Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS ©2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc.
Criminal Minds spoiler thread for "Cold Comfort" written by Jay Beattie and Dan Dworkin. Starring Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Paget Brewster, Shemar Moore, A.J.Cook, Matthew Gray Gubler and Kirsten Vangsness.
** Quote info will be posted after the episode has aired. **
*** Beware! The comments will contain spoilers. ***
88 comments:
Seems like forever since we had a new episode. Dying for a CM fix.
Can't wait for a new episode!!
Okay, CM cast and writers, here we go.
O... M... G...
A NEW CRIMINAL MINDS EPISODE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Welcome back JJ!!!
i'm so excited!!
Can't wait!!!!!!
Twenty-four hours and fifteen minutes - whoo-hoo! Do we live for new CMs?
You bet we do! and this one sounds super special!
(But they always are...)
Man, I'm so happy we finally get some new episodes in a row! And JJ will be back - wheee! :)
Oh Boy! ^ new icon making material on its way haha! ;)
Can't wait for the new episode. Its been to long since we had a few episodes in a row! And I'm glad JJ will be back :D
I really can't wait!
Wow it is almost time and we not only get JJ back but great guest stars like Cybill and Randy Mantooth!
I'm so excited about this new episode!! I just wish it was already here!!!!
2 hours and 25 minutes! Can't wait!
Couldn't want for the new episode and then turned on the TV to see that that stupid apogee TV network has CBS blacked out =(
I was truly looking forward to watching the show tonight but I turned off the tv at the half way mark. The episode wasn't holding my attention. It seemed like the characters were out of character and I didn't like the tone of the episode. Next week's looks good. I am looking forward to it.
I didn't like the subject of this episode at all. Necrophilia is too creepy for me and I think it crosses the line. We had a reference to it before in another episode (can't remember the title) and that was okay but this episode seemed to just throw it out there for the sake of doing something disgusting and creepy. I think the actors did a great job with what was written for them but I wonder how they felt about it. There was no character development but it was nice getting JJ back. Still not worth the 10 on the creepy for no reason meter in mho.
Good day for Buffy lovers. Two Buffy stars in tonight's episode: Nicholas Brendon and Mercedes McNab.
I thought it was a good episode. Kinda slow, but then the title, "Cold Comfort" should give us a clue.
I missed the first five minutes however, cause cable went out :((
It was OK. Definitely not one of my favorite eppys. It was weird. and creepy.
Meh, it wasn't the best CM epi I've seen. The cast did great & it was great to have JJ back, but the subject matter was gross & the episode just dragged a lot. There didn't seem to be much character development among the team either. I loved seeing Randy Mantooth, though! Bottom line...it just seemed to be an episode geared toward shock value & it didn't really hold my attention.
First the positives:
1. Great to have JJ back!
2. Reid looks great in the episode.
3. The actors brought their A game and it was nice having them back.
4. It was nice having a new episode.
5. Great guest stars.
Negatives:
1. JJ going to a psychic was just ridiculous. Soooo out of character for that character. And frankly I am still trying to figure out what the hidden meaning was to it.
2. The show has always stayed behind the line of decentcy and tack but this episode is so past the line and I agree with those that have mentioned it prior to me that it was merely for shock value.
3. I was dissappointed. Just can't explain it better than that. It didn't feel like CM tonight.
4. Left me cold.
This was such a sad day. A new CM episode, and here I am in the midst of a horrible storm--the episode was interrupted again and again as the signal went dead and I only just managed to get the gist of it. Sob!
What I saw though, was fantastic. I especially liked having J.J. back!
I liked Garcia and Kevin looking at the horoscopes. Shepard's part was good but small. The psychic thing and Rossi was like a rip of an USA network show. Can't remember the name of it but it deals with Psychics and the FBI. I love JJ's hair and Reid looks great. Someone is dressing our geek. The subject of the episode sucked lemons but they all can't be hits.
Okay, what just happened? Was that a CM episode?
As CM fans, we're used to a lot of really creepy things, but this was just sick tonight. As if the necrophilia wasn't bad enough on its own, there was way too much other gross stuff too that didn't seem to advance the plot. What was that about? And the characters didn't sound like themselves. I found myself thinking where's Hotch? He had no fire tonight. Now, don't get me wrong, Thomas did a great job with what he had to work with, but it was so not Hotch. And what was up with Rossi? He was just a real pickle tonight. Joe does a great job of bringing the character to life, making him compassionate, but tonight Rossi was like a different person. Okay...I know I'm on a rant...I'm sorry.
It was good to see JJ again! Garcia looked really cute...loved that wild hair. Did you guys catch "Bernero" on the side of that big green truck early on? The quotes were excellent...especially that first one. I just kept thinking about that Poe classic - "The Fall of the House of Usher"...was that intentional?
Now I'm going to try to go think good thoughts.
This will go down on my list of episodes I least liked.
The cast as awesome, as usual...I especially liked the astrology kibbitzing in the beginning, and welcome back JJ!
...however the rest of the ep was murky. The profile didn't seem very deep, the way the lead detective ignored the BAU in favor of the psychic bothered me as well.
Usually there is a more in depth research into the profiles, not something just thrown out there for the sake of having a plot point. and necrophilia? could we choose something more disgusting? and have two of them in the same town? how likely is that?
I guess I'm trying to say that it was lacking overall.
I agree that the basic premise of the necrophilia was creepy.
I liked the contrast of the mothers in the story: the unsub's, the victim's and JJ. Their reaction to the events as the story unfolded and how they related to their children was a interesting contrast. I would have liked a little more development of the unsub's parents, though. Why was the mother so distant and detached? If she didn't like her husband, why doesn't she leave??
I wonder whether we will see more development of JJ's conflict with work and being a mother.
Rossi seems to really be settling into his role at the "wise father" in the team. He wants to protect his flock from repeating the mistakes from his past. And it seems that, no matter how much Dr. Reid may know about things (in that bookish sort of way) they really do seem worse in the cold light of day. He can still be disturbed by seeing the actions and hearing the comments of the creeps that the BAU investigates.
Don't ever lose that innocence.
All in all, not a favorite episode.
Squees!
1. Reid's purple scarf is back. Hadn't seen it since season 1 or 2.
2. Prentiss made a rude finger gesture. *snicker*
3. I swear at one point Reid made eyes at Hotch and Hotch made an aborted attempt to touch his arm, but that could have just been my slash-colored goggles. *blushes*
4. Prentiss scolding Reid for trying to give her birth year.
5. JJ's back. And her hair was extra cute.
6. Rossi reached out to JJ.
7.BtVS's Harmony and Xander reunion (almost)
8. When the Medical Examiner said "noooooo" to Reid's (you're saying the sex was consensual?)question
SQUICKS
1. crack open a cold one?! yikes.
2. grave desecration and necrophilia. ick.
3. Reid's gholish recitation of Ed Geines' habits as a serial killer during the profiling lecture
4. a really lame psychic
5. I kinda thought Hotch should have been the one to reach out to JJ since he is the "mom" of the team and he is the only one with a kid at home so he can relate to her need to id with the victim's parents. But I liked that Rossi acknowledged that he should have been gentler and reached out to JJ
Overall, I liked it. I thought it was very well done despite the subject matter's ickyness. And the boys were looking HAWT tonight! that's always a plus.
I think we all have to agree that it was a weak episode. Not the worst by far but it lacked the CM touch. I really did not like the pyschic storyline at all. I felt like it was written into the episode for pointless dramatic effect. If it was there to showcase JJ's uneasy feelings about being away from Henry then it missed the mark because it was a forced moment.
I did catch the cookie. Bernero. That was cool but one cookie wasn't going to redeem this episode.
JJ looked sooooooo gorgeous! Damn!, I missed her so much. Her shorter hair is absolutely beautiful. Great to have her back!
Abby died from a heart condition so I am not sure I know how to make the leap from neglected boy who loves dead nanny to dead psycho raping women. Not sure I want to even give it any more thought.
Prentiss giving the finger was really funny.
The guest stars were fantastic and I really liked having the cute Garcia scene with Kevin.
AJ Looks GREAT!!! I'm so glad she is back. Reid wore the "purple scarf" can't beat that. I was a bit surprised when Reid seemed surprised by hearing that people have sex with dead people. Umm he is a genius he would know about this wouldn't he?
I really like this episode, it's nice to have the whole team back!
Crack a Cold One...EEEEWWWW
Lee :)
It was great having JJ back again but unfortunate that her first case back had to be so freakin bizarre. The BAU has dealt with lots of different sick scenerios before but this one was just plain gross. I agree that Reid looked great but I also agree that him not knowing about necro was ODD. The show has touched on the subject before and Reid was in that episode so why would he all of a sudden be dumb on the subject.
I am disappointed. I can ususally find something great about a CM episode, but this one just didn't do it for me. Garcia didn't even have any good lines.
Oh wait! Reid was wearing his purple scarf! Love the purple scarf.
It was great to have JJ back, but she didn't seem in character, first she was snippy to Rossi and then she went to the psychic for direction.
Rossi, who has been so caring recently seems to have reverted back and dashed the mother's hope about finding her daughter alive, and I remember Hotch saying in The Big Game, I think, that they don't assume someone is dead until there is a body, so this was out of character for someone on the team to act that way.
Hotch was nearly non-existent and his last scene, his gazing at the picture of the lighthouse and shoreline with something like awe on his face just didn't seem very Hotch-like. It was more like a Reid moment than a Hotch moment.
The interview Emily did with the other necropheliac seemed gratuitous in that the only thing that came out of it was a bad joke about cracking open a cold one. It didn't further the case and Emily's attitude didn't ring true.
The only one that seemed to be themselves was Morgan, but he had such a small part, that there wasn't time for him to be anything else.
I think the actors did a great job, but the episode just didn't flow like it usually does, it seemed to be flat and it dragged. It seems like we didn't get the whole story and that lots of things may have been left on the cutting room floor that might have made this episode make sense.
Rossi and the belief versus disbelief seemed familar. We've seen that before between him and Morgan over God. It was okay.
JJ back was good. I guess having the baby changed her and this was the episode they used to highlight that.
Reid was Reid. Always a treat. Purple scarf being back and the Bernero sign were great.
I agree it was a weak episode, but not because of the necrophilia. Of course necrophilia is sick and disgusting. So is cannibalism, killing children, and a whole slew of other things the show has done. Any portrayal of the depths of depravity could have (and does) have people assuming the only reason to show it is for shock value. Since there are, unfortunately, people like this, I see no reason to assume the motivation for it is any different than showing all the other sick and depraved humans they've showcased through the years. Now, maybe it pushed some buttons and maybe it did shock people, but I wouldn't attribute the entire reason to being shock value.
As for what I felt was weak, the psychic thing. My guess is it was to show JJ needing to hold on to hope with her first case back and her first time away from Henry. But, you really have to set up that, especially when the method of dealing with it involves going to a psychic. Some indication that JJ would ever be open to something like that. Or, a little more focus into her feelings of leaving Henry or wanting to know that they hadn't left any stone unturned, regardless of how silly it might have seemed.
everyone comments have me alittle worry . i get to see this show in 30 min
The interview Emily did with the other necropheliac seemed gratuitous in that the only thing that came out of it was a bad joke about cracking open a cold one. It didn't further the case and Emily's attitude didn't ring true.
Actually, this wouldn't be the first time they've shown them following a lead or interrogating someone that didn't tie directly in. Like when she and Rossi interrogated the child molester in The Instincts, which did what this episode did. Eliminated a suspect. Or when Reid spent most of Seven Seconds talking to the cousin of the victim, which ultimately didn't get any info. But,realistically, someone would have talked to him, so it made sense to show it. It's a part of their job, even if it didn't fit neatly into a straight line leading them to the unsub.
Don't get me wrong, I didn't think this was a good episode. I just don't think the individual components (beyond the psychic) were off. Or without precedence -like showing a scene of something that doesn't lead anywhere.
help i live in nc and we didn't get to see it the duke carolina game was on instead anyone know where i can watch it
I don't know which part of the episode didn't work the most for me. I really liked JJ showing the ring with Henry's birth stone in it and mentioning her separation anxiety. The scene with the horoscopes was alright too. The psychic part and the psycho parts were troubling. For me the psychic part just made no sense and the psycho part was over the top in the gross me out column. I agree that we've had creepy gross storylines before but the voice of the show seemed to be missing. Totally void of that good old CM feeling.
After a couple of weeks without a new episode, I was really looking forward to this episode. Maybe my expectations were too high, but this episode didn't seem as good as the quality CM episodes I am used to.
The beginning bit with Garcia and Kevin reading their horoscopes and Morgan and Emily chiming in was cute.
Hotch was almost non-existent in this episode and their wasn't much Morgan either. Reid was Reid-like and he did wear his purple scarf, which I liked. Emily was kind of mean sarcastic in her dealing with the necropheliac who didn't turn out to be the UNSUB, which isn't her usual style. It was great to have JJ back, but she seemed tentative and no her forthright self.
The actors all did a great job, but the material just wasn't up to the standard I am used to in a CM episode.
Well I have to say, tonight's episode wasn't worth the wait. Let's hope this was just a bad night.
The actors were great - as usual - it just didn't seem like a CM ep...in fact a few minutes into it, my husband asked if we were on the right channel.
The storyline was disgusting. Yes, all the crimes the team investigates are horrible, but this went beyond the pale. The thought of the unsub draining the blood of someone while they were alive was too much. And that final scene in the embalming room...it just seemed too heavy-handed. And then the thought of the rest of it left me sick to my stomach. Please, no more episodes like this.
It was good to see JJ again and really good to see her stand up to Rossi...although I do like him, just not so much tonight.
And seeing Randy Mantooth was great! He still looks good after all these years.
I think I'm going to need to watch a few of my favorite eps to get this one out of my head.
And after tonight, I'm looking forward to next week's ep even more.
Bernero Linen Service was fun!
Anonymous, they are broadcasting the episode in NC for those who missed it because of the game. It was mentioned in chat. I think it is like at 2am.
I have to say, that i liked
this episode. As usual, it kept
me glued to my set the entire
time the show was on. I had to
tape and watch when i got home
from work, but i thought it was
worth the waite. I do admit, that
i did have to leave the room,
when they showed him(unsub)
about to embalm his last victim.
As others have said here, it
was definately creepy.
I loved how they snuck in the
Bernero linens truck again.
The first time we saw that,
was in Mayhem.
It is nice to have JJ back,
and you can tell by this first
episode, how cases revolving
around mothers and children
are going to affect her.
Much like it does Hotch.
I thought the entire cast had
equal time throughout the episode and it didn't just focus on a couple of them.
I like how they kind of took
Rossi back to his first days
of being back at the BAU
after coming out of retirement. He kind of pushed the envelope
there with the whole psychic
angle, and i thought for a
minute, that Hotch was going
to get angry with him and
put him in his place much
like he did in About Face.
Yes, Hotch wasn't quite
as we say totally with it/
on his game, like he usually
is, but he hasn't been since
the explosion in Mayhem.
What ever is going on with
him, will eventually work
itself out, and then we'll
have our old Hotch back 100%.
All in all, i thought this
was a very well written episode.
Great job Criminal Minds cast;
crew; writers; and producers
for bringing us another
terrific episode. I can't
waite for next weeks.
this one was so different tonight. it,s half way over. iam so board .i can,t waite tell csi new york comes on
My boyfriend left after the first few scenes. I didn't think it was that bad. Not going in my favorites column but not the worst. I wonder if maybe some of us just had high expectations with it being our first episode back. The one thing I really must agree with is the comments about the episode being "gross for the sake of being gross". I've never felt that way before. Usually the actual violence or rather implied violence or crime is shown to inform and tell us a story. It always has a point. I just didn't understand the point of this story. Frankly, I just didn't like the subject matter, so maybe my opinion is shaded. I am glad that some people liked it. It was a C- for me and I am usually an easy grader.
Is it possible that key scenes were edited out? There had to be a reason Hotch was staring in that scene. Maybe we just missed it.
Prentiss is a Libra. The scarf was back. J.J. was back. Nice having Lynch back with Garcia. Rossi took a personality leap back but that is probably just temporary.
I'm going to rewatch it again tomorrow and see if I can fill in the blanks.
I could have lived the rest of my life without hearing about Ed Gein!
Wow, as a latecomer posting after all these negative comments - well, I had been shaking my head and wondering what was wrong with this episode? Sounds like the rest of you were, too.
It was not as boring as a couple seasons back, "Honor among Thieves" but it dragged and maybe because we were so looking forward to the great guest stars - they had such small roles and came in so late in the show, it was almost like, why bother?
JJ was great to see again, back on her game - just a little ref to her role as a new mom, that was OK.
The psychic stuff was just so-so. If they needed that to further the JJ/mom story line, well, OK.
Everyone looked great, girls (JJ's hair is very cute) and guys and Reid is downright HANDSOME: hair, I am loving it, scarf makes me smile and his entire outfit tonight, very cool and yes, someone is dressing our boy/man but I don't care who it is, I just love looking at him.
Prentiss giving the bird - very cute. She and Morgan were so turned off the astrology stuff and then followed by Rossi so down on the psychic stuff, almost a thread there, not sure why, tho'.
Def not my fave epi, may not even give it a second viewing, altho' I would like to think it was good and I just missed something. But 30+ fans are probably not wrong so I probably won't.
Let's just chalk it up and patiently wait for the next new one. I'm sure that this was just an isolated case of not-great.
I thought it was just me. Thank goodness I am not alone. I thought I had lost my love for CM land. I stayed away from the thread till it aired here but was sure I was probably the only one who disliked the episode. Yeah! I have company. Boo that we waited so long.
The green-screen was way to long and distracting. Pointless to say anything else. It's been said already.
Sometines when we have big name guest stars the episode becomes more about them than the episode. The hype I mean. I didn't feel like that watching this episode. Actually I felt Cybil was under used.
Is it safe to assume that JJ and Will haven't gotten married yet since she showed a birthstone ring and not a wedding band?
The subject matter didn't concern me in this episode. I think everyone has a different yuk factor. This didn't meet mine although I will admit it was plenty creepy.
I didn't like Rossi turning back into a hard ass. He was better by the last scene but it was a side of him that isn't attractive and I thought we had gotten past.
I am not a big JJ lover but it really was great having her back with the team. I guess I didn't realize that I missed her being there.
Not sure I am buying the dualing mothers contrast spoken about in an earlier comment but I can see where you're coming from. Moms with very different mothering styles. If that is what the episode was trying to say then I don't think they quite got there.
Not a waste of time. Criminal Minds never is but not the best episode in the cookie jar. Next week looks like a winner. Fingers crossed it is.
I'm not sure yet what I think about this episode. there were elements that actually dated back to the first season and there were elements that were so non CM... And since I'm not sure yet what to think I don't know what to write down. I guess I'll have to see when I rewatch it a few months from now! But it doesn't really got on the top of my fave list! Although I did like the creepy case!
And it's not Holland! it's the Netherlands... geez :P And uhr... I was really waiting for Hotch to interrogate the dad but we never got that :(
But JJ's back :D I missed her!
I just realized giving it a second look that Prentiss interrogation did, in fact, lead somewhere. It lead to Abby and the unsub's parents. The other necrophiliac told them to complete his own personal fantasy he needed the specific shoes of the woman he was trying to recreate. The "genuine article". Reid overheard it, and tied in the fact that the unsub's victims all had pierced ears to the fact that a specific grave was of a woman buried with two pairs of earrings. And, he realized that for the unsub, that not just any old pairs of earrings would do, but they had to be the genuine article-out of the grave of the very woman he was trying to recreate. Once they got that, they got her name which led them to the family she worked for,and ultimately the unsub himself.
Having read all the other comments I feel kind of weird, but I actually LIKED this episode. Not on my top ten list, but it had so many great things to it. I wasn’t crept out by the necrophilia - cannibalism and torture to living victims are much worse for me.
I liked the many small things about the team and the allusions in this episode: Emily preventing Reid from giving her age, her giving the finger, Reid coughing when recognizing a drugged voice, the name of Usher (the psychic) in an episode opened by a quote of Edgar Allan Poe, the Bernero linen service truck, THE PURPLE SCARF (who-hoo, that alone made my day), the plane scene, Rossi having worked a kidnaping in Georgia where listening to a psychic cost a boy his life (our team saved the boys life on their own kidnaping case in Georgia...). I liked Rossi in this episode, and to me it didn’t feel like he was being hard-ass again, instead he seemed like the voice of reason to me.
I didn’t like the part with the psychic, but I guess given the nature of their cases it is natural that they would stumble across one sooner or later. It felt ridiculous to me that JJ would buy into this thing and even Hotch seemed open to it in the end. I would have expected them all to react the way Rossi did.
I agree the unsub’s parents were definitely underused (their own relationship as well as their relationship to their son
should have been explored) as was the fact how much the victims resembled JJ’s looks, especially with her new haircut. I’m happy to have JJ back on the team and I liked the small welcome back in the first team scene, but she felt out of character tonight.
All in all I really enjoyed this episode - can’t have a killer episode every time - and for me it wasn’t as bad as some comments here suggested.
Overall, it was OK. But the whole time it felt like something was missing or was a little off. The only "normal" aspect was the beginning with the team talking.
The whole psychic situation just really threw off the whole episode.
I also wish Cybil Shepard had been used more, she's brilliant.
The "Bereno" made me giggle though. :D
It was okay, not as great as usual. Maybe it's because I'm dying to know about Prentiss' secret and this episode has so little of her, Morgan and Reid. I'm glad JJ's back though!
First, let me say that I loved the "Bernero" laundry truck in the background of the scene when the BAU hits town. Made me laugh. Not sure if it was intentional, but kudos anyway.
I did enjoy the episode, even if the whole psychic thing did kind of hit me as being odd. I know that they sometimes take part in police investigations, so I understand bringing one into the show for an episode. It makes sense on that level.
I'd also really like to know what prompted the change in Reid's appearance. I'm not complaining, it just seems kind of sudden for him to switch to newer looking clothes and more styled hair without an explanation. But that could be because I'm used to seeing bookish Reid and always thought he was cute in a sweater vest. ^_^
Can't wait for the next episode.
I was also obscenely excited that Michael Biehn was in this episode.
I waited until this morning before posting my comments in the hope that after thinking about it I would be able to say that I did like this CM episode but sadly no.
First the subject, necrophilia, that was a eeeewwwww moment for me.
Second the psychic part wasn't interesting and someone else use the word lame and I have to agree it was.
Third some of the characters seem out of character. JJ going by herself to consult the psychic on the case? I know Hotch do trust JJ a lot but she would have consulted Hotch before bringing element of the investigation to the psychic. For what little we say of Hotch he was not the Hotch that I know. Since when will he go 'ah' after seeing that picture as if that was a big revelation? Where was Morgan? Rossi to was out of character almost the entire episode, he was downright aggressive with the psychic, I could understand his reasons why but as Hotch told Todd, he(Rossi) represent the bureau and should act accordingly but I did like his speech to JJ about her needing to believe in what they do.
Four, why casting someone like Cybil Sheppard if you have almost nothing for her to do?
What I did like was the horoscope thing at the beginning. Love Prentiss reaction. JJ was back, yeah! Reid looks good.
Frankly the episode felt flat despite the cast best effort but when the material isn't on the page they cannot work miracle.
Sorry CM but this one is a miss with me and that pains me to say so. I know every episode cannot be a homerun but I do expect at least a single, but this one was only a foul ball.
But the promo for next week looks good, can't wait to see that episode!
Brigitte
This episode felt strategically placed due to the fact that we've been "without" for so long, that we might be happy for what we got....maybe? I wish there had been less guest stars, and used the remaining ones more to compensate. It was like they scrambled to get the UnSubs identity out, and it was disjointed. I don't know what happened, but it was not my favorite by a long shot. However, that being said.....Reid looked fabulous (PURPLE SCARF!!)....The opening 'team scene' was great (Please give us more of that but add some Hotch!)....Welcome back JJ!! You were missed!....The actors did great job with what they were given.
Looking forward to next week...please let it be better.....
That was a creepy episode, in a good way. But not one of my favourites. We saw the return of THE scarf though, YAY for that!
I was disappointed with this episode. It just wasn't the usual CM that I'm used to. And in my opinion Garcia belongs with Morgan not Kevin. Anyone else agree with me?
Ok I must be the odd person out. I could have done without the severly decompossed corpse, which I think was a shock value thing, but other than that I really liked this episode. I loved having J.J. back and I am totally loving Reid's hair of late. I thought the whole psychic thing was a little odd but an interesting twist none the less. I'm sure real profilers and law enforcement have to deal with psychics (real or imagined) all the time. Rossi's reaction to the mother buying into the pschic was a little off. It seamed more like old Rossi then the more sensitve Rossi we have been seeing but still believable. Old habits die hard and when you think someone who is already hurting is beeing scammed, it can really anger you. J.J.'s view on the world is going to be a little different, she is a mother now and is going to see things more from a mother's view point. She placed herself in the shoes of the mother and wanted that mother to have hope. Just as she would want that hope if it was her and Henry. Over all not a top ten for me, but still really good.
JJ's big welcome back to the show is...she gets to mishandle evidence?
Seriously, guys?
That letter was a crucial clue in discovering the whereabouts of the killer, since it gave away that the father still knew where he was. JJ breaks the chain of custody, takes it to a psychic, and gets away with it. Rossi pats her on the head. These people work for the FBI?
I agree with atircuit that this wasn't a weak episode because of the necrophilia -- we've seen all kinds of disgusting psychos on the show before. It was the psychic angle that was awful. It became an excuse for characters to act horribly unprofessionally, not only JJ but the detective that took the psychic's reading of the wig seriously enough to use it to bolster his arrest of the one suspect. I was really on Rossi's side when he objected to the "hope" the mother derived from the psychic. The other characters shamed him for it, but he definitely had a point -- he was concerned that the mother would be crushed should they dig up the body after all.
I think the worst part of the psychic plotline was that it was a godawful cliche. We've seen this on TV shows 12,045 times before -- at the last minute, the psychic is validated, just to keep alive the Disney wonder of it all. The victim was wearing a yellow dress! The embalming fluid was orange! There was a poster of the seashore! Bleah. I would have far preferred to see an episode like Rossi described, where the psychic leads down the wrong path.
I did enjoy the brief turn by Shepard and Mantooth as the parents, though. The wife chipped away at her husband constantly, and it looked like her face would crack if she allowed herself more than the spasmodic smile with the corner of her mouth. The husband was a weak little weasel. The marriage from hell.
along with this being a lack luster episode, the guys in the editing room screwed up too.:)
during the scene where they were about to give the officers their profile, one scene you see them get up to talk to the officers, then Rossi says something and they are shown still sitting down.
Did anybody catch that? :)
I think it would have been a great episode if we didn't have to waste time on the psychic. I seriously am not interested in CM having so many X-Files moments. While it was nice getting JJ back with the team, it was too choppy for me. I would have liked more explanation about the unsib's psychosis. Where was the profile explanation of why people become necros? We have that for almost all the different psychos. I've watched it twice now and still don't get why he weirded so totally out. He didn't kill his nanny and she didn't leave him voluntarily. So what happened?
But it was great having the show back with new episodes. I wish we had come back into the season with a stronger episodes so any new viewers would want to join CM world but hey, it was what it was.
I'm easy to please. Just give me quotes, music when it is appropriate, a strong case with a decent profile and our cast and I am happy. Throw in a cookie and some green screen and I am even happier.
I thought the episode was alright. I didn't hate it and I didn't love it. Felt like a filler episode. I am wondering what hit the cutting room floor. Someone else said, and I agree, that the episode was missing things. Perhaps we lost it in the editing room.
Any hour with a new show is still better than almost everything else on tv so I guess that those of us that didn't love it just have to rock and roll with it.
For me it was the ending that lost it for me. Everything felt forced and rushed to get us to the climax. The timing was off and that just isn't the case usually. We usually flow straight through. Rossi and JJ's scene at the end also seemed forced and thrown in there like a period at the end of a really long sentence.
Also, if you blinked you would have missed Cybil Sheppard. She was good for some background info but the puff!
There were things I liked. Lynch is a fav. Glad he was back. Reid was in rare form and bless the scarf!!!!!!
Could they please give back to Reid his normal hair ?
It looks so much better when it's just natural.
I know it's not the most important thing to take into consideration about this show, I really do know that, but I can't help it. No matter how much I try to ignore it it's still bothering me a lot.
It's high time they let it go back to normal and stop that gelled hair style : stop with the hair gel please!!! (hopefully by the next episode, I'm crossing my fingers and begging here).
I agree with a lot of you in that this episode was kind of lacking, it did not feel like CM.
I was glad JJ is back and it was great to catch a glimpse of Randy Mantooth and Cybil but the episode was really slow and it made me feel like someone took some scissors and just took away parts of the story. The truth is that I did not like this episode and was looking at my watch...that NEVER happens.
It was not one of the best, I agree, but it wasn't SOOOO bad...It was even better, according to me than some of the last episodes.
What I regret a bit is that the characters seems not to be coherent with themselves like they were in the last seasons and even in the beginning of this one.
My English is not good enough to explain better...I miss a bit OUR team. And I miss Reid, of course. But that is because of my obsession...
I felt there was a gap in the necrophilia part of the story. The kid's nanny died and he was lying with her for days, and he was how old? Ten or so? And then he wanted to re-create the nanny in his victims, so he had them read him bedtime stories, etc. His visions of her were a sweet, wholesome girl, not a sexual object of any kind, and there was no mention that he had had sex with the nanny after she died, or was that the part that was too horrible for Cybil Shepherd to hear about, so we had to fill in the blanks? if he just killed them and then embalmed them to recreate that time in his life but make it so that he wasn't powerless to the decay, then okay, that's weird, but okay. But they never made the sexual connection with the nanny, so I remain confused.
One more time, as I am still so wondering what happened last night. I think Blue hit the nail on the head by describing it as "lackluster." Not horrible, just not up to our usual exceptionally high CM standards.
I'm sure the next epi will be great and we can relax and forget about this mediocre one.
I will not go back and watch again and look for something that isn't there.
I also can't help but notice that despite over 70 posts, only a couple are still lamenting Reid's new hair.
I say he looks great and I think others are accepting it, too.
One more time: I am sure that MGG does his own hair and "They are NOT going to give him "his old hair back."
Yes, there IS gel (he has alot of hair) but it is NOT greasy and slicked back, just COMBED back.
And ladies, look again, he LOOKS GREAT. Maybe is now aspiring to be the coolest geek on TV and some lucky female is influencing him, but I'm betting this is just his latest and greatest 'do and it looks good enuf to me to be a keeper.
He looks more MANLY. I love it.
Morgan will always be the sexiest, Hotch and Rossi are both handsome in their own right, but we can't help but love our baby, Reid.
Until you shave your head, Matthew, we're lovin' you! (And Shemar, we will be happy to rub that lovely head of yours...you don't need any hair at all to be beautiful!)
XOXOX
Well, some people just can't let go. Interesting case about a disturbed unsub trying to recreate his first love,AbbyNormal.
We seem to be getting a foreshadow for Demonology with Rossi and Emily solidly on the non-believer side in regards to all that psychic/voodooy mojo stuff. When the psychic was trying to come up with adjectives to describe what he felt about the victim-heavy? tired?, I kept waiting for Rossi to snarkily suggest- Drained???
It will be interesting to see how the team will react to more "spiritual" battles in the future episodes. JJ was clearly touched by the connection the psychic made simply by touching her ring and telling her congratulations.
It would be difficult to call this a favorite episode simply because the topic of necrophilia and embalming someone while still alive is soooo repugnant. But it still kept my interest so I still give it thumbs up to Dan and Jay, the new gruesome dudesomes!
I get an eeeeeeerrrrie feeling from this episode. There seemed to be a lot of lingering, a lot of dramatic pause. It felt to me much like last season, just before Garcia got shot. Almost too calm, too settled. The team working, JJ trying to adjust, Rossi offering some advice.... but it all just screamed RED FLAG at me.
I don't think I'm going to like what's coming.... it's going to be a nailbiter. And mine just grew!!!!!!!!
i realize criminal minds is not a character-driven show, but when an important character, or characters (as others have pointed out), are out of their character, it clearly just bothers us fans who watch the show week to week.
it probably is also the fact that this is an episode that finally came after so many reruns, and our expectations of this episode was extremely high.
i had expected the writers to do more with JJ's return, instead of putting her under the "uh oh" spotlight of doing things behind the team's back. rossi, yes. JJ, hmmm. i don't recall her being like this before. and her being a mother now shouldn't be an excuse for this radical character change and pretend it's OK because she's a mother who identifies with other mothers now.
it was an episode with great acting and great writing, don't get me wrong. criminal minds is still one of the best procedural TV out there. it's just this episode had too many wrinkles that were obviously noticed by too many fans.
but good job with the purple scarf.
and the scene in the beginning of the eppy with the horoscope.
I think the episode was really interesting.
I don't blame Rossi for not wanting the mother to get her hopes up for nothing. I can understand him there.
It's one thing for the team to consider a victim alive until they are proved otherwise, it's part of their job and I think it helps them in their search, it helps them to stay focused and motivated.
But it's another thing when a mother hopes to see her daughter /son alive, when all the signs point to the contrary.
It's a human reaction perfectly understandable, normal, but it can do more damage than anything else.
On another note :
"...only a couple are still lamenting Reid's new hair.
I say he looks great"
I suppose it's only a matter of taste and preferences.
I personaly don't like his new hair style at all.
"They are NOT going to give him "his old hair back."
We don't know that. It's not the first time that they put gel in his hair and it never stayed that way for more than a couple of episodes.
So, maybe there is reasonable hope that it'll go back to the way it was before 'Soul Mates'.
I enjoyed the episode. It was nice seeing Cybil Shepard, although I was expecting her to have a bigger role. I kept rooting for the kidnapped girl to not turn into "Abby" and trigger the unsub to kill her.
I think this episode was creepy, but in a good way.
It was "refreshing" to see Reid being uncomfortable with the concept of necrophilia.
He may be a genius who is now experienced on the field but he's still really young, and he has a naive side to his personality (I hope this won't ever change). It's only natural that something like that may bother him.
I think the other members of the team were bothered too, but Reid shows more his emotions, even when he doesn't want too.
He may be a very private person but he has an harder time hiding his emotions than his colleagues.
As for his new hair style, ... I honestly can't say I enjoy it.
I don't know why they seem to think this style is better than his usual, more natural, hair style. Up until the last three episodes it looked really good. But maybe this new style won't last too long.
I didn't really mind the episode or the subject matter, it does happen.
What I didn't like was JJ. Going behind the backs of her teammates was wrong. Rosssi may have been harsh with Brooke's mother but he was, at least, being realistic. JJ stealing evidence and going off to some psychic with it lessened her in my opinion. Rossi was right. To work with the team she has to believe in what they do.
Everyone is debating Reid's hair. I didn't mind it although I like his previous style better. I think he's looked fantastic in the last few episodes. Of course, I'll take Reid any way I can get him. There's never enough Reid in my opinion. The hair I didn't like was JJ's. Perhaps because I was so disappointed in her conduct.
Reid's purple scarf is indeed nice. I would knit it if they would ever show it closer. Maybe when this comes out on DVD...
The opening BAU scene was super cute, but everything else was pretty meh. Here's hoping next weeks is back to the usual CM standard.
It was well written and it don´t scared me. The physic part wasn´t interesting for me. I like Rossi in this ep and the little things like Bornero line, the purple scarf and the opening quote of Edgar Allen Poe. And JJ is back, that´s good. Yes, it was different from other murder cases. Not my fav, but it was okay.
I agree with Shadow:
All in all I really enjoyed this episode - can’t have a killer episode every time - and for me it wasn’t as bad as some comments here suggested.
I loved the episode. My only complain was JJ's being so ready to beleive the psychic - I didn't like the implication that being a mother meant that now she can't do her job the way she used to, ie, properly. As for the necrophilia, yes it's gross, but it happens, and I'm glad that the show is brave enough to go there. Way sicker stuff than that happens in real life, and I'm glad the show doesn't sugarcoat subject matter. I loved the opening scene, Emily and Garcia are adorable. I've had enough of Kevin though - he's cute and funny, but he doesn't add anything to the show anymore, and just seems out of place.
I loved the opening scene with the BAU too. It was a great moment between the team members here, I sometimes miss those.
While I understand that we can't always get those moments(the episodes need to stay focused on the cases, at least most of them) it's always great to see more personal interactions between our dearest friends.
Concerning the debate about Reid's hair, my opinion is that they need to let his hair go back to its earlier, more natural style. I preferred his earlier style much, much more. It looked better on him.
Maybe it will be changed in the next episode?
I don't know why so many commentators are moaning - I thought it was a good episode. *shrugs*
The subject matter was creepy, the storyline worked and bringing in a psychic added another dimension. It allowed us - and the team - to look at what they do from another angle and it also reminded us that Rossi could do with brushing up on his interpersonal skills now and then.
Anyway, Jay and Dan, I think you did a grand job.
I had really mixed feelings about the epi, which is why i've taken so long to post. I didn't mind the subject matter... I think as an audience, we need to be challenged. It is reality (unfortunately) and just goes to show how well it was portrayed if we found it creepy ~ we should!
I also liked the opening scene with Garcia & Prentiss, and the fact that JJ was back.
What I didn't like was the 'uncharacter' of all the characters, despite the actors doing their usual best. Rossi had a pickle up his backside all night, and although there was an explanation at the end, I still think he overreacted... *shrugs*
I also thought that if Hotch is the 'overworked' one, then it should have been him to find JJ early in the morning and chat to her... those 2 have that bond... Rossi talking to JJ?? mmm, nope.
And Cybil... i was looking forward to a big part for her, but we really didn't see much of her and had to wait 40 mins. Surprised me.
Ah well, not a great epi, but cm is still the best show on tv and I'm looking forward to wednesday.
I didn't see any comments regarding the reaction shot of Reid, after the line about "cracking open a cold one", either MGG broke character just for a moment, before the scene cut, or Spencer nearly laughed. He looks over at Hotch, then looks forward and his lower lip and chin trembles, as if he's trying to hold in a laugh. No one else caught that?
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