no point in trying to guess at the identity or motive of the unsub, no reason to engage intellectually with the story at all. 

I do think they would be better off acknowledging the sexual connotations of most serial murders, and injecting suspense via trying to suss out whether m.o., or victimology, or geographic profiling will bring them to the desired result.  In this particular episode, I would have been on the edge of my seat if the BAU and LEOs had had trouble identifying which mall parking lot held the car with the endangered child, and then even more trouble actually locating it in the lot.  The element of danger, the pressure of time, and the frustration of getting stymied by simple things would have brought more dramatic weight than what we got.  

More Reidless the next new episode, but at least it was written by Breen Frazier.  Fingers crossed.

Happy Thanksgiving, to those celebrating.  Mine's delayed a day (hence, this post). 

[Hotchgirl18]

1 hour ago, ForeverAlone said:

Apparently the Miami PD called the team while they were watching the interview. 

The early days (meaning the Ed Bernero years), a good chunk of the unsubs were rapists and their crimes had a sexual motive. I noticed a dropoff in sexual motivations when Erica took over, but that has accelerated in recent years, to where it is rather rare for an unsub to actually rape his victims or have a sexual motivation. My impression is that Erica has tried to shy away from the reality that most serial killers attack women, and for sexual reasons, so they have come up with all sorts of other motivations (seemingly all tied back to some childhood trauma on the part of unsubs). The show could get away with it if that is where they wanted to go story-wise, considering L&O: SVU is almost exclusively sex crimes. 

Because she loves to make excuses for the unsubs. Is she running a crime drama or an outlandish soap opera? She's living in a fantasy world. 

[normasm]

I fell asleep during the last act/epilogue. The only positive thing I can think of to say is, they actually had stuff for everyone to say and do without 8 people finishing each other's sentences, etc. It took furloughing 2 agents to get to that, but, well...

[Hotchgirl18]

Definitely one of the weaker episodes of the season. 

[secnarf]

From the very first flash of the unsub as a child being carried, I had the motive all figured out. Since I'm usually so bad at figuring these things out, to me it seems like lazy writing. The audience shouldn't have it all figured out right away.

I did like the bit at the end though, with the creepy/unsettling news anchor. It was a nice "twist" in an otherwise predictable episode.

[Pandorap]

I’ve been watching Criminal Minds for so many years...I’m sad to say that I’m done. Maybe. This episode makes me want to quit watching. Not interesting. The social commentary fell flat. I was bored. I know I’ll watch until the end of the season just because it’s routine for me but after that? For me, CM has run its course. I’m not even sad, just a little bitter. It feels like the end of a stagnant relationship. And I’m actually surprised about how this feeling about a TV SHOW has affected me!!! Ridiculous when I think about it. 

[threebluestars]

This was SO similar to Limelight. From the egotistical agent/newsie naming the unsub and JJ responding in almost the exact way, to Rossi's book being featured in the episode, the killer communicating directly with the agent/news, to the agent/newsie being kidnapped/held hostage, to the agent/newsie being unchanged and likely even worse after the fact ... WE HAVE DONE THIS EPISODE ALREADY, WRITERS!

Are they seriously running out of plots so badly they are rewriting their own episodes???

This show is really circling the drain.

[CrimeFan12]

To me it was another solid episode.  This season has yet to disappoint me, I have enjoyed every episode.  Since I knew where Reid was, I didn't miss him and I'm glad they didn't waste screen time with a useless scene showing him conducting his lecture.  I found the case interesting and like others I thought of Jill from Limelight at the end.  Both got their few minutes of fame and would soon fade back into background.

[Hotchgirl18]

1 hour ago, threebluestars said:

This was SO similar to Limelight. From the egotistical agent/newsie naming the unsub and JJ responding in almost the exact way, to Rossi's book being featured in the episode, the killer communicating directly with the agent/news, to the agent/newsie being kidnapped/held hostage, to the agent/newsie being unchanged and likely even worse after the fact ... WE HAVE DONE THIS EPISODE ALREADY, WRITERS!

Are they seriously running out of plots so badly they are rewriting their own episodes???

This show is really circling the drain.

They have run out of ideas. Just when they did a decent episode with "Dust and Bones," they pull THIS?!

[idiotwaltz]

8 hours ago, threebluestars said:

This was SO similar to Limelight. From the egotistical agent/newsie naming the unsub and JJ responding in almost the exact way, to Rossi's book being featured in the episode, the killer communicating directly with the agent/news, to the agent/newsie being kidnapped/held hostage, to the agent/newsie being unchanged and likely even worse after the fact ... WE HAVE DONE THIS EPISODE ALREADY, WRITERS!

Are they seriously running out of plots so badly they are rewriting their own episodes???

This show is really circling the drain.

This was basically Limelight 2.0 except Limelight was better. I have a theory that the writers don't expect the same people watching the show now were watching the show 10 years ago, so they are basically re-packaging old episodes as new episodes and don't count on any current viewers noticing. There was also that episode earlier with the masks that was a retread of About Face.

 

I didn't like this episode. I didn't hate it, I was just bored. I didn't miss Lewis or Reid. I kind of envied them because whatever they were off doing, it must have been more interesting than watching this episode.

 

The cases stopped being realistic years ago, but at least they were engaging. The plot of The Uncanny Valley (lunatic turning people into dolls) is practically in the realm of fantasy, IMO, but the writing sold it and more importantly, it provoked some sort of emotion response, whether it was worry for the diabetic woman's safety or sympathy for the UNSUB. I don't get that with recent episodes anymore, not even the premiere. They're just so ... blah. 

[Danielg342]

I'm not sure if even in the Bernero years that the show had a lot of rapists. I have no stats though. I would agree that Bernero seemed more inclined to "go there" than Erica Messer does, which hurts the show's credibility.

(I also think Law & Order:SVU is more "Murder of the Week with a sex crime tacked on" than an actual show about sex crimes, but that's a different debate)

Now, I'm not sure an out and out rape would have improved this episode, but it might have been fun if the UnSub kidnapped the news editor and forced her to watch his spree. At least then we would have had the opportunity to care for the "final victim" right from the start, and it adds extra drama in that now the BAU need to find out where she is.

If we add layers where it's the BAU that makes the connection (with maybe the local police dissenting) and a newsroom that hates the editor's narcissistic guts, we really could have some fun.

[Hotchgirl18]

4 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

I'm not sure if even in the Bernero years that the show had a lot of rapists. I have no stats though. I would agree that Bernero seemed more inclined to "go there" than Erica Messer does, which hurts the show's credibility.

(I also think Law & Order:SVU is more "Murder of the Week with a sex crime tacked on" than an actual show about sex crimes, but that's a different debate)

Now, I'm not sure an out and out rape would have improved this episode, but it might have been fun if the UnSub kidnapped the news editor and forced her to watch his spree. At least then we would have had the opportunity to care for the "final victim" right from the start, and it adds extra drama in that now the BAU need to find out where she is.

If we add layers where it's the BAU that makes the connection (with maybe the local police dissenting) and a newsroom that hates the editor's narcissistic guts, we really could have some fun.

Erica Messer wouldn't know credibility if it danced up and smacked her in the nose. 

[Annber03]

7 hours ago, idiotwaltz said:

I didn't miss Lewis or Reid. I kind of envied them because whatever they were off doing, it must have been more interesting than watching this episode.

On that note, this is the second episode they made a point of mentioning that Tara was off in Bridgewater, helping out with Floyd Ferrell's case. When they announced Floyd would be returning to the show, it seemed to be billed as a mere one-off guest appearance...but given they've made a point these last couple episodes of mentioning Tara working on that case, now I'm wondering if that's a hint that Floyd will pop up again later this season somehow. 

[Danielg342]

27 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I'm wondering if that's a hint that Floyd will pop up again later this season somehow. 

Episode 300 baddie?

[Annber03]

Yep, that's exactly what I'm thinking, too. Go big with a memorable unsub, and all that. 

[Hasseltine]

The main thing I took away from this episode is that I want JJ's horizontal bar earrings... is there anywhere I can find screencaps of the episodes so I can try to identify them?

[peacheslatour]

On 11/24/2017 at 3:11 AM, idiotwaltz said:

This was basically Limelight 2.0 except Limelight was better. I have a theory that the writers don't expect the same people watching the show now were watching the show 10 years ago, so they are basically re-packaging old episodes as new episodes and don't count on any current viewers noticing. There was also that episode earlier with the masks that was a retread of About Face.

 

I didn't like this episode. I didn't hate it, I was just bored. I didn't miss Lewis or Reid. I kind of envied them because whatever they were off doing, it must have been more interesting than watching this episode.

 

The cases stopped being realistic years ago, but at least they were engaging. The plot of The Uncanny Valley (lunatic turning people into dolls) is practically in the realm of fantasy, IMO, but the writing sold it and more importantly, it provoked some sort of emotion response, whether it was worry for the diabetic woman's safety or sympathy for the UNSUB. I don't get that with recent episodes anymore, not even the premiere. They're just so ... blah. 

I love that episode for the beat down Reid lays on Jonathon Frakes.

[Annber03]

Review for "Neon Terror":

https://www.spoilertv.com/2017/12/criminal-minds-neon-demon-review.html