The Boogeyman
- Episode aired Oct 25, 2006
- TV-PG
- 42m
While the team profiles a killer in a small town, Hotch must stay and deal with Elle who is beginning to unravel.While the team profiles a killer in a small town, Hotch must stay and deal with Elle who is beginning to unravel.While the team profiles a killer in a small town, Hotch must stay and deal with Elle who is beginning to unravel.
- Deputy Mack
- (as Chris A. Conrad)
- Henry
- (as a different name)
- Elaine
- (as Stacy Reed)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaReid successfully unlocks a pair of locked handcuffs with just a paper clip.
- GoofsAt 22:21- The truck headlights are taped over to reduce glare.
- Quotes
Derek Morgan: So, why the woods, JJ?
Jennifer "JJ" Jareau: Hmmm?
Derek Morgan: Your fear, you said it was of the woods.
Jennifer "JJ" Jareau: Err, I used to be a camp counselor when I was a teenager, in the woods up around Vermont. I had the night shift, you know, tuck the girls in, turn off the lights, you know, the typical drill. Everything seemed fine. The kids were asleep, you know, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Until... I noticed that there was some blood, on the hallway floor. So I followed the blood trail down the hall to the camp director's cabin, walked up to his bed, and... he was just lying there, under his covers, dead. Someone stabbed him. I ran out of there so fast, out the door, down the hall. I can just remember it being really dark. Once I got to the door, there was another counselor; I guess she heard me scream. They caught the caretaker on his way in to town. I guess he still had the knife on him. Anyway, I guess that's probably when I decided I didn't like the woods.
Derek Morgan: You're serious?
Jennifer "JJ" Jareau: [sips coffee looking serious and pauses] No!
[shakes head]
Jennifer "JJ" Jareau: I mean you fell for that?
[they laugh]
Jennifer "JJ" Jareau: Come on! I don't know why I'm afraid of the woods! I am. Why is he still afraid of the dark?
Derek Morgan: Yeah, Reid why are you still afraid of the dark?
Dr. Spencer Reid: Because of the inherent absence of light!
[they laugh]
- ConnectionsReferenced in Criminal Minds: The Storm (2016)
For one thing, this reviewer loves its unpredictability. It is a dark and tense episode, that affects the team in some way, especially Morgan and Elle (to the extent that the case is personal for them), while the story is riveting with enough twists and turns and intelligent use of profiling to keep one guessing.
Then there is the reveal and ending, which is not only the most gut-wrenching shocking reveal of Season 2 along with "North Mammon" but also in the history of the show. Even the team themselves seemed genuinely surprised and appalled. Did not see that coming at all and I've become not so easily shocked these days (apart from the best of 'Criminal Minds' and some other examples of course).
'Criminal Minds' has always been an incredibly well-made show, and "The Boogeyman" looks beautiful and rich in atmosphere. The music is appropriate for the mood, with enough haunting darkness and melancholic pathos without being too intrusive, obvious or manipulative.
Scripting is thought-provoking and intelligent, with a great balance and dynamic in the team where everything and everyone serves a purpose and some fantastic little character moments. Examples are Reid being afraid of the dark, JJ's ghost/horror story, Garcia's welcome comic relief which doesn't feel misplaced, the moments of honesty between Morgan/Reid and Gideon/Hotch and Morgan being so darkly affected by the case.
What wasn't so convincing were the scenes between Elle and Hotch, very remotely played by Lola Glaudini and Thomas Gibson (Glaudini has always left me somewhat cold, and Elle was always the weak link of the first and second seasons to me, but this was so unlike Gibson) and seemed both draggy and underdeveloped, lacking the same level of detail that went into the rest of the relationships.
Everything is beautifully paced and solidly directed, while the acting is very good apart from Glaudini (or at least to me, am sure this is an opinion I'm going to be attacked for). Mandy Patinkin, Thomas Gibson (apart from the scenes with Glaudini), Matthew Gray Gubler and AJ Cook are all dependably great, while Kirsten Vangsness is a ray of sunshine and Shemar Moore brings more emotional range than usual, being a somewhat personal case for Morgan as evidenced by the accusatory scene with the father figure. The child performances are also some of the most believable in 'Criminal Minds' history, especially from a disquieting and chillingly nonchalant Cameron Monaghan.
In summary, a near classic 'Criminal Minds' episodes with almost all the ingredients that make the show great. 9/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jul 10, 2016
Details
- Runtime42 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
- 16:9 HD