Opening Quote:
Spoken by Kate Callahan - "The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." Albert Einstein
Closing Quote:
Also spoken by Kate Callahan - "Life is about choices. Some we regret, some we're proud of. We are what we chose to be." Graham Brown
The finale itself:
Thanks to an interview done with Kirsten Vangsness, we were already aware of Jennifer Love Hewitt's departure about a month in advance. So, it wasn't a shocker to see this finale based around her and her niece, Meg. Erica Messer, as well, spoiled basically the entire finale in all of her interviews. Based on all of this, and the fact that it was yet another finale based around a Sex Trafficking Ring, none of it felt original and exciting. Kate's maternal instinct was nice to see throughout, as well as Hotch doing anything and everything to find Meg and Markayla, as a Unit Chief would. Also, I love Kate's husband, Chris. Greg Grunberg is a great actor and he brought some well needed depth to this episode and that character. I was elated to see him again in the finale. I like how Kate was investigated the traffickers on her own. However, I'm still peeved around this whole arc. It was a truly unrealistic approach for this season. An FBI agent would have more surveillance over her children than anyone. It would be ridiculously hard to abduct their daughter this way, and not have the FBI know about it as soon as it was happening.Other than that, this finale was quite forgettable. JJ's press conference was enjoyable. The 69 joke was pretty funny (I'm immature, apparently). The scene where Meg knocks out the tail lights while she's in the trunk of the car was a nice homage to the show Psych, whether they meant to reference it or not. Hotch's and Rossi's interrogation scenes were great, as always. Creepy quote award goes to: "You know what's great about the internet? It's therapy for sick minds. Before, you thought you were alone. But now, one click, and you'll realize you've got family." "You don't have the balls needed to kill, so you pawned that off on others." Way to shut him down, Rossi. Although, I wasn't such a fan of Rossi asking, "Are you dumb, Alex?" because that ultimately made me think he was asking that of Blake. Reid finding out JJ is pregnant was adorable! Kate's goodbye scene was emotional, but I'm upset that she got to have a heartfelt goodbye with Hotch when Blake was shoved at the back of the plane and Hotch just stared at her from afar. As well, she's also welcome to come back in Season 12, which ties into my next point.
The season overall:
If we take a look back to my first official article, I made a list of my hopes and dreams for the show this season. Based on that list, here's what happened and didn't:- In some cases, we did receive actual, lengthy profiles of the unsubs. In other, we got a lot of gore simply for shock value. Unfortunately, I'd say we had more episodes with terrible profiles than decent profiled cases.
- We still have no real backstory on Garcia and her parents.
- Despite a few great chances to do so, still nothing on Hotch's abusive past.
- Nothing about Morgan's father.
- We did get that one, 10-second Blake reference at the beginning of the season, yet no mention of her after that, and about 3 Prentiss mentions this season.
- We learned more about Rossi's deceased son, which was actually really sweet. A nice sendoff for Harrison was had as well.
- Gideon's sendoff, however, was completely unnecessary and although the flashback were phenomenal, the actual case of that episode was dismal.
- Hotch & Garcia moments were adorable, when they happened.
- Rossi & Reid moments were scarce, but were completely welcomed with me when they were on screen.
- We did not get a pure psychopath again (one like Frank, Foyet, etc.) and Rossi still does not have a nemesis. I suppose it's for the best, because he did lose a few friends this year.
- I agree with some commentators about Hotch not acting as much like a Unit Chief this season. His moments with Jack, I thought, were much more important to the show. Mr. Scratch seems to be a fan favourite, and although we got no signs of trauma afterwards, people seemed to love that episode and what happened. I, for one, was not a fan.
- No Will was shown either, because Josh Stewart was apparently busy. It would've been nice to see him though, especially in episodes like If The Shoe Fits and The Forever People.
- How many times is Hotch going to witness these brunette-agents leave? Elle, Emily, Blake, and now Kate. This is terrible.
- Overall, a disappointing season in my opinion. Especially considering Season 9 had some truly amazing episodes that got me completely in love with the show and the characters. Yet another female agent left the show, and due to A.J. Cook's pregnancy, she will be leaving too.
Hopes for a Season 11:
My biggest, newest worry if the show does get renewed, is based on Erica Messer. Now that Beyond Borders has been picked up, all of her focus will be on that show and not this one. I find it quite worrisome that Criminal Minds might continue alongside the spinoff. Adding on to my worries, another woman has left the show. They cannot let JJ be the only female agent in the field. Even so, JJ's going to go on maternity leave soon too! They're going to have to fill both of those spots for the time being, either with an old face from the team, or someone new. Either way, as long as they try and stick to their roots, focus on the cases and then tell some great stories about these characters' lives. I do however think Season 11 should be the last one. I don't see them coming up with any more truly shocking and unique tales of unsubs much longer, and character development for these guys could be completed by the end of Season 11, the way I see it. So, Criminal Minds, if you're listening, the key to a successful season 11 would be to not focus on getting a completely new character (try to get an old one, or if you do get a new one, please try and make her original), create some new and exciting cases with excellent, lengthy profiles where we truly watch the team get puzzled and challenged by their actions and behaviours, and develop our loveable profilers to the best of your abilities, because there are still things we do not know about these guys, even in season 10.So, the big question, what did YOU think of The Hunt? How about season X - did you enjoy it or were you disappointed? If we were to get an 11th season, what would you want most to happen? Leave some comments down below!
And a big THANK YOU to those that have stuck with me since the beginning. I know my reviews have changed a bit since then, but it really means a lot to me that some of you have continued to read my thoughts and opinions on the show I once called my absolute favourite. I want nothing more than to see it succeed, but they have to do it right!
AJ's not leaving - she's just due when filming starts up again so she'll miss a few episodes.
ReplyDeleteI watched the finale for the sole reason that JJ's my favorite character and I wanted to see Reid's reaction to her pregnancy. It didn't disappoint at all because that scene was adorable.
She'll have to leave for maternity leave - it happened before and it's inevitable again.
ReplyDeleteI do think Rossi has had nemeses. Just not memorable ones or ones stretched out over episodes.
ReplyDeleteThomas Yates comes to mind, but they could've played on him a bit more and maybe referred to him again after the fact. I'm talking about one that truly gets under his skin, messes him up, and makes him contemplate leaving (Ã la Frank for Gideon, Foyet for Hotch, Doyle for Prentiss, etc.).
ReplyDeleteOh I've wanted it too. Just think they missed their window. Yates is the guy in prison right? I think he got under Rossi's skin. I don't think we'll get another true nemesis. Sadly.
ReplyDeleteYeah, he calls him every year on his birthday with another name of a woman he killed and where to find the body. Eventually, they'll be no more women though. It is kind of a sick thing that he does, unfortunately no one remembers him and his legacy didn't live on as much as I'd hope. He was great, though. And thanks for your insight.
ReplyDeleteHaha, it does sound weird when you put it like that, yeah :p. But I agree with you. I want that, too. Everyone else has had their big bad they had to confront, Rossi deserves a turn on that front :p. Have a big ol' storyline/season finale centered around him in danger and seeing how the team works to save him and help him (especially considering he's one of the founders of the BAU-it'd be great to tie that angle in, having Rossi see his team using what all this job's taught them to help save him and being reminded of why starting this unit with Gideon was a great idea in the first place). I would be all for something like that.
ReplyDeletePlus, considering how snarky Rossi is, it'd be a great opportunity for him to let loose with his snarkiness against whatever nemesis is holding him captive/haunting him :D. Kind of the way he was with Professor Rothchild, only REALLY amped up, LOL.
Oi. STFU Morgan the UGLY idiot fan!
ReplyDeleteWE NEED WAY MORE REID, or S11 will DROP ratings AGAIN!
Fuck this shitty writer!
Viewers are fed up with JJ and Morgan the Moron centric!
And you just ignored REID, the MOST FAVED BY VIEWERS and FANS?
WHAT A HATER!
That's WHY CrimMinds can't earn as many ratings as NCIS or can't win
any fans' voting vote!
STFU! ENOUGH OF NOISY MINORITY MORGAN fans and MORGAN centric.
ENOUGH!
...uhhhhhhhh...okay...is this a general rant, or did you mean to target this to me or Laura specifically? Either way, there's more mature ways to make your point.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think pretty much most of the commenters here at least like Reid, if not love him. I definitely love him. Just because we talk about other characters here and there doesn't mean we don't like him and are "haters", or want one other character's stories we'd like to see to override any stories involving him, or whatever. Settle down.
True, there's another unsub who tried to get under his skin, but Rossi was too much of a badass to let him :). I agree with this on so many levels, and the finale of season 2 with Frank and Gideon is still one of my favourite finales. It was so intense and brutal. I'd love that with Rossi, however I don't want the psycho to kill anyone in Rossi's family or friends :) maybe just abduct haha.
ReplyDeleteHaha, true :D. I did love that faceoff between him and Rothchild. Especially when he got to gloat about it at the end :p.
ReplyDeleteGlad you agree! I love that finale, too, that was a really good one. Breitkopf was so disturbingly creepy. So cold and matter-of-fact.
Oh, no, yeah, whatever happens, let the loved ones live this time, definitely! Rossi's been to enough funerals lately, he doesn't need to add to that list again. But danger leading to an awesome rescue/unsub takedown? That I could go for *Nods*.
Of course my dream would be to bring back Blake and reveal her relationship with Rossi...but I'm not sure anybody in the writing staff would agree with me on that :P So I'll just hope for the best. I'm glad we agree about that finale. I for one, didn't seem to enjoy the more popular finales. I loved part 1 of pretty much every finale (The Fisher King 1, Lo-Fi, Hit, Angels) but part 2 always seemed to fall apart in some ways for me and never quite measured up to the intensities of the first part. But that's just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteUm...I'm not sure what half of this means, but I can assure you that it is PERFECTLY OKAY if an episode doesn't prominently feature Reid for the entire run time. He's allowed to take a few steps back and let someone else be in the spotlight. I prefer that, quite frankly, and I wish every team member was written to be able to do this. And last time I checked, it is a crime drama in all meanings of the genre. There's definitely no soap opera aspects here. If Reid gets any sort of love interest, that will be one of the greatest things to happen. All of the previous ones have either been killed or forgotten about. He /deserves/ to have someone, just like the rest of the team. Morgan fans are a minority? That's a new one. He has A LOT of fans, especially women who LOVE Shemar and only watch the show for him. So I'm not sure where any of this is coming from.
ReplyDeleteI love Reid, he was the first character on the show I ever truly bonded with and made a real connection with. This was before Blake, might I add, so the love was really prominent. I still love him now, but I'm learning to love other characters as well. :P
ReplyDeleteI've mentioned that it'd be good for the show to bring back someone we're familiar with-if they ever wanted to bring Blake back, I'd be all for it :). Her situation with her husband might pose some interesting issues in terms of forging a relationship with Rossi, but hey, there's ways to make it work if the show ever went that way :p.
ReplyDeleteI've tended to love both parts of finales personally, but I can see why the first parts might be more interesting to you-more focus on the buildup and the tension there, whereas the second halves tend to be more the big chases and comedown moments. I think the thing I love about the second parts of those often seem to be the sweet end moments that take place after all is said and done. I will always, always love the end scene with the team in part 2 of "The Fisher King", with Morgan and Garcia hanging out, Reid keeping his mom company on the flight back to Vegas, and Hotch cleaning Elle's walls for her. It never fails to make me smile :). And there's Morgan and Garcia's "God-given solace" moment in "Mayhem", and the sweet wedding/party scene at the end of "Run" (which makes me tear up when I watch it, LOL).
And Garcia protecting Reid in "Demons" and them having some good friendship moments out of it was probably my favorite aspect of that entire episode :D (I did also like the scene between Blake and Reid at the end 'cause of how touching and emotional it was, but obviously I know why you wouldn't be as thrilled with that scene! And I liked Blake, too, so that scene makes me sad for that reason as well).
Aw, that's cool :D. I think quite a few fans can make similar claims, yeah-it seems Reid, Morgan, or Garcia tend to be particular draws for a lot of new viewers (and in Reid and Morgan's case it's often because people have a crush on one or both of them :p. Which is understandable, 'cause, well, look at them, haha! This cast is a pretty attractive bunch in general, really. It's not fair :p).
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, having said that, I love everyone on the team. I've said that multiple times. I'm interested in ALL their stories. They're all cool, likeable people, and they work so well together. It's sad enough to see the female team members that have come and gone over the years leave. If any of the remaining six members left for good, that would make me VERY unhappy. Especially considering most of the remaining six have been there since pretty much the very start of the series. It'd be too weird.
True about that one AMAZING scene in Mayhem. The rest of that episode felt /so/ out of place for me. Hotch yelling at the top of his lungs for help and no one coming to help except the terrorist felt REALLY freakin' weird to me. And having yet another female killed off to help a man suffer through a trauma - just great. I actually liked Kate Joyner too (maybe because she reminded not just me, but EVERYONE of Haley :D). The Fisher King part 2 is pretty great too, I felt like the ending was a bit rushed with the whole postcard thing, but I did love Reid's rambling to Randall, and all the other scenes you mentioned. I did like Run too; I remember seeing Hit/Run live and thinking "Whoa, this case is so cool!" but I also remember being more thrilled by Hit. And that bomb since with Prentiss and Will was SO pretentious :P JJ's wedding was beautiful though. I'm still gutted that Prentiss had to leave there, because I think there should have been more focus on JJ and her trauma/wedding. But alas, it had to happen. I loved both Brothers Hotchner/The Replicator, so there's that. I'm probably never going to be a fan of Demons, unless it's the car scene with Blake/Rossi. Still the only thing, in my opinion, that I can watch out of that episode.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think my favourite finale might be Our Darkest Hour/The Longest Night. Both episodes are completely solid for so many reasons.
Haha, aw, thanks! That'd be a fun job, wouldn't it? Oh, the possibilities...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad there were things about "Nelson's Sparrow" and "Mr. Scratch" for you to enjoy. I agree that the flashbacks in the former were well done-I was weirdly proud of Ben Savage for all the praise he got playing Gideon :p. I dunno, just...having grown up watching him on "Boy Meets World", it was nice to see him doing a role like this, and seeing his portrayal of such a notable character on this show being so well-received :).
That dream sequence was...eesh. I'm still amused by how the fandom went completely bonkers over those last ten minutes :p. All we've seen on this show, all the team's been through, and yet that scene still horrified so many people for whatever reason, LOL. Thank goodness it WAS only a dream sequence!
"Lockdown" was fantastic. Yes. Definitely a top episode for me from this season, too. Very tense and action packed, and keeping most of the story set in the prison really added to the claustrophobic feel of it all. Almost like we were trapped there alongside the team, in a way. I'd be all for more episodes like that next season. And I'll definitely keep an eye out for that article! Sounds like a fun read!
I think many people do. Most Reid fans are begging for that-look at the tizzy him asking that girl out in "Rock Creek Park" caused, LOL! But yeah. He's clearly ready to move on from mourning Maeve, and Rossi helped him handle the loss of Gideon well, and he's toughed out so much other crap over the years. He deserves a good break and some happy stuff coming his way. And I think he'd be thrilled to see Elle or Blake again :D. Awwww. I really want to see that now. I don't know about Elle, but I imagine he still keeps in touch with Blake :).
I'm loving Paget on "Community". She's so funny on there, and fitting in so well with the cast. It never fails to make me smile to know she's been on two shows I love now :D. It doesn't seem likely that show will get a seventh season, so after this she'd have her pilot, and we can see how that goes. Shame to hear that about Lola, but that's totally fair-some people just can't settle into that lifestyle. I don't think I could, either. But if she ever wants to make at least a guest appearance, I'm cool with that. And I'd be all for Jordan Todd coming back, too, if she's indeed free! I liked her, too (I will always love her tag-teaming with Emily to mess with Viper in "52 Pickup" :D), and like you said, diversity and fleshing out her character. Win-win all around, I think.
I honestly don't know how godparenting is decided, either, no, or if it's normal to change godparents with each child. Anyone who has better knowledge of that, feel free to share! I'm happy with Reid continuing that role, but I won't argue that Morgan or Hotch or Rossi would make awesome godparents, too :). Rossi's a grandfather now, after all, and we all know how awesome Hotch is with Jack, and Morgan's good with kids, too, so... Maybe someday they can take a turn.
That surprised me about Anna Gunn, too, yeah! I certainly HOPE it's not that, 'cause that would really suck. Curious to see who'd take her place, and if they'd add more members. But yeah. Hopefully they can make this spin-off work, and balance it well with the original series. We shall see come fall, I guess!
LOL, yeah, Gideon wasn't exactly the easiest character to warm up to, no :p. He was interesting, though, at least, and had his tender moments every now and again. But exactly. These characters were all well-defined and have different things that make them stand out, yet work well against the others.
ReplyDeleteGood! I would hope that's the case-this is why I tend to avoid Twitter and things like that, and just prefer to wait for official press statements, LOL. It's so easy for things to be misconstrued or misinterpreted or for people to say something one minute and change their mind the next. I can see him saying that about ten seasons in terms of just wanting to have a general game plan in place in case, for whatever reason, and I can understand the cast having their restless moments, too-ten years IS a long time to work at the same place and play the same character, after all!
But in regards to the remaining six cast members, I think, ultimately, they all like each other too much, and that's a big part of why they stay :). I think it'd have to take something really big happening for any of them to leave (like Paget struggling to readjust in season 7 after the debacle she went through with CBS the year before). And I hope they do stay. I want them all there at the end, saying goodbye together (with, hopefully, other past team members popping in to say farewell, too) :).
I'm not an expert in those kinds of matters, so yeah, I don't know how accurate it was for those ambulances to just hang around and nobody rushing in to help. I know they were afraid of further terrorist attacks, but hell, firefighters ran into the towers and the Pentagon on 9/11 without knowing what they might encounter, so... And I was sad Kate died, too (this show seems to have a bit of a thing for that name :p)! The whole insinuation JJ and Emily made about her and Hotch always struck me weird-yeah, he might've found her attractive, and she DID indeed look a lot like Haley, it was spooky. But it was still an odd insinuation to make.
ReplyDeleteI could see where you'd think that about that part of the story being rushed, yeah. It did seem like things suddenly fell neatly into place. But yes, Reid talking Randall down was great (and I love him and Morgan arguing the whole way down the stairs about the bomb :p).
The bank robbery case in "Hit/Run" was pretty good, yeah! Very intense, and as horrible an unsub as Izzy was, the actress playing her (Tricia Helfer, if I recall rightly?) seemed to really get into the role, which made Izzy that much more interesting. And ha, the bomb-yeah, it came down to the wires and guessing the right code. Cliché, yes, but eh, it's what these shows do, I suppose :p. It was cool that Emily got to be the one to save Will, though. And yeah, it would've been great to spread out the handling of those stories, but sometimes that's not always feasible, unfortunately. That'd make for a great story to read, though, for any fanfic fans out there.
"Brothers Hotchner/The Replicator" was good, too, yeah. Nice to see Sean again, and I liked Rossi facing off with the Replicator at the end, and avenging Strauss' death in his own way.
Awwwww. I'm sorry. I did love that scene between them in the car, yeah, that was good. But it's understandably hard to watch a finale where a character you love leaves. If Reid had actually died in that finale I'd probably have a hard time watching it again, too.
"Our Darkest Hour" was the very first episode of this show I ever saw! So I always have a bit of a soft spot for that one 'cause of that reason :p. I saw it the night it originally aired, when at a friend's place-she loves this show, too, and I'd never heard of it before that episode aired, so she and another friend were sitting there filling me in on the show and the characters throughout. And I was really hooked, and groaned at it ending on a cliffhanger, and intended to watch "The Longest Night" to see how it wrapped up, but for various reasons, it took a couple years before I finally got to do that :p! Fortunately, when I finally did see it I was on my way to becoming a big fan of the show as a whole, so it made watching that episode all the better :).
I imagine Rossi would die first. But yeah, he hasn't been remembered. I think they blew three opportunities. Rossi's case with that family, the butcher, and this guy. Heck, even the Jason Alexander guy. Sadly, I think they just don't want it.
ReplyDeleteThey didn't even remember the pedophile that got away. Doubt they'd bring back an old unsub for a nemesis. I think these writers have gotten a tad comfortable.
Oh man, the Butcher too! Love that episode, and that case. Again, they could've played a bit more on it and it would've been PERFECT. But, you know.. :P
ReplyDeleteAwwww, I'm so glad you enjoy all of the finales. There's something to like about all of them. :)
ReplyDeleteI kept expecting the guy to pull a Foyet and escape. When he cut his wrists, I really thought they were headed there. I suppose they could've revisited it. I'm actually surprised they never went for something like that. The only villain they had escape that year they forgot about because he didn't have a personal vendetta. Maybe next season I guess. lol
ReplyDeleteWhoa, you're right! They had ample opportunity to make him the next Foyet (and it would've been cool because of the whole 'son' aspect that he had).
ReplyDeleteThis writing team probably just isn't as interested in that anymore.
ReplyDeleteI could think of some great nemeses stories for Rossi that don't involve whacking his family but CM probably isn't interested. lol I think each of the team could've had great nemeses by now if they really wanted.