Criminal Minds - Boxed In - Review: "Spooky, Scary Skeletons"

Thomas Gibson did a wonderful job directing Criminal Minds last night, in a spooky Halloween-themed episode. All in all, I thought it was a great episode, with some great quotes and moments from our friends at the Behavioural Analysis Unit.

To start off, we are at a pumpkin patch. There are lots and lots of pumpkins scattered around; cute. It seems almost too easy for a kid to get abducted there without anyone noticing. I think this might be a Criminal Minds world record for the fastest amount of time a parent worries they have lost their son. 15 seconds; yes, I timed it. Never mind about the comment about a kid being abducted. She found her son (thank goodness). "Look mom, I found a guy taking a nap." How adorable. Well, it's very easy for a kid to be dumped here. Then, we get the first Cruz mention of the 10th season! Yay! Hotch says, "Garcia, I owe you another one." Garcia replies, "No you don't. Have a happy halloween!" I love their relationship! Then, Hotch goes to a Psychic? A possible homage to the episode Cold Comfort (4x14)? The "psychic" says, "YOU'RE a friend of Penelope's?" "We work together, yes." That was hilarious! In case you forgot, Thomas Gibson directed this. A rare occurrence of the Hotch smile, and an early indication that this episode is focused on him. We see that Hotch bought something for Jack, awww! The psychic also say, "The world could use for good fathers." Oh. I just got a flashback in my head to when Hotch said, "I'm just the father and the husband who's never there." from Ashes and Dust (2x19). Ow. The way Thomas stuttered when he said "H-happy Halloween!" was one of the cutest things I have ever heard.

In other news, Cade Owens (who plays Jack) is so big! AND MOLLY BAKER IS BACK! I LOVE JESSICA. Hotch gives Jack a present in a box...hmmm, the episode is called Boxed In. Very clever word play, Virgil Williams. "Wait for it..." It's a Darth Vader mask. Hotch then says the classic line: "Jack...I am your father." Amazing! Next, we're back at the BAU. The power went out on them - why did I laugh so hard? Reid says, "Spooky." That pretty much made the episode worthwhile already. Awww, those poor kids. I'm already getting feels-y. Hotch says, "Weather permitting, wheels up in 30." I don't like the sound of that. And with that, I already feel a connection to the Trinity Killer from Dexter. One of his cycles of killing was a 10-year-old boy; he would abduct them, place them into little sheds, and kill them. He would even make them a little bed, much like the unsub (Unknown Subject) on this show appears to be doing. Creepy. After JJ talked about the torture inflicted on the boys, Kate says, "It's too bad we can't do the same to that unsub." Rossi retorts, "Or unsubs." Kate retorts to his retort with, "Whatever, I'm down." Yeah, this made me cringe hardcore. Kate's earlier comments about how it could be a team of unsubs was said in a manner that almost seemed rude. And then, Rossi's just trying to remind the team about what Kate said, only to have her become hostile. I didn't enjoy that at all. Then, we go to hospital where the second victim is being looked after. The nurse says, "I can't even imagine what he's been through." Isn't that something the BAU is supposed to say to comfort the victims' families? Haha.

Rossi has some of the best quotes of all time in this episode. "Solitary confinement makes grown men crazy, imagine what those conditions would do to a child." I really can't imagine that, Dave. Next, we get some Hotch and Rossi scenes. I just love these two being awesome together. "What he's saying is that psychos say the darndest things. Everything that comes out of their mouth has to be taken with a grain of salt, even if it's a confession." So much sass from Rossi. Next, we see an interview at the prison where they have a suspect held. No interview with an inmate will ever compare to Hotch's interview with The Fox (Karl Arnold) and Blake's interview with Mr. Smith. Morgan says, "I hate prisons." I bet you do, Morgan. Ever since you met up with Carl Buford (lots of Carl/Karls on CM), prisons must have a bad feeling with you. Hotch goes to give the press a statement - I remember when JJ used to give press releases. I miss that so much. Ooh, next we see some rambunctious kids throwing eggs while trick or treating. Lovely. One of the kids gets separated from the group; intense. The unsub is chasing him - oh no! He wears a skeleton mask. How appropriate. I do like that we haven't seen his face yet.

Next, we get a really great JJ and Hotch scene. "Jack won best costume at school." "Nice!" "Henry?" "Oh, all Spiderman all day." I love spiderman, and I love Jotch's moments. Hotch and Kate go talk to the parents of the missing boy. The mom is in hysterics. "Do you even have kids?" Of course they do! Oh goodness, the unsub parks his car on top of the shed where he stuffed the boy? That's horrible! Then, they go talk to the owner of the house that got egged. Rossi knows how to talk to families. "While I'm sorry for the inconvenience, sir, but I'm sure the parents of the missing child don't really care. Frankly, neither do I." Once again, Rossi is the episode's MVP. "Even if they [the neighbours] did [see something], it's halloween. He could be in costume. We could be looking for Spongebob for all we know." NEED I QUOTE MORE? JJ whistles, "Hello over there, share please." And it's Reid! This show should not be making me laugh this much. Reid then proceeds to remember everything someone says. That's not even supposed to happen for someone with an eidetic memory. Oh well, at least the continuity is there, because he has done this before. The profile delivery is next, finally. "A fundamentalist vigilante." That's new. I'm quite happy the writers are trying to keep things fresh.

Furthermore, we are then visited by this girl who thinks her brother is the unsub. Her nose ring is really bugging me; it's shining very bright and looks very fake. Also, she's talking for a very long time about her family without any interruptions. Her home really was a broken one. Their surnames are Bidwell? We've had that last name before. "I guess we all become our parents at some point." Um, that's a weird thing to say. The look on Hotch's face as this is said is astounding. I immediately drew parallels to Natural Born Killer (1x8), with the infamous conversation between Hotch and Vincent Perotta. "You said some people [who grow up in abusive households] grow up to be killers." "...And some people grow up to catch them." That was the golden opportunity for Hotch to open up, but of course that's asking for too much. This episode is oddly a Rossi-centric episode, at least in terms of speaking time. At this time, I guessed that Johnny killed his father. Whoa, I was wrong. It was his mother. That was a nice plot twist! "He's the way he is because of me." That kind of reminds me of Dexter again, because a parental figure died in front of him, and that shaped him becoming who he is today. Next, the team go to find the unsub. I love how he was just casually smoking as the FBI approached him.

Later, we got yet another epic Rossi quote. "Have you ever seen the inside of a prison cell, John? It's a box. Probably not too different from the kind your dad put you in." Stop; these quotes are too sassy and too awesome. Next, it's Hotch's turn for a great quote. "He should've kept you in that box. You're not worth my time." Ouch, Hotch. Ouch. I'm aware you had to play the bad-cop in order to prepare the unsub for seeing his mother, but this still hurt. One question I have, though, when did the unsub tell the BAU where the boy was hidden, exactly? The amount of time between the unsub's crying and the police's running was, like, one second. Yet, they saved the boy in time. Thank goodness. Finally, the episode closes with Hotch returning home to Jessica, and Jack's empty bedroom. Jack slept on the couch in hopes that his dad would come home in time. Also, I caught a glimpse of a picture of blonde-haired Haley on Hotch's desk. I'm not okay. I miss Haley more than words can say. Well, other than that sad feat, that was the cutest ending ever. Awww, that was actually a really good episode. Would've loved to see JJ come home to Henry dressed up as Spiderman and Will, of course.

What did you think of Boxed In? Do you want to see more directorial episodes from Thomas? Are you as excited as I am for If The Shoe Fits, apparently a JJ-centric episode with a female unsub taking on the typical traits that a male unsub normally has? Leave a comment down below!