Wednesday, April 22, 2009

CRIMINAL MINDS SPOILER THREAD FOR "A SHADE OF GRAY"


Criminal Minds spoiler thread for "A Shade of Gray" written by Debra J. Fisher, pictured on the set with Matthew Gray Gubler, and Erica Messer.

"A Shade of Gray" : When profiling a series of child abductions and murders, the team discovers that one of the cases may not be the handiwork of the serial killer they apprehended.

** Beware of spoilers in the comments **

*** Quote info will be posted after the episode airs on the east coast ***

**** Last chat with Deb Fisher and Erica Messer is on Thursday ****

80 comments:

gubegirl said...

Whoo-hoo! Does this pic represent another Reid-centric epi? We can only hope...

Anonymous said...

Looking forward to it no matter who it is centered around

morticia_addams said...

yeah, a new episode!
can't wait to see it!

woooooohoooooo

HardKOrr said...

I am really looking forward to this episode and the chat tomorrow night!

Anonymous said...

Can't wait! CTV is airing this episode a whole two hours earlier then CBS! Normally it's only an hour early!

Walburga Benker said...

can´t wait to see this episode!!!

BlueCurl said...

I am really looking forward to this episode! But it also feels like a farewell episode!

Steph said...

Anyone know why CM is suddenly airing at 10 EST instead of it's usual 9PM slot?

Criminal Minds Fan said...

They are airing two episodes tonight. The Crossing & then A Shade of Gray. That is why we are holding the chat tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

Wow! oh wow! It was so good. So so good! I won't say a word about the eppy though, because anything I say about it, that you in the US will read, will completely and totally ruin it for you. I don't want to do that.

Anonymous said...

ugh!!!!! CM is pre-empted here for a 3 hour documentary on St Jude's cancer research. I would send a donation just to get them off the air by 9. :(

yetta said...

Terrific episode. Hah! We got it before you Americans.

Wow the brother. His body language was weird from the start and the detective was funky acting too. This was a truly team episode. Everyone had a great part. Loved it.

Anonymous said...

hehehe writing my check to St. Jude's.... they are off the air!!

bethany said...

99% of abducted children killed within the first 24 hours. I could have lived a lifetime without knowing that.

1. Garcia's highlighted hair was gorgeous.

2. I wanted to slap the crap out of the detective when he started shooting at the suspect.

3. I thought Kyle's mom behavior was really weird in the beginning.

4. Morgan tackling the suspect was great. The look of hatred on his face was intense.

5. The whole BAU worked on this case. That was a real treat.

6. Loved Hotch figuring out that the killer of the first two kids would not have thrown Kyle into the river and how he snatched the deal away from him.

7. Chills when they realized Kyle had slept with his brother that night!

Anonymous said...

wow. this was just really, reeeally wierd. i'm not sure if i liked it all that much. and i feel like the team was kind of distant from each other. like even though they were all there and working together physically, they werent really engaging in each other... if you know what i mean. although i wasnt exactly engaged in the episode myself, with all of the ap stats homework i had to do :(. haha. oh well. already counting the days until the next new episode! :) :)

Anonymous said...

I seriously thought from the promo's that it would be the cop guy turning into the guy he was chasing...lo and behold it's a really creepy sociopathic kid who would probably grow up to be a heinous serial killer.

talk about creeping me out.

good points: Garcia's hair! very hot.
the entire team working together, getting to spend some time with all of them throughout the episode.

Prentiss delivering the news to the family was very well done.

I grew up in New Jersey, so this hit a little close to home, thinking about stuff like this happening in your own backyard..especially since you can't keep your eyes on kids 24/7.


another great episode.

Anonymous said...

For a fleeting second during the opening I thought the brother looked odd but then I let it go and suspected either the perv or the detective. Det. Lancaster just seemed spooky.

Prentiss was golden talking to the mom and dad and when she played that snip of the mom saying she was Kyle's mom over and over again I think then I realized it was the brother. A parent would turn on the other parent if it was one of them but parents would unite to save their other kid.

Too bad the kid in question was a sociopath.

Exc. episode. All the characters were equally present. Really enjoyed it.

Anonymous said...

What did Danny stuff down his brothers throat? My cable cut out just as she said what it was!

meaghan said...

Goosebumps when the killer of the two first boys said that Kyle was too young for him and not his type. That a grown man has a prefered type of child in mind is sickening.

OMG and when the first victim's parents said that they were only 13 feet away in their own house from their son when he was taken was just enough to make me want to watch my kids sleep tonight.

Moving episode. Extra creepy. Great job by all.

unknown author said...

Oh my goodness ! I really liked the twists in this one.

Loved Garcia's hair was so cute !

The teamwork tonight was great. Each having a part of the whole.

MySentimentExactLee said...

Sociopathic children scare the crap out of me. I think one of my friends kids is a sociopath and being around him feels like ice water. It is very unfortunate.

This was a great episode. I'll admit that I thought it was going to be the cop and I was thinking..."god this isn't Deb's best work, I mean gosh, I totally have it figured out.." but of course, I was wrong. :)

Lee

Livin' La Vita Loca said...

Hmmm... I'm a little bit undecided over this episode. Of course, I didn't DISLIKE this epi (like that's possible!) but I must say that it was rather predictable after the "Boogeyman" episode of season 2. I had the Unsub figured out within the first half hour :)

But I must say, fabulous performances by the cast. I really like how Prentiss has evolved to become the interrogator for the team... she's fabulous at that this season! Remember her interview with the girl in "Bloodline"? Chilling... :)

And it just made me squeal when Reid cracked the case by figuring out that Kyle didn't sleep in his room :) <3

All in all, GREAT episode, but definitely not one of the best.

Anonymous said...

Anon: danny stuffed the model airplane pieces down his throat. I guess to punish him more for breaking his plane


Great epi

Nagi said...

Hmmm. I wasn't sure what to make of this one, other than it made me incredibly depressed. I had the brother pegged from the moment they showed the press conference. Still, kid was a good actor - kid sociopaths are hard to pull off and half of them just look like they're suffering indigestion. I didn't see the character development I usually like, although it was good to note that Henry hasn't completely vanished from canon. Hotch was seriously intense, though, which I loved.

Dark Justice Girl said...

Aww. That was a depressing but yet AWESOME EPISODE!!!!! Good job and Deb and Erica!

alice said...

I didn't really see that coming until the end when the boy was with Emily and he smashed the bag of chips in a rage and then I practically screamed that it was him. I really like how they all showed the urgency of finding Kyle within a narrow time frame. They scored big in this episode. Nailed the real pedophile for the first two crimes and hopefully got Danny off the streets. I wonder what charges the Det will face. What a loser he was.

Anonymous said...

Prentiss and Danny in that room was all you needed to see to know this kid was a looney. Your kid brother is killed, your parents are in the next room visibly hysterical and you are asking for a snack and to watch cartoons. No way this kid could be rehabilitated. And did you catch the part when they asked the parents what happened to the family pet and the mom became even more hysterical. Thank you Erica and Deb for sparing us those details.

Any case that involves kids is hard to watch. I liked this episode because it wasn't graphic.

All seven bau members had even roles in this episode and I really liked that. Teamwork!

The actor who played the kid was great.

heidi said...

Wow what an amazing episode! It brought the creep!

blue said...

I guess it was the kid brother but not how they would cover it up. I guess if it wasn't the friend, it the brother. Kid can kill too, unfortunately and knowingly. Scary, Scary, Scary World.

Anonymous said...

I think that the Detective purposely shot at the unsub who killed the first two boys because he wanted him dead so he couldn't deny killing Kyle. Also, he knew that this creep couldn't tell them where Kyle was because he was the one who had dumped Kyle in the woods. Of course there was no way for the BAU to know that at that point in the episode so they assumed that the Detective was just too close to the case because he knew the family.

Some of you have commented that you knew early in the episode that it was the brother but I thought it was the Detective until the last two scenes in the episode. Loved it.

blaire said...

Great episode. I thought the brother was weird in the beginning but thought maybe he was just freaked out because his brother was missing.

I can't think of anything more frightening than having a child stolen from their own bed. I mean how do you protect them from that??

I didn't think the actor who played Det. Lancaster was very good but the other actors were fantastic.

Morgan looked like he could kill that perv dirtbag with just his stare when he tackled him to the ground. He is especially sensitive when kids are involved.

Loved hearing JJ being asked if she had children and her saying yes. Hi Henry.

Another great episode of CM. I didn't have the chance to watch the rerun earlier but I taped it. That was a really good episode too.

parker said...

So the jerk off det lost his family in a car accident and thought he could help keep this family intact by staging the whole thing. Didn't he realize that the bro was seriously sick. That just couldn't have been an accident. I know that they didn't have the autopsy at that pt but still that murder didn't seem like an accident to me. Lots of severly disfunctional people in this episode.

Reidluver said...

So many twists! I knew it wasn't the first guy because they caught him too quickly and the mess was too much, then I thought it would have been the detective or the father, but once the brother freaked out over the unopened chips I realized that it was him and my mouth was left hanging open.

And if that wasn't enough of a twist, they made him a sociopath! Really caught me off guard. I thought everything was taken care of then, but I feel so horrible for the parents to realize both sons were essentially dead to them.

The part that gave me the chills was how the older brother just stood there with his toy plane while his dead brother was lying on the floor a few feet away. Horrible!

izzy said...

Before they said the bit about the toys in his throat I thought the cop had killed and raped him.

Anonymous said...

Wow, what an incredible episode!! It was just a bit different in the beginning when we sort of jumped right into the action of things, like we were thrust into the nitty gritty, but it worked for the overall episode.

That kid did an amazing acting job to really pull that off, he really had that sociopathic/non-remorseful acting that made me hate him. I had my doubts that it was the first pedophile they gave us, way too simple & easy, and plus there was still lots of time left in the show. I cringed when he told Rossi that "he wasn't my type," but also happy that they could now move onto other suspects. I really thought that the lead police officer had something more to do with it than just removing the body, and staging it to look like the other crime scenes.

I didn't really suspect the parents, even when they were hand-holding, I did have concerns that the other son had something to do with it, just by the way he was acting....and then of course when he started punching the chip bag, that anger...oh, and when Hotch decided to separate the parents from the kid, I knew something was up. Oh!! Wow! I also have to say that I loved Garcia's hair, a definite change, but I liked the dark mixed in with her blonde hair.

The whole team worked so well together, loved how Reid went to the crime scene again, "fresh eyes," as Hotch put it, and figured out the bed-wetting thing. I think the bunk beds confused me into thinking one of the other missing kids was somehow involved too, but I got it in the end. This episode was so intense!

raven said...

We have the greatest show on tv. This was an edgy and creepy episode because the crime is so scary. Thought they did a great job balancing it. No gross pics. I almost cried when that mom picked up the bag with her son's toy in it and started bawling. I was right there with her.

Anonymous said...

How could those parents ever go to sleep and not worry that he would kill them too? Were they really convinced that this was just an accident? If the kid is mentally ill and we all know he is then shouldn't the parents have seen signs of this before?

I was so scared we were going to find out that the brother raped him but after hearing about the toys shoved down his throat I realized that was equally horrible.

No wins in this case. A bunch of losers. That freakin sheriff/detective just added to it and never really got it. He's a sicky too.

The cast was great. The guests were pretty good. Nice exit for Deb Fisher. Another solid episode with lots of team interaction.

Leighton said...

Meh. CSI had a similar unsub in season 5. Criminal Minds didn't duplicate the episode entirely, but there were enough patterns that it was pretty obvious early on.

Anonymous said...

I LOVED THIS EPISODE! Especially after the last few weeks, this was back to the Criminal Minds I love! It was exciting! Kinda depressing... actually major depressing, but it makes you think and I like that. Prentiss' scenes were fantastic, and the actor who played the older brother was very good... terrifying in a way, but still innocent... it was hard to know what to feel. I think that there was a good balance of the characters, and I didn't think that they were too "distant" at all... the were working together really well and on a severe time frame, so we can't really expect them to be joking around much. I think one of the members... can't remember... said something "jokey" and it didn't really work, because realistically nobody is laughing when a kid is missing.

Claire said...

Worst. Episode. Ever.

I can't even believe this ep was written by the show's real writers; it's almost like they brought in writers who'd never seen the show, handed them a one page summary of the characters and the plot, and told them to write the show as a parody. Prentiss was apparently blind during the interview with the parents and the kid. Half the team barely showed up, and when they did, they didn't do anything worth having them there in the first place. The local cops apparently didn't bother to do anything about the other crimes before the BAU got there, and the COTW was a walking cliche.

Maybe there's a reason they ran an episode from last season in the regular timeslot and pushed the new episode to 10:00. Maybe they were hoping the fans would miss this episode.

Anonymous said...

Claire,

I have to wonder if we really both just watched the same episode because I loved it. I thought the writers nailed each characters strengths wonderfully. I loved that all the characters were involved in solving this case. Each used their best honed skills. I respect your opinion but couldn't disagree with you more.

I also thought that this was an extremely thoughtful episode. Child sociopaths are the creepiest of all. Worse than adult ones imho. You don't expect kids to be that mentally detached and ill at such an early age.

I loved the episode.

janie said...

Reid figuring out that Kyle had been sleeping in his brother's room is what made me start thinking that it was the brother who killed him. Especially when he figured out that the kid had wet his bed.

Really liked the episode. I wish it had been longer so we could have seen them confronting the kid.

Anonymous said...

Loved it!

I didn't want to post this earlier, as I didn't want to ruin it for those who hadn't seen it yet. Yes I know this is a spoiler thread, but there is such thing as TO much of a spoiler, and I didn't want to do that!

I had it figured that it was the brother that had done it, as soon as they found Kyle. I knew something was up before that, as his lack of anything didn't seem right.

Another thing that I was thinking of though, was how similar this episode was to a CSI episode. There was a CSI episode where the older brother killed the younger brother as he told people that he wet the bed. ( the other brother that is ) There seemed to be some similarities in there. ( Though on the CSI episode, the parents, didn't try to hide the fact that they knew )

I think it was a really great episode. I was in tears at the end of it. The music at the end when everything was coming together and the truth was coming out, was so emotional and perfect for those scenes.

Anonymous said...

Oh, another thing, did anyone notice the piece of the door frame that just went flying when Morgan kicked the door down????? He gave that door some mighty hard kick! :P

BlueCurl/Sonja said...

Wow! I'm usually picky about episodes, esoecially wen s4 was so different than other seasons... but this one was truly amazing.

An episode that makes CM, CM. No specific character centric but just such a strong story with so many unexpected twists, normal people, great character interaction!!!

Thank you! And for Deb: this was an awesome episode you can be proud of to be it your last one with us! A hell of a good goodbye!

Ambra said...

Great episode! Very intense and I liked the "non-traditional" unsub, although I started suspecting the son had killed the boy during the first interview. However, I thought it was an accident and the parents were just trying to protect him. It didn't occur to me until the scene where he becomes enraged simply because he can't open a bag of potato chips that he did it intentionally. Very creepy and disturbing twist with the little boy shoving the broken model airplane parts down his brother's throat; really didn't see that one coming! I'd like to see some follow-up on that character; it would be interesting to know if the reason for him becoming a sociopath are ever revealed.

Elle said...

The end of this ep made me cry, especially Rossi: "We don't get to pick who wins, even if it means no one does." The cello in the background was GORGEOUS- anyone know if it was written for CM or if it's something else?

The poor family was so sad- I kind of figured out the kid was the killer after they caught the first unsub, though. It was either him or the cop guy.

Anonymous said...

Nothing more creepy then a child murderer and nothing more scary then a child being taken.

Thanks for the episode,

April

Eleonor said...

I liked it but wont watch it again.
I liked it because all the team was present, each doing something to solve the case. Loved Hotch taking the deal away from the murderer and JJ answering the mother about having children. I suspected since the beginning that the brother had something to do with the situation but I thought it was going to be an accidental death...I was very wrong, that I liked.
I missed a plane scene..those I love either at the beginning or at the end. Did not find very realistic the reaction of the parents when they found out their child was dead.
I will not watch it again because I believe there was not one team interaction that I have to see again, they all worked well but not really interacted between themselves...

A Criminal Minds fan said...

It was a good solid episode without being a great one.

I figured out who had killed Kyle after Danny asked if he could go and played. That rang some bells for me that something was wrong with that kid. That said it was still interesting to find why he did kill his brother, what type of person Danny was, sociopath are very scary people even when they are little kids. Liked that we saw a cop gone bad even if he did it to help his friends it was still wrong and could have potentially cost more lives in the future.

We had the team working the case all together without much interraction between them. That was a bit strange.

Fav scenes, Hotch interrogation of the creep, loved when he took the deal of the table! Prentiss 'interrogation' of Danny, JJ talking to the mother. Good work from Thomas Gibson, love his intensity in the interrogation scene, Paget Brewster and the kid who played Danny, he was very disturbing.

Good work Deb and Erica. Deb, all the CM fans will miss you next season.

Brigitte

Kate said...

I liked the episode. I thought it was well written and well paced, and I am most sad that this team will not be writing for CM anymore. I was not expecting it to be the brother and I usually catch on to things like that. Of course it aired an hour later and my mind was not quite as sharp, but I'd like to think for the writers sake that I didn't 'get it'!

Garcia wins with the darker hair! LOVED IT!

evie said...

The detective always knew who the killer was. He didn't have to worry about some other sicko being out there killing new victims once they caught the sicko who killed the first two little boys.

I think the BAU knew that. Once they realized the cop was the one who was behind the frame they knew he was trying to protect someone and most likely someone in the family. They just needed to determine who it was within the family.

I think that the detective protected Danny because he had the impression that Danny hadn't done it deliberately. He probably thought it was an accident - Danny pushed his little brother Kyle harder then he intended to because sometimes roughhousing can get out of hand with kids The detective didn't see that this kid he knew could be anything like the guy who killed the other two kids. He just didn't see the pathology. As the team mentioned several times, the detective was just too close to the case.

I was shocked by just how far gone the kid was. Total lack of remorse. The poor parents lost two sons and that has to be unbearable.

lettie said...

I guess no parent wants to believe that they could have a sociopath for a child but I wish they had realized he had problems when he killed the family pet. The title of the episode was perfect.

RMF said...

Someone in the CBS promo department deserves a swift kick. They show two adult male suspects in the teaser, ask who killed the boy, then declare, THE ANSWER WILL HAUNT YOU. Gee, I guess it must be someone else altogether, someone shocking. How about that kid over there who looks so bored with his brother's disappearance?

So for me, the fascination of the episode was not the identity of the suspect, but the dynamics of the family. I could see panicked parents maybe trying to pass off Kyle's death as an accident, but having their cop friend dump him in the woods and mutilate the body to make it look like the fault of the local serial killer? Brr. It's not just the kid who is sick. That "Shade of Gray" is pretty dark. I appreciated Rossi's coda, that they couldn't choose who wins. It kind of defines who stays moral in the face of tragedy and who falls.

Nice performance from the kid. He was cold without being blank. Good snivelling from Billingsley, too, particularly opposite Hotch. He looked simultaneously both sly and stupid and was memorable in just a few scenes. It felt very realistic when he got caught lying to get a plea deal by fluffing the way in which the body was disposed of. I also liked the scene between Prentiss and Danny, as the hair starts to stand up on the back of her neck when he reveals his anger and callousness.

I loved Hotch in the interrogation scenes. I wouldn't want to face off against Rossi, either, but Hotch looks like he could cut you in half with the laser vision.

Anonymous said...

Someone please add a good recap from the time they had the killer of the 1st 2 boys and the mother of 1 of them identified his toy. I've figured out by the comments it was the brother (which I figured actually) I just want as much detail as I can get. (How did they figure out it was the brother? How was the detective involved?) Please, please, please!

babruin said...

I guess it's safe to say that the most important cardinal rule of good parenting is: Never let your kid think they can get away with murder.
Generally, not a good idea.
Very interesting case with a sad twist at the end. The acting from the guest cast was very good with the right amount of creepiness from the pervert and icy chills from the unremorseful brother. Brrrr!
The cop and the parents represented what the title suggests. Is it truly black and white when it comes to protecting those you love? Can there really be room for moral ambiguity when loved ones need to face the consequences for the action they take?

elle said...

I loved all the twists and turns of this one! All the time I was thinking it was either the detective or the father...i never guessed the brother! Truly an edge of your seat episode.
For a final episode as the gruesome twosome it was done with all that we have come to love about this duo.

Anonymous said...

What an interesting episode. I caught onto the fact that Danny was the culprit early on and then second-guessed myself because it was too easy, and the COTW was too blatant a red herring.

But now, I am thinking that we were meant to figure it out because after we figured it out, that is when the story really started. About Danny being a sociopath and the lengths parents and their good friend would go to to cover up what they thought was a tragic accident, and then the aftermath, when they realized what Danny really was.

Everyone was really great from Rossi saying that the crime scene was too chaotic; Reid figuring out that Kyle slept in Danny's room and wet the bed; Garcia (whose hair was so cool) getting all the information in her amazing way; Morgan tackling the pedophile; JJ dealing with subject matter that had to be hard for her as a new mother; Prentiss' wonderful interview with the parents and Danny; and Hotch's amazing interview with the pedohphile. No one can do it like Hotch does. HOTCH IS THE BEST!!!!

Deb and Erica, thank you for all your great episodes and I am looking forward to our chat tonight.

HardKOrr said...

To me this episode was good...not great but solid. I had the brother pegged from the press conference from his behavior. Seemed a little too bored like he was tired of the attention being paid to his little brother. Jealous sibling syndrom. What I didn't figure out was that he was a sociopath. Thought that it was just an accident but, this being CM, I really should have known better.

Lots of good moments but I must say something really bothered me. The team figured the cop was involved but not a suspect in the boy's death, that he was protecting his friends and that someone in the family was responsible for Kyle's death. So why send Prentiss (or anyone for that matter) to their house by herself? They had already gone to great lengths to hide what really happened. Who's to say they wouldn't have been willing to harm a federal agent?

Loved Morgan chasing down and Hotch interrogating the pedophile, the team all did a great job, JJ being the one to talk to the other child's mother. It had to be hard on her, I just wish we could have seen just how hard.

Now 5 more new episodes in a row. I can't believe we are already heading into the end of the season. I don't want to think about it, it makes me sad!

Ann said...

Creepy episode!!! The kid who played Danny gave a great & very believable performance. He really gave me the chills. It's scary to believe that parents can think so highly of their kids that they can shrug off obvious signs that their kid is a sociopath & blame it on a "bad temper."

I looooved Garcia's hair & I really hope she keeps that look for awhile.

And finally, great team interaction, as always!

Shadow said...

This episode was cruel, very disturbing and extremely sad - in other words, CM at its best.

Loved the lot of team interaction, we had so few team episodes lately. I can’t help but wonder though what had happened in that family before, because their eldest son didn’t become the way he was just accidentally, there must have been something going deeply wrong for a very long time.

There were two things that I found a bit unrealistic and illogical. First, the fact that in the family house Reid would see something the others hadn’t noticed. He may be a genius, but this was too obvious for the rest of the team not to have noticed before, it’s a bit like implying they hadn’t been thorough. Second, why did the detective call in the BAU at all in the first place? The police didn’t call in the BAU and didn’t catch that guy the previous two times, and if the police had handled this case more silently and on their own again, Kyle would just have been the third victim of a still unknown serial perpetrator - a much more successful way to cover it up.

But apart from that, wow what an episode! I still have chills running down my spine.

Great way to say goodbye, Deb! And, of course, kudos to Erica as well. Glad that we can keep you around!

PS: I missed the plane, and am I the only one who didn’t like Garcia’s hair today?

Vali said...

Erica & Deb: great job once again! Interesting topic, very disturbing but important to discuss. So what do we do with a kid like that? As tragic it was I think there's still hope. Had a problem with labeling a youth as a sociopath though. Sorry, not accurate and shouldn't be done either. Loved the teamwork and appreciated to see an episode that wasn't centered around one of the profilers in particular (as much as I love Hotch). Deb, I will miss you much on the CM writing team. You are simply awesome! Thank you for chatting with us tonight :)

jackie said...

I loved the show. Granted i
missed the first 15min, due
to work, but i will rewatch
this one again.
I never would have guessed,
that the other little boy(the
brother)killed his own brother,
and then to have the detective
cover it up, by framing another
person for it, even if that
person is a pedophile.
I guess it goes to show what
great lengths friends go to
for each other to help each
other out(i hope that makes
sense).
I thought Hotch did a really
great job in this one.
I would have thought, that
with his feelings for children,
and their abuse, that he would
have been way more emotionally
involved in this one than he
was.
Maybe he was, but kept it
contained, and didn't show
it, as much as he did in the
past.
It must have been tearing him
up inside.
The ending was not what i
expected. Good thing this kid
was caught early. At least he
could now get the help that he
needed.
This little boy thought about
nothing as he went about
killing helpless animals,
and then escalating to people. In a way, this show reminded me
of the Boogey Man, where the
little boy from Texas went
around killing other little
kids, just because his mother left him and his father.
All in all, another top notch, awesome episode.
I can't waite to see the rest of the new episodes, and very much looking forward to the
season finale!!
Go Criminal Minds!!
You Rock!!!

sherlockette said...

As someone already mentioned I could feel the urgency of finding the child by the pacing of the episode. Most police agencies now recognize that it is crucial to put an enormous amount of resources into finding a missing child, in particular where the child is snatched from home. It would not be out of the question to call in the BAU for something like that.

The team members did okay individually, but they were functioning a bit separately. I will say that it would make sense to divide up the responsibilities in a case with such urgency, but I like the team working together.

The guest actors did a pretty good job showing the difficulties of trying to equally protect both children. I knew it was the brother early on by his casual attitude, but I didn’t think that the cop would actually be involved. Not surprised, just didn’t expect it.

Deb and Erica, thanks for a solid episode. I certainly wish we could have more from the gruesome twosome!

gubegirl said...

All in all, I thought it was a good, solid episode. Each member of the team got equal time, with each showcasing their talents and doing what they do best.

Prentiss was amazing with the parents and that sick (scary sick) big brother; Morgan was great with the top cop who was very twisted himself, almost like he suffered from PTS disorder after his loss of his own family and subsequently became warped; Reid in the scenes in the bedroom - he seems so in touch with children and bedtimes -remember him going to the bedroom in "7 Seconds" and finding the little girl's doll and her wetting the bed also? This info totally turned the case around.

I loved Hotch being Mr. Tough Guy snatching the deal away from the killer of the other two boys; JJ was so sensitive, as always, and maybe more so now being a parent herself.

Rossi being as empathetic and insightful, having never had any children himself-he is good and I am liking him so much more than MP every week. He fits so very nicely into this group.

Garcia's hair: well isn't it a switch to talk about someone other that poor ol' Reid's hair for a change? :) Very nice, Penelope! Her work on this case was imepeccable and so necessary to solving the case as always.

All the guest stars were incredible, esp the little boy playing Danny. But the teary parents as the case wore on were so believable. Their pain was palpable.

Deb's writing: very nice, good job, she should feel proud of this exit epi! We will def miss her!

Anonymous said...

Deb and Erica - Thank you both for yet another gripping, creepy, thought-provoking episode. And a really big Thank You for taking the time to chat with us! We fans really, really appreciate all the time you spend with us.

Deb - Thank you for a wonderful 4 years of hard work and wonderful stories. Best of luck to you -- you will be greatly missed!

alicew

Anonymous said...

I still have mixed feelings about this epi. LOTS of good stuff... fave was Morgan tackling the perv and giving him the death glare.
I took issue because kids under 16 aren't usually diagnosed with such extreme labels.... but then, Prentiss isn't a psychiatrist so it wasn't "official"

Kirsten said...

Nice team episode, really enjoyed it! Of course, CM isn't CM without a great Hotch interrogation! Such a great performance by TG... love his intensity. Thanks D&E, a very chilling but fab hour... Deb, we will miss you.

Meagan said...

A good solid episode, exactly what we've come to expect from the gruesome twosome. Thanks ladies!

It was a 'traditional' epi in the sense there was little character development, but a nice change and equal character time.

I must say, I liked Garcia's new look!

Fav scene: gotta be Hotch's interrogation and removal of the deal. TG did such a great job, as ever! Just seeing the intensity in his eyes lets you know how p'd off he is!

good luck Deb, thanks for everything.

Anonymous said...

i like it i was surpise by who had killed the boy at the end.i can,t waite tell next week.

Lola said...

What a great episode! Very intimidating and I never guessed the creepy brother was the bad guy. Thank you!

Phoenix said...

Good ep. I thought the family dynamics was done particularly well.
Thanks for another great ep.

PattyGirl said...

Loved the episode. Creepy unsub, poor family to have to deal with so much drama. Fav scenes, Hotch interrogating the pervert. Love how intense he was. Very in your face of that creep. As usual excellent work by Thomas Gibson. Another one who did shine in this episode was Paget Brewster, she had lots of good scenes.

Thanks Deb and Erica for another excellent episode.

Patty

PAOLAFROMPARIS said...

Mrs Fisher, I bow to you.
Disturbing, but good story, good suspence, amazing guest actors, the mom was too true,
the team was brilliant, Prentiss was fantastic, Morgan kicked the door artistically, Rossi was as good as Hotch, and JJ and Garcia were there.
The only thing was the title: "a shade of gray"....
does it means that there was just a little touch of Matthew Gray Gubler, as quick and pale and quickly gone as if a shade was on him?

Yeah, it makes sense. *sigh*

Steph said...

Great job Deb & Erica! A really good storyline and the cast were all excellent, as usual. Stand-outs for me were Hotch (TG was simply rocking in his interrogation) and Prentiss (love PB's work!). Thank you CM!

Bina said...

This one has made me think a lot. What can we do with kids like that? What really drives people (and children) to that kind of aggression? Thank you for the food for thought, Erica & Deb. As always you've done a fantastic job. Deb, I will miss you so much! Sad to know that the producers let go such great writers as you. Doesn't make sense to mess with a package that has been good to them as it has been to us.
The team was great and Hotch was a pleasure to watch. TG is giving so much to this show.

Barb said...

Deb, sorry to see you go from CM. As with the lost of Andrew Wilder and all the other writers, CM is losing a lot of talent and all those lost are casting a big shadow over CM next season, lets hope an actor will not leave too.

That said, Shade of Gray was pretty good. Very disturbing case, a brother murdering his own brother, that was chilling. The kid who played Danny was so good. He did creep me up! Poor parents, to have to deal with such a kid. I can understand them trying to save their remaining son.

There was many things that I liked about this episode, JJ's talk with the mother, Prentiss interrogation of Danny and Danny real nature coming out when he did beat up the bag of chips! Hotch agressivity with the suspect. Man Hotch can be intimidating! Kudos to Paget Brewster and Thomas Gibson for giving us another great performance.

As a last offering from the Gruesome Twosome you did well ladies. I am just sorry we will not get anymore episodes from Debra Fisher and Erica Messer.

Lets hope CM fans will not have to lose anyone else again.

Barb

Jasmine* said...

I just finished watching the episode and i think it was brilliant..although i had some doubts about the boy from the beginning but admitting that he was that sick was really sad !
i had tears in my eyes at the ending. It was such an emotional episode yet so creepy!

Kelsey said...

What a way to go out, Deb & Erica... a very good episode full of all the "ugh!" factor we've come to expect from you gals. Thank you!

The cast was up to the challenge too! Thomas, AJ and Paget: wow! Sooooo good!

Can't wait until next week!

Laura_G said...

This was such a hard ep for me to watch. First of all, I am going to miss Deb so much! Second, it's hard to watch kids killing kids (especially when you have 2 kids who argue all the time!). This was such a tragic story. Great acting all around. I need to watch it again.

Thanks Deb and Erica for coming to chat. Sorry I couldn't be there for it.