User Reviews

One of the more brutal episodes but still great nonetheless. The head local cop had a great role too.

The good news is that "Outlaw" is superior to the previous episode "Till Death Do Us Part". That isn't hard though, as that episode to me is in the top 10 of the show's worst episodes, so almost anything is better than it.

Unfortunately, the bad news is that "Outlaw" is still not very good. It contains almost all of the flaws that has made Season 11 generally the most disappointing 'Criminal Minds' season, with about three or four exceptions ("The Job", "The Witness" and especially "Entropy"- one of the best 'Criminal Minds' episodes in recent years- also liked "A Beautiful Disaster" more than most though Morgan's exit arc generally could have been much better handled).

Is it entirely without honour? Well, if it has enough to make it better than "Till Death Do Us Part", it certainly isn't entirely dishonourable. Did like the gritty look of the way the episode is made, and the use of "Amazing Grace" is moving. There are a few good moments in the moments, like Reid's opening quote, Rossi and Montoya's coffee exchange and Rossi's line about Crime U.

Montoya is a quite interesting character, and it was easy to relate to and root for his want for redemption. Benito Martinez does a good job portraying him. Reid, who has always been one of my favourite characters on the show and one of the most interesting and well-developed, also has some nice moments. Just for the record also, JJ's absence didn't bother me all that much, didn't notice it actually.

"Outlaw" has several major problems, and many of them very similar to flaws covered in many bad episodes of Season 11, of which of 'Criminal Minds' there is the highest number of episodes rated 5/10 or lower of any of the seasons. While there have been worse cases in the season, Lewis is still a dull and disconnected character who doesn't fit or gel with the rest of the team, further accentuated by Aisha Tyler's stiff and limited-in-expression acting.

Story-wise, "Outlaw" just isn't that compelling. There is too much of a pace-wise pedestrian and over-familiar vibe, making the story extremely predictable and dull, and there is a lack of tension, suspense or even case-solving/mystery (and when there is, it is not through profiling, of which there's barely any, but through conclusion jumping and the all-too-convenient involvement of Garcia and her computer). The climax is very anti-climactic, especially with Lester particularly anti-climactic and clumsily executed death scene, and then transitions abruptly to a funeral scene that was difficult to invest in with so little known about the person who's funeral it was.

Apart from a few moments, the script is not tightly paced or intriguing enough generally. The banter between Garcia and Morgan is not that cute or funny anymore and has been in serious need of a toning down for a while now. Particularly harming "Outlaw" is that it is too much of the unsub show (revealed too early and overused), while the BAU are so underused with very few little character moments that make the characters so interesting and their bond so strong that there is almost no point to them.

Worse is that the early reveal and overuse doesn't feel justified, because the "criminal with no redeeming qualities and all round evil" sort of character has been done to death on 'Criminal Minds' and a gazillion times better too (i.e. George Foyet, Billy Flynn, Frank Breitkopf for examples), because these unsubs are not that menacing, memorable and very scantly developed (the episode does try with Mason, but Lester is not particularly well written or acted, personal opinion of course).

In summary, some good things here and there but rarely rises above mediocre. 4/10 Bethany Cox