For a show that's in its tenth season, Criminal Minds knows how to intrigue an audience. Despite the lack of Jeanne Tripplehorn, whom I miss very much, the BAU still felt like a functioning team, with the new addition of Jennifer Love Hewitt as Kate Callahan.
So, let's get right down to business, shall we? The episode starts off with a little boy running around in the sunlight. He stumbles into this creepy looking shed (it's ALWAYS a good idea to go exploring in abandoned sheds, right?). He runs away, looking very ghastly. Why? There are limbs inside. As it says in my bio, I am a huge Dexter fan. So, what do limbs make me think of? Dexter and The Ice Truck Killer. I thought that was very nice to see that resemblance. Speaking of Dexter, C.S. Lee is starring in the next episode! What a coincidence! Anyway, I thought it was a strong intro for an episode.
Next, we see Kate Callahan at a bar with a strange looking fella. She does not look at all like a soon-to-be FBI agent; she's undercover. She made a comment like:
A girl's gotta be careful these days.Seems a bit sad, don't you think? Moreover, this kind of took me back to Emily Prentiss's days where she would go undercover and "pretend to like a criminal to get him into custody". But, according to show runner Erica Messer, this is a completely unique trait to Kate. All right, then. It was a bit strange to have this as our first impression of Kate, and I'm sure it won't be the last we see of her undercover work. It was still cool to watch.
That opening scene with Kate and Reid in the elevator was nice. Although, I'm not sure what to make of her comment about "techno and tweaking". Spencer Reid's face afterwards said it all. We found out that she was in the bar during Gatekeeper (9x07) with the rest of the team when they sang Billy Joel's "Piano Man". That was nice to hear. We also got a 10 second mention of Alex Blake and how she's teaching full time in Boston (presumably with her husband, James). That was the highlight of the episode for me. In addition to all of this madness, there was a particular comment from Aaron Hotchner that I just can't seem to get out of my head.
Emily does not want to come back.Prentiss has a huge fan base and most of them continue to beg her and the network to bring her back full time on the show. I think this is the show's way of trying to quiet them down. Paget Brewster has openly stated that she will not return to the show full time, but she will continue to guest star whenever they would like her to. So please, do us all a favour, and let it rest? Thanks.
How about that quote from Penelope Garcia about how, "Is she [Kate] nice? Why is that the first question I always ask?". That's another indirect reference to Blake because that was the first question she asked about her. I enjoyed that very much.
Kate and David Rossi seem to be very close already, don't you think? They were paired up the whole time during this episode, and they're already making sassy remarks to each other. It looks like they will be a go-to pair for the entire season. I should probably mention the unsub's (Unknown Subject) profile. From very early on in the episode, it seemed promising. It mentioned many times that he is obsessive, he revisits the crime scenes, and he uses isolate dump sites; interesting. Within 20 minutes of the episode, they made an arrest. If you're a big fan of the show, you know how unlikely it is for the team to already identify and arrest the unsub around the 20 minute mark. Just as I suspected, he wasn't the unsub. With more comedic relief in the episode, with lines like, "You found a limb in his car?" "Actually, we found three.", you could tell that they tried really hard to make this episode less gruesome. The rest of the episode was pretty bland until we saw the unsub's latest victim escape and run away. Hurray, the BAU came just in time to save the day yet again!
While on the plane ride home, Derek Morgan decides to talk about how he has accumulated the most battle scars while making references to the season 9 finale Demons (9x24) and Omnivore (4x18). Interesting. We then see Kate at home taking care of a girl - possibly her niece (as released in some interviews). This could be a cool storyline to explore. And to end off the episode, we see a woman jogging around in broad daylight - always a good sign. A van pulls up next to her, and the woman in the passenger's seat asks her for directions. Meanwhile, someone in the backseat pulls her into the van. This speaks volumes as it is not only a reference to the season-long unsub of season 8 "The Replicator", but it also echoes the season 6 team of unsubs who were pulling off a Human Trafficking Ring, much like it seems these perps are doing. Maybe this is a reason to bring back Rachel Nichols and show how Ashley Seaver has been doing on Andi Swann's team?
All in all, this episode was decent. There was a lot of misogyny depicted in this episode, with comments like, "I bet you [Kate] had to work extra hard for that badge". For a show that seems to always tiptoe along the lines of misogyny, this one was definitely one of the closest to crossing that line. Furthermore, Kate's character seems to be the purveyor of sporadic pop culture references and memes. Twerking, animals doing cute things, and more are what we heard from her. I'm really not sure what to think of this. If she's going to talk about these things every week, I could see myself getting annoyed very quickly with her. Oh well, I still think there's hope for this season.
What did YOU think of the premiere of X? Are you excited for Burn? Be sure to leave a comment down below!
I did think the "emily does not want to come back" comment was a little off putting, they could have put it in so much of a better way to not do disservice to the character. Prentiss's fan base won't quiet down anyways.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but it doesn't hurt to keep trying, right? (Or maybe it does...)
ReplyDeleteI could see that comment that guy made to Kate about "having to work hard for that badge", and the way she shot him down, as a sly response to those on the internet who, when they heard JLH was going to join the show, made so many obnoxious comments about her looks and, er, noticeable assets being the only reason she gets any sort of job or attention. If the show had endorsed that guy's point of view it'd be misogynistic, but since they were mocking that attitude, I didn't take it that way.
ReplyDeleteKate's comment to Reid about twerking made me laugh because it gave me some very amusing images of Reid trying to do that very sort of dancing as a result :D. I want to know now what other songs the team apparently butchered that night, too :D.
I kept being curious about the looks Reid and Kate were giving each other throughout the show, and him being the first one to mention having recognized her at the bar that night. I know in the past they've hinted at him having an attraction to other female co-workers-his crush on JJ in the first season and asking her to that Redskins game, and finding Seaver pretty, so I wonder if they're doing that here, too? Nothing came of those other two flirtations, though, and the show's never put any team members together up to this point, so...who knows. Also, when Morgan, JJ, and Kate were talking at the end I kept thinking, "Um, yeah, maybe Reid should chime in on the 'who's been hurt the most on the job' debate-I think he'd have the others beat." :p
(Speaking of Seaver, I thought it was a neat idea to have Kate be connected to her. And I agree with your sentiments on the stuff with Emily, too. I love Emily and am all for her coming back to visit if and when she wants to. It was great seeing her with the others again in "200". But like you said, she's made her stance clear, so...yeah. People still asking two years later is kind of amusing.)
I think Rossi would click well with Kate because he knows what it's like to be "the new person". I liked their interaction, so I'm all for them teaming up more. And I loved Kate and Garcia bonding over cute pictures and stuff, too. I love those little moments of humor they sprinkle into this show against all the creepiness. I liked Kate in last night's episode, so I'm interested to see how she continues to interact with everyone as the season goes on.
And I'm really curious about that ending with the trafficking ring and the woman being abducted! They did say they were planning another season-long unsub storyline this year, so...could that be part of it?
Nice review! I look forward to reading more of your thoughts as the season continues on! It's nice to have a proper discussion for this show going on online.
Nope, not giving the Paget Brewster thing a rest- especially after the way the producers treated her. If it annoys them that the fan base wants her back , well, good on.
ReplyDeleteYes, how they treated her sucked. But if they haven't listened and made her a regular again in the last two years, what makes anyone think that'll change anytime soon?
ReplyDeleteBesides that, as noted in the review, Paget herself said she's not planning on coming back full time. So if she doesn't want to come back outside of occasional guest spots, that should be enough reason to drop the issue right there.
Thank you for your points. I agree with most of what you said - especially about Reid being the real 'winner' of having the most bad things happen to him. Hotch too.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I would feel about Kate and Reid dating...I want Reid to be happy, but at the same time I want him to have a non-work related relationship, if you know what I mean.
I too thought about what it would be like if Reid twerked. But, as I said, his face represented how I was really feeling.
Looking forward to continue conversing with you. :)
I don't think you understand what's happening.
ReplyDeleteThe fans are bombarding the writers and Paget to have her back, when PAGET HERSELF has stated MANY TIMES she does not want to come back as a full time character. Wouldn't a good fan respect her wishes and just cheer her on when she guest stars?
Ooh, yeah, Hotch would qualify for that competition, too, for sure. Glad we're in agreement on that :).
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't know how I'd feel about that, either, for the very reasons you note. There are in team pairings that are fun to imagine and play around with in fanfiction and such, but yeah, ultimately, I think it's wise for the show to keep any romantic relationships outside the team. I'm all for Reid finding love again with some girl he meets somewhere or something, though, absolutely.
Haha, yeah, I think his face said it all. He makes some entertaining facial expressions. And same here!
Yes, I do understand and followed the whole story back in the day as it unfolded and yes, I do understand she is only interested in guest appearances. But that line about Emily they stuck in the beginning of the episode was snarky. I can't help it if I bear a grudge really well. Did not mean to upset everyone, I just still resent what the network did to her. I can live with being the only one who feels this way.
ReplyDelete