"Dorado Falls" - The BAU team investigates a mass murder at an Internet security company in Charlottesville, Va., but clues reveal it is not a typical serial killer at work. Also, Prentiss must complete recertification training under Morgan's watchful eye, on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, Oct. 5 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Max Martini ("The Unit") guest stars as Navy veteran Luke Dolan.
What do you think about the episode ??
Careful in case you haven't watched the episode yet... comments might contain ***SPOILERS***...
Hallelujah! An open thread again! TY Sindee! Hello and good thoughts to Jill from us!
ReplyDeleteLiked the 3rd epi more than the
2nd, since Reid was more himself, and there were nice little blips of good humor scattered thru-out, which always makes me happy, given the heavy darkness of the show.
The Dr. Who comment from Reid was right-on and I like Garcia doing the old movie quote but the line about Morgan "rubbing her lamp" went a little overboard.
I liked Rossi being the retired military man; felt that lent cred to the situ and like him being front & center, however, Hotch was practically non-existent, sad for you TG followers.
Prentiss and Morgan at the end I also liked; his honesty and plan to practice brushing up on their skills together, etc. will help them get over the hump altho' it seems they are well on their way.
JJ? Well, who the heck was that in the chair grilling and subtly threatening the DOD guy or whoever he was? Not in character for her, and I was not comfortable with that. Just not JJ's style, IMHO.
Reid needs to get his bangs cut and out of his face but I like his manner and lines this week, because the snarkey Reid last week reminded me of his Dilaudid days...when he was not himself.
That's all for now. Jump on the bandwagon, guys! Hope to get some healthy (but KINDLY) discussion going here!
Great to have the blog back up and running, thanks Sindee.I'm mostly repeating myself here, have already given my opinion on the message board.
ReplyDeleteHey gubegirl, you made it on first!
I thought the actor who played the unsub was very good. Not sure how I feel about what seems like scraping the bottom of the barrel for unique mental conditions. Made sense that Reid would know about it however.
Didn't really understand why they were called out in the first place, just after one incident, albeit a multi victim one. Really did not get why he killed his ex buddy or the co-workers. While there he gave no indication that he thought these people were impostors. Then it seemed that one minute we were at the offices where those people were killed and then the next we were in the parents' house and the team knew who was doing the killings. I think I missed something, or did I?
This was not one of my favourites. The unsub and his story was much better written than the team interactions. They were left with tired, cookie cutter lines while profiling. The exception being Rossi's contribution as ex military. I always hate it when that happens. Also felt over the top in macho action. The whole Morgan/Prentiss thing did nothing for me. Whatever she owes the team it is not submission to Morgan's domination, which is what that felt like to me.
I'm having an awful feeling of deja vu. All last season I stayed with the show hoping for improvement and mourning that it wasn't happening, well here we go again. Was so hopeful after ep 2 and now just let down.
Do not have DVR in my house and our VCR has finally called it quits. We were going to watch Harry's Law with Cathy Bates and give CM a miss, they clash on Wed nights but then my housemate relented. Might have been a better choice.
I hope that the new or almost new writers deliver. The season can't be sustained by only episodes written by Erica, Rick and Frazier. The new writers need to see all seasons in order to get the subtle aspects of the characters, not just the story on cannon.
ReplyDeleteI really feel that the team angst is realistic, but what about Emily's? Come on, do not waste Paget's talent!
We need better profiling science and get the teams interactions thru the case. The season premiere was epic, for 02 and 03 are not even remarkable.
I really loved that episode.
ReplyDeleteThere was a good team balance and the Morgan/Prentiss scenes were really nice.
I also loved seeing Hotch and Reid working together and the Reid scenes were wonderful. I love seeing him using his vast knowledge and brilliant mind.
I liked the episode. There was lots of profiling . All the team members were involved.
ReplyDeleteRossi was great.
It was nice how parts of the unsubs story paralled Prentiss story and I loved the Morgan/Prentiss scenes. He wants to make sure she is ok. They already lost Gideon and Elle to PTSD and he doesn`t want to lose Emily (again). And he cannot be distracted in the field because he is worrying about her. She understands him and is fine with him wanting her to do some training.
It was a little annoying though that JJ used her Pentagon contacts to get a secret file when in "Lauren" she used her State Department contacts to get information. I wish the writers could decide where she actually has been working the last year.
Copying from the message board for people who frequent this board. First, thanks Jill and we miss you and thanks Denise for trying to keep everyone happy!
ReplyDeleteApart from some of the technical irritants I mentioned in my previous post (on 'Proof' on the message board), what bothers (and saddens) me the most is that I am feeling less emotionally attached to the characters, and that is saying a lot.
I liked:
1) Rossi's presence
2) Morgan's suit
3) Crash course on Capgras syndrome
I disliked:
1) Everything else.
Especially not feeling Hotch's hotchness - ie, nothing seems to differentiate him (swear I'm not an imposter). Don't know if it's the script or tg himself, but Hotch 'feels' tired and overworn; he seems to be a mere shadow of what he used to be. Actually, everything about the current CM is reminding me of how a prof used to describe periods of Decadence (in literary history, not literally). Every period is followed by a transitional one that retains the form of the preceding era without the conviction of its substance. I just feel Minds is in such a phase. Or maybe it's just a few of us - it's doing very well, indeed better than ever; so whatever they're doing seems to be working.
I'll never have anything but the very best wishes for everyone involved in the making of CM. If i sound like an old aunt nagging away for ever, that's because i am :-D at least with CM.
I liked the episode but it wasn't one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteGuys, if you scroll down abit further, Sindee has opened threads for discussion in the first two epi's as well.
ReplyDeletePls. join in!
I promise I will go back and ck out the message board later but for quickies, this is easy for me!
left something on proof, G! how are you feeling now, though?
ReplyDeleteI really liked the last scene with Prentiss and Morgan. It was so cute
ReplyDeleteThe best episode of Criminal Minds I saw in a long time. The case was wonderful and intriguing and I think this writer has a great handle of the characters.
ReplyDeleteGarcia might have been a little over the top at some point (with her reference from the movie 'To Have and Have Not' about how to whistle), but apart from that everyone was really in character.
I loved the team dynamic.
The use of Rossi's background was interesting. I liked seeing him trying to reason with the unsub.
I really enjoyed the Prentiss/Morgan scenes. You can tell he needed the reassurance and their dynamic is enjoyable.
Hotch was the great leader we're used to see and was in charge.
I Loved all of Reid's scenes, they were really in character and the writer managed to put Reid's potential to good use.
I hope to see more scenes like that for Reid in the future. And, on a side note, I'm impatient to see if the story about his mother will go anywhere. I hope so.
I do agree that the writers should make up their minds about JJ : Pentagon or State Department ?
So all in all, I loved that episode and can't wait for Sharon Lee Watson's next one.
I especially love how she writes Reid, I think she likes to portray his genius. I certainly want to see more of that. Reid is our genius and scientist who graduated high school at 12 and I would love to see an episode focusing on that aspect of the character.
Lik Eleven, there are some things I liked and some I didn't about this episode.
ReplyDeleteI liked the way the writer wrote Reid, figuring out the answer, both this week and last week with his deduction in Proof that the unsub was using a mental illness to appear harmless, which led them in the right direction. And of course the Dr. Who statement.
I like the way the team worked together as a unit. I loved Rossi using his military skills.
The actor who played the navy seal did an excellent job.
What I didn't like was how much this mirrored Distress. A military man, caught in what he believes is a fight for his life, tied back to something that happened on a mission and involved the killing of children. They traded PTSD for Capgras Syndrome but a lot of it felt the same, even down to the child showing up at just the wrong moment at the time of surrender.
I also didn't like this tough hard JJ. JJ's always been tough, but in a much softer way. I always wondered how she could be with all she'd seen. In this case, threatening the man at the Pentagon, she seemed more like Strauss than JJ.
Sometimes Garcia's pratter is entertaining and funny and at other times it feels grossly out of place to me. This episode was one where it felt grossly out of place with the rubbing her lamp and the whistling business.
Prentiss' attitude certainly has changed in one week. Last week she wanted none of Reid's anger threatening it would give her another ulcer and her comment to Morgan about, "You carried my coffin;" he wasn't the only one. Now, in Morgan's case, she's willing to do, "Whatever it takes," to make it up to him, but she wanted no part in making anything up to Reid.
All I can say is that I'm so glad the whole team is back I can't stand it! Thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteAs for the eps so far, I've enjoyed the new 'nuance' to the cast. Rossi is my fave, so having more Rossi is always a plus. The others are sorting out their feelings about Emily and finding their place again - it's been interesting to watch.
As far as the storylines themselves, they've been good. Far superior, in my opinion, than this time last year.
Did I say that I'm thrilled that the team is back??? LOL! Love Criminal Minds!!!
I recently saw "Risky Business" again and something has been bothering me since season 7 started--with Garcia presenting the cases and JJ now a profiler, who's taking the calls for the cases?
ReplyDeletePat said, "Prentiss' attitude certainly has changed in one week. Last week she wanted none of Reid's anger threatening it would give her another ulcer and her comment to Morgan about, "You carried my coffin;" he wasn't the only one. Now, in Morgan's case, she's willing to do, "Whatever it takes," to make it up to him, but she wanted no part in making anything up to Reid."
ReplyDeleteWOW!!! I certainly agree with that!! I did not like the conversation she had with Reid last episode. I get that she was mourning possibly not seeing her 5 friends again, but she WAS NOT mourning their deaths. Big difference. She needs to be "Willing to do whatever it takes" for ALL of them.
I'm going to write this here because it would appear no one is scrolling down to the thread re: the 1st epi.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone get what happened to Declan? If his parents are dea, his nanny was killed, also, where does that leave him?
Another dropped storyline? Maybe just too difficult to deal with?
I'm assuming that the man that was raising Declan as his own, who had been out of the country during the kidnapping, will continue to raise Declan as his own.
ReplyDeleteI liked this episode. The best one so far. And, I think I liked what some people didn't like. The use of Capgras Syndrome. I think it's perfectly acceptable to use an uncommon condition. Since it's real and exists, it makes it plausible. But, I liked that they didn't make it simple. It wasn't just the disorder (and very good of them to point out that not all people with delusions become killers) but the combination of being a Navy Seal and having that mission in his past. I love that Luke Dolan wasn't suffering from flashbacks. He was completely alert and aware of when and where he was, with the exception of thinking his loved ones were imposters.
ReplyDeleteI also like that the team wasn't immediately right with the profile. Profiling isn't an exact science. Sometimes they get things wrong, and I like that this reflected it. Especially when the wrong idea still makes sense.
Another thing I appreciated was the handling of the violence. The camera angles and cuts let us see what was happening without showing too much.
Also, I thought everyone on the team was well represented. JJ with the DIA man? Well, my impression is JJ's style has always been to be exactly what she needs to be to get what she wants for the case. She was dealing with someone from the DIA. I don't think anything less than what she did would work on him. I found it perfectly in character for JJ to know that and to use it. I also loved that she did some liaising (I count this as well as talking to the media). 6 years of experience (going by what she said in "JJ") should be used when needed.
I'm a big Hotch fan and was surprised to read that people felt that he wasn't really there. Quantity wise, he seemed to come on screen just about every two scenes. Quality, they showed him and Reid picking up each others thoughts, which hasn't happened in awhile. They showed him processing the information that the others provided and then using it. Knowing that having Dolan's wife talk to him without being seen would be helpful.
Everyone else had something to do, helped with the case, and I don't think any one character had more screen time or focus than anyone else.
I also loved the Morgan and Prentiss stuff. I would complain about them being paired up again, because I don't want any two people to always be together. It limits them. But, here, I liked it. That Morgan is worried about himself makes sense, because he did have a lot of guilt about not getting to Prentiss sooner and could make him dangerously cautious. And, I LOVED that the issue wasn't wrapped up in a neat, cute, but completely unbelievable bow by the end of the episode. Morgan and Prentiss may have been able to joke about neck rubs, but he still needs her to do that recertification and go to the shooting range.
So I thought this was a well crafted case episode and an excellent debut for a first time writer. Hopefully she does as well in character centric episodes, because those are my favorite.
I think that Eleven's comment about Hotch being worn out and not Hotchy, has to do with Thomas Gibson's drastic weight loss. He looks so thin and guant. Not healthy. However, I love season 7 so far! Great episode!
ReplyDeleteBeen away a long time, but happy to be back (not sure it'll be entirely consistent, but!)
ReplyDeleteI actually enjoyed this episode. A lot. There may have been a few technical glitches, but these were my highlights:
- The profilers are back to profiling. Other than the first raid on the warehouse, it was not all about brawn over brains. They used their skills, reminiscent of S.1 and S.2, and actually talked through cases and walked you through their process.
- Reid got to use his brain again. I love seeing his intelligence being put to use!
- I thought all of the characters had great screen time. Hotch definitely looks (as a person, not the character) less healthy than previously, but his character actiosn in the show remind me of the typical Hotch.
- The unsub's story was much more in the forefront than other episodes as of late. Too often we were "hearing about" the unsub's lives through the CM characters, but we weren't seeing as much. Seeing what the unsubs experience (for better or worse), is part of what makes you relate to the show.
Overall, I thought it was a great episode. Maybe not in my Top 5, but I'd definitely watch it again, and this feels more like the traditional CM than I remember in quite some time.
This was a really good episode! the actor who played the unsub was intense. Well done CM!
ReplyDelete