In terms of overall impressions, I loved the Hotch storyline, and thought the Reid storyline was terrible, but I can understand why they needed to do it. But the episode TOTALLY suffered due to Gubler's injury. The random sitting down, the terrible cinematography to only get him from certain angles, the awkward / jammed in secondary plot (i.e. the non-Hotch plot), the way Reid got shot in a place that was seemingly impossible in terms of how he got tackled... etc. But I'm cutting the writers some slack because (a). I loved the Hotch plot and (b). Gubler completely tied their hands. I mean, the guy literally could not move, which meant their options were essentially nil. I feel sorry for the writers, because I think there's no way they would normally have a second team member getting seriously injured in an ep - and it did distract from Hotch a bit. I think perhaps it would have been better had Reid's injury somehow been tied into the Hotch plot - thus making the ep less busy.
But I felt my love for CM come flooding back while watching, so I'm happy :-)
I too thoroughy approved of the fashion in this ep (for all the girls and Reid especially. God I would totally take Paget Brewster's body too - lady is smoking, lol).
I saw Reid's refusing help as less badass and more that he really, really doesn't give much of a shit about himself (for self esteem reasons, not heroic reasons). And for me that was very much in character. Remember how guilty he gets when he kills someone too - I know he deliberately didn't shoot to kill, but there's still a chance the unsub could bleed out while waiting for the medics, and I can imagine Reid's brain just imploding at the thought of yet more blood on his hands, and the guilt he'll have to go through if the guy dies (not to mention that such things seem to trigger his cravings, yikes). So for me it all fitted, but I can totally see why you thought what you did too :-)
*Wants to see Hotch's scars.* Also, the Hotch ending with Jack (and the bit with Rossi - love!) made me bawl like a child.
Also, I think Hotch would have just given Haley the house out of guilt and out of love for Jack - he would have wanted Jack to have a "normal" family home / upbringing.
OMG I DIDN'T SEE THE PREVIEW AND NOW I AM MAD. What the fuck is their problem with characters being seriously sick / injured and then going straight back to work? Fuck me it's annoying, grrrrrrrr.
Argh I have to be at work in 10 mins, so heading off now... But if I missed anything that you are still wondering about, let me know xx
I feel sorry for the writers, because I think there's no way they would normally have a second team member getting seriously injured in an ep - and it did distract from Hotch a bit. I think perhaps it would have been better had Reid's injury somehow been tied into the Hotch plot - thus making the ep less busy.
I too feel bad for the writers, esp now that Shemar is hurt as well, like miss_pam said the last man left standing without a serious injury is Rossi. (well and all the girls :P)
I agree that it would have been a million times better if Reid's injury had been tied into Hotch's story. Would it have been that hard for them to write that Reid found him and chased The Reaper away and The Reaper shot him and ran away. That would have covered the Reaper torturing Hotch, Reid being injured and the Reaper would have gotten away. Ta da, how hard was that to think up?
Oh yeah lots of hot ass fashion going on. The pink shirt was amazing on Reid.
Oh I really like your take on the Reid thing. I assumed that he was caring for himself because he was going to meetings, hitting on women, flirting with them on the phone, etc. I didn't really get that he was in self loathing.... UNTIL I was rewatching season 4 and realized he was still torn up about Adam/Amanda in Conflicted (I think that's the name of the episode) so I can see him still being down on himself right now. And both of the unsubs just died on the case they had literally completed just hours before, so that makes so much sense. *nods*
Oh man, like I said real freaking tears when Jack and Hotch were conversing. I added the I know it will make some people happy to see his scar just for you ;) and I'm thinking of making some icons and will make some Hotchykins ones just for you
Hey lovely, I'm back! This is much later than expected, but I lay down for a nap when I got home at 6a.m. (was just planning to listen to a podcast and get up again) and slept for EIGHT HOURS. Sheesh. I feel super clear headed now though, which is nice, so not complaining. I must have needed it! (I hope you managed to get back to sleep, by the way).
OK, Criminal Minds - thanks so much for the link to the episode preview. On the one hand: WHAT THE FUCK. Even if Hotch has had a month off, he would not be moving around that easily. But on the other hand: it looks from the preview like he might be going to do something that's maybe a bit fucked up? As in, maybe (crosses fingers in hope), the writers might be making the point that he has come back to work too early and shouldn't be? Because seriously, you would probably have to tie Hotch to his table to make him stay home from work, especially when he knows that catching a killer makes the difference between him getting to see Jack or not. OR the writers could just be having another Anthraxed!Reid moment *eyeroll*.
Yeah, before the episode I just kind of wanted Reid to be the one to rescue Hotch because I am one of those hopeless batshit shipping types (lol). But having seen the episode, I would rather have had the two storylines combined just for quality of plot reasons. Although I did love seeing Prentiss all firm and in charge (I can totally imagine her being unit chief some day... I can imagine her and Morgan as the new Hotch and Rossi in the future). And I understand that to have the team realise Hotch was missing, they either needed some time to pass (i.e. by starting on another case), or they needed someone to have a reason to turn up to his house (less likely... except Reid. FOR SEX, YOU KNOW). The writers could have made like House, M.D. and done a two-hour season premiere though. I wouldn't have minded :-D
(Also, i liked your idea for the Reid/Hotch/Reaper plot. Totally would have worked. And ew, now I need to stop referring to Hotch/Reaper, considering they actually have probably had sex. Yikes).
I assumed that he was caring for himself because he was going to meetings, hitting on women, flirting with them on the phone, etc.
I lol'ed at this :-D *Imagines Reid swaggering round with a posse of ladies that he picked up at NA*. I've thought hard about it since reading your comment and re-watched the scene just now, and I really want to think (maybe I'm just trying to think the best of the writers... haha) that he was panicking a little bit about the possibility of the unsub dying. We know Reid copes incredibly badly with that, and he has said things in the past like, "It was my turn to save one" (to Hotch, after Owen Savage). I really don't think he could handle knowing that someone he shot had bled to death metres away, while he himself was being tended by a doctor. And when the team shows up, and Reid continues to be all, "I'm fine," I think this is a combination of thinking he's not that important, and possibly the fact that he knows something waaaaaaaay worse has happened to Hotch, which they're all just about to find out about... eeeek. But maybe I'm overanalysing.
Oh, and as I said on Twitter, that was a really good point about Adam/Amanda - I'd forgotten about that ep, which was really vintage Reid. I am torn, on Reid, between thinking that he honestly believes/has faith that every single person can be redeemed, and thinking that he has to save people in order to prove that he has some kind of value. Maybe it's a bit of both. Or maybe I'm reading him too em0 :-D But I hope not. Oh, and trufax about the pig farm unsubs too.
And yeah, battle scars on good looking men = such a freaking turn-on. God. Issues. Lol.
Eeek, hope I didn't overwhelm you with teh rambles. But have had sleep! So.
I just want you to know I'm loling so hard irl right now. I love you. Seriously. I love you. And since you're have sleep maybe you'll post your review *wink, wink. nudge, nudge*
seriously, you would probably have to tie Hotch to his table to make him stay home from work,
I know what you'll be doing from now on But I know what you mean. Maybe the writers will show that he went back to work to soon. I mean, he did go back to work right after he blew up in the beginning of season 4 and we saw what long term damage that had on his ear. You'd think Hotch would have learned his lesson by now.
before the episode I just kind of wanted Reid to be the one to rescue Hotch
I did too. Not because I'm a shipper but because I think it would have been good for Reid to see him hurt/vulnerable like that. Since Reid is missing a father figure in his life I think e see's Hotch as a substitute dad and seeing seeing that he isn't invincible might have helped Reid's self esteem out and show him that he doesn't have to do it all, all the time, ya know? Does that make sense? (btw I typed "that he isn't ~invisible" about 5 times before I realized what exactly was wrong with it *facepalm* lol)
*Imagines Reid swaggering round with a posse of ladies that he picked up at NA*.
OMFG LMFAO IRL ROLLING-ON-THE-FLOOR-LIKE-DRACO RIGHT NOW omg I spit out the milk I was drinking I laughed so hard at that. <3
but to the rest of that paragraph - I don't think you're over-analyzing I think you're right. *nods* Poor Reid. He needs a good person *cough* to help show him that he's worth something =/
What the fuck is their problem with characters being seriously sick / injured and then going straight back to work?
I think that, often, the episodes are meant to be chronologically constant, but not extremely close together. Based on Jack's apparent age and Reid's hair length, it seems that a season of CM may take place over about a year-ish, and, unless otherwise specifically noted, are disbursed fairly equally throughout that year. So maybe the next ep have Hotch coming back to work, but after a certain amount of healing time (at least half a month, I would think)
In terms of overall impressions, I loved the Hotch storyline, and thought the Reid storyline was terrible, but I can understand why they needed to do it. But the episode TOTALLY suffered due to Gubler's injury. The random sitting down, the terrible cinematography to only get him from certain angles, the awkward / jammed in secondary plot (i.e. the non-Hotch plot), the way Reid got shot in a place that was seemingly impossible in terms of how he got tackled... etc. But I'm cutting the writers some slack because (a). I loved the Hotch plot and (b). Gubler completely tied their hands. I mean, the guy literally could not move, which meant their options were essentially nil. I feel sorry for the writers, because I think there's no way they would normally have a second team member getting seriously injured in an ep - and it did distract from Hotch a bit. I think perhaps it would have been better had Reid's injury somehow been tied into the Hotch plot - thus making the ep less busy.
But I felt my love for CM come flooding back while watching, so I'm happy :-)
I too thoroughy approved of the fashion in this ep (for all the girls and Reid especially. God I would totally take Paget Brewster's body too - lady is smoking, lol).
I saw Reid's refusing help as less badass and more that he really, really doesn't give much of a shit about himself (for self esteem reasons, not heroic reasons). And for me that was very much in character. Remember how guilty he gets when he kills someone too - I know he deliberately didn't shoot to kill, but there's still a chance the unsub could bleed out while waiting for the medics, and I can imagine Reid's brain just imploding at the thought of yet more blood on his hands, and the guilt he'll have to go through if the guy dies (not to mention that such things seem to trigger his cravings, yikes). So for me it all fitted, but I can totally see why you thought what you did too :-)
*Wants to see Hotch's scars.* Also, the Hotch ending with Jack (and the bit with Rossi - love!) made me bawl like a child.
Also, I think Hotch would have just given Haley the house out of guilt and out of love for Jack - he would have wanted Jack to have a "normal" family home / upbringing.
OMG I DIDN'T SEE THE PREVIEW AND NOW I AM MAD. What the fuck is their problem with characters being seriously sick / injured and then going straight back to work? Fuck me it's annoying, grrrrrrrr.
Argh I have to be at work in 10 mins, so heading off now... But if I missed anything that you are still wondering about, let me know xx
P.S. Great review as always!
Reply
I feel sorry for the writers, because I think there's no way they would normally have a second team member getting seriously injured in an ep - and it did distract from Hotch a bit. I think perhaps it would have been better had Reid's injury somehow been tied into the Hotch plot - thus making the ep less busy.
I too feel bad for the writers, esp now that Shemar is hurt as well, like miss_pam said the last man left standing without a serious injury is Rossi. (well and all the girls :P)
I agree that it would have been a million times better if Reid's injury had been tied into Hotch's story. Would it have been that hard for them to write that Reid found him and chased The Reaper away and The Reaper shot him and ran away. That would have covered the Reaper torturing Hotch, Reid being injured and the Reaper would have gotten away. Ta da, how hard was that to think up?
Oh yeah lots of hot ass fashion going on. The pink shirt was amazing on Reid.
Oh I really like your take on the Reid thing. I assumed that he was caring for himself because he was going to meetings, hitting on women, flirting with them on the phone, etc. I didn't really get that he was in self loathing.... UNTIL I was rewatching season 4 and realized he was still torn up about Adam/Amanda in Conflicted (I think that's the name of the episode) so I can see him still being down on himself right now. And both of the unsubs just died on the case they had literally completed just hours before, so that makes so much sense. *nods*
Oh man, like I said real freaking tears when Jack and Hotch were conversing. I added the I know it will make some people happy to see his scar just for you ;) and I'm thinking of making some icons and will make some Hotchykins ones just for you
I hope you had a great day at work. :D
Reply
OK, Criminal Minds - thanks so much for the link to the episode preview. On the one hand: WHAT THE FUCK. Even if Hotch has had a month off, he would not be moving around that easily. But on the other hand: it looks from the preview like he might be going to do something that's maybe a bit fucked up? As in, maybe (crosses fingers in hope), the writers might be making the point that he has come back to work too early and shouldn't be? Because seriously, you would probably have to tie Hotch to his table to make him stay home from work, especially when he knows that catching a killer makes the difference between him getting to see Jack or not. OR the writers could just be having another Anthraxed!Reid moment *eyeroll*.
Yeah, before the episode I just kind of wanted Reid to be the one to rescue Hotch because I am one of those hopeless batshit shipping types (lol). But having seen the episode, I would rather have had the two storylines combined just for quality of plot reasons. Although I did love seeing Prentiss all firm and in charge (I can totally imagine her being unit chief some day... I can imagine her and Morgan as the new Hotch and Rossi in the future). And I understand that to have the team realise Hotch was missing, they either needed some time to pass (i.e. by starting on another case), or they needed someone to have a reason to turn up to his house (less likely... except Reid. FOR SEX, YOU KNOW). The writers could have made like House, M.D. and done a two-hour season premiere though. I wouldn't have minded :-D
(Also, i liked your idea for the Reid/Hotch/Reaper plot. Totally would have worked. And ew, now I need to stop referring to Hotch/Reaper, considering they actually have probably had sex. Yikes).
I assumed that he was caring for himself because he was going to meetings, hitting on women, flirting with them on the phone, etc.
I lol'ed at this :-D *Imagines Reid swaggering round with a posse of ladies that he picked up at NA*. I've thought hard about it since reading your comment and re-watched the scene just now, and I really want to think (maybe I'm just trying to think the best of the writers... haha) that he was panicking a little bit about the possibility of the unsub dying. We know Reid copes incredibly badly with that, and he has said things in the past like, "It was my turn to save one" (to Hotch, after Owen Savage). I really don't think he could handle knowing that someone he shot had bled to death metres away, while he himself was being tended by a doctor. And when the team shows up, and Reid continues to be all, "I'm fine," I think this is a combination of thinking he's not that important, and possibly the fact that he knows something waaaaaaaay worse has happened to Hotch, which they're all just about to find out about... eeeek. But maybe I'm overanalysing.
Oh, and as I said on Twitter, that was a really good point about Adam/Amanda - I'd forgotten about that ep, which was really vintage Reid. I am torn, on Reid, between thinking that he honestly believes/has faith that every single person can be redeemed, and thinking that he has to save people in order to prove that he has some kind of value. Maybe it's a bit of both. Or maybe I'm reading him too em0 :-D But I hope not. Oh, and trufax about the pig farm unsubs too.
And yeah, battle scars on good looking men = such a freaking turn-on. God. Issues. Lol.
Eeek, hope I didn't overwhelm you with teh rambles. But have had sleep! So.
Reply
seriously, you would probably have to tie Hotch to his table to make him stay home from work,
I know what you'll be doing from now on But I know what you mean. Maybe the writers will show that he went back to work to soon. I mean, he did go back to work right after he blew up in the beginning of season 4 and we saw what long term damage that had on his ear. You'd think Hotch would have learned his lesson by now.
before the episode I just kind of wanted Reid to be the one to rescue Hotch
I did too. Not because I'm a shipper but because I think it would have been good for Reid to see him hurt/vulnerable like that. Since Reid is missing a father figure in his life I think e see's Hotch as a substitute dad and seeing seeing that he isn't invincible might have helped Reid's self esteem out and show him that he doesn't have to do it all, all the time, ya know? Does that make sense? (btw I typed "that he isn't ~invisible" about 5 times before I realized what exactly was wrong with it *facepalm* lol)
*Imagines Reid swaggering round with a posse of ladies that he picked up at NA*.
OMFG LMFAO IRL ROLLING-ON-THE-FLOOR-LIKE-DRACO RIGHT NOW omg I spit out the milk I was drinking I laughed so hard at that. <3
but to the rest of that paragraph - I don't think you're over-analyzing I think you're right. *nods* Poor Reid. He needs a good person *cough* to help show him that he's worth something =/
Reply
I think that, often, the episodes are meant to be chronologically constant, but not extremely close together. Based on Jack's apparent age and Reid's hair length, it seems that a season of CM may take place over about a year-ish, and, unless otherwise specifically noted, are disbursed fairly equally throughout that year. So maybe the next ep have Hotch coming back to work, but after a certain amount of healing time (at least half a month, I would think)
Reply
Leave a comment