Wednesday, February 18, 2009

CRIMINAL MINDS SPOILER THREAD FOR "ZOE'S REPRISE"


Criminal Minds spoiler thread for "Zoe's Reprise" written Oanh Ly, directed by Charles S. Carroll and starring Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Paget Brewster, Shemar Moore, A.J. Cook, Matthew Gray Gubler and Kirsten Vangsness.

*** Beware! The comments will contain spoilers! ***

****Quote and song info will be posted as soon as the episode airs on the east coast***

*** Reminder: The chat with Oanh is tomorrow! ***

72 comments:

  1. This sounds like a really intriguing episode!! I can't wait for it!!!

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  2. I'm sure that we will all be happy to watch tonite's epi - I am certain that the CM crew will have totally redeemed their work to be once again top notch, as we are so accustomed to, if not downright spoiled. And we ARE spoiled, let's remind ourselves, and let's not forget it. We are watching the very best show on TV, hands down. Right, Fanatics?

    CM rocks! I love it and everyone connected with it!

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  3. You are right about us being spoiled...I am sure this epi is going to be great! I am counting the minutes.

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  4. whoooaaaa, a serial killer in the c-l-e? D: i definitly live about 45 minutes east of there... kinda creepy. oh well... hooray for a new episode!

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  5. btw, hotch can come protect cleveland anyyyytime :)

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  6. Oanh, you are totally AWESOME!!!!!

    ok, gotta go finish watching. Love this ep!

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  7. Thank goodness our show is back. Great so far. I am so excited but it is going way toooo quickly.

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  8. forget that this episode was totally kick-butt, i'm just really happy that hotch was the one to say "stay tuned for scenes from our next episode". :) oh the simple pleasures in life :)

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  9. Loved it! Awesome! I wanted to reach through the TV and hug Rossi. He looked so hurt and devastated.

    I knew he was going to do something for Zoe's family. I'm glad that the mother changed her attitude towards him at the end.

    Loved the story JJ told Rossi about why she joined the FBI. She is there because of him and what he said! :)

    ( This is cmwinner, my automatic login to show my name, logged me out and I can't remember the password!)

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  10. Wow! That was one hell of an episode. It was wonderful to see CM back up to par after last week.

    The cast was awesome. I love how natural they seem around each other, that the chemistry isn't faked.

    Watching them brainstorm the profile and amend it throughout the ep was also gratifying, seeing how profilers get to their final product.

    And a big WHOO HOO for JJ being back, especially the lovely scene at the end where she tells Rossi why she joined the BAU. I just wanted to give him a big hug.

    Great job, looking forward to the next ep

    ztivo

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  11. Great episode. Totally wipes away the disappointment from last week. The ending was perfect. Great job on this one!

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  12. Good episode!

    Creepy unsub.

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  13. I wonder if the baby pictures are really of AJ's baby. Totally great episode. The characters seemed like themselves tonight and I liked the use of first names. More of it in this episode than we've seen before. I agree about the closing scene. Totally rocked.

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  14. This was such a great episode. So different from last week. My only complaint....it went by too fast!

    Oanh, that was awesome. I was at first freaked out by Zoe and all the books. But that unsub...YIKES! And his poor, clueless girlfriend. The team worked well together. Seems like JJ was never gone. Thank you all for such a great ep. The CM team ROCKS!!!!!!!

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  15. What a creepy, wonderful episode. We are so lucky to have such talented writers. And the guest stars are always great! Thanks to Oanh for a great ep.

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  16. WOW, now that’s a CM episode!

    I have one word – Brilliant.

    It was a great premise – amateur profiler trying to profile a serial killer who’s studying serial killers. That’s a great twist. I like that we could follow the development of a serial killer, that’s a good angle, a fresh approach. Great bonding between Rossi and Hotch. I like seeing the two senior members support each other. The mother was heartbreaking. What torture for Rossi to think that his work contributed to…informed…the unsub’s actions. And how freaky that the guy wanted to be a chapter, or maybe even the subject, of one of Rossi’s books. Talk about a bizarre fan. And focusing in on the question “why” – that was great. So, he was studying serial killers to understand his own urges, compulsions? Fascinating. And the tears in Rossi’s eyes as he stood at Zoe’s grave…how touching. I like him more and more each week (not counting last week).

    Finally, Reid is looking mighty put together these days (well, except for the hair)…but I’m not complaining!

    Thank you to all for another perfect CM ep!

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  17. Now this is more like it! I really enjoyed the actual profile part of this episode. Last week's profile seemed like a mere scratch-the-surface type thing while this week's profile threw in all kinds of twists & turns. It was awesome, I loved it all. The team thinking they're stopping a murder but it was really consensual sex??? Yeah, didn't see that coming. The cast was amazing as always. This was truly a treat of an episode. Great job Oanh!

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  18. I would have thrown up too. This was a very interesting case. Rossi was different tonight but in a good way really. I don't think he should have offered to pay for the funeral but it was totally interesting watching him cope with this case. The last scene with him and JJ was killer.

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  19. Oanh did a great job. What does that make for her now, three or four episodes? All good ones. Tonight was no different. I was glued to my chair. We had actual CM banter tonight.

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  20. I loved Prentiss interviewing the girlfriend and we really did have loads of profiling and detective work in this episode. Canon JJ facts! Yeah for us tonight. I loved hearing how she joined.

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  21. Great episode. The unsub was so creepy and I am amazed at how fooled he had his girlfriend. Can't wait to rewatch this next week.

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  22. When Hotch told her to write down all the places they had had sex together I felt so terrible for her. That poor girl. I would have barfed too. I can't really figure out if she was just utterly stupid or if he was that good but it was a great great episode.

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  23. This was more character driven than usual...and I love it! The more of our team's personalities we get to see, the better!

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  24. Wow, what an upgrade from last weeks episode! =]

    I absolutely LOVED it. The cast was totally back to itself, the way the crime was handled was perfection.

    My heart completely went out to Rossi, I can't even imagine having to handle that. The mother's reaction was so realistic, all of it.

    I am missing the lovely Morgan/Garcia interaction. =] Hopefully that can pick back up also? :D

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  25. Prentiss is a great interrogator. That scene with the girlfriend was really good. The opening scene with Garcia, Morgan and JJ was also one of my favorites. I loved the profiling in this case. Looking forward to the chat tomorrow.

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  26. Armstrong did an awesome job as the mom and I liked her and Rossi.

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  27. the little leather jacket. okay, that was cookie!

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  28. WOW this was a superb episode! The CM that I love is back! All the team had great interactions, the story was very interesting, and it surely ended so fast . I must watch this one again. Great that Hotch gave support to Rossi, they help each other. Nice JJ and Rossi ending. Great epi, I am just so very happy and I am so looking forward to next week, didn´t Hotch look extra handsome tonight!

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  29. Zoe certainly wasn't the smartest brick in the pile but the unsub was clever. Taking her to all his kill sites to have sex with her was twisted. Really twisted. We see lots of smart and strong women on this show but the reality is that there are tons of women in the world that are just too naive or trusting. Note to self to not meet men over the internet. I totally liked this episode.

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  30. Strictly a personal thing, but since I don't like Rossi, I'm not going to be thrilled with a Rossi focused episode, especially a Rossi focused one. But, they sure as better have a JJ one -and not a JJ one that turns into a Rossi one. I'd like the others to have their episodes and I'm not really worried that they will, so yeah, I'll plug for JJ.

    Now on to actual criticisms before the good stuff (so I don't end on a downer). First, I could have done without another one of Rossi's super sekrit projects and especially without him getting another team member into it. And, also without another JJ and Rossi scene. Hoping it was no more than a bookend to last week. (I'm not worried that it means anything else, just that I want the interactions to be mixed up with the team) Also, JJ went to Pittsburgh for college! She said so in North Mammon. And, I don't believe that was a tricksy lie on her part. I think canon got changed. Which I'm used to and find funny, but it got changed into a school that Max Collins wrote in his book. No! Don't copy him! It also seems to be something of a trend with the writer to show very bloody crime scene photos, as with Catching Out. Not my cup of tea.

    Okay, the good. The JJ, Garcia,Morgan baby pictures scene. And, I called Garcia buying Henry clothes on another board, so I liked seeing it here. I like that even with a lot of Rossi he wasn't all super profiler solving the whole case. I liked Prentiss talking to the girlfriend (and nice twist) and I'm really liking Prentiss' interrogations in general, although I guess this wasn't exactly one. And, Hotch being the mom of the team, looking out for Rossi, which I think is a very nice way of showing that Hotch is Rossi's boss, which is very important to me. And, unlike Catching Out, the victim was actually humanized. Partly because we got to meet Zoe before her death, but largely because even after her death, we saw how it affected her mother. The mother was real and had a voice. I appreciated that.

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  31. One of the better episodes of the season, but JJ says she went to Pittsburgh University in "North Mammon" so when she tells Rossi that she went to Georgetown does that mean for her Master's?

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  32. The schools were probably, as you said, undergrad and grad since we have her canon from N. Mammon.

    This episode had lots going for it. I liked the case itself more than anything. It was different, interesting and held my attention.

    Reid's hair was back to normal. Happy Reid fan! *g*

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  33. I like when they try to figure out the why and can't. I liked the misdirection in this story. I really thought at one point that Zoe was the unsub. Sorry for her that I was wrong. The quest to try to figure out the unsub's signature was fluid and rivoting. I like the attention to detail that this writer uses in describing/showing us a crime or crime scene. Solid A episode.

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  34. What can i say. Another great
    episode of Criminal Minds.
    Oanh Ly you did an outstanding
    job of writing this episode.
    I loved it from beginning to
    end. The beginning was cute
    with JJ showing her baby pictures of baby Henry to her friends and colleagues. He is so adorable. I loved how the cast had equal screen time throughout the episode. The episode was based on Rossi and his book lecture tour, but the show did not center on him the whole evening. The entire team was involved with this from beginning to end. I loved how Rossi and Hotch called each other by their first names most of the episode. That is something you don't hear to often. I loved how the episode depicted Zoe as the good and the unsub as the evil. Here you have one studying Rossi's books to solve the crimes(Zoe), and it even got her to go to college, to learn how to solve the crimes, and then you have the other(unsub)studying Rossi's books, to learn how to become a serial killer. You could say that Zoe was kind of obsessed with Rossi. She had every book he has written, and had a collage of him on her bedroom wall. This episode has left me wondering and probably a lot of other people that how many people out there are that sick and depraved, that they could/would do something as horrific as this. I know the mother didn't appreciate Rossi paying for her daughters funeral, but i thought it was very nice of Rossi to do that, since he felt responsible for her death. I didn't figure out what Rossi wanted JJ's help with on the qt, until i saw the funeral director show her the bill marked paid in full. After watching Rossi give Hotch some reassuring conversations in the past, it was certainly nice to see Hotch doing the same for Rossi in tonights episode. Awesome show Criminal Minds! Keep up the excellent work, and again, awesome job Oanh! You rock!

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  35. Loved it. More from me tomorrow. Early class tomorrow.

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  36. Good episode,
    Interesting case, really.

    And Reid's hair is finally back to normal!!!
    Very very happy fan here!!!

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  37. Loved tonight's episode. Creepy unsub but his question at the end.. asking "why" to rossi.. o_o The interrogation with rossi was the best part for me. very well written.

    Can't wait for next week! :D

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  38. Loved this episode. Way to go Oanh! Much better team interaction and everyone (read...JJ) was back to normal. Love that we found out why she joined the FBI, that she has a MOM, the pictures of Henry were too cute! Glad that the tension between JJ & Rossi from last week was gone. Auntie Penelope and the leather jacket..aaawww!!!!

    Loved that both Zoe and the unsub were both huge Rossi fans - and I guess, so is JJ. The whole team was solid. Prentiss interviewing the unsub's girlfriend was awesome. It seems like Emily is the go to girl for interviews these days!! So is so good at it.

    Great job, Oanh can't wait for the chat tomorrow!!

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  39. One more thing I forgot I wanted to say...

    About the whole Pitt/Georgetown issue, has it ever been said that JJ actually graduated from Pitt? I know she got a scholarship to play soccer at Pitt, but she may not have actually graduated from there. She may have fulfilled her committment and then finished her degree somewhere else. I had a couple of friends that played college softball do that.

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  40. Oahn Ly... Hope we get some more episodes from you soon! You rock! Wish I was able to attend your chats but sadly I can't! Your episodes are greatly written and I love the thing that you bring to the BAU family in interaction! And I love your cases too... Two very important things for me in an episode.

    My first thing in mind: When Rossi was talking to his fans; I wonder if we're like that to anyone on the set haha! Probably!

    The dude walking in the backyard with Zoe was kinda the obvious! D'oh

    I love Rossi more and more each episode. The dude came in with an ego and look at him now. I love his character development! And mr. Mantegna is doing a remarkable job! And I like the fresh haircut! The mom having troube with Rossi who inspired her daughter was also very real. Especially when she tried her best at the most last scene... She just lost her daughter. Again, very real!

    Aunty Penelope :)! I love the way JJ brings the enlightning to the BAU with her son! I miss(ed) that with Hotch + family life. Gives a character another side... Hotch actually being the unit chief again... finally! Reid also being himself a lot. Little less Morgan but he was there... just like Prentiss.. Morgan kinda got the kid down at the park and Prentiss did the interview so not to less imho... But die hard Morgan and Prentiss fans proabably dissagree with me! I found Garcia herself a lot to... Didn;t really have that a lot lately... And then JJ; :) I'm so glad she is back! I really didn't notice her character much before she left but then I missed her to much and now she is high on my character appriciation list! She is kinda the non-profiler with some good skills anyhow... and always a backbone in the team!

    One random set thingy... There is this note in the round table room... that says HATE.. and its there for at least 2 seasons... Nice hidden gesture :P Oh well!

    To end with the end... We got the badguy! Yeah! whohoo! I got that feeling when watching the end when they figure out his burial sites. Its a great feeling with watching tv!

    Cheers from Europe!

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  41. WOW Oanh Ly, you are the BEST!!!
    This was a rockin' episode. Absolutely Brilliant (with a capital B). The characters were themselves again, and the case had twists that I did not expect, and giving the serial killer a girl friend (who turned out to be more useful than evidence!) was just brilliance.

    And I love the editing that went on in the show, especially towards the end when we have the unsub and Rossi talking as voice over while we see scenes of people revealing more victims. Great scene.

    Criminal Minds, HIGH FIVE!

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  42. Much better than the past few eps, if not totally back to the standard.
    Unsub and victim both fans of the same writer, they were obliged to collide...intresting.
    Poor Rossi, anytime he wants to do something good he is sent away...reminded me of the three kids of Damaged. he is a good guy, but gets on people's nerves...
    Reid is getting soft. he didn't even recognize the different copied crimes...last week he didn't even get the link with the double earrings....
    what is happening to his IQ?
    What is happening to him?
    He is back to the "be good looking and shut up" standars that made of "honor among thieves" a masterpiece.
    Well...I think the guy deserves MUCH better than that....
    but of course this is my obsessed opignon.

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  43. This was a nicely written episode. Definitely Oanh Ly's best so far! :)

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  44. Great episode!! Oahn Ly did a superb job giving us great team dynamics and an interesting story! Thanks! My favorite things....Emily's interrogation, the Hotch/Rossi scene, the return of more normal looking Reid hair (thank you CM hair stylists!), and extra-fab looking Reid and Hotch in general! I love this show!! Wednesdays are such happy days with great new CM eps!!

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  45. Last night was the real thing. I wish they had brought us back from repeat hell with this episode. Wonderful team interaction and a real case with teamwork and profiling. I think the guest stars in this episode were wonderful. Great job by all of them. Congrats to Oanh for delivering another great CM episode. Well done, Oanh!

    We need a MORE GARCIA petition!

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  46. Interesting case and fun watching them profile and dig. They couldn't win since the victims were already long dead before they even took the case but they tried to get what they could. Sometimes it is more realistic when they don't win than when they do. Amy Davidson was terrific. Major Kudos!

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  47. I think the unsub was trying to be a profile in Rossi's next book. We got to see a whole new side to Rossi last night and as a Rossi liker I liked it. They have taken him from being simply the anti-Gideon to being a complex and interesting character.

    Zoe prowling around at the crime scene first seemed just plain stupid but that was her interest so I think it played itself out very well.

    I went to bed happy last night.

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  48. Wow, what a difference from last week! Welcome back! Characters in character, actors doing their usual fabulous job, and a reeeeeallly, reeeeallly good unsub! I was intrigued by his not understanding 'why' at the end. Also loved the twist w/ the girlfriend. And as biased as I am, I have to say Hotch as a caring mother-hen of Rossi was hot! Thanks to all at CM for a great epi!

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  49. This is why I like CM. On a lesser crime show, the unsub would have been reenacting famous killings because he was one of those ridiculously omniscient diabolical geniuses with no rhyme or reason for existing other than to provide the team with an improbably complex crime to solve. Here, he's just a jackass who test drives other killers' MOs because he's having trouble finding himself.

    Rossi felt tremendously guilty about Zoe's fate, believing he blew her off, but I think he was actually quite nice to her, considering how little she had to go on. If she was regularly visiting creepy crime scenes alone in the dark, she wasn't long for this world anyway. It does recall his years-long guilt over the three kids in "Damaged", though, and is a nice bit of character consistency. Hotch is so much more polished at dealing with upset family members -- his brand of smooth stoicism defuses these situations quickly, but Rossi tends to put his foot in it. The fiasco over the burial costs was painful, but also consistent with what we know of him. I also liked the interactions between Hotch and Rossi, they way they unbend with one another whereas they have to wear the "leader" face with the rest.

    Speaking of painful, how about Prentiss' interrogation of the girlfriend? I think there are virgins out there who are less sexually naive than this girl. Your boyfriend has rape and strangulation fantasies and can only do it in random public places, and you excuse it by saying everyone role plays? Yikes. I think Prentiss was struggling not to ask what kind of dumbass she was.

    We see the unsub develop in this episode much like we did in "Normal", but unlike that killer, whose urge to lash out we can kind of understand, this guy is completely cold and inaccessible. He just wants to kill people, and trolls through true-crime books looking for tips. So the episode narrows in at the end on the eternal question of why anyone would do the terrible things he does, a question frequently asked by grieving family members, who naturally want their loved one's death to have some kind of meaning. There is no why, at least none that normal people can truly grasp. Likewise, the perpetrator doesn't understand why more people don't take up his hobby.

    Rossi worries that his books, meant to be informative, may actually encourage serial killers and magnify their psychotic urges. The series actually becomes unsettlingly self-referential in the discussion between Rossi and JJ. CM has been accused of being exploitative in depicting violent crime -- do the writers worry that their show may inhabit the same ambiguous territory as Rossi's books?
    I understand the concern with portraying antisocial acts on screen, but I've never felt that CM encouraged us to identify with the killers after the manner of some horror films. There has always been a significant moral and emotional distance between the murderers and the law enforcement figures we are meant to identify with, and the point is well taken that the moral viewpoint of the show may be inspirational rather than damaging to the audience.

    And Reid looks like Reid again!

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  50. Thank you for a JM episode! Wow! Those eyes!!
    His character has changed over time. I disliked him and his character at first. He has really grown on me.
    I'm crazy about him! I could watch the man read the paper!!! He's so handsome. But please, please....let him go gray!!! He doesn't need to try to look younger. We women in our 30's (almost 40's) love those older men!!! Yummy!

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  51. Awesome episode! I liked how much actual profiling we got this week, and Rossi surely has some strange fans - first professor Rothschild and now this sick dude. Good to know that there are lovely fans like Zoe and JJ, too.

    I liked Zoe very much, she reminded me of a female version of young Reid right from the moment when she stumbled over that chair, overenthusiastic and citing statistics all the time. It may not have been bright to visit the crime scenes in the dark, but even that reminded me of Reid in The Big Game. Too bad that Zoe was killed, she could have been a future member of the BAU, and I loved it that her theory was proved to be right. Once the pain has faded, her mother can be very proud of her daughter.

    Though I felt sorry for the unsub’s girlfriend (nice twist in the park) and liked it that she needed to throw up when she found out what he had been doing, she herself was way beyond ‘normal’ in my opinion. Which woman would enjoy roleplays where she is the victim of rape and strangulation? That’s disgusting to me!

    Rossi was very strong in this episode, but despite the fact that he has grown on me a lot we get a bit too much of him lately for my liking. I feel they are slowly turning him into a second Gideon, and that doesn’t sit quite right with me. I respected him very much for wanting to step back from a case that he felt was too personal and I liked the way Hotch talked to him about it. But with him paying for Zoe’s funeral that felt to me like he wanted to buy his way out of guilt and that’s a behavior I don’t like at all. The ‘confidential’ scene with JJ was a mirror of him involving Garcia in Damaged. Wouldn’t have expected to see something like that ever again.

    What I didn’t get was the stressor that had the unsub starting to kill in the first place. Was he not able to have good sex with his girlfriend and that’s how it started? But then she said they had been together for six weeks, and the first murder was seven weeks ago? So not only the why remains unanswered, but also the trigger.

    One detail I missed in this episode was the plane, but I got more than compensated for that by great looking Reid. Totally loved his hair in this episode, though I wondered why he was so nervous when giving the profile to the cops. Anyway, he was pure eye candy this week.

    This episode rocked!

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  52. Another great ep! I wonder how common it is in RL for new serial killers to copy famous ones in order to find their own style. Very creepy.

    Liked Rossi's interactions with the team, Zoe's mom and the police. Glad that JJ told him that he was instrumental in her applying to the FBI. I wonder if he'll ever go back on another book signing tour.

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  53. Oanh Ly has delievered yet again...A beautifully written and executed gem.
    I loved the JJ and Rossi sbene at the ens and how after his books had been used as a means of resaerch for a killer and Rossi is wondering if they are doing more harm then good JJ tells him that they and his lecture helped her choose her carreer.

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  54. what a great writer. this episode deserves an emmy. so many sub-plots and so well written, i think this is the best episode. it intertwined all the ideas of what the show is about and pulled the emotions of the many people that are involved in the story. i think the scene at the grave site with the big tree at the end is very symbolic of how the death of zoe can still grow hope. this show seems to have so much substance and meaning. this should be made into a movie. applause to the actors and writers!

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  55. Oanh, thanks for this great ep, you did a great job. Lots of profiling, detective work and teamwork.
    It was, so realistic and the editing was great specially at the end when Rossi and the unsub are sitting in the room and then we see people finding more victims. It is so much to see in the scenes.
    Can´t wait for the chat at 4 am. LOL

    Greetings from Germany

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  56. Finally got to watch on the tivo-and I wasn’t disappointed. There were some good points made about the work of a profiler. Of course it is all my opinion.

    1. Dave Rossi never gets away from the job, and that is the case with many in the law enforcement field.
    2. There is an arrogance that develops over time in those who chase killers. They tend to believe they are the only ones who can do the job and they fall in a trap of dismissing others who just might have information. It was great Rossi recognized it-but at what price?
    3. There are a lot of serial killer groupies and publicity for a case can feed the frenzy.
    4. There is a fine line between educating or entertaining people and training them to avoid capture.

    While I typically like the mystery of an unknown unsub, this episode was well done so I wasn’t bothered by it. By knowing who he was early on there was more time to delve into the background information of the serial killers the unsub was modeling.

    The actors did a great job. Kudos to Joe Mantegna in this one. I might be in a minority but I like lesser know actors in the guest roles. That lets me get lost in the story.

    Another winner Oanh! Thanks

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  57. Well, it looks like Reid isn't the only one who wonders why he doesn't have normal fans!!
    It would be interesting if Rossi and Reid ever teaches a class on serial killers,who would attend?? They should be afraid to turn their backs to write on the blackboard!
    Very interesting case with an unusual plot twist! It was fun to see how the team made all the connections in order to find the unsub. Two thumbs up to Oanh!!
    And I also loved the end of the doo-wop 'do on Reid so we can get back to "normal". With all the fuss about his hair, it makes him the Keri Russell of CM! :)

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  58. Oanh Li presented an interesting premise of a serial killer copying others until he found himself.

    I'm glad that Zoe's mother refused to let Rossi pay for the funeral. His arrogance to the young woman in the beginning led to her putting herself in a dangerous situation that led to her death and he shouldn't have been able to assuage his guilt so easily.

    What is it with the JJ and Rossi endings now all of a sudden? Could we please let some of the other cast in on the act?

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  59. What a great episode! Loved it from the beginning to the end. Thank you!!!

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  60. Loved this episode. Criminal minds is my favorite show. I was crushed when Mandy left, but Rossi has really developed and has become my favorite team member. Joe Mantegna is doing an awesome job. I do agree with a previous poster, they should let Joe show some gray hair. He is a distingushed older man, the gray is sexy.

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  61. This episode was really entertaining.
    The scenario was great and our BAU team did wonderful team work.
    Every team member played his/her role and offered something to solve the case, that's something I love about this show.

    And thank you for Reid's hair!!!
    He looks much better like that, you made a fan happy here (well, I actually don't think I'm the only one considering the other comments).
    I hope it'll stay that way for the other episodes and not go back to the previous style with gel.

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  62. Oanh, thank you for joining us in a chat. You are so informative and fun. Your episode was wonderful.

    One thing I have noticed in Oanh's writing is the many, many layers to her story and that even though one character may have the "lead" in her story, the rest of the characters aren't shuttled off to the side, they still all have important parts to contribute to the story.

    One amusing thing, and it may be because I couldn't see the picture that well when I first watched the episode, but when they were showing the pictures of the previous murders, I thought the last one, who they identified as imitating the BTK killer, reminded me of the serial killer from Unfinished Business in season 1!

    I really liked how the team thought that the unsub would have questions and how they got him to reveal more than he thought he was revealing to him, or at least make him think he was. The teamwork was really great, epsecially when they were all at different locations, doing different things - searching the house, interrogating the unsub, interrogating the girlfriend, to arrive at their common goal. That was so well done.

    Someone mentioned Rossi's arrogance at trying to pay for the funeral, but there is precidence for this. In Damaged, we find out that he bought the house that the three children had lived in with their parents. I think he doesn't do that as arrogance but with the desire to fix things, to make everything better, and to assuage his own guilt at not being able to prevent (or in Damaged, solve) what happened.

    Anyway, I digress. It was a great episode, the cast was fabulous, they were completely in character, the guest stars were great, and the great details in the episode were fabulous.

    Thank you Oanh, and CM!

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  63. I just wanted to thank Oanh for joining us last night! It is always amazing to get an insight into the collaborative effort it takes to bring an awesome new episode of Criminal Minds to air.

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  64. Thank you Oanh for taking the time to give us such an informative chat! I have a deeper appreciation for the episode after all your explanations of each plot points.There really was a lot of research that went into this story of a nascent serial killer that could be missed upon the first casual viewing. I like the insight into how all the CM writers pitch in different plot ideas to enrich the script. For example,the idea of mothers kissing their children's forehead to most accurately gauge their body temperature was inspired by Erica. Wow, here I thought I did it because it was the easiest to hit what I'm aiming for!
    Again, thanks sooo much for a wonderful chat!!!

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  65. Now that I have watched the episode, I am totally satisfied that we're back on track, after one little falter the prev week and am more convinced than ever, CM is by far the best show on TV.

    Very well done, excellent writing, well-played by all - our regulars and the guests. Bess Armstrong was perfect as Zoe's mom, Johnny Lewis was wonderful as the unsub - one of the most likeable unsubs I have ever seen, tho', hard to believe he was so sick but I liked tha manner in which he described himself at the end. Scary, tho'.

    Rossi was so good - I love this man more and more every week. He is truly a gentle, sensitive soul and he means well even if he goes about things in an unusual manner.

    At the cemetery, I was touched by the run-in with Zoe's mom and turned to my sister and said "Wow, couldn't you see these two together?" He has been a bit of a bad---- in the past but is a lover deep down, you can tell.

    I'm not going to even comment on poor Reid's hair. I love that guy anyway he looks and thought he was looking more mature the past 3 new epi's but I really don't care, just as long as we get to see him AT ALL. Esp with all the hand action that guy demonstrates, like every time he is presenting the profile to the LE's, he always has the hands going and it totally mesmerizes me.

    I loved Prentiss with the GF - how naive she was is right! What girl would be willing to go along with all the perverse things this guy was coercing her to do? Dumb, dumb, dumb.

    I agree with the earlier comment about Zoe being a female younger version of Reid - the two would have perfect together, huh? She was a sweetheart, would have made a terrific profiler. She would have made the perfect Reid apprentice.

    Hotch in a caregiver role - always good. JJ was great, back in the groove. Not as much of Morgan and Garcia but they'll have another turn, soon, I'm sure! They just cannot fit everything into every epi, you know?

    But I am happy happy happy to have such a great show to watch and it sounds like the rest of you are also!

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  66. Oanh,

    Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us. It is always a pleasure to have you in the CM chat room. You always take time to answer our questions thouroughly and thoughfully. It is great to get an insight into how you write. Once again, "Zoe's Reprise" was an AMAZING ep. Can't wait to see more of your work!

    Thanks!
    Laura

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  67. Just a note to thank Oanh Ly for chatting with us on Friday night. Thanks Oanh!

    We had a great time learning about the thought process that went into writing Zoe's Reprise.

    Loved the episode and the chat!

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  68. Thank you, Oanh, for coming to chat with us! Learning how you developed the story was very interesting. I hope you know how much we all appreciate your thoughtful answers to our many, many questions. The Fantics love your work and are delighted that you are a part of the CM family!

    I can't wait for your next episode!

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  69. Oanh, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us. It was a geat pleasure.

    We love your work can´t wait to see more.

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  70. What a brilliant episode, thanks a lot for it! I started watching and it was all over too soon :)

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  71. After reading all of the comments about the chat with Oanh, I'm really sorry that I had to miss it due to traveling.

    Woohoo, we have the good ol' CM back! I really liked this episode, especially the interaction of the team members. We want more, more more of this kind of teamwork! It is also nice to see the team members as people with all of their emotions; guilt, sympathy, embarrassment, anger, sadness, and all of the cold calculating power of the team as a whole.

    Great Work, all!

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