S14.E06: Luke

[Aethera]

Quote

The BAU heads to Bethesda, Md., to investigate four murders in the span of three days along the eastern seaboard. The crimes become personal for Alvez, when the team discovers there are ties to his time spent five years ago working alongside the DEA and the Mexican police force in pursuit of the most notorious hitman in Mexico. Also, Alvez and his girlfriend, Lisa, decide to move in together.

[holbrookged]

But what about when he worked for CSI Miami?

Edited November 5, 2018 by holbrookged

[Mislav]

Seriously, how many people actually care about Luke and his background? The guy is a mixture of bland and cliche, the only one currently worse is Matt (another new character who also got his episode recently *eyeroll*). Sounds like such a pointless episode. I'm cringing so hard now.

[Annber03]

On 11/6/2018 at 11:10 AM, Mislav said:

Seriously, how many people actually care about Luke and his background?

I do. I've been interested in the tidbits we've learned about him since he joined the team, and I'm happy that the show gave an opportunity to expand on all of that here.

That said, I don't know what I was expecting, necessarily, with this episode, but it definitely wasn't this. I guess I thought maybe we'd learn more about his time in the military, or maybe his childhood, or something of that sort. But obviously it makes sense that they'd focus on his work pre-BAU as well. 

I hate that they killed off Phil, though. Having him be a target in and of itself would be one thing, 'cause I think it's a requirement that every team member's loved ones are targeted at some point :p, but I wish he could've survived. I did like the fakeout regarding Luke thinking Lisa was the target, though. Very glad they didn't go down that well-trodden road. 

Rodriguez definitely sold Alvez' anger and pain at losing his friend, though. I like that we got to see him getting a little ruthless, and the scene at the end with him talking about Phil got to me. 

I am quite surprised by the punishment for Luke, though. On the one hand, I totally understand why he's being punished, but on the other hand, um, well, given ALL the other stuff the team's been allowed to get away with over the years, and considering Emily's own history of going rogue, well...it seems weird to suddenly start laying down the law like this. I get the sense, though, that some of Luke's punishment is Emily having to go by what the higher ups are ordering. If it were just solely up to her, she might not be quite as tough? I dunno. But I'll be very curious to see how Luke handles this punishment going forward. 

Anywho, yeah. That was quite an interesting episode. 

(Also, Garcia and Phil possibly being interested in each other? That was unexpected. But I would've kinda liked to see where that went.) 

[Hotchgirl18]

4 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I do. I've been interested in the tidbits we've learned about him since he joined the team, and I'm happy that the show gave an opportunity to expand on all of that here.

That said, I don't know what I was expecting, necessarily, with this episode, but it definitely wasn't this. I guess I thought maybe we'd learn more about his time in the military, or maybe his childhood, or something of that sort. But obviously it makes sense that they'd focus on his work pre-BAU as well. 

I hate that they killed off Phil, though. Having him be a target in and of itself would be one thing, 'cause I think it's a requirement that every team member's loved ones are targeted at some point :p, but I wish he could've survived. I did like the fakeout regarding Luke thinking Lisa was the target, though. Very glad they didn't go down that well-trodden road. 

Rodriguez definitely sold Alvez' anger and pain at losing his friend, though. I like that we got to see him getting a little ruthless, and the scene at the end with him talking about Phil got to me. 

I am quite surprised by the punishment for Luke, though. On the one hand, I totally understand why he's being punished, but on the other hand, um, well, given ALL the other stuff the team's been allowed to get away with over the years, and considering Emily's own history of going rogue, well...it seems weird to suddenly start laying down the law like this. I get the sense, though, that some of Luke's punishment is Emily having to go by what the higher ups are ordering. If it were just solely up to her, she might not be quite as tough? I dunno. But I'll be very curious to see how Luke handles this punishment going forward. 

Anywho, yeah. That was quite an interesting episode. 

(Also, Garcia and Phil possibly being interested in each other? That was unexpected. But I would've kinda liked to see where that went.) 

Send a man like Luke my way! Lol . On one hand, I AM glad Emily is acting like a Unit Chief instead of a teddy bear with everyone. But on the other hand, don't you think she's being a bit of a hypocrite? 

[CrimeFan12]

14 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I am quite surprised by the punishment for Luke, though. On the one hand, I totally understand why he's being punished, but on the other hand, um, well, given ALL the other stuff the team's been allowed to get away with over the years, and considering Emily's own history of going rogue, well...it seems weird to suddenly start laying down the law like this. I get the sense, though, that some of Luke's punishment is Emily having to go by what the higher ups are ordering. If it were just solely up to her, she might not be quite as tough? I dunno. But I'll be very curious to see how Luke handles this punishment going forward. 

As a friend just said to me there is a difference between going rogue and wanting revenge.  Yes Emily went rogue, but she did that to protect the team.  Luke wanted revenge.  He wanted to kill the man who killed his best friend and probably would have if Matt and Emily hadn't shown up.  Morgan did the same thing and there probably would have been repercussions if he hadn't chosen to retire. Though they didn't show it when Matt ran off to rescue his wife, I assumed she gave him a dressing down for disobeying her orders.  So I'm not surprised and glad she gave him a tongue lashing and demoted him.

It was an okay episode for me.  I too would have preferred to learn more about his military history than the tiny bit at the end.

[Hotchgirl18]

1 minute ago, CrimeFan12 said:

As a friend just said to me there is a difference between going rogue and wanting revenge.  Yes Emily went rogue, but she did that to protect the team.  Luke wanted revenge.  He wanted to kill the man who killed his best friend and probably would have if Matt and Emily hadn't shown up.  Morgan did the same thing and there probably would have been repercussions if he hadn't chosen to retire. Though they didn't show it when Matt ran off to rescue his wife, I assumed she gave him a dressing down for disobeying her orders.  So I'm not surprised and glad she gave him a tongue lashing and demoted him.

It was an okay episode for me.  I too would have preferred to learn more about his military history than the tiny bit at the end.

Yeah, but Emily ALSO deleted the recording of the interrogation of Reid in Mexico. It became a moot point once Lindsey and Cat entered the picture, but still. 

Hotch covered up Reid's drug addiction. Ditto with the team covering for Strauss. 

[CrimeFan12]

11 minutes ago, Hotchgirl18 said:

Yeah, but Emily ALSO deleted the recording of the interrogation of Reid in Mexico. It became a moot point once Lindsey and Cat entered the picture, but still. 

That just shows that she can be both protective and hard on an agent depending on the situation.  The only thing Reid was guilty of was being stupid in the way he was getting the medicine for his mother.  He wasn't running around intent to kill the man who killed his friend.  

[Chaos Theory]

Emily went Rogue and ended up dead for a couple of years......so she knows what going rogue can cost a person an the team.

I think she handled disciplining Luke well.  What devdud was not cool.  He is still on the team but grounded and of a lesser rank.

As for the episode it was a nice background of Luke but not much else.

[Loves2Dance]

Emily's speech at the end was pointless. First and foremost, you don't hand out discipline in the middle of a marina. You do it in an office, like a professional.

Second, by the time Matt and Emily showed up, no bullets were fired. His jacket covered his vest so unless she has X-Ray vision, she would not have known Luke fired shots. 

This whole episode felt pointless. I liked Phil more than I liked Lisa, yet he had to die. Now what happens to the dog? 

[threebluestars]

When he was walking through the bullpen and everyone else was looking at him and he ended up at Emily's office, my first thought was I'd rather hear from the characters like Reid, Rossi, JJ, Emily, than Luke. I think the team is just too big. I think if they could've held off bringing Alvez on we could've done well with just Daniel Henney's addition. As it is, there's too many people to focus on, and as a result I don't care about many of them. Even Tara is a non-starter for me now.

Edited November 8, 2018 by threebluestars

[Hotchgirl18]

2 hours ago, Loves2Dance said:

Emily's speech at the end was pointless. First and foremost, you don't hand out discipline in the middle of a marina. You do it in an office, like a professional.

Second, by the time Matt and Emily showed up, no bullets were fired. His jacket covered his vest so unless she has X-Ray vision, she would not have known Luke fired shots. 

This whole episode felt pointless. I liked Phil more than I liked Lisa, yet he had to die. Now what happens to the dog? 

Prentiss is a ginormous hypocrite. Luke should've put a bullet in her brain for that. 

5 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

Emily went Rogue and ended up dead for a couple of years......so she knows what going rogue can cost a person an the team.

I think she handled disciplining Luke well.  What devdud was not cool.  He is still on the team but grounded and of a lesser rank.

As for the episode it was a nice background of Luke but not much else.

I'm glad she finally acted like a boss instead of a friend,  but the fact remains she is a hypocrite. She's still no unit chief. I just don't think she likes Alvez. 

[Chaos Theory]

Never mind.  Reread my post it was a bit bitchy.  Don’t understand why people are angeryier at Emily then  they are at Luke.    Emily is just doing her job.  Trying to be a good boss.  Luke is the one wrong here.  

Edited November 8, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[Mislav]

The recent backlash against Emily's character is a bit odd to me. I mean, yeah, the old Emily was better, because she was better written, but at least she is still a character. Pretty much all the new "characters" are basically walking cliches.

 

I understand that opinions differ. But let's face it, the alternative to bringing Emily back was either a completely new character being introduced as the unit chief (and we've seen how well they write new characters as of season 10 onward), or JJ becoming a unit chief (I mean, they won't even give Reid a date, and Rossi's storylines have been pure soap opera for years, it is doubtful that either of them would have been promoted to the unit chief, at least with Erica Messer running the show). Does that sound like a better idea?

 

But ultimately, it doesn't really matter anyway. If Hotch were still a unit chief by this episode, or if it were Reid or Rossi or JJ or a completely new character, they would have acted the same in the end, simply because the writers couldn't have come up with a better resolution/climax. These days, the writers just attach whatever storyline they can come up with to the characters, characterization and continuity be damned. Because they suck, and have a creativity of a potato.

[Aethera]

Please remember that people are allowed to hold whatever opinion on the characters they like, whether you find it logical or not. People do not have to justify their opinions or solve what they see as the show's problems. Disagree without judging others, please!

[Hotchgirl18]

1 hour ago, Chaos Theory said:

Never mind.  Reread my post it was a bit bitchy.  Don’t understand why people are angeryier at Emily then  they are at Luke.    Emily is just doing her job.  Trying to be a good boss.  Luke is the one wrong here.  

Because other members of the team have done similar "gone rogue" stunts  and didn't get in trouble. Sounds like a certain unit chief has to prove herself. Lol

47 minutes ago, Mislav said:

The recent backlash against Emily's character is a bit odd to me. I mean, yeah, the old Emily was better, because she was better written, but at least she is still a character. Pretty much all the new "characters" are basically walking cliches.

 

I understand that opinions differ. But let's face it, the alternative to bringing Emily back was either a completely new character being introduced as the unit chief (and we've seen how well they write new characters as of season 10 onward), or JJ becoming a unit chief (I mean, they won't even give Reid a date, and Rossi's storylines have been pure soap opera for years, it is doubtful that either of them would have been promoted to the unit chief, at least with Erica Messer running the show). Does that sound like a better idea?

 

But ultimately, it doesn't really matter anyway. If Hotch were still a unit chief by this episode, or if it were Reid or Rossi or JJ or a completely new character, they would have acted the same in the end, simply because the writers couldn't have come up with a better resolution/climax. These days, the writers just attach whatever storyline they can come up with to the characters, characterization and continuity be damned. Because they suck, and have a creativity of a potato.

I would have rather had a new character. She starts NOW acting like a boss? She should've been doing it sooner. 

[Annber03]

6 hours ago, Loves2Dance said:

Emily's speech at the end was pointless. First and foremost, you don't hand out discipline in the middle of a marina. You do it in an office, like a professional.

My mom commented on that, too. She was like, "Is this really the best place to have this conversation?" Chalk it up to Emily's anger getting the better of her, I guess, but yeah, I agree that should've been handled differently. 

[Hotchgirl18]

36 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

My mom commented on that, too. She was like, "Is this really the best place to have this conversation?" Chalk it up to Emily's anger getting the better of her, I guess, but yeah, I agree that should've been handled differently. 

And SHE'S the one dogging on Luke for being unprofessional. Classy. 

[JMO]

 Emily was entirely correct (and professional) in benching Luke.  But it would probably have been more effective to have the conversation a day or two later, in the office, when he would have been more able to hear it.  He was too emotional at the scene.  I like that she has made the role of unit chief her own, managing the team in a way that suits her personality, and not simply trying to mimic her predecessor.

So, who's gotten benched, and who not?  Hotch benched Elle and JJ.  Emily benched Reid and Luke.  No one benched Matt or Rossi (Nelson's Sparrow).  Strauss might have benched Hotch, if he hadn't been mourning Haley (and she did bench him for having an ineffective team in Doubt).  Hotch might have benched Emily, if she hadn't been near death and then sent into witness protection.  He also didn't get to bench Morgan, who abruptly quit the team a day after 'going rogue'. 

Then we have the reversals, both by Hotch:  In 'Penelope', Garcia was suspended for having hidden programs on her computer, and later encouraged (in code) to hack back into the system.  Would Garcia have been benched, if she hadn't been shot?  And, in 'Zugzwang', he expressly told Reid to stay away, as a material witness, then allowed him to reinsert himself into the case, to the point of entering the loft alone.  Would Reid have been benched, if he hadn't lost his love?

I guess my point is that, if you're looking for rhyme, reason, or any kind of pattern, you're not going to find it.  Nor are you going to be able to pin it to a specific unit chief.

Edited November 9, 2018 by JMO

[Hotchgirl18]

27 minutes ago, JMO said:

 Emily was entirely correct (and professional) in benching Luke.  But it would probably have been more effective to have the conversation a day or two later, in the office, when he would have been more able to hear it.  He was too emotional at the scene.  I like that she has made the role of unit chief her own, managing the team in a way that suits her personality, and not simply trying to mimic her predecessor.

So, who's gotten benched, and who not?  Hotch benched Elle and JJ.  Emily benched Reid and Luke.  No one benched Matt or Rossi (Nelson's Sparrow).  Strauss might have benched Hotch, if he hadn't been mourning Haley (and she did bench him for having an ineffective team in Doubt).  Hotch might have benched Emily, if she hadn't been near death and then sent into witness protection.  He also didn't get to bench Morgan, who abruptly quit the team a day after 'going rogue'. 

Then we have the reversals, both by Hotch:  In 'Penelope', Garcia was suspended for having hidden programs on her computer, and later encouraged (in code) to hack back into the system.  Would Garcia have been benched, if she hadn't been shot?  And, in 'Zugzwang', he expressly told Reid to stay away, as a material witness, then allowed him to reinsert himself into the case, to the point of entering the loft alone.  Would Reid have been benched, if he hadn't lost his love?

I guess my point is that, if you're looking for rhyme, reason, or any kind of pattern, you're not going to find it.  Nor are you going to be able to pin it to a specific unit chief.

 

When did JJ get benched? 

 

Also effective and Emily Prentiss don't belong in the same sentence, so you're right when you say that she should've waited a day or two.  Also Emily didn't bench Reid. The for every 30 days take 100 days off was because the higher ups mandated it as part of his reinstatement. She called it a safely valve. 

Edited November 9, 2018 by Hotchgirl18
Extra information

[JMO]

JJ was benched in 'Nelson's Sparrow'.  Emily benched Reid by sending him for evaluation.  

I find her to be effective and like that she has brought her own strengths to the role of team leader, just as Morgan brought his, during his tenure.  To my eye, the only one who looked uncomfortable in the position was JJ.

[Hotchgirl18]

1 hour ago, JMO said:

JJ was benched in 'Nelson's Sparrow'.  Emily benched Reid by sending him for evaluation.  

I find her to be effective and like that she has brought her own strengths to the role of team leader, just as Morgan brought his, during his tenure.  To my eye, the only one who looked uncomfortable in the position was JJ.

Oh yeah, I don't think she was punished for anything though. Hotch just had her stay behind to console Garcia. 

 

Funny how JJ looked uncomfortable during her stint as UC. But she had NO problem taking over investigations and trying to boss everyone around in season 9. That should've been something Hotch called her on. 

[JMO]

You lost me on the season 9 reference there, HG. It’s not ringing a bell. 

[Hotchgirl18]

5 minutes ago, JMO said:

You lost me on the season 9 reference there, HG. It’s not ringing a bell. 

Here's an example: 

In season 9's episode "Bully," Alex gets requested by her father to investigate a homicide. She tells the team and the team isn't convinced and JJ says they can turn the plane around. Um, I think that's Hotch's call about investigating a case and where the plane goes. Not yours, blonde. Furthermore, Reid and all the other major characters got shoved to the sidelines because JJ was solving every case. SHE came up with the eureka moment. Every time. No one was allowed to make a break except her. And let's not forget the eye rolling and disrespect for Reid. 

 

Yet we're supposed to believe that she didn't want to be Unit Chief. 

[Racbec]

I like AR, but I was really put off by his acting in this episode.  Some of his facial expressions were over the top, and I didn’t find his emotional stuff believable.  He had a lot to do since he basically carried this episode, but this was not his best work.  And what is with AJC’s wide-eyed acting technique this season? Very distracting.

[Hotchgirl18]

6 minutes ago, Racbec said:

I like AR, but I was really put off by his acting in this episode.  Some of his facial expressions were over the top, and I didn’t find his emotional stuff believable.  He had a lot to do since he basically carried this episode, but this was not his best work.  And what is with AJC’s wide-eyed acting technique this season? Very distracting.

I liked it. 

[mythoughtis]

So the DEA agent goes rogue and starts killing people. Luke therefore goes rogue to go after the DEA agent.  Umm,’ be careful while hunting monsters, less ye turn into one’.  No idea who said it, but it fits.

Now beyond that... is there a single person besides Elle who ever got punished in any way, let alone demoted and restricted to the home office?  

[Hotchgirl18]

16 minutes ago, mythoughtis said:

So the DEA agent goes rogue and starts killing people. Luke therefore goes rogue to go after the DEA agent.  Umm,’ be careful while hunting monsters, less ye turn into one’.  No idea who said it, but it fits.

Now beyond that... is there a single person besides Elle who ever got punished in any way, let alone demoted and restricted to the home office?  

Neistche said it. It was used in "100." And Luke should practice what he preaches. Lol. But a rogue agent is a sexy agent. 

[Lalaland]

I did not see the episode with the exception of clips here and there and reading comments here so will not attempt to analyse, but have some thoughts on the debate. 

Hotchgirl - particularly in the latter seasons when Hotch was still there, there were literally dozens of incidents where other members of the team give orders and instructions.  If I recall, this was something that happened especially with Morgan.  On more than one occasion I raised my eyes when this occured with Hotch right there - for example on the plane. It just did not make sense.

I cannot recall exactly the scene you are referring to in 'Bully' but my point is that it would not have been unsual for JJ to make that suggestion, and to be honest I have a feeling it was more of a suggestion than an order. I'd have to see that scene again to be sure of my assertion though.  But heres the thing.  This is on the writers. Quite clearly most of the writers in the last few seasons were not entirely tuned in with the characters that had been developed over earlier seasons.  I also think that in many cases they did not have the ability to write for any one character and so felt the need to spread dialogue throught the group, even if the dialogue given to a particular character really did not fit that character! How many times were there scenes when the team would give profile in the precint and it was like a lucky dip of lines.  That always drove me crazy.

[Hotchgirl18]

33 minutes ago, Lalaland said:

I did not see the episode with the exception of clips here and there and reading comments here so will not attempt to analyse, but have some thoughts on the debate. 

Hotchgirl - particularly in the latter seasons when Hotch was still there, there were literally dozens of incidents where other members of the team give orders and instructions.  If I recall, this was something that happened especially with Morgan.  On more than one occasion I raised my eyes when this occured with Hotch right there - for example on the plane. It just did not make sense.

I cannot recall exactly the scene you are referring to in 'Bully' but my point is that it would not have been unsual for JJ to make that suggestion, and to be honest I have a feeling it was more of a suggestion than an order. I'd have to see that scene again to be sure of my assertion though.  But heres the thing.  This is on the writers. Quite clearly most of the writers in the last few seasons were not entirely tuned in with the characters that had been developed over earlier seasons.  I also think that in many cases they did not have the ability to write for any one character and so felt the need to spread dialogue throught the group, even if the dialogue given to a particular character really did not fit that character! How many times were there scenes when the team would give profile in the precint and it was like a lucky dip of lines.  That always drove me crazy.

The writers really wrote JJ as a bitch. 

[Kelda Feegle]

I didn't understand why Alvez was so averse to Phil and Garcia as a potential relationship,  did I miss something?  

[Calamity Jane]

5 hours ago, Kelda Feegle said:

I didn't understand why Alvez was so averse to Phil and Garcia as a potential relationship,  did I miss something?  

I thought it was part of a sequence of events that would end with Luke realizing they were good together/it was none of his business in the first place. They were setting up a whole scenario for them to get together, then dropped it, and it was odd.

 Also, I may not be able to forgive this show for killing off my beloved Sgt. Gabriel.  

Edited November 9, 2018 by Calamity Jane

[MrWhyt]

On 11/8/2018 at 11:15 AM, Hotchgirl18 said:

Prentiss is a ginormous hypocrite. Luke should've put a bullet in her brain for that. 

yeah hypocrisy is a capital offense, right up there with murder

[Danielg342]

That didn't take long...the familiar letter returns, and what a tough one this one was to sit through.

Maybe it's just me, but I got some serious "100" vibes coming out this episode, in that both storylines featured an UnSub who targeted a team member specifically and sought to systematically destroy them. Both stories featured loved ones killed and loved ones saved, and both stories also featured the targeted member going rogue and at least cornering the UnSub and preventing their escape.

It was also supposed to pack a meaningful, emotional punch where we feel the pain of the team member who has now "lost everything" and is forced to regroup and pick up the pieces and move on when it feels impossible to do so.

Riveting stuff...except, in this episode, it just didn't work.

Truth is, for something like this to work, we really needed to have met the characters before, got to bond with them and eventually feel that connection to the characters. When it comes to Hotch, Haley and Jack, there was a lot more than just George Foyet with a handgun and Jack "working the case"- there was a whole plot about Hotch becoming a new dad and doing his best to wrestle his new responsibilities with his work responsibilities. As that plot developed, we found that Hotch wasn't particularly good at balancing work and family, and that eventually led to him divorcing Haley.

However, when Foyet came around, Hotch and Haley realized- too late- that they still loved each other, and they were determined to get through the terror so they could resume their happy relationship. Since this is Criminal Minds, that story was doomed to tragedy, one delivered by Foyet, albeit one with a small opening- at least Hotch saved Jack, meaning that while he can't rebuild the life he had with Haley, he can now focus on building a life with his son.

Why did that story work? Simply because the show displayed its patience and work hard to build that effective crescendo so when the hammer fell, it actually had the impact that it intended to.

They didn't try to shoehorn all that stuff into one clumsy episode for a character that's been hardly built up like Luke Alvez was, and therein lies the difference between "100" and "Luke".

I mean, let's be honest- as characters, there's not that much difference between Haley and Lisa and Jack and Phil (aside from their age). None of them have been developed particularly well and all served solely as "human plot devices" for the character whose plot they were servicing.

The only difference is that we got more than a bookend with Haley and Jack- we got actual stories with them and got to meet them a few times and hear their perspective that we actually got to know them.

Lisa and Phil? They're hardly ciphers amidst a rather faceless milieu of supporting characters, as, maddeningly, despite CM's insistence on expanding their main characters' personal lives, the show does little to make these adjunct characters mean something to us as an audience. Really, aside from Diana Reid and Rosalyn Jareau (both of whom we'd met in some capacity before Erica Messer), has there been anything memorable about the significant others, the families or the friends of our beloved heroes that have been introduced in the past seven years?

I struggle just thinking about it.

I could expend upon why, but this rant has gone on long enough, and I've already written before in other reviews about the sophomoric writing that is CM these days. It astounds me that the CM writers are considered Hollywood writers, because none of their writing could ever pass a high school course, let alone a Hollywood script. Too many times CM goes for the cheap- like a random death, stunt casting or over-the-top gore- to get its eyeballs, failing to realize that only works for so long.

We saw it with Phil- we hardly met him, but, he's dead, just so the show can have a cheap emotional moment. Oh well.

I will say this- Adam Rodriguez shined tonight. He really brought to the fore his acting range and delivered an A effort throughout. He was just let down by the writing and the tone of the piece, a episode that was so jarring that his performance got lost in all the muck.

A few other points to mention:

• S.W.A.T., the show Derek Morgan is now on (yeah yeah, I know- Shemar Moore's character there has a different name...but, c'mon...Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson might as well be Morgan with a thick beard), did this exact same episode in Season One, Episode 20, "Vendetta". Hondo went rogue to catch the kingpin of L.A.'s fentanyl trade because it got personal for him. He got called out for it and was even benched for it...but, get this, Hondo was actually a professional and took his punishment in stride, allowing his team to capture the kingpin instead of going rogue himself. It shouldn't feel refreshing to see law enforcement officers do as they're told, but it happens so infrequently in Hollywood that it does feel like a breath of fresh air when it does happen. That's how "Luke" should have played out.
• I like that Emily Prentiss grew a spine and laid down the law on the rogue Alvez, but she comes across as a complete hypocrite as a result. Where was the demotion, the desk duty and the tough talk when Matt defied orders and went rogue to save his wife in "Ex-Parte"? Why did Matt get a pass but Luke doesn't? Because only now the writers realize that having team members run amok like cowboys is contrary to good standards of policing?
• Gotta throw shade at Phil's death for another reason- all the victims murdered in this episode were men, and somehow no one seemed to realize it, least of all Luke. Good one writers- give Luke the Idiot Ball for five minutes just so he can't save his best friend. That should have been basic profiling- all the victims were male, so when Luke was thinking of the UnSub's next victim, it should have been Phil...but then we wouldn't have our "emotional moment".
• Oh, and I shudder to think that the show killed Phil out of a misguided sense of chivalry. "Kill the men because they don't matter- the woman is more important to Luke so she should live".
• Speaking of Lisa, I might have appreciated if she left Luke at the end of the episode. That might have given the episode a meaningful emotional punch, since Luke really would have lost everything. Yes, it's cruel but sometimes TV needs to remind its viewers that life is like that, and I think Luke really needs to rebuild his life.
• Finally, penciling in the UnSub was rather easy- Jeremy Grant laid it on thick as the sniper that he wanted to kill Edgar Ramos and was very upset that he couldn't. As soon as I knew Ramos wasn't the guy, I knew it had to be Grant.

[BooksRule]

Quote

I did like the fakeout regarding Luke thinking Lisa was the target, though. Very glad they didn't go down that well-trodden road.

When Luke saw that Lisa was alright and he then seemed to have a thought as to who it was, I didn't think of Phil.  I was worried about Luke's dog Roxy. 

[Hotchgirl18]

15 minutes ago, Danielg342 said:

That didn't take long...the familiar letter returns, and what a tough one this one was to sit through.

Maybe it's just me, but I got some serious "100" vibes coming out this episode, in that both storylines featured an UnSub who targeted a team member specifically and sought to systematically destroy them. Both stories featured loved ones killed and loved ones saved, and both stories also featured the targeted member going rogue and at least cornering the UnSub and preventing their escape.

It was also supposed to pack a meaningful, emotional punch where we feel the pain of the team member who has now "lost everything" and is forced to regroup and pick up the pieces and move on when it feels impossible to do so.

Riveting stuff...except, in this episode, it just didn't work.

Truth is, for something like this to work, we really needed to have met the characters before, got to bond with them and eventually feel that connection to the characters. When it comes to Hotch, Haley and Jack, there was a lot more than just George Foyet with a handgun and Jack "working the case"- there was a whole plot about Hotch becoming a new dad and doing his best to wrestle his new responsibilities with his work responsibilities. As that plot developed, we found that Hotch wasn't particularly good at balancing work and family, and that eventually led to him divorcing Haley.

However, when Foyet came around, Hotch and Haley realized- too late- that they still loved each other, and they were determined to get through the terror so they could resume their happy relationship. Since this is Criminal Minds, that story was doomed to tragedy, one delivered by Foyet, albeit one with a small opening- at least Hotch saved Jack, meaning that while he can't rebuild the life he had with Haley, he can now focus on building a life with his son.

Why did that story work? Simply because the show displayed its patience and work hard to build that effective crescendo so when the hammer fell, it actually had the impact that it intended to.

They didn't try to shoehorn all that stuff into one clumsy episode for a character that's been hardly built up like Luke Alvez was, and therein lies the difference between "100" and "Luke".

I mean, let's be honest- as characters, there's not that much difference between Haley and Lisa and Jack and Phil (aside from their age). None of them have been developed particularly well and all served solely as "human plot devices" for the character whose plot they were servicing.

The only difference is that we got more than a bookend with Haley and Jack- we got actual stories with them and got to meet them a few times and hear their perspective that we actually got to know them.

Lisa and Phil? They're hardly ciphers amidst a rather faceless milieu of supporting characters, as, maddeningly, despite CM's insistence on expanding their main characters' personal lives, the show does little to make these adjunct characters mean something to us as an audience. Really, aside from Diana Reid and Rosalyn Jareau (both of whom we'd met in some capacity before Erica Messer), has there been anything memorable about the significant others, the families or the friends of our beloved heroes that have been introduced in the past seven years?

I struggle just thinking about it.

I could expend upon why, but this rant has gone on long enough, and I've already written before in other reviews about the sophomoric writing that is CM these days. It astounds me that the CM writers are considered Hollywood writers, because none of their writing could ever pass a high school course, let alone a Hollywood script. Too many times CM goes for the cheap- like a random death, stunt casting or over-the-top gore- to get its eyeballs, failing to realize that only works for so long.

We saw it with Phil- we hardly met him, but, he's dead, just so the show can have a cheap emotional moment. Oh well.

I will say this- Adam Rodriguez shined tonight. He really brought to the fore his acting range and delivered an A effort throughout. He was just let down by the writing and the tone of the piece, a episode that was so jarring that his performance got lost in all the muck.

A few other points to mention:

• S.W.A.T., the show Derek Morgan is now on (yeah yeah, I know- Shemar Moore's character there has a different name...but, c'mon...Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson might as well be Morgan with a thick beard), did this exact same episode in Season One, Episode 20, "Vendetta". Hondo went rogue to catch the kingpin of L.A.'s fentanyl trade because it got personal for him. He got called out for it and was even benched for it...but, get this, Hondo was actually a professional and took his punishment in stride, allowing his team to capture the kingpin instead of going rogue himself. It shouldn't feel refreshing to see law enforcement officers do as they're told, but it happens so infrequently in Hollywood that it does feel like a breath of fresh air when it does happen. That's how "Luke" should have played out.
• I like that Emily Prentiss grew a spine and laid down the law on the rogue Alvez, but she comes across as a complete hypocrite as a result. Where was the demotion, the desk duty and the tough talk when Matt defied orders and went rogue to save his wife in "Ex-Parte"? Why did Matt get a pass but Luke doesn't? Because only now the writers realize that having team members run amok like cowboys is contrary to good standards of policing?
• Gotta throw shade at Phil's death for another reason- all the victims murdered in this episode were men, and somehow no one seemed to realize it, least of all Luke. Good one writers- give Luke the Idiot Ball for five minutes just so he can't save his best friend. That should have been basic profiling- all the victims were male, so when Luke was thinking of the UnSub's next victim, it should have been Phil...but then we wouldn't have our "emotional moment".
• Oh, and I shudder to think that the show killed Phil out of a misguided sense of chivalry. "Kill the men because they don't matter- the woman is more important to Luke so she should live".
• Speaking of Lisa, I might have appreciated if she left Luke at the end of the episode. That might have given the episode a meaningful emotional punch, since Luke really would have lost everything. Yes, it's cruel but sometimes TV needs to remind its viewers that life is like that, and I think Luke really needs to rebuild his life.
• Finally, penciling in the UnSub was rather easy- Jeremy Grant laid it on thick as the sniper that he wanted to kill Edgar Ramos and was very upset that he couldn't. As soon as I knew Ramos wasn't the guy, I knew it had to be Grant.

The show is pretty misandrist and is sexist towards men. 

 

Have you ever had a teacher who was pretty fun loving and laid back?  But then the kids started acting out and the teacher tries to toughen up. Only the teacher can't be taken seriously because the kids still see her as fun and walk over her. Or the teacher does a 180 and becomes a drill sergeant? That's what watching Prentiss smack down Alvez was like. 

[Annber03]

Quote

When Luke saw that Lisa was alright and he then seemed to have a thought as to who it was, I didn't think of Phil.  I was worried about Luke's dog Roxy. 

I honestly hadn't considered that possibility, but now you and others have mentioned it, it seems so obvious. Needless to say, I'm very, very glad they didn't go there. 

Edited November 10, 2018 by Annber03

[Danielg342]

On 08/11/2018 at 5:16 PM, Annber03 said:

My mom commented on that, too. She was like, "Is this really the best place to have this conversation?" Chalk it up to Emily's anger getting the better of her, I guess, but yeah, I agree that should've been handled differently. 

I'm not that bothered by Emily handing out discipline at the marina- lots of shows do it, and I figure it likely happens due to logistical reasons. Perhaps they only had the office set for a day and only after filming they realized they needed to do the discipline scene- so you have to do it at the marina.

Awkward, yes, but not the worst.

What bothers me more is that this team- and Emily- has allowed its members to go rogue many times but only Luke (who didn't even kill the guy) gets punished. Where's the consistency? Why decide that now is the time to do police protocol right? Why, Emily, did Matt Simmons get a pass but Luke does not? Because Simmons was saving his wife?

Understand that I'm not blaming Emily for this- this is entirely on the writers, who have messed up this show on a number of occasions. This is merely one of those times.

[Hotchgirl18]

2 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

I'm not that bothered by Emily handing out discipline at the marina- lots of shows do it, and I figure it likely happens due to logistical reasons. Perhaps they only had the office set for a day and only after filming they realized they needed to do the discipline scene- so you have to do it at the marina.

Awkward, yes, but not the worst.

What bothers me more is that this team- and Emily- has allowed its members to go rogue many times but only Luke (who didn't even kill the guy) gets punished. Where's the consistency? Why decide that now is the time to do police protocol right? Why, Emily, did Matt Simmons get a pass but Luke does not? Because Simmons was saving his wife?

Understand that I'm not blaming Emily for this- this is entirely on the writers, who have messed up this show on a number of occasions. This is merely one of those times.

Yes the writers are a bunch of CHILDREN. I am not bothered by Emily smacking down an agent, what I AM bothered by is how sexist the show is against men. 

[megjac]

On 11/10/2018 at 11:31 PM, Hotchgirl18 said:

Yes the writers are a bunch of CHILDREN. I am not bothered by Emily smacking down an agent, what I AM bothered by is how sexist the show is against men. 

I am a little confused by that,  but this is what I think. They killed A guy, they kill women and girls every week, week in and week out, the board is covered in dead and missing women, women in peril, women in jeopardy every week. The bad guy usually is male because statistically  the doer is male and a show about hunting down and arresting mass murderers is going to be a show about arresting males between the ages of 25-40.  This show is not sexist towards men and its hardly misandrist as an above commentator said.  That's just me, I got as C in my Psych of Woman class.

[Hotchgirl18]

49 minutes ago, megjac said:

I am a little confused by that,  but this is what I think. They killed A guy, they kill women and girls every week, week in and week out, the board is covered in dead and missing women, women in peril, women in jeopardy every week. The bad guy usually is male because statistically  the doer is male and a show about hunting down and arresting mass murderers is going to be a show about arresting males between the ages of 25-40.  This show is not sexist towards men and its hardly misandrist as an above commentator said.  That's just me, I got as C in my Psych of Woman class.

1. When a man is the unsub, he's scum of the earth. No ifs ands or buts. And I agree some of then are truly evil. However, when a woman is the unsub? All of a sudden she has a tragic backstory and we're supposed to feel sorry for her (Izzy Rogers being a RARE exception). 

 

2. They had the  NERVE in "The Dance of Love" to blame the victim at the end of the case (when they were all on the jet) and Prentiss insinuated that if the male victim was not cheating, he would still be alive. Right. Because it's his fault that a heartbroken lady with a screw loose was killing people. 

[Annber03]

20 minutes ago, Hotchgirl18 said:

1. When a man is the unsub, he's scum of the earth. No ifs ands or buts. And I agree some of then are truly evil. However, when a woman is the unsub? All of a sudden she has a tragic backstory and we're supposed to feel sorry for her (Izzy Rogers being a RARE exception). 

To be fair, in that case, the show's likely just reflecting what society's general attitude with those kinds of cases tends to be. If a woman were to, say, kill her children, I doubt they'd be quite as sympathetic. 

Even then, though ,there are plenty of male unsubs whom they didn't see as "scum of the earth", and who came off rather sympathetic. 

[kathyk24]

I don't think the show is misandrist I do think they like the Evil Cripple trope too much for my taste. I think the worst episodes were Proof and To Hell and Back. I've worked with many people with disabilities and none of them were that sadistic.

[Hotchgirl18]

16 minutes ago, kathyk24 said:

I don't think the show is misandrist I do think they like the Evil Cripple trope too much for my taste. I think the worst episodes were Proof and To Hell and Back. I've worked with many people with disabilities and none of them were that sadistic.

I think those were the only two "Evil Cripple" episodes bb

[SSA Emily Prentiss]

On 11/9/2018 at 10:05 AM, Kelda Feegle said:

I didn't understand why Alvez was so averse to Phil and Garcia as a potential relationship,  did I miss something?  

I'm not sure either, but I'll take a guess. Even though I didn't see when Alvez first started at the BAU, ever since the 3rd episode of season 12, I've seen Garcia act like a spoiled little twit towards him for no reason. So why would he want to see his friend date an unsufferable 40+ year old woman-child like her ? If I were him, I'd be shouting at the top of my lungs : "Run ! Run for your life Phil ! As far away of that brat as you can !" But since everyone ansand

[SSA Emily Prentiss]

1 hour ago, SSA Emily Prentiss said:

I'm not sure either, but I'll take a guess. Even though I didn't see when Alvez first started at the BAU, ever since the 3rd episode of season 12, I've seen Garcia act like a spoiled little twit towards him for no reason. So why would he want to see his friend date an unsufferable 40+ year old woman-child like her ? If I were him, I'd be shouting at the top of my lungs : "Run ! Run for your life Phil ! As far away of that brat as you can !" But since everyone and their mamma have to worship at the altar of the "wonder" that is Penelope Garcia (Lawd only knows why) and no one is ever allowed to be fed up by her nonsense and tell her off, I'm sure Alvez still managed to be too nice to her even as he disapproved of the possibility of her dating his best friend.