Season 8 Episodes Talk

[Danielg342]

Talk about Season 8 here. It was best known as the "Season of the Replicator", but it was also one where we said hello to a new agent, Alex Blake, and a fond farewell to a divisive figure in the CM universe.

[idiotwaltz]

I was on a Leverage kick last month and really fell in love with Parker, so I rewatched the entire Maeve arc. I don’t know what I hate more, the fact that Maeve was brought on purely for the purpose of being killed so Reid gets another dose if misery in his woebegotten existence, or that ugly wig/frumpy wardrobe that they forced on the lovely Beth Riesgraf. I thought she did an amazing job - Maeve is a 180 degree change from Parker, and she sold it. 

I love the dream sequence in the library now. In fact I kind of wish Reid could Inception himself and stay in that dream forever, in an existence he is actually happy and doesn’t get anthrax or shot in the neck or framed for murder and wrongfully imprisoned all during the ordinary course of employment. 

Now I kind of want to write that fanfic, actually. 

[Mislav]

Season eight actually isn't that bad. Sure, it had some crappy episodes like 8x2 "The Pact", 8x4 "The God Complex", 8x5 "The Good Earth", 8x10 "The Lesson" and 8x13 "Magnum Opus", but great episodes like 8x1 "The Silencer", 8x3 "Through the Looking Glass", 8x11 "Perennials", 8x14 "All That Remains", 8x15 "Carbon Copy", 8x17 "Gathering", 8x20 "Alchemy", 8x21 "Nanny Dearest", and 8x22 "#6" kind of make up for it. Seasons 10, 11, 12 and 13 all had 3-5 good episodes the most, and the ones that were bad were really bad. The resolution to the Replicator arc could have been better, but I don't think it was all awful either.

 

 

Season nine was kind of similar: it had an awful two-part premiere, and terrible episodes like 9x12 "Black Queen", 9x14 "200", 9x20 "Blood Relations" and 9x21 "What Happens in Mecklinburg", but it also had 9x3 "Final Shot", 9x6 "In the Blood", 9x7 "Gatekeeper", 9x8 "The Return", 9x10 "The Caller", 9x17 "Gabby" and 9x19 "The Edge of Winter". Two-part season finale was decent, but it could have been better.

 

 

Plus, Alex Blake is probably the last new character that I liked, and I loved the way she was introduced; she immediately got a chance to use her set of skills, and she put Garcia in her place in a delicate, polite, intellectual way. As if she was telling her: "I want us two get a long, but you really need to bring it down a notch. Give me a chance. And mind your own business."

 

 

Also, losing Maeve was arguably the second to last believable tragedy Reid has gone through; everything after that (his mother developing Alzheimer's, being framed for murder), except for the murder of Jason Gideon (which affected everyone except Kate Callahan, not only Spencer) seems like an overkill, no pun intended, and it isn't realistic or believable at all. I actually didn't mind them killing off Maeve too much... it was sad, but sad in a good way, I guess? I appreciated that the episode delivered such an emotional impact; but again, the writing actually made that arc believable and engaging, and I figured that was the last time they'd torture Reid and that such a loss will eventually lead to something. I guess I was wrong.

Edited June 2, 2018 by Mislav

[smoker]

I couldn't say which one (8 or 9) is better, but I have a soft spot for season 10.

However, I really hate season 11, even if there are 5 - 6 episodes I can rewatch and even enjoy. But I think  the rest of episodes are a shame. Moreover, I thought season 10 was above season 8 and 9, so I was waiting for an improvement in season 11. Especially, after the premiere (11x01). I really loved it and I thought it would mark the tone for the rest of the season... my own hype was a curse, I guess...

About Alex Blake, I like her better now, I liked her professionalism and seriousness, though.

Tara and Adam Rodríguez's character are a waste of minutes.

The murder of Maeve was ridiculous (in my opinion, of course), but I love Hotch and Morgan in "Zugzwang", I also hate the way they played Reid's grief, but I won't elaborate that right now.

Edited June 3, 2018 by smoker

[Blackbird999999lol]

It angers me that Jeanne has been bullied off the show by a vocal minority. Many people say that the show would still have 10M+ viewers if Alex/Jeanne stayed after S9. Season 10 was dreadful. Ratings went down from 11-12M to 8M in one year. At the time many viewers made the choice to stop watching the show forever.

There was a poll on twitter that Alex Blake / Jeanne won by a landslide.
Truth is: S8 was one of the better seasons and Jeanne was accepted and loved by viewers. Social media is just an awful place that has nothing to do with reality. I wish Jeanne would see THIS:

[idiotwaltz]

In hindsight I like Alex Blake a lot. But she always gave me a feeling that she didn’t quite fit in with the team. At least she and Reid had each other. I liked their final scene together. Tears. 

[smoker]

1 hour ago, idiotwaltz said:

In hindsight I like Alex Blake a lot. But she always gave me a feeling that she didn’t quite fit in with the team. At least she and Reid had each other. I liked their final scene together. Tears. 

Agree about that. I think it's because she was close to Reid and she had her own life outside the team (husband, isn't it? and teaching), it was pretty real and weird at the same time.

 

 

I am not going to defend season 10 as a whole, as I said I'm a bit biased about it, but seasons have been losing viewers since season 7. Actually, season 10 scored better numbers than seasons 8 and 9.

Edited June 3, 2018 by smoker

[Blackbird999999lol]

1 hour ago, smoker said:

Agree about that. I think it's because she was close to Reid and she had her own life outside the team (husband, isn't it? and teaching), it was pretty real and weird at the same time.

 

 

I am not going to defend season 10 as a whole, as I said I'm a bit biased about it, but seasons have been losing viewers since season 7. Actually, season 10 scored better numbers than seasons 8 and 9.

S9 finale: 12.03M viewers

S10 finale: 8.72M

"bit biased" to say the least LOL

Can I ask why you have a soft spot for season 10? Is it because of Nelson's Sparrow and (the original, the good written) Mr Scratch? 

[smoker]

2 hours ago, Blackbird999999lol said:

S9 finale: 12.03M viewers

S10 finale: 8.72M

"bit biased" to say the least LOL

Can I ask why you have a soft spot for season 10? Is it because of Nelson's Sparrow and (the original, the good written) Mr Scratch? 

hahaha, ok, in my defense, I checked their average viewers here (uploaded file), I guessed they post accurate data.

Although, I don't understand why Nielsen ratings and numer of viewers aren't "equivalent" somehow.

And my soft spot for season 10 is because of:

• Mr Scratch (of course!)
• A place at the table (only TG and Ed Asner, but they are amazing)
• Rock Creek Park (I love it!)
• Lockdown (I like it, a lot)
• Nelson's Sparrow (the plot in the past, Ben Savage was great)

While season 11:

• The Job (I really like it)
• Devil's backbone ( I love it)
• Internal Affairs (only Hotch's subplot, totally biased, I know)
• The storm (missed chance)
• Hostage (holes in the plot, but entertaining)

Plus I didn't enjoy Entropy. I guess it's my problem, but I didn't see anything special about it.

Aside of that, I hated Derek's removal plot and there were episodes which made me feel ashamed, like Outlaw. However, season 10 never made me feel that way.

 

[Blackbird999999lol]

TG was absolutely amazing in Mr Scratch and 'A place at the table'. The season finale should have been about him, the team and Mr Scratch + a storyline for JJ and her miracle baby. So many missed opportunities. The whole 10th season was wasted. Sadly, nothing in the world can bring back the time that was wasted on one failed character/actress in S10.

Season 8 was better except the "give reid a love life and then kill off his girlfriend" storyline. Like a bad fanfiction.

At least S8 is about the team not just one character.

[Mislav]

On Sunday, June 03, 2018 at 7:50 PM, smoker said:

Agree about that. I think it's because she was close to Reid and she had her own life outside the team (husband, isn't it? and teaching), it was pretty real and weird at the same time.

 

 

I am not going to defend season 10 as a whole, as I said I'm a bit biased about it, but seasons have been losing viewers since season 7. Actually, season 10 scored better numbers than seasons 8 and 9.

 

I personally think Alex fit in quite well. Also, better numbers aside, season 10 was arguably the season when the show started going downhill fast. Most of the nostalgia most likely comes from the fact that Derek and Hotch were still on the show then, and Spencer wasn't being absent as often, so it was the last season that fully featured the team that most of the fans consider their favorite, intact (well, minus Emily). And it now appears much better in comparison to seasons 11, 12 and 13. I am not immune to that effect myself. Also, lots of episodes were pretty campy. But it was not a good omen, so to say. It is the season when the writers seemingly gave up for good, or were finally heading to that point. Other than the significant lack of profiling and an increasing number of over the top cases, continuity has gone to hell too (for example, the guy that almost killed Reid in season nine finale being exexuted a few months after his conviction; Derek casually joking about his scars in season ten premiere with Reid, who had been SHOT IN THE NECK AND ALMOST DIED in season nine finale, present; Hotch breaking up with Beth off-screen; Rossi finding out he has had a daughter AND a grandson all along; JJ's PTSD storyline that was there one episode and then nothing; Spencer's grief over Gideon's death only being explored one or two episodes since "Nelson's Sparrow"). Basically, whatever storyline writers come up with, it will happen, regardless of real life, character development, or the previous character and show history. And most of those storylines felt more like filler than actual character arcs or drama. They really started scrapping the bottom of the barrel that season, and it has only been downhill from there.

 

Season ten is why we have... this now. A monster in disguise.

Edited June 6, 2018 by Mislav

[smoker]

 

I had already forgotten about Rossi's lost daughter and the horrible travesty "Amelia Porter"

Edited June 8, 2018 by smoker

[CoyoteBlue]

I know it's a petty, petty nitpick, but an area with a "25-mile RADIUS" is about the size of CHICAGO, not an industrial park, Kevin. ("The Wheels on the Bus...")