User Reviews

After the way season 7 ended (apparently it wasn't completely liked by a lot of fans, but I thought it was great. We again saw another bad ass side to JJ.) I was hoping for a stellar season 8 premier. While it was good, it wasn't impressive.

I'm not sure why the show keeps replacing agents. Like Ashley, I'm also not a fan of the new female agent as well. She seems to lack warmth like Prentiss, but I'm hoping the episodes improve.

'Criminal Minds' at its best was and still is one of my favourites. "The Silencer" is nowhere near one of the best episodes, but there has been far worse (especially from the misfires from Season 11), and this is including from Season 8.

"The Silencer's" biggest issue is the character of Alex Blake. Admittedly she is one of the better Prentiss replacements (at least she's not as dull or out of place as Callaghan or Lewis) and the chemistry between her and Reid is enjoyable as is her tension with Strauss (who is as cold and uninteresting as ever). However she generally doesn't fit with the rest of the team, her personality at this point of her two season stint is not easy to be engaged in and she just seems disconnected with everything around her. Jeanne Tripplehorn does her best with what she has, which is not much.

What's more, that there is too much prominence on her hurts the episode, especially when it means that there is not enough of some of the BAU. For example Garcia is still a ray of sunshine when she appears but she is underused, but worse Rossi who is practically invisible. The case itself also evoked a mixed reaction. There are some tense and suspenseful moments, with a very well staged crash and escape scene that saw everybody doing wonders with a small space, but the unsub's story does feel second fiddle to the introduction of Blake which makes for some draggy stretches and parts that could have been explored a touch more. It is a shame because it is a pretty good and atmospheric case that should have been better balanced out and the unsub is both creepy and one that one feels sorry for.

Production values however are very high, with the usual atmospheric stylishness and audaciousness, while the music is haunting and melancholic. The dialogue is thought-provoking and mostly tight, with a nice dynamic between the BAU team, while the direction is as solid as ever and there are some great moments with the story that one wishes that that quality was contained consistently, as well as some terrific use of profiling and procedural aspects (always a huge part of the appeal of 'Criminal Minds'). There is some very effective fore-shadowing of the season's on-going story arc towards the end, which makes one sad that such potential fizzled out so badly at the end of the season.

Acting is very good from all the regular cast members, and the unsub is chillingly and poignantly played.

In summary, a somewhat disappointing season opener but not a bad episode. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Blake says that ipa is used in sign language considering that main character is deaf in real life. So u got it wrong she used the term in right connection

In the show they say they are In Abilene Tx but not once to they even try to make it look like it. Then when they learn Danny Tucker's address the zip code for Sweetwater tx isn't even a zip code in the United States.

I just rewatched this episode (for the 50th time probably) and just realized Troy Kotsur played The Silencer!! What a phenomenal actor! His recent Oscar win for CODA is soooo well deserved. I can't wait to see him in future movies & TV shows!

The Alex character is the WORST. I miss Emily. "Alex" exemplified the void Pager left. This ep is definitely not a season opener. Just an all around disappointment.

I love Criminal Minds normally, but this really stuck in my mind.

Cochlear Implants are implanted in the brain, and then an external piece is magnetically attached to the head feeding to a hearing aid in the ear. If you want to stop hearing noise/hearing at all, you can simply disconnect the external piece. You would not have "sound permanently amplified" by the internal implant in the brain. CIs simply do not work that way, and to suggest they do is quite worrying for people who look into getting them.

I know the point of the episode is that the UnSub's mother put him in an experimental trial that wasn't well received and successful or even well monitored, but even a bad Cochlear Implant wouldn't work that way.

I love Criminal Minds, but come on. Even a tiny bit of googling or talking to someone with Hearing Impairment would have cleared that up before writing. I'm shocked at them embarking on a story like this with such poor knowledge going in.