Spencer Reid
Just some rambly, disorganized thoughts on Dr. Reid.
One of the things that I find most fascinating about Reid is how much of an actor he can be with his sort of bumbling professor persona. I don't know how much of that is a coping mechanism, how much is simply clever to purposely cause people to underestimate him and how much is genuine.
This is going to be all sorts of rambly as I haven't really organized my thoughts on this. It's just stuff that I've thought of as I've watched.
He's 22 or 23 when the series starts and already identified as their expert on 'everything.' He also appears to be Gideon's protege or closest colleague during the time Gideon was on leave teaching. When he's briefing police or other teams he's always confident, there's never any doubt that he knows what he's talking about. He's clear, concise and explains his points very well. However, he also comes across as socially and physically awkward. I can't decide how much of that awkwardness is real and how much, if any, is an act. After all, with his background I'd assume quite a bit of acting would have been required, if only for basic survival. With his team he often finds himself rambling or answering questions that had been intended to be rhetorical. They accept his brilliance, love him and treat him as an equal but it's also clear that he's the baby of the family as it were. He himself even says to Ellen at one point that if he tells the team about his health issues they'll treat him like a baby.
There are times though, and always when it's most needed that he seemingly drops the entire persona and just pierces someone with not just his immense intelligence but also with sheer force of personality and strength. It's as though he keeps this carefully hidden until just when he needs it. When he's testifying before Strauss or the senate committee for example, he's powerful, his thoughts in perfect order and he's not even slightly intimidated or awkward. 'This is calm and it's Doctor.' excuse me while I cheer.
The scene with the doctor (the episode with the dolls) was amazing. He basically eviscerated that guy with his words and his tone. When he said his lab was a 'jury of your peers' and that 'I will personally bring these into the courtroom...' I want to see that! OMG I want to see him in a courtroom!
This would make him an interesting enough character but then you have to start adding in all the nuances and surprises that make him so fascinating. There's the fact that he's an addict. Biggie right there. Dilaudid is very similar to Heroin and is often used in conjunction with it. Reid apparently kicked the habit on his own and without medical help, which must have been horrific. (Again I ask, where are the damn fics?) I kind of like how it was never actually talked about among the team but that everyone seemed aware of it. It made far more of an impact when Hotch finally said it out loud, 'One of my team has a serious drug problem.' Emily looked like he'd slapped her, as though saying 'we don't talk about that!'
Then there is his background. He was clearly an adored child by his mother when she was in her right mind but given the fact that she was mostly not in her right mind that doesn't help much. His father walking out and leaving him alone with her was unconscionable. The fact that he was right there within minutes of the family the entire time yet never reached out to help or support his son just makes it worse.
Reid graduated from high school at the age of 12. He's mentioned more than once being bullied there, including the heinous goalpost incident, which is even more awful when you remember that he was no older than 12 years old when this happened and that the kids who did it to him we're all 15-18 years old. Sometimes he jokes about being bullied (such as when he told Hotch that he kicks like a girl) but at other times his experience still has the power to reduce him to tears.
He handles crime scenes and autopsies with no apparent distress. His examination of bodies is clinical and intelligent. Things outside himself he has little trouble with, it's his internal demons, the schizophrenia, the drugs, the troubled childhood that get to him. I'm really looking forward to the next new episode. It's Reid centric and apparently deals some with his own perception of his genius.
One of the things that I find most fascinating about Reid is how much of an actor he can be with his sort of bumbling professor persona. I don't know how much of that is a coping mechanism, how much is simply clever to purposely cause people to underestimate him and how much is genuine.
This is going to be all sorts of rambly as I haven't really organized my thoughts on this. It's just stuff that I've thought of as I've watched.
He's 22 or 23 when the series starts and already identified as their expert on 'everything.' He also appears to be Gideon's protege or closest colleague during the time Gideon was on leave teaching. When he's briefing police or other teams he's always confident, there's never any doubt that he knows what he's talking about. He's clear, concise and explains his points very well. However, he also comes across as socially and physically awkward. I can't decide how much of that awkwardness is real and how much, if any, is an act. After all, with his background I'd assume quite a bit of acting would have been required, if only for basic survival. With his team he often finds himself rambling or answering questions that had been intended to be rhetorical. They accept his brilliance, love him and treat him as an equal but it's also clear that he's the baby of the family as it were. He himself even says to Ellen at one point that if he tells the team about his health issues they'll treat him like a baby.
There are times though, and always when it's most needed that he seemingly drops the entire persona and just pierces someone with not just his immense intelligence but also with sheer force of personality and strength. It's as though he keeps this carefully hidden until just when he needs it. When he's testifying before Strauss or the senate committee for example, he's powerful, his thoughts in perfect order and he's not even slightly intimidated or awkward. 'This is calm and it's Doctor.' excuse me while I cheer.
The scene with the doctor (the episode with the dolls) was amazing. He basically eviscerated that guy with his words and his tone. When he said his lab was a 'jury of your peers' and that 'I will personally bring these into the courtroom...' I want to see that! OMG I want to see him in a courtroom!
This would make him an interesting enough character but then you have to start adding in all the nuances and surprises that make him so fascinating. There's the fact that he's an addict. Biggie right there. Dilaudid is very similar to Heroin and is often used in conjunction with it. Reid apparently kicked the habit on his own and without medical help, which must have been horrific. (Again I ask, where are the damn fics?) I kind of like how it was never actually talked about among the team but that everyone seemed aware of it. It made far more of an impact when Hotch finally said it out loud, 'One of my team has a serious drug problem.' Emily looked like he'd slapped her, as though saying 'we don't talk about that!'
Then there is his background. He was clearly an adored child by his mother when she was in her right mind but given the fact that she was mostly not in her right mind that doesn't help much. His father walking out and leaving him alone with her was unconscionable. The fact that he was right there within minutes of the family the entire time yet never reached out to help or support his son just makes it worse.
Reid graduated from high school at the age of 12. He's mentioned more than once being bullied there, including the heinous goalpost incident, which is even more awful when you remember that he was no older than 12 years old when this happened and that the kids who did it to him we're all 15-18 years old. Sometimes he jokes about being bullied (such as when he told Hotch that he kicks like a girl) but at other times his experience still has the power to reduce him to tears.
He handles crime scenes and autopsies with no apparent distress. His examination of bodies is clinical and intelligent. Things outside himself he has little trouble with, it's his internal demons, the schizophrenia, the drugs, the troubled childhood that get to him. I'm really looking forward to the next new episode. It's Reid centric and apparently deals some with his own perception of his genius.