Thursday, October 25, 2007

CRIMINAL MINDS EPISODE DISCUSSION & SPOILERS THREAD FOR "SEVEN SECONDS".


Criminal Minds Spoiler and Discussion Thread for "Seven Seconds" - When a child is abducted at a local mall, the BAU locks down the area and profiles the people at the scene in order to retrieve the child before it is too late. Criminal Minds starring Kirsten Vangsness, Paget Brewster, A.J. Cook, Thomas Gibson, Matthew Gray Gubler and Shemar Moore. Episode info courtesy of cbs.com.

**Spoilers*******Song and Quotes are in the post below*******

99 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can't wait! *G* I've got a HUGE midterm at 10 am tomorrow at university, I've been studying night and day for, but CM will give me the much-needed break I'll need from all that reading.

Just need to get myself some snacks and I'll be all set for an evening of relaxation after 8 pm before my exam tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

Counting the hours. Tivo is ready and so am I!

Anonymous said...

I can't wait. It sounds so good.

Anonymous said...

Garcia in the field ordering the mall people to get her tech supplies and finding Katie on the film is awesome. Way to go Garcia! Cool smooth talk between Garcia and Morgan in the opening scene is way HOT!

The first scene has me freaked out. Losing a kid at the mall is scary.

Anonymous said...

Did I understand that this is a perp with a pattern? Is this a repeat crime? I missed the first few minutes. HELP!

Anonymous said...

OMG. Not liking this at all

Anonymous said...

Yes the kidnapper has done it before.

Anonymous said...

"Seven seconds is all it takes for a child to disappear"

Anonymous said...

Ohmigod did any one notice Reid's shirt and tie? That's god awful right there. I think it was eithe rhte aunt or the uncle.

Anonymous said...

This is horrible subject matter. I don't like this at all. I am not watching the rest of the episode.

Anonymous said...

I turned it off too Marina. Sorry but this is too much shock value for me. I am not willing to watch shows like this. First time I ever turned off a CM episode ever.

Anonymous said...

Prentiss solved the kidnapping part and Hotch solved the abuse part but I liked Reid interrogating Jeremy the best.

I thought Jeremy had done it.

Anonymous said...

Thank god the little girl was alright. I was so worried that they might not be able to save her. I felt bad for Hotch. He needed a hug. And what a twisted family. The uncle molesting his niece and the wife blaming that poor six year old. How can you do that to a child? The image of that Barbie doll will haunt my dreams tonight. On the slightly bright side Garcia was funny as hell when she ordering the mall staff around and when she was telling Morgan how much the security equipment sucked. Reid really needs to learn how to dress himself.

Anonymous said...

WOW!!! This was an excellent show! It was a difficult subject to watch. Thank goodness the little girl didn't die.

(That family won't be having any family like get togethers for a while...yikes.)

Anonymous said...

AWESOME episode!

There were a few really bad lines written in there. Like the "I know these signs, she is trying to cover up that necklace" was incredibly ignorant. I understand they were trying to give us a hint of symbolism but it went over like a lead balloon. Sitting down face to face wth Spencer Reid and talking about "becoming a man" and such things..no wonder the kid was chewing his cheek and backing away. "Thing is I WAS a LITTLE awkward..." two things wrong with that sentence, "was" and "little".

Reids hair looks so awful I want to jump through the screen and brush it.

We do NOT need Joe Mantegna. I am fine with Emily and Hotch on interogation and Morgan and Reid on foot traffic.

Anonymous said...

Interesting ep....

Creepy storyline, but actually one of the most straightforward. It's honestly not one of the most horrific I've seen, but it still is totally creepy.

Different aspect to the CM show. We didn't know the unsub, and it wasn't even a serial killer. Just a screwed up jealous wife/ex-wife who wanted her screwed up husband all to herself. I feel bad for the poor boy who now is going to lead a likely very messed up life.

I had to laugh at Reid talking to the boy. Saying how when he was 13, he became interested in girls and how awkward it was. Sooo....what changed? LMAO! Poor guy hasnt' become any less awkward that I can see! ;-D

I'm glad it was a happy ending, and it was interesting to see how it tore at different people. Emily really got into it with the aunt, and I thought Hotch was going to haul off and hit the uncle. I wouldn't have blamed him for doing so. Morgan was the one who quickly caught on to the molestation, which of course again is understandable.

Overall a good episode. I liked last week's better, although this one was very emotional as well. Definitely not a disappointment though, I personally thought it was quite well done considering the subject matter.

Anonymous said...

hmmmmm!, I loved reid's interrogation of jeremy! very good acting for ALL of the cast! LOVED IT!!!! :)

Anonymous said...

Pretiss was awesome. She figured out the lighter and that the aunt was just so calm. She was the hero in this one.

Loved Reid talking with Jeremy and profiling him. That poor kid was caught between a rock and hard spot. What a thing to realize. That it is your own mom.

The uncle needs he balls cut off....."I would never do anything to hurt Katie"....what the hell is sexually abusing her?????????

Hotch misses Jack. That is so sad.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Can someone tell me what happened, my cable went out when the were trying to revive the little girl.

Anonymous said...

I loved hearing JJ say that she did not have kids YET. I think the conversation last week with Emily may have her thinking about being a mom too.

Garcia seemed really almost too calm at the end. She is usually the emotional one.

It was an alright episode.

Anonymous said...

Reid talking about how awkward he was with girls when he was 13 was funny since he is still awkward with them now but he is really becoming a very good profiler.

Morgan seemed impatient with the boy tonight which is not really like him. I know they were rushing against the clock but still it seemed out of character.

Emily ruled the day and because of her the girl lived. That was a horrrible scene with the paramedics. I really thought she was dead and the music added to that feeling.

Anonymous said...

Lots of team work in this one. JJ handled the press and the family. Reid and Morgan talked with the kid. Garcia looking at the tapes. Prentiss and Hotchner talking with the adults. The team was tight tonight. Great episode.

Anonymous said...

I like this eppy. It was a very emotional one. I was crying at the end. I am so glad the girl is all right.

Reid was great with the boy. I was laughing when he told him "when I was your age I was awkward". WAS????? He still is!

I am glad Hotch went to see his son, and very glad Haily let him in to see him, even though he was asleep. Very glad. He needed to see his son, after all that.

I also liked his comment how we dont always catch them. Thats so true. (As we always see them get the bad guy)

Anonymous said...

Hotch needs to fix his marriage and see his son in the daylight instead of just watching him sleep. What is it going to take to get him to put his priorities in order.

Great episode but horrible story. I hate it when they show crimes on kids. I liked the episode but man I am ready for them to start up with dogs again and leave kids alone for awhile.

Anonymous said...

I did not like this one, and thought it was overacted and put together badly. The mom was a mess and how many time must someone say the line, "Why are you asking this question or where are you going with this?" It's the police and the freaking FBI, that is what they DO, they ask about everything and they should have suspected the family from the start.

I did not like the Emily/Aunt scene, it was shrill and almost funny to see Prentiss be that way, it was not convincing to me at all.

I missed Gideon and his more human, empathic way of getting answers, as well as the humor he often brought to a case.

Lociloco

Anonymous said...

A molesting uncle and a psycho killing aunt mixed in with a 6 year old girl. I think the show should have put up a warning that the subject matter might be disturbing to teenagers. Mine fled half way through and he never does that.

It was disturbing and I did not like it at all.

Anonymous said...

Really great episode! So much emotion, and such great use of each of the team members' strengths. And the mystery kept you guessing.

I noticed JJ saying she didn't have kids YET, too. Guess Prentiss isn't the only one who wants to be someone's mom.

Anonymous said...

WHAT WAS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FLOATING PINK BALLOON????

Anonymous said...

The hour went by so quickly. I was on the edge of my chair the whole time. They really did work very well together in this one but my heart just aches for Hotch.

Reid looks and acts like he is not having trouble emotionally with Gideon leaving. He was sharp as a needle tonight.

Really well written episode imho.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I thought it was the one of very best ones yet! Very quick, emotional, you could feel the panic. I've been in Potomac Mills Mall over a thousand times, (I literally jumped up and down when I saw it was at the mall, my husband and I walked there every night for years)the real mall is a single story and all those scenes on the stairs distracted me. It was kind of like watching the show done in drag. But still, the story was so good and the emotion so on point that I still think it is tops! Bravo.

'hometown'

Anonymous said...

What a powerful episode! Difficult subject matter but very well executed.

I think the story the writers were trying to tell was also difficult in terms of pacing and laying out the clues. But I think they did a great job. I felt the urgency, the confusion.

I loved that Reid had more to do -- it's about time. I think his style of interrogation was perfectly balanced -- firm, but not threatening. Just right for who he was talking to.

I also was thinking the same thing about the awkwardness statement.

Yes, he has grown up from even from season 2. It's almost like in season one he was a kid, in season 2 he became a teen (all that angst, brooding, etc.)And now he's becoming more manly, more authoritative. It fits his character development. I like it but I hope they keep some of that boyish charm that makes Reid unique. Even when we grow up, we still retain the basic essence of our personalities.

This show just keeps evolving into something more complex and interesting. It's not the same story every week -- there have been some really different "takes" on subject matter and methods.

Loved it.

Anonymous said...

My OPINION on the floating balloon would be that the it was the "loss" of the little girl. Most likely the Aunt used a balloon to lure her away. The symbolism seemed to be "loss" as it floated away. But this is my opinion and I could totally be wrong.

Anonymous said...

I thought it was a great episode--the subject matter was troubling and I guess we don't like being reminded that this kind of thing happens more than we like to admit.

I think I can understand the parents wanting to know why they were asking all those types of questions and being upset about it--they knew they didn't do anything wrong, but the FBI and police didn't and they have to clear the parents before they can look elsewhere. And personally, if I had children and it one of them disappeard at the mall, I would be an utter mess, too, blubbering all over the place. It was all so quick, that they didn't really have enough time to calm themselves down.

Hotch and Prentiss really wailed on the uncle and aunt! Go Hotch and Prentiss.

JJ was wonderful with the mother, calming her down a bit so she could make the announcement over the intercom.

Garcia, as usual rocked, ordering the security people around to get the surveillance tapes and as often as she is the goofy one, she knew when to keep it serious, and this is about as serious as it gets.

Morgan and Reid were grea with the kid, and I had to laugh about Reid talking to the boy about when he was 13. Did anyone notice how comfortable/confident he seemed with him--our Reid is growing up!

Poor Hotch at the end, wanting just to look at Jack after this all happened. I am glad that Hayley let him in. I am sure her sister will complain about that to her later!

All in all a good episode, and next week, we get Rossi!

Anonymous said...

I was confused by the closing quote they chose: Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.

What was peoples' take on that?

Anonymous said...

No idea, I think I am the ONE person who voted that I don't like the quotes, I ignore them mostly.

Lee

slashgirl said...

Haley is staying with her sister (at first I thought Haley'd gotten a perm)--they originally showed her in Machismo. At the end of the ep Hotch goes there because he just wants 5 minutes with Jack even though he's asleep. Poor Hotch. At least Haley isn't a complete and total bitch, she did let him see his son. (Which brings me to another point, people who were suprised when he called Haley at the end of that other ep--they figured he wouldn't know where they were...as much as I hate Haley I don't think she'd do that to Hotch because she knows that he DOES love his son.) Poor hotch, Haley looked very annoyed that he was there. And to those who are complaining that Hotch only sees his son when he sleeps: we do NOT see every single moment of their lives. So, we don't know that he doesn't see his son at other times.

Lots of Garcia love at the beginning (although I have to say, that dress made her look preggers). Her quotes. After requesting a bunch of techie stuff "I wasn't speaking hypothetically." Hee. Garcia="She who must be obeyed". And the other quote I loved: "The 1980s called, they want their security system back."

Reid is comfortable dealing with the boy--nice to see. I'm glad Reid's learning to deal with people, it doesn't change who he is at a basic level but it shows that he is learning and growing. Now I want to see if dogs still react to him the same way.

*sigh* Almost NO H/R time tonight. *pouts* *glares at writers*

Prentiss: When she was interviewing the aunt, there was an edge to her emotionalism that I don't think was manufactured. I think it is something related to her back story--abuse of some sort from her (now absent/dead) father? I don't really know but there was something there. Compared to Hotch's performance with the uncle--he was playing it the whole way (Not that he doesn't feel those emotions about it, but he was in control the whole time...although I did get excited that maybe we'd FINALLY see him lose it....shot down again).

I liked this ep--good pacing and I liked the twist of it being the aunt. And Hotch helping save the little girl. (I knew he was gonna be the one to find her) and that poor little girl...

Oh, and I recognised tonight's song right away: Imogen Heaps The Moment I said it...Unfortunately it wasn't "Come Here Boy." *snicker*

And I forgot to watch the preview again....

slashgirl said...

Anonymous said...

I was confused by the closing quote they chose: Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.

What was peoples' take on that?


It means that fairy tales teach children that evil can always be defeated...and in real life? We know that that isn't always true.

Anonymous said...

It means that fairy tales teach children that evil can always be defeated...and in real life? We know that that isn't always true.

Hmmm...I hadn't thought of that, 'cause I never think of dragons as evil. I guess that's the fantasy geek coming out in me. Interesting.

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Stories about crimes involving children can be difficult to watch but in today's society children are the largest victims group.

Hope you are feeling better Jillsy!

Anonymous said...

The show has redeemed itself for me this week. The characters have their “voice” back, and their unique skills were much more apparent. They were using varied profiling techniques, like real profilers (not just average cops) do. Emily is moving towards being too personally involved in cases, which seems somewhat abrupt to me. Perhaps she was just fighting to hold back how she really felt all along. I don’t want her to develop a vigilante attitude as we have seen that somewhere before???

There were two overlapping themes in the show. One was abductions and the need to treat each one seriously, and the other was so called “family matters” or incest. Both are difficult subjects to deal with but I am glad they decided to go there. The speech Reid gave about statistics on survival of abducted children, which he also quoted in the first season, is right out of a recent publication on the topic. It is hard to hear but if it puts pressure on the authorities to act quickly, that is a good thing. Everyone knows someone who was molested, even if they don’t know it. Sometimes it involves an entire family as was the case here.

As for the technical issues, I don’t believe a dog can track people in the environment of a mall. They can find drugs but hunting people in a huge place full of moving people would be nearly impossible. I also don’t see the mall being shut down like it was (a single store, but not the mall). I can ignore those issues for this episode.

Raphael0877 said...

I really enjoyed this episode. It was fast paced and exciting, but with many interpersonal encounters between the suspects and the team. I don't think I've ever seen Hotch go off on a suspect like that before - I don't think he's ever actually lost it and yelled. He was almost out of control (looked good on him!!).

This was such an emotionally packed story, and I thought everyone on the team did well. I'm happy to see them letting Reid do the profiling stuff that Gideon (who?) would have normally done - 'bout time they let him be a real profiler and not just a human search engine. And go, Prentiss. I really like her now.

Well, we certainly didn't know who the unsub was in this episode till the end - I'm happy to see the writers mix things up; I love the twists they come up with. Disturbing subject, but great episode.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad that they went back to the old format of not telling us who the unsub was until the end. I was going back and forth trying to figure it out. I don't think the episode would have been so good if we had known upfront who the perv(s) were. Great episode.

Anonymous said...

Awesome episode. Loved the fast pace who done it action. The cast was brilliant tonight and the writing was flawless.

Prentiss is really something special. Who knew?

Anonymous said...

The chilling part is that the original unsub they were looking for is still out there waiting to prey on another child. That makes me have goosebumps.

A+ episode.

Anonymous said...

LOOOOOOOOOOOVED this episode. Although the actual crime disturbed me. Stupid woman. Yes, blame the 6 year old girl for her uncle molesting her. Oy.

Anyway, to the team. I actually thought Hailey was being a little nice at the end. I felt like she could see the pain/need in his eyes and understood that he just needed to see Jack, even if he was asleep.

Emily was great. Love how she caught on to Hotch's comment and the whole lighter/retail comments clicked in her head. Oh, and when she slammed that doll down in front of her! Great moment!

JJ was also very good. I really liked the "do you have kids" "not yet" part. It was nice to see that she's thinking about that; just a little taste of character development there that was nice.

Garcia's comment about the 80s calling and wanting their security system back----priceless. As usual. And she got to be out her office for a change! Yay!

Morgan was good...although I feel like he fell behind the others in this one. I know he was there (with Reid and Garcia) but I have nothing about the episode for him to comment on.

Reid...I giggled at the "was" line too. But then again, he had to give the kid hope that he could be normal. Although, I don't know about after all that how he can be. I really liked how he talked to him at the end about making sure he was taken care off. Very sweet. And that he knew the game, lol.

Anonymous said...

Morgan figured out that Katie was being abused. I love how he is so intuned with children and he just gets it.

Prentiss was really ready to throw the uncle into a wall. You could tell.

Hotch seriously is in pain over his family. Feel so sorry for that character.

Reid being awkward at age 13. Who would have ever guessed it? LOL

Anonymous said...

Tonights episode was GREAT! Hotch and Prentiss really rocked it and I have to give this ep over to them, they really were the highlights with their questioning of That Dirty Pervert and The Irrationally Jealous Aunt.

The runner up spots definitely go to Reid and Morgan though, when they were talking to the kid, and Reid especially when he was talking one on one with the boy. A few people have mentioned that Reid is "growing up" and I can totally agree with that.

Garcia got in her good snarky line and over all this episode was FANTASTIC.

Anonymous said...

The crazy woman wanted to kill the child so her husband would not be a pedophile anymore. Talk about being out of touch with reality. I knew it was not right for her to be just sitting there.

But how did Prentiss know that she had worked at THAT mall? I missed that part.

Loved the episode.

Anonymous said...

Great intense episode but I can see why some people would have a hard time with the subject matter.

I loved Reid reading that kid. He knew that whatever the kid wasn't telling them was the clue they needed. Morgan was sweet at the end when he told the kid that they understand that he could not tell on his own mother.

When the boy asked them what was going to happen to him my heart skipped a beat.

The actors were so great in this one. I love having Garcia out in the field. JJ is so wonderful with victim's families. She was great tonight.

Elizabeth Bear said...

Actually, Sherlockette, the tracking dog wasn't good *enough* to be realistic. Good ones are *amazing.*

A search and rescue dog can find its target on a busy city street. (Generally speaking, those are bloodhounds, though.)

Lost balloons for innocence lost, of course. Pink balloon adrift, girl in a pink sweater missing. Remember the party balloons during the standoff in Psychodrama?

The Chesterton quote, I have a little bit of a different spin on. Because of course our guys are the guys who fight monsters. It's what they grow up to do. And there's what Jeremy asks at the end--"What's going to happen to me?"

Well, Jeremy, you can be a victim, or a monster, or a hero.

You decide.

I liked this ep a lot--tense, tight, and with some lovely light-handed character moments that you wouldn't catch if you were a casual viewer. For example, Galahad and Perceval... I mean, Morgan and Reid, in the victim's room, talking about Morgan and Reid and using the bad wisdom of their own blighted childhoods to save Katie's life. And both of them knowing what they were doing, and trusting each other with that damage. That was *nice.*

Also, I loved that every single character made a major contribution to the investigation, and that the focus was on the interviews and the process of ferreting out the truth.

And my greenscreen is back! Huzzah! Perhaps I can look forward to a little Spencer!cam sometime this season too. (Yes, I am a sucker for the stylish visual effects.)

Thumbs up on Garcia's and JJ's hair. Not so much a thumbs up on Reid's. He looks like he's got a secret identity as Too Much Hairspray Man. I approve of the awful shirt/tie combination, though. That's my favorite dork!

I was somewhat disappointed by the ending with the miraculous save of the little girl. Too Hollywood for the ruthless Criminal Minds I know and love. I think I would have been okay with it if it weren't for the near-death experience (We just got this a couple of episodes ago, after all.)

Also, Spencer's favorite movie was BABAR?

really?

And that was three clean wins in a row. I dunno. People are going to start to talk....

--Bear

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad that I am not the only person who thought it disappointing that the girl lived. It was not realistic. It seemed like they worked on her for a long time with no results and then the Hollywood miracle happened and she lived. While I do think it would have been more realistic for her to have died at that point I think we need to realize that this show was already balancing a difficult topic and a young child's death wasn't going to make it any easier.

I love them for going back to letting us figure out who the unsub is while they are figuring it out. I like this so much better than knowing it from the beginning. Our actors were just the best tonight. Loved all their performances.

Anonymous said...

Bear I am SO glad you caught the movie title, we didn't and thought out loud that people would defintely be asking Stacy for some caps right away!

By the way, did anyone else watch this episode and think to themselves that their local mall would NOT have had a lockdown procedure like this? I worked at the mall information desk about 8 years ago(pre 9/11)and if someone came and said their child was missing we would seriously have been like, "Well let us call security, come back and let me know when you find your child, good luck!" I think pre 9/11 our country didn't always assume the worst.

Lee

slashgirl said...

Forget to say how much I liked the return to NOT knowing who the unsub was. I like trying to figure out who it could be, along with the team. It makes for a funner, more engaging episode for me.

Anonymous said...

prentiss has won me over. it is impossible at this point to not like her character. i give up and concede. she is awesome.

Anonymous said...

Great episode. Loved the story, acting, pace and everything else.

I did not miss Gideon at all in this one and I am wondering why we need a seventh character when these six are so freakin awesome.

And what is the deal with the Hotchners? Poor Jack.

Anonymous said...

I liked Reid talking about the violence in video games and implying that Jeremy was using them to act out. Reid was really zeroing in on him. He knew the kid held the answer but I think Reid was really convinced the kid had done it.

Anonymous said...

Jill,

Now I understand why you posted so many different posts on the child actors today. These kids were great. It is amazing how talented they all are.

Love the episode.

Anonymous said...

Can't wait to rewatch it tomorrow. I loved the whole episode. It was so smooth and so well written and acted.

Great CM night!

Anonymous said...

Child abduction didn't thrill me when I read the previews but watching it on the show was okay. They handled it very well.

Prentiss has learned to be more sensitive but also has retained her sharpness and her determination.

Reid is growing up. He really is so far away from being that immature scrawny kid from season one. I loved that he knew the children's video. It is hard to believe that he watched videos as a child since he is a genuis but it was a great touch.

Anonymous said...

Loved it.

Anonymous said...

The pink balloon reminded me of the young girl in the red coat in Schindler's List. The touch of color to call attention to a lost child. It was probably meant to be just a balloon from the birthday party but it did strike me that our writers don't miss anything. The slightest details are always there. Wonderful episode.

Kris said...

Wow, it's interesting to read all the feedback on this episode. I sort of know what the writers and casting directors go through now when they get feedback on the show since I was there when they were casting this episode.

I think it turned out great. Even though it was a difficult subject matter, these kinds of things do happen unfortunately. It may have not been quite so realistic for the girl to survive, but I'm glad she did.

Anonymous said...

I have to say I can very much see the mall at Potomac Mills going into shut down if a child was abducted a week after another mall abduction and murder just a week before. Unfortunatly there have been a few child abductions that ended badly in the area in the past twenty or so years and the community is very tender on the subject. Also, this is a suburb full of Pentagon families, 30 minutes from DC. These folks are code orange ready, they cooperate well with security issues. It has become part of the culture.

'hometown'

Xue said...

I loved this episode! It was a very difficult subject but I think they did an amazing job. I'm glad they went back to not knowing the unsub. I hated it in previous episodes. The team all worked together brilliantly. The scene where Prentiss was integrating the aunt was really really hard to watch, but very powerful. I liked there were many twists and confusions and you could just feel the urgency and emotions through out the episode. Really great job.

Anonymous said...

I have to confess, I got as far as "Katie, she's six," looked at my daughter Katie, who just turned six ... and changed the channel. It sounds like it was a great ep, though, and maybe someday I'll watch it on tape. Meanwhile, I'll enjoy the comments and catch up with you next week.

Anonymous said...

Well Katie, the little girl that was missing on CM last night had just turned six year old, too.

I'm going to have to say that this episode was a bit too shocking for me. And the show got more and more shocking as it went on. At first, everyone thought a stranger abducted the little girl. Put as they started profiling the family it turned out the aunt and uncle did it. When they finally found the little girl, her mouth was covered with duct tape and she was at death's door. I was like, "That poor baby".

While I don't like to seen anyone of any age victimized, I hope that the victim in next weeks episode is an adult because these shows where kids are victims are just too much for me.

Anonymous said...

I thought they did a wonderful job of making us feel the urgency and intensity of the situation. Having the whole team working on a case together is always a treat. I like watching them each use their own strength to help solve a case. It was a very dark topic to use but like so many have already posted this type of crime does happen in the real world.

I liked the episode for lots of reason but it was not one I would ever consider watching again. Strange.

Kirsten said...

It was disturbing subject matter, especially for a mom of three girls ( one who is six). But the show was well written, well acted, and truly moving. I loved it while being scared to death.

Anonymous said...

My favorite part was watching Garcia telling her list of computer needs and having Morgan ask her if she will marry him. That was incredibly cute. One light moment in an otherwise very dark episode.

Anonymous said...

I can't get over how dysfunctional the Jacobs family was. Their son is in desparate need of therapy. I wonder if Katie's parents will take him in to live with them now that he is homeless.

Seven seconds is freaky. To think your child can be gone in such a small amount of time. Clue to Hotch-----you son is gone and you need to do something about it.

I loved Prentiss in this one. She reached a level of intensity that I have not seen from her before. She was so forceful in her interrogations. Amazingly focused even when it all got very confusing.

Loved the episode. I do wish the audio had been better. I think they were going for realism with sound since all this was happening in the mall but at times I have to confess to turning up the volume to try to hear better.

Anonymous said...

I knew from your earlier posting that the Xuereb brothers were on the show but having them play brothers in the actual episode was brilliant and they were sooo good.

All the actors were great. Gibson is the only one of the six that has kids and I bet the episode was hard for him. It is hard for any parent to even think about their child going through something like this but acting it has got to be really tough.

Anonymous said...

I love CM. It is my favorite show and I would only tell this to my CM buddies here and in group. I had to turn it off. We are trying to get pregnant now and it was just to hard for me with it being such a young child. I know that I am 22 and need to "grow up" but I watched till the first commercial and that was it.

I am so glad that you all liked it and that it was a hit. The show is on a roll and that thrills me but I couldn't watch it. I am looking forward to next week!

Anonymous said...

My local newspaper this morning is reporting on a 67 year old woman who was raped, an armed robbery at a church and a paroled sex offender who took off his tracking device and is on the run.

The subject matter last night was rough but not rougher than what you read in the newspapers everyday.

I think we are constantly surrounded by crime and it is weird to me that I actually watch "crime" shows but I don't consider CM to be a "crime" show at all. It is a profiling show and last night that is really what I was seeing. They worked as a team drawing on their individual knowledge and personal lifes to get the info they needed to find the girl.

In real life she would have been dead. I was glad that it was tv.

Reid is growing up. So many of your commented on that. I thought the same thing while watching him with the boy. Our man/child is turning into a man. I do wish someone would hand him a brush for his hair. He always looks like he just got out of bed. lol.

Anonymous said...

I have to say I can very much see the mall at Potomac Mills going into shut down if a child was abducted a week after another mall abduction and murder just a week before. Unfortunatly there have been a few child abductions that ended badly in the area in the past twenty or so years and the community is very tender on the subject.

We've been told in the past that a lot of the shows are based, even minutely, from real-life cases. I wonder if there is a relationship here, now that you bring that up......whether it be the area, or the type of abduction, or the mall scenario, or a combination.

Interesting.

Anonymous said...

Wow. What a wake up call for a lot of us parents about not only being concerned about the strangers our children come in contact with but also the extended family they interact with. This was a really emotional episode. Anytime you deal with any crime revolving around a 6 year old child it is going to bring out very strong emotions. The BAU did a great job at wading through all the suspects and finding Katie locked in that storage closet barely alive. It was a great episode. Bravo to all.

Anonymous said...

Hotchner's internal struggle is so sad but interesting to watch. How do you juggle your desire to spend time with your wife and child with a job inwhich what you do actually does save lives? I can only imagine that many in law enforcement share his struggle on a daily basis.

Watching him beg to see his sleeping son for a few minutes broke my heart. The pain while he watched Jack sleeping was tangible and utterly heart breaking.

Anonymous said...

Perfect episode. Loved it. All the characters were there working together. CM at it's best.

Anonymous said...

Emily Prentiss owned this one. She was relentless and quick thinking. Loved seeing that.

Anonymous said...

It was a difficult subject matter but I still liked the urgent pacing and the character study of the dysfunctional family. Loved the interrogation by Reid of the boy. He's really grown a lot in his confidence but he did learn from some of the best. He can now feint and parry like a seasoned vet. It's too cute that he could still identify with being an awkward adolescent and was the best one to reach out to the teen. Prentiss can go mano-a-mano with the unsubs,too!! At the rate they're going with the abused kids storyline, there's going to be a line outside her door of kids who need to be taken in.She and JJ can start a home for children at this point!

Anonymous said...

I thought about that too Babruin. Emily Prentiss is going to be able to adopt tons of victimized kids at this rate.

The episode was really solid and well paced. Every character had air time and every character did their job perfectly.

I loved the episode but HEY CM WRITERS could you please stop with the kids already and blow something up or take us back into the woods. I would even be happy with a pack of growling mutts. LOL.

Anonymous said...

I have to confess, I got as far as "Katie, she's six," looked at my daughter Katie, who just turned six ... and changed the channel. It sounds like it was a great ep, though, and maybe someday I'll watch it on tape. Meanwhile, I'll enjoy the comments and catch up with you next week.

I have to agree, If my kids were still young I'd have been sobbing.

respectanimals said...

I thought that this was another very good episode, but like last week, it did not have enough personal stuff to satisfy me. LOL! It was also unfortunate that they chose to do two children centered episodes in a row, as that was a bit much, however I think both episodes were very well written stories with regard to the unsub and the team figuring things out. I want more character stuff though guys!

It was very nice to see Garcia back in the forefront in this one, and I was especially glad that Haley allowed Hotch in the door at the end to see his son. I have always liked seeing Haley and Hotch together in the past, as they make such a great couple, so I don't want to see them turn her into a total b*tch. And realistic or not, I couldn't have handled the little girl dying, so I was very pleased that they chose to let her survive.

Basically *ALL* of the characters were great in this episode, especially Reid, although I did think that Emily's scenes with the Aunt were a bit overplayed. I still miss Gideon though, so I'm really looking forward to having the new character join the team next week.

Anonymous said...

Loved it. Hotch and Prentiss do really well together. Great teamwork. Could there also be some chemsitry??????

Elizabeth said...

Great episode - and sadly not a subject matter that people are unfamiliar with.

I did, however, think the pink balloon was slightly mawkish. We had already "got it". But that is slightly nitpicky.

I did wonder why they didn't take the sniffer dogs to hunt for the girl at the end?

Beautiful shot of TG at the end as well - wow, he is so good at those scenes, just letting the briefest flickers of emotion through.

frogdawn said...

Edge of my seat the whole time - I WAS that mother, desperately trying to hold it together while realizing that odds were the absolute worst had already happened. Twisty twisty - loved how it kept me guessing, although I "knew" there was something not quite right about how the aunt was reacting (or so I convinced myself by the end of the episode). So glad the little girl survived, although with the horror of the topic matter (that doll...oh man) I couldn't quite call it a "happy" ending. My deepest respect for those that help heal kids that have been through such things, and those that work to stop it from happening to others.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed it. Not my first choice of stories but it was a good episode. There were some minor glitches but nothing overtly obvious. I also wondered why the sniffer dogs weren't used Elizabeth but I am thinking they decided that Hotch leading the charge in the stockroom to find her was more suspenceful and it was.

Seeing Katie tied up and her mouth covered in tape was horrible. Molested by her uncle and then attacked by her aunt. Six years old. It was a very dark episode. But a good one.

Anonymous said...

The episode is all we talked about in homeroom today. Freeky scary. Now I get why some parents use those people leashes on their young kids. I used to just think it was child abuse. Not that one of them would have helped the young girl. I hope things like this don't happen often in the world.

Anonymous said...

J.J. was awesome in this episode. She was profoundly effected by the whole thing. Each character seems to have that one case that just sticks with them. Evidently this is hers. She was terrific with the parents.

Great epi!

Anonymous said...

Great episode. It wasn't long enough though. It seemed like it was over in a blink.

Anonymous said...

Reid was awkward at 13. Not Reid. He is so together now. lol. Oh Reid. He is really turning out to be a great profiler but when he was telling he kid about how awkward he had also been at that age I could not help but laugh. He is so awkward now and that it is part of his charm. Very good episode. Keep them coming.

Anonymous said...

"Seven seconds is all that it takes for a child to disappear."

Hotch's line will stick with me for awhile. Wonderful episode.

Anonymous said...

“The 1980s just called, they want their security system back.”

Great Garcia line. Loved that she was with them. It is always great when she is in the field.

Wonderful job by everyone in this one. The child actors were unreal. They were awesome.

Anonymous said...

Loved it!

Hayley looked like she did feel bad for Hotch. Maybe they will work it out.

Prentiss was unrelentless in her pursuit of Katie. Loved her persistance and how she put it all together.

Morgan is Morgan. You can't do anything but watch him in wonderment. He is so smart.

Reid needs a brush and to continue being so good at profiling and talking with kids.

JJ was great with the hysterical parents and keeping herself calm and the situation in hand. I admired AJ's performance.

Anonymous said...

This is one of my favorite eps, yet! Excellent writing and acting. Gripping to the end.

Anonymous said...

FABULOUS episode!!! Fast paced, welll put together, the cast was AWESOME... Reid giving the "man" talk was classic!! Hotch ripped my heart out... such anger at the uncle perv..... Prentiss back to her kick ass interrogations.... Overall fabuloussssss!!

Anonymous said...

What is up with Reid's hair this season? Cut it, wash it, brush it, something.
I did like that he seamed really grown-up and confident in dealing with Jeremy. They say "a man never really becomes a man until after their father dies." I guess now with Gideon gone, Reid is coming into his own.
Morgan seamed off character,usually
he is more sympathetic to young boys. You know his "here's my card call anytime day or night." He just seamed aggravated at Jeremy before he knew Jeremy was holding back. Normally he would use their name when addressing them but this time he just kept calling him "kid."
Over all I liked the show. The ending was different than I expected, but that's cool. I am really glad they found her and were able to save her. It would suck for her to die right in front of her parents.

Anonymous said...

This episode had me crying my heart out!Very sad.Should be nominated for an emmy award! And all the actors did a great job!This episode did stand out a bit from the other episodes though.Kind of like a movie.

Princess said...

I think Reid's hair looks great! Especially compared to the horrific short haircut from some early episodes. 'Hope the hairstylist on the set wont mess with it again. By the way, this episode was awsome, I just finished watching it for the fifth time!

Anonymous said...

While the episode was entertaining, I have to say that the producers/directors pulled off one of the WORST depictions of canine handling I have ever seen (and I've seen some bad depictions).

Precisely how many people needed to touch (or wring or clutch) the scent article?

Don't bother to give the dog the scent article where the little girl was last seen (you know, the arcade?)...just stand anywhere in the mall and go for it.

Forget using a tracking harness, working on a 2" lead off of a choke chain (and going IN FRONT OF THE DOG as you lead it down a hallway) works just fine too.

Try not to let the dog make any decisions, be sure to just walk him where you need him to go to get the shot.

Oh, and when you stop and ask the dog to sit, be sure to turn to your cohort and say that the "trail ends cold here." OF COURSE it must be the scent from the food court through the (never filtered!) air conditioning vent that overwhelmed the dog.

But that food smell was no problem when the dog "alerts" on a trash can full of it, supposedly ignoring all the french fries and left over burgers and smelling the minute epithelials on the girls gold necklace. It all seems perfectly logical to me.

True canine handling is fascinating to watch and a highly effective law enforcement/search and rescue tool. It should also be relatively easy (and visually pleasing) to shoot. So why do such a piss poor job of it??? Come on, Criminal Minds, time to get some advisors who actually do this kind of work and regain some credibility. Most any of us would do it for free just to see it properly done (trust me...citizens watch what you're doing and then expect real dogs to pick lockets out of a trash can. It just doesn't work that way.).

Including this type of terrible misinformation destroys a show's credibility and can do damage in the real world (which is too bad for such an otherwise great show!).