S13.E19: Ex Parte

[ReidFan]

10 PM CBS in the USA,

8 PM CTV in Canada

 

“Ex Parte” – The BAU takes charge of a hostage situation at a law firm in D.C., where Matt Simmons’ wife, Kristy (Kelly Frye), works, on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, April 4 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. 

[ReidFan]

well, it wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. Not a terrible episode, but not IMO a particularly great one either. The opening scene was well done, tense, intense and set the mood for the whole episode. It wasn't as Simmons-centric to its detriment as 200 was JJ-centric. Writing wasn't bad, directing was pretty crisp and I appreciated that the uh, murders, were done sort of 'off camera' so we saw the lead up to and the aftermath but not the actual killings.  And a surprise regarding two of the murders that I did not see coming.

 

a lousy 1 on the Reid-O-Meter though. 

it'll take me five minutes to screencap the two scenes he's in. :(

[Danielg342]

I really want no parte of "Ex-Parte"...

...OK, it worked in my head.

Instead of going through the standard stuff, I think I'll just mention a thought I had when watching this episode. When the terrorist- and let's pull no punches, this group were terrorists- had Kristy with the gun pointed to her head talking into the phone, my first thought was, "like they would really kill her". Then my next thought was "if they kill her, I might give this thing a good review."

Then it hit me- is the only way CM can be enjoyable these days is if and when it deviates from the "normal" script? Like the times it has a child in peril and actually goes through with killing that kid (as in "The Call")? Or the time when they have a female UnSub and they actually have a man shoot her dead (as when Matt Simmons killed the UnSub in "Dust and Bones")?

Or that brief time during "Annihilator" where Barnes actually went through and dismantled the BAU and gave the illusion that maybe the show would operate under a slightly different formula for a few episodes?

It makes me wonder. Some of my favourite episodes of CM involved the show doing things "normally", like "P911" or "Somebody's Watching", so what is it about CM's current batch of shows where "the normal" happens yet it does not strike the same chord?

I think there's the obvious point that this current batch of "writers"- I use that term loosely now- wouldn't know basic storycraft if it hit them in the head, but we've been over this many times. Too many times.

I do think there's one obvious point to make that would have made this episode work- we've got to know the characters and actually feel for them. It's here where I think about "100", an episode that both followed "the script" (Jack stayed alive) and deviated from it (Haley was murdered). We didn't really know Jack that well when "100" aired, but we knew his father pretty well, and Haley made enough appearances that she was someone we remembered, even if her role didn't expand much beyond "frustrated housewife angry at Hotch".

So when she died and Jack was in peril, it actually hit home because not only did we, as an audience, cared about Hotch but we also cared about Haley, because we knew her. So when Hotch and the team were worried about Haley, we were able to feel that worry as well because Haley was more than just "some blonde with a name"- she was someone we connected with.

...and that's where this episode failed. Sure, Kristy and Matt both appeared on Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, but two people watched that, so that really doesn't count. Kristy also had one appearance on this show earlier this season (the episode escapes me), and that was in an awkward scene where Matt was horny which was only an excuse to get Daniel Henney to take off his shirt. Matt, for his part, has had barely any character development this season and is still very new to the team, so, despite Henney's gifts as an actor in actually enriching Simmons, Matt Simmons is still very much a cipher.

(As an aside, imagine how good Henny could be if he actually had proper material to work with)

Kristy meant nothing, so her peril meant nothing. So too did Simmons' worrying about her. The show also failed considerably to get in to much depth about the terrorists and their motives, as each guy was as cookie-cutter as they could get.

This was one that relied on a body count, a seemingly unsolvable case (only solved because of a deus ex machina) and a team member's family in peril to provide "tension" and it just didn't work, because we've seen it all before.

The only way it could have worked is if Kristy was killed, because then at least it would be something we haven't seen before.

Instead...we just get this.

Oh well.

Edited April 5, 2018 by Danielg342

[Annber03]

Well, this was rather unsettling to watch in the wake of that shooting at the YouTube headquarters yesterday... I agree with @ReidFan on them not actually showing the people being murdered right before our eyes. Leaving it to our imagination made it much more horrifying. Especially when the woman was shot. I actually gasped a bit at that. 

I liked Rossi's back and forth with Leonard, it was a nice nod to Rossi's history of dealing with anti-FBI types (and the way he dealt with and responded to the whole death penalty aspect of things was true to form as well, given he's known to support the death penalty). I would've liked to see a little more expansion on that part of things. And I think it would've made for a much more powerful motive had they kept the focus on Josh and his cronies having their longstanding issues with the place where Kristy worked, and the belief system the gang disagreed with, instead of having it boil down to Josh wanting approval from his dad.

(When Leonard was going on about how this whole "awakening" was going to come to the door of the FBI at some point, I couldn't help fearing that was some sort of foreshadowing for a potential threat in the season finale. Given these guys were arrested at the end, perhaps not, but I doubt these men alone make up this Horsemen group, so...who knows.)

I did like seeing Kristy doing her part to get in touch with the team, and trying to find a way to help save everyone. She took some very risky moves, for sure, but desperate times, and all that. I figured they wouldn't kill her, too, and I'm fine with that, predictable though it was, 'cause we've had more than enough examples of the men on this team losing their significant others. 

The final showdown between Simmons and Josh could've been shortened up some-it should've been pretty easy for Matt to tackle him. But I did like seeing him in action here. I was amused when Rossi told him that it wasn't wise for him to tag along to the building, though. Uh, yeah, 'cause nobody on this team has EVER thrown themselves headlong into a situation where a loved one was in immediate danger before, right? 

So yeah. Overall, not too bad an episode, albeit again, kind of unsettling in terms of recent real world events. 

Edited April 5, 2018 by Annber03

[CrimeFan12]

I'm going to keep it simple.  I enjoyed the episode.  I knew it had drawn me in when I didn't do anything else, but watch the episode.  I don't watch it just to pick it apart because that just ruins the episode.  I want to be entertained and that's what I've been getting a season except for the bump in the road with the clown one.

Though we didn't get to see it, I hope Emily reamed Matt up one side and down the other for disobeying orders and running off to do it himself.  Also for being dumb not to have his vest on.  Onward to next week.  I can't wait.

[ReidFan]

1 minute ago, CrimeFan12 said:

 

Though we didn't get to see it, I hope Emily reamed Matt up one side and down the other for disobeying orders and running off to do it himself.  Also for being dumb not to have his vest on.  

this. yeah. In real police life, he'd be at least written up, if not suspended and/or demoted for that crap. He's lucky those cowboy antics didn't get someone else killed.

[Annber03]

I didn't even think about the fact Matt didn't have his vest on :p. Oof. Yeah. Dumb move, indeed. 

[Racbec]

Worse than what Reid did with Owen Savage, and Hotch really let Reid have it.

Not a good episode, in my opinion.  As soon as the wife threw the new phone in her bag, it was clear that the phone would be key.

[ReidFan]

11 minutes ago, Racbec said:

 As soon as the wife threw the new phone in her bag, it was clear that the phone would be key.

it could at least have been an iPhone O:-)

[ForeverAlone]

I liked this episode better when it was originally called "Minimal Loss." That one had way more psychological profiling and much less graphic, unnecessary violence. 

[Danielg342]

I'll give the episode this much- even though the phone was a clear attempt to give Kristy agency in a story where she's "the damsel in distress", at least the sequence of events was believable. She found a plausible way to hide her phone and the meticulous terrorist did wind up finding it, as you would expect.

Of course, it does raise the question about why these guys didn't have cell phone jammers.

[K42]

I really liked the episode. It's one of the good ones we've seen this season. 

[normasm]

The OK parts? Rossi, playing Cat to Leonard Death Row's mouse. Tara quickly taking over and doing the Cyrano de Bergerac thing for Matt's wife. 

BUT

This was not Criminal Minds but Criminal Matt. I happen to like the way Alvez and Lewis have fitted in, so I'm not complaining about Newbies per se. They've calmed Garcia down a bit, so that's good. No, I'm alarmed at the giving over of a bunch of the show's narrative to a character from a completely different show. And yes, even though Beyond Boredom shared the name Criminal Minds and they had a swanky jet, too, that show couldn't have been less like the Criminal Minds I know and love if it tried. 

I do hope Erica Messer is sated with Matt-dominated episodes, and it calms down after this. I'm not looking forward to 300 featuring him. 

[illdoc]

BTW, what happened to all the other people in the office??? There only seemed to be the wife, the beaten up Asian guy, the one in the suit who gave away the phone position and the two who were killed. Didn't they at one point say there were 25 hostages? Where were the other 20????

[JMO]

7 hours ago, ForeverAlone said:

I liked this episode better when it was originally called "Minimal Loss." That one had way more psychological profiling and much less graphic, unnecessary violence. 

Pretty much says it all.  

1 hour ago, normasm said:

The OK parts? Rossi, playing Cat to Leonard Death Row's mouse. Tara quickly taking over and doing the Cyrano de Bergerac thing for Matt's wife. 

BUT

This was not Criminal Minds but Criminal Matt. I happen to like the way Alvez and Lewis have fitted in, so I'm not complaining about Newbies per se. They've calmed Garcia down a bit, so that's good. No, I'm alarmed at the giving over of a bunch of the show's narrative to a character from a completely different show. And yes, even though Beyond Boredom shared the name Criminal Minds and they had a swanky jet, too, that show couldn't have been less like the Criminal Minds I know and love if it tried. 

I do hope Erica Messer is sated with Matt-dominated episodes, and it calms down after this. I'm not looking forward to 300 featuring him. 

I agree.  I really didn't care about any part of this episode.  Matt Simmons arrived to the BAU as a bland character, and has remained so.  His wife has fared no better.  We've seen more in-depth character development with guest stars, where the 'spouse-in-danger' story has been much better done.  Not that I'm asking for either of them to be developed----please just make them disappear.

I find it so odd that they've been able to paint a fairly intriguing picture of Luke Alvez by giving him a couple of bookends, some worthy and surprising short scenes integrated nicely into a couple of episodes, and by alluding to a past we've yet to hear about in depth.  Yet they give a full episode to a newbie whose claim to fame is being from a disbanded unit and a failed TV show.  SMH

[normasm]

Agreed, JMO. They gave Simmons and Fam a centered episode early this season, too. I agree that they write Alvez with more mystery, and Lewis with more intelligence than any of the other newbies since Blake. 

[athelyna]

While I wouldn't say he's the greatest character ever, I like Matt, so I didn't mind an episode focused on him.  And I was okay with the episode up until he decided to play Rambo and single-handedly sneak into the building.  Once they found out there was a back tunnel into the building shouldn't they have sent some cops to keep an eye on it?  Did the cops just let Matt wander into an active hostage situation?  Has any of the BAU team members with a family not had their family kidnapped or threatened at some point?  JJ had her husband held hostage by bank robbers, Hotch had his son kidnapped and wife killed and had to go in and beat the unsub to death, JLH (whose character's name I've forgotten) had her daughter kidnapped, it is feeling kind of repetitive at this point.  Join the BAU, put your family in peril.

1 hour ago, illdoc said:

BTW, what happened to all the other people in the office??? There only seemed to be the wife, the beaten up Asian guy, the one in the suit who gave away the phone position and the two who were killed. Didn't they at one point say there were 25 hostages? Where were the other 20????

I think when we saw JJ going in we got a quick shot of her walking past some hostage in a different room from the one Matt's wife was in.  It sure was nice of the terrorists to pick Kristy's room to do all their evil stuff in so the BAU could see what happened.  And it would have been nice if the writers remembered to have someone at least mention if the 2 we saw killed were the only hostages who died or if they had killed some people in other rooms.

[normasm]

Just discovered (you guys may have known this) that the director was Lily Mariye who used to play nurse Jarvik on ER. I thought I recognized the name, then saw her picture, and sure enough! She did a good job, although i didn't enjoy the episode very much.

[bkathi]

My inner Rock Chick loved it when Matt swooped in like a true alpha and saved the day, took down the bad guy and saved the girl.  I would rather watch a fantasy version of the FBI than a bunch of middle aged dudes doing paperwork.

[K42]

We need a Reid-centric episode already! (Hopefully him dealing with his trauma and mother) It's been too long! 

[MMC]

3 minutes ago, KatsDivision said:

We need a Reid-centric episode already! (Hopefully him dealing with his trauma and mother) It's been too long! 

I need a Reid spin off. With it's own show runner and it's own writers. Although I would probably want to steal Breen and then try to convince Sharon Lee Watson to be part of it.

[ReidFan]

love that idea MMC, except I'm afraid Matthew might be tiring of Reid. Maybe if he's executive producer, key director and creative consultant too.....

[K42]

29 minutes ago, ReidFan said:

love that idea MMC, except I'm afraid Matthew might be tiring of Reid. Maybe if he's executive producer, key director and creative consultant too.....

Can you blame him?  The writers have been so inconsistent with his character.

[Mystery]

I was bored. There was no way that anyone was going to get Josh's father out of prison and to that building in the 15 minutes before the first hostage would be killed, so why would the terrorists demand it? Right there I lost any investment I had. And after demanding to have a spokesperson chosen for him, Josh didn't choose anyone else; just decided that he didn't need one, after all. And no one at the BAU noticed Matt leaving, or thought that it would be a good idea to check out that vent themselves. As Mark Twain said in his review of [James] "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses," "the inaccuracy of details throw a sort of air of fictitiousness and general improbability over it. "

I did get mad at that one hostage for pointing out the camera. What a dick. But that was the strongest emotion I felt during this whole episode. 

[mefein]

Hi all.  Only just managed to catch up with this episode and have not seen last weeks Rossi fest.  That in itself is an indication as to where I am with CM these days.  

Unfortunately this episode did nothing to smooth over my malaise.

It sucks to be negative nancy all the time but I don't see the point in glossing over the many many issues the show has either.

I read through all the comments and I agree and disagree with parts of all in some form or other.  

Daniel, again your initial interpretation hit home for me very much so, particularly your comments about not caring enough about Simmons or his family to care what happened to them (I know I am paraphrasing but that was the general vibe...I think).  I just dont and did not.  Now don't get me wrong, this is nothing to do with the actor.  Hes a good actor and more than pleasing on the eye....ok, I'm shallow, sue me!!.  But, that does not interest make I'm afraid.  I dont care about Alvez or Lewis either, for the same reasons, so an episode with this particular characters OH in peril, was a whatever for me.

As for the episode - oh man.  Production values and all that were fine or as fine as they have been.  I dont tend to pay much interest in the directing of the show right now (unless its a Gube episode), and unless something jumps out at me, so for what I did notice, fine. Again as with every episode, its the writing, the writing, the writing.  I sometimes feel when watching CM now is that there is a great big box with snippets of storylines from past episodes of CM, especially S1-5 and that the current crop of writers do a lucky dip, pick out storyline and then try to put their own 'spin' on it...badly.  Through this episode, I could 'hear' at least 4 or 5 past episodes or at least some of the themes of them.  Maybe it is just me, but thats what I get.

I guess the most obvious similar episode was Hit/Run.  I was not crazy about that particular episode(s) but after Ex-Parte, its jumped way up there.  I really like JJ and though not a big fan of Will, I cared enough about JJ to care about him.  It also helped that the team were all involved in this. 

I'm not going to dissect the episode again but I'm going to pick a few particular parts that irked me.

- Reid's almost non existent role.  Whats going on?  I get that MGG might have been busy with post production of his episode, but I would guess that he was probably only on set for 1 day and its looking like he might not be around much in the next episode.  I get that it might be MGG's choice, but jeez :(

- Prentiss is UC..right? So there is a hostage situation, and not just any hostage situation but a hostage situation at a really important office and one of the hostages happens to be the spouse of your team member, the BAU has been called in and yet only 3 members of the team go to scene and this does NOT include the UC?? There is a scene with Reid, Rossi, Prentiss, Garcia and Simmons all standing in BP and I was like...why are you all fricking here and not on scene? Did they all need to babysit Simmons? Prentiss not on scene is just ridiculous though.

- Referencing my 'picking pieces from past episodes'.  We can all agree (I think) that the SO in peril has been done to death on CM, but if they are going to do it again, then try to find some originality.  I literally screamed at the screen when Simmons got first call from wife. I thought they were going to the Hotch/Haley phone call route and that would in my opinion have been unforgivable.  There were some other little bits of '100' in this episode which got my goat a little but had they done the phone call...grr.  That episode is untouchable. 

- When bad guy finds camera and he drags Mrs Simmons by the hair.  Where were LE, SWAT, Alvez, Lewis?  Simmons mangages to get from BAU to site of hostage situation, into building, past what I assume would have been a security corden, manages to down bad guy by shooting him before tackling main bad guy, and still no sign of SWAT, but Mrs Simmons happens to pop up???

I know its a drama, its just a TV show.  Thing is, if the show had always been like this, I dont think we would notice such blatent ridiculousness, or we would at least find it easier to brush it off as 'entertainment'.  But this show was not like this.  With the exception of minor errors, CM generally got these scenes pretty acurate and still managed to keep the drama.

This is a very long post, apologies for that. To those of you who enjoyed the episode, thats fair, but myself, it was a definite meh. 

[mefein]

Me again...sowwy :)  Something else that just popped into my head.

Wouldnt it have been nice if we'd had a little more 'understanding' from JJ with regards to Simmons situation?  In fact, if I was UC..., I'd have been on the fricking scene..lol, but I would have perhaps left JJ at BAU to comfort Simmons. For me this would have been an attempt at continuity.  We had JJ and Hotch have that moment in Hit/Run when JJ wanted to rush into save Will, and we had Hotch and Morgan.  This particular situation surely must have stoked some sort of memory for JJ...you'd have thunk!

I should say that I only got to see this episode on a small laptop as I was travelling and wifi was patchy, so its possible I missed some indicators or references, but I dont think so.

[Kelda Feegle]

Best thing I can say about this episode is that it was a refreshing change from torture porn and serial killers.