User Reviews

Criminal Minds does not exactly have a stellar backlist of season openers. #1.1, "Extreme Aggressor", was good, but not great; #2.1, "The Fisher King: Part 2", failed to deliver on the promises of the excellent Part 1; #3.1, "Doubt", was of equally generic fare; #4.1, "Mayhem", was a near-total disaster after the magnificent #3.20, "Lo-Fi"; and *only* #5.1, "Faceless, Nameless", achieved greatness (ironic, considering the title). So, did that episode break the curse for good? The answer, for now, seems to be 'yes'. The opening scene echoes the opening scene of the previous season's ender, and then, in *less than a minute*, we are plunged straight into horrific action. This is the most assured opening of a season opener so far in the series history. The plot picks up directly from where we left of, and it doesn't really matter that it's hard to care at the character who was killed in the previous season's finale because we first saw them in the same episode, since the focus is now *elsewhere*, unlike in the disappointing "Mayhem", where the death of what's-her-name didn't really register, the BAU members carried the Idiot Ball and clichés piled up with handy coincidences and right-out impossibilities (the Enhance Button trope). Looking back, I see that some fans unable to accept that there are flaws in the plot of "Mayhem" have voted my review of that episode "not useful". How childish.

There is a disturbing twist in the plot that makes this episode so memorable. Also, the pacing remains frenetic, meaning we are not really kept waiting at any point. In the end, it's quite amazing how much happens in this episode. Tim Curry, naturally, dominates, his delivery of his character Billy's answer to Ellie's question of why he kills people being particularly creepy. A genuine surprise here is Isabella Murad, who portrays the young Ellie. She could develop into a major talent if all goes well. However, the biggest surprise is that JJ, ironically considering her character's "arc" is about to end, gets to be in the central role, and A.J. Cook seizes the opportunity to shine.

Some niggles remain. Though Paget Brewster's red, cleavage-revealing t-shirt from the previous season returns to please those of us who like it, this reviewer included, it really isn't FBI standard issue, is it? Contrast JJ's white-collar long-sleeve shirt. Morgan's fury, meanwhile, is pure Writing-for-the-Dimwitted, with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Poor Robert Davi is left with minimal screen-time consisting mainly of expository dialog now that his character no longer has a function plot-wise. Reed, Rossi and, not that it is a shame since the character hasn't been believable anymore, Hotch all pretty much just hang around. Kirsten Vangsness is really lucky in that Garcia *always* has something to do, and her character has the most of the best dialog in the series. But deep inside, even the deniers know that Gracia is just a poor man's Abby from NCIS.

We can all pretty much guess how the story ends, but it is all done with such conviction that it's more important how it is presented on the screen. It's all the more relate-able because Morgan remains professional when confronting Billy, unlike Hotch did with The Reaper. Again, if the writers' Hand-Waving of Hotch's loss of control with Strauss' subsequent approval of it, plus Hotch's miraculous recovery from the trauma didn't remain a constant burden in this series' continuity, this would be a triumphant 9/10, but as it is, this cannot be higher than an 8/10. A real shame. Once continuity is established in a series which started firmly in the episodic territory, the writers cannot just ignore that continuity by "forgetting" what happened when they realize they made a mistake in the writing.

Honestly, this and the season 5 finale were great. Tim Curry's role was frighteningly good. His voice, appearance, all his traits made him scary. He's always had the ability to pull off playing the bad guy.

(Preface background: This is at least my second time through watching CM and due to erratic cable syndication schedules, there is almost no logical order to how I am re-watching and then reviewing.)

Some episodes are just episodes. In them, there is a story, but not quite a Story. We are used to say 3 stories a night, 6 nights a week (maybe 7). But we long for a real Story. This was one.

It has a villain. Tim Curry is the kind of villain that goes down in lore. His acting brings the character to life. The viewer comes to hate him as much as Morgan does. And you notice I talk about the villain as Tim Curry, not Billy Flynn. Curry does that much to personify him.

Ellie stands in the place which might be called a damsel in distress, if that weren't so anti-PC. It's OK though, I think, because she is smart and courageous and even belligerent, and since she is a kid, it is not an insult to call her that. Isabella Murad does it so well. I would say she is the star, except that this episode had so many stars.

Morgan personifies our hate and he ends up being the hero who confronts the villain, but wait, who rescued the damsel? Not Morgan.

Oh JJ. Bravo, bravo. (Should it be "brava"?) In a series that has had a hard time showing us strong women in earlier years, JJ steps up and rescues the damsel. And how does she do it? She does it as a mom. Is there any mortal stronger than a mom? Not today.

I didn't always think all the elements made sense, but life doesn't make sense. Psychopaths don't make sense and certainly this one doesn't. And sometimes sense doesn't do the saving.

Yes, this is possibly the best, or at least one of the top 5 episodes of CM, certainly to this point in the series. 100 may be more memorable because of it's sadness and consequences, but this episode is better. It is certainly better storytelling. At the end of a review on Zugzwant (season 8), which I rewatched and reviewed before this episode, I ask if sadness and tragedy are more profound than victory or love. Perhaps this story answers that question in the negative.

Sometimes, well mostly, I think that I only watch this show for Hotch's clenching jaw, Shemar Moore's purring "Baby Girl" to the quirky Garcia and Reid's charming awkwardness.

This time Tim Curry as Billy really stole the show, and his portrayal was a gritty reminder of his astounding range as an actor. Unfortunately his role as Billy also highlights the shows greatest flaw, formulaic plots with holes so large you can drive an old RV through them. Specifically in this case how the son of a Lost Angeles California biker hooker grew up to speak with a British accent. Couldn't they have at the very least had the mother have spoken with a Cockney accent in the flashbacks? Seriously.

I wasn't overly fond of the finale plotwise but the fact they killed Eric Close might have something to do with it as well. I was looking forward even less to being one episode closer to JJ's final one. =/ Morgan/JJ look ... I'm sure JJ wouldn't have taken it personally. Morgan/Garcia ... ouch. No way would Morgan have said that about Garcia no matter how upset he is. "She gets the job done every time." Thank you Hotch. Really don't like Morgan being snappy at Garcia - it's like the whole natural order of the world's been changed.

Awwh sweet Morgan/Prentiss moment.... until he snapped at her too. I don't like this !angstyMorgan! But he apologised to Garcia, bless. All is right in the world now .... except it's not because they're clearly setting up JJ's exit by making her be a hostage negotiator.

Hang on, didn't we have an unsub's backstory being that he was forced to see his mother be a prostitute in Season 4? I just rewatched this. Still, I hate that I feel a bit sorry for the perp now, though I guess we've already had "pure evil" in the form of the Reaper.

The looks on the team's faces as they listen to JJ over the radio..... oh wow, JJ's speech. <3 <3 <3 <3 TPTB killed the Aunt as well?? Ouch. Awwh Morgan/daughter and JJ watching them. Overall it was a pretty good resolution to a storyline I wasn't particularly fond of. Not sure whether I like the fact they made us feel a sorry for the unsub and therefore a bit sad when Morgan shot him. Oh JJ, I miss you already.

I agree with the other 1 star reviewer -the kid actor was the worst. When the kidnapper is holding her (1st part), she looked like she was grinning.

This kid was the worst and the reviewer is right, she looked like she wanted break into a grin throughout.

Maybe she's going to be a serial killer in 10 years. Totally ruined any possible tension. The worst.

The worst: Morgan, always Morgan. Worst character. The best: Tim Curry. Once again the team was useless... getting to a profile once you know everything there is to know about a person doesn't seem that impressive. They did nothing, just wait for a tiny girl to do their job better than themselves. And what's up with JJ's character being all about motherhood now?! What BS! She has been reduced to a walking uterus? So stupid this show sometimes!

Most actors (the ones worth watching) will tell you that it is much more rewarding to play a "bad" person than a good one. Often in Hollywood this leads to a situation where the good guys are played by "actors" with little or no charisma, and the bad guys are played by world class players. In this episode I found myself in a situation like this. All the guys (and gals) on the BAU team are, shall we say, not Shakespeare material. Mantegna will hold up in most any situation, but the rest are lightweights. And among them my personal "favourite" is Shemar Moore, who plays Morgan. This guy really has but one facial expression: as if he is constantly constipated. Every tough guy line of dialogue he spouts, rings falls to me. In this episode he yells at his girl friend (real likely combination, by the way), then apologizes later. He is utterly unbelievable. On the other hand we have Tim Curry, one of the most versatile character actors of our day. Brilliant in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, sublime in the Three Musketeers. Here, due to the sentimental and poorly written script he has to work with, less stellar, but still a couple of notches above the "heroes". So, yeah, during the final confrontation in the bed room, I was rooting for Curry's character, sort of... But that's not my main point for this review. What happens next, is. Curry has two hostages, stands up and clearly wants to drop his gun and surrender. Instead Morgan empties his entire magazin into him. This, I'm afraid, has become symptomatic of law enforcement officers in Hollywood movies and TV series. According to every rule in the book, Morgan should have arrested Flynn (Curry's character), and let the justice system do its job. But no, the viewer wants vigilante justice. It's not just this episode, or this series. It's Gibbs in NCIS assassinating the guy who killed his wife and daughter, it's Callen and Sam in NCIS LA who "go rogue" every time they get an order they don't like. It's the ghost of John Wayne, of Clint Eastwood, of Charles Bronson in Death Wish, maybe it's even a remnant of the Wild West. The cowboy way: shoot to kill. That is how police officers all over America react in situations that are in no way life threatening. Shoot to kill, as many bullets as you can. It's the American way, it's what got Lincoln killed, both Kennedy's and Martin Luther King. I don't like it.