The title of this review is based of the popular horror movie, Scream. The most famous quote, being, "Do you like scary movies?" I thought the homage was appropriate. This was a great episode, definitely another best from this season. Kim Harrison did a fine job showing us the unsub's psyche, and writing some information, backstory, and crises involving Kate. Well done! This episode didn't make me want to scream...that is, until the unsub started being really creepy!
The episode starts with a flashback to earlier episodes this season dealing with Kate and her niece. Interesting. Then, we get the real intro, and man, that was quite the intro. It can be best described by the comments of my mom: "Oh great, now I want bacon, eggs, and jam!" That music is very overpowering. Also, this unsub immediately reminds me of the unsub from The Big Wheel (4x22). Every action he performed required the utmost attention. And the way he approached his food and cleaned his dishes seemed similar. Everything else seemed eerily normal until he goes downstairs and you hear a woman screaming. How appropriate, the episode is called Scream. The way he was putting on the apron and gloves was so similar to that of Dexter Morgan from the show Dexter. That was a very sad scene between him and possibly his wife. He gets mad over the semantics of which she claimed his work day went, and she appears to be paying the price.
Next is a nice scene with Kate, her husband, and Meg. Greg Grunberg plays Chris, Kate's wife. I have seen Greg in a lot of roles, but my favourite was in the video game L.A. Noire. He played a father who you were convinced killed his wife, but you were apparently wrong. He was great. So I was already excited to see him on Criminal Minds before the episode even aired. So, Chris cracks a joke about her "guns", and Kate expresses distain for Meg wanting to go to the mall with some boys she met from school. Thats what it must be like having a guardian who works for the FBI. Now we're back to the case, and this guy appears to be listening to a tape recording over and over again. All the while, he's smacking his head against the wall. That's creepy. Theme song, play us out...
Opening Quote:
Spoken by Kate Callahan - William R. Alger once said, "Men often make up in wrath what they want in reason."
Cute brunettes are his thing, well that's not so good. The usual debriefing on the plane was, well, usual. Aside from a comment from Reid about a chess match, everything was normal. At the M.E., we figure out that this unsub is a Silencer? Heck no. You can't duplicate the MO of one of the greatest profiled serial killers this show has ever seen! Ugh. Moreover, they discredit the theory that he's a Lonely Hearts killer. He lacks power and control in his real life, so with his victims he ensures that he gets the dominance he deserves. Now we get to see him in action, and he works at some kind of therapy place. This is where he meets his victims. We get insight from this woman that her husband was abusive and her son finally caught on to what they're doing. He replicates the abuse that these women go through. Yikes. The woman thanks her friend for letting her stay with her while she's going. It's just too bad that she won't make it there.
Okay, next the team arrives at the crime scene. They rule out the husband. Kate appears to be taking this case personally. Later is our profile delivery. Lots of good points here by the team. Apparently this guy doesn't get off on violence, it's the screaming that does it for him. Ah, he's roleplaying with them! That's horribly weird. We're greeted with a, "You're on speaker, Garcia", and an obligatory amazing quote from Garcia is next. "If she's listed in any of them, your near-sighted girl of wonder would've found it!" This guy's trophies are their screams - because of those recordings. Ohhhhhh, and the weirdness continues. Our unsub is Peter Holden, and his father severely abused his mother. They died in a murder-suicide à la Shakespeare, according to Garcia. What a delight this episode is. But in all seriousness, the profiling has been pretty decent. We've learned a lot of the abuse the unsub suffered, both directly and indirectly.
A touching scene with Kate and the officer who responded to all of their domestic abuse calls is to follow. He revealed that he was the one to suggest to record the abuse of his mother on a voice recorder. His mother also claimed that she made up excuses and covered up for her husband. Touching. Kate tells the officer that he was the only positive male role model in his life. That was sweet. Since this man was such a saviour for Peter, he ended up changing his last name to his. In a way, that's adorable. In another way, that's disturbing. Back at Peter's place, his abductee is able to break free! ...that is until he finds her again and drags her. There's a bit a of a kerfuffle, and he appears to have the upper hand. That is until the police walk inside. JJ's by herself when the unsub tackles her and hits her against the wall. That is a no-no! The last thing he asked her to do is "Scream for me." JJ's response is priceless, "You wish." You go, girl. Kate shoots the unsub and saves her life. Hurray!
Closing Quote:
Spoken by Aaron Hotchner - "Nothing can drive one closer to his own insanity than a haunting memory refusing its own death." Darnella Ford
A Kate and JJ scene, of course, because Kate just saved her life and all. How adorable. I can't lie, I really see the parallels with this scene and several scenes betwixt JJ and Blake. Me being the Blake fanatic I am can't overlook this. But I did enjoy it, even though I wish it was someone else. "Don't you wish you could just keep them innocent forever?", JJ asks. "Yeah.", Kate replies. Nice. We're then taken to the mall with Meg and her friend awaiting the arrival of their "friends from biology class". Along came Chris, and Meg is pissed. Chris bought something for Kate. Probably some lingerie, you know, with it being Valentine's Day and all. He walks off, calls Kate, and lets her know that he's not leaving just yet. He just wants to make sure Meg is safe. I want to know more about Chris! He seems very quirky and funny and like a character I really could like. Oh well. Lastly, Meg's "friend" brushes with Chris and appears to have pickpocketed him. He gets into his car and tells Meg and friend that they'll meet another time. What a letdown for Meg, what a relief and subsequent scare for Chris.
Final Thoughts:
- I actually enjoyed it throughly. I thought the profiling was good, and the unsub was extra creepy. I definitely hope the rest of the episodes in Season 10 follow this episode.
- I didn't mind Kate in this episode, and that is a big task. Great casting and writing for Chris; his humour and wit was undeniable.
- I'm glad the show finally remembered that they've got this overarching plot with Sex Trafficking going on. It'll be interesting to see where they go from here.
What did YOU think of Scream? Did it make you want to scream? As always, thanks for reading and be sure to leave a comment down below!
I was wondering how you'd respond to this episode, given it was Kate-centered and so on! But I'm glad you liked it! I don't know that I've ever seen Greg in anything else before, but I like him as Chris! He seems like a good guy, and I loved him looking out for Meg and her friend at the end (when he showed up and lingered around, I was like, "You are awesome, God bless you." Though I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking he was pickpocketed, which...yikes). And I loved the discussion between Kate and Chris about Meg dating-very realistic, and yet, a bit of humor mixed in (I liked Kate doing the "fingers/eyes" thing at him after reminding him she had three guns). It seems like a good home life Meg's got here with Kate and Chris, which is sweet.
ReplyDeleteAnd I really loved how they used the events of the episode and the stuff with Meg to highlight the concerns people like Kate, JJ, and Hotch have to deal with as a result of this job, being parents and all. They know all the dangers that are out there, they deal with them up close and personal, so it's hard not to bring it home with them and be extra worried about their children as a result. I really liked the scene between JJ and Kate on the plane ride home-JJ's comment about wanting to keep them innocent forever, and the reminder that her own son is growing up fast, was bittersweet and poignant. Especially considering all the personal demons JJ's still working through with Askari-it makes you wonder how she's handled any questions Henry's had about that whole thing. He's six now, nearly seven, so he's going to understand a lot more than he used to.
The talk about what dating was like when they were younger versus what it's like now struck me, too, 'cause the older I get the more I think about things like that, too. I said this in the comments for the episode itself, but this episode just added to my hesitations about becoming a mother someday. The idea of having to worry about this stuff with a child of my own freaks me out!
I loved your title for the review-indeed, this one did feel a lot like a horror movie in many ways-when the little boy told his mom that he got the candy from the strange man...eeeeeeeesh. And every single time the unsub picked up that bat, I winced, even though they always (thankfully) cut away before we saw just how he used that bat. When they very first showed the unsub in his office, and they had that woman sitting in a chair rubbing her pregnant stomach, I actually thought he was working at some Planned Parenthood clinic or something and was really freaked out about the possibilities of that option. But the idea of him targeting vulnerable women escaping abusive homes was equally disturbing, if not more so. Add in the whole thing about him witnessing his parents' deaths and recording the final conversation and the screams and trying to recreate it and I was just really depressed and horrified by the end of it all. What a dark, unhappy situation all around. I felt bad for that cop who tried to help him all those years ago.
And yes, the scene with him prepping for a normal day at the very beginning with that opera music playing, and then later playing that same song over and over when torturing his victims, was...freaky. Just a very surreal, creepy setup. I hadn't thought of the comparison to "The Big Wheel" unsub, but nice catch.
"You go, girl" to JJ, indeed. I loved her response to the unsub after fighting him off. I kept gasping as he was attacking her, though-she's already dealing with enough PTSD, for god's sakes! Poor thing. Thank goodness she made it out okay, though.
Nice review, as always-I'm glad you liked this episode! Now we have to wait a few weeks for new ones :(. May the ones yet to come be just as good as the last streak have been.
Thank you for your comments! Glad we're in agreement once again!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your review :)
ReplyDeleteI was a little afraid about a Kate centric episode but actually I really liked this episode . The scene between JJ and Kate was a great one .
The case of the week was ok for me. It won't go on my favorites list but I didn't hate it. I did like the beginning with Meg and Kate and then the end set up with Meg and her friend. That said, Meg and her little friend have 0 common sense and that irritates me. Your mom/aunt is an FBI agent, I know you have had the dangers of the world talk and you still sent your photos to an unknown online and made plans to meet? These kids today have all the book and technological sense in the world but no common sense.
ReplyDeleteI'm slowly coming around to Kate. I know this is shallow but I think it's her appearance that is putting me off. Her facial expressions are always so gloomy and harsh. I like the actress but I wish she would loosen Kate up a bit. Her dire expressions mixed with that dark make-up depresses me. Even Hotch, who rarely smiles, is not this doomy and gloomy. I love Hotch.