By Jonathan Toomey Dec 14 2006(S02E12) This show is really hitting its stride. What a great episode. Despite some negativity in response to CBS choosing Criminal Minds as the show airing after this year's Super Bowl, I'm excited about it. Criminal Minds isn't just another crime procedural. It's incredibly unique and, in my opinion, blows the Law and Orders and CSIs of the world out of the water. This show is legit folks and last night's episode was proof of that. You've got to feel good about this show though. It went from being a hardly watched freshman drama last year to a sophomore powerhouse that has been challenging the almighty Lost in Wednesday night ratings.
Here we had something that this show has lacked in recent episodes and hopefully what we got here becomes a trend. What am I talking about? Backstory. Up until now we hadn't gotten too much. We knew about Gideon's blunder that got some team members killed before he joined the BAU and we've gotten some info on Hotch's home-life, his wife, and his child. We even got info on Elle (via her unconscious flashbacks) in the season premiere this year. She's not even on the show anymore and the backstory has run a little dry since then.
Here we had an extremely compelling look in Morgan's past. Where he grew up, his family, and the childhood events that changed his life forever. Kudos to Shemar Moore for the way he's handling the role of Derek Morgan. His performance in this episode was excellent.
This type of story is the kind that I want more of though. At this point, we know what these people are capable of (except Prentiss) and I'm definitely interested to see what makes these characters tick. Hopefully they're all not as disturbing as Morgan's past (being sexually abused as a child and then being framed for murder may have been slightly too much), but I still want to know what's going on in their heads. How did Garcia become the computer genius that she is? What was Reid's childhood like growing up with his schizophrenic mother? What drew JJ, who appears to be the most timid member of the team, to a unit that deals with some of the most horrific killers in the country? All of these are great questions that I'd love answers to.
Other points about this episode:
The local detective Gordinsky? Could he have been more incompetent? This episode would have been slightly better if he had been more convincing and we were left with the teeniest potential that maybe Morgan did it. Instead, there was never doubt of Morgan's innocence because this guy was a blithering idiot.
I found it interesting how this case placed Gideon and Hotch on different sides. From the beginning, Gideon was never willing to consider Morgan a suspect and never treated him as such. Hotch did. He profiled Morgan while Gideon profiled what mattered -- the case. It'll be interesting to see how Morgan reacts to that treatment in the future because Hotch certainly showed his true colors.
Overall, very good though. I'm looking forward to the Super Bowl episode now. I wonder if the show will be airing in its intended order or if a more suspenseful episode will be shifted to fill that time-slot now?
Here we had something that this show has lacked in recent episodes and hopefully what we got here becomes a trend. What am I talking about? Backstory. Up until now we hadn't gotten too much. We knew about Gideon's blunder that got some team members killed before he joined the BAU and we've gotten some info on Hotch's home-life, his wife, and his child. We even got info on Elle (via her unconscious flashbacks) in the season premiere this year. She's not even on the show anymore and the backstory has run a little dry since then.
Here we had an extremely compelling look in Morgan's past. Where he grew up, his family, and the childhood events that changed his life forever. Kudos to Shemar Moore for the way he's handling the role of Derek Morgan. His performance in this episode was excellent.
This type of story is the kind that I want more of though. At this point, we know what these people are capable of (except Prentiss) and I'm definitely interested to see what makes these characters tick. Hopefully they're all not as disturbing as Morgan's past (being sexually abused as a child and then being framed for murder may have been slightly too much), but I still want to know what's going on in their heads. How did Garcia become the computer genius that she is? What was Reid's childhood like growing up with his schizophrenic mother? What drew JJ, who appears to be the most timid member of the team, to a unit that deals with some of the most horrific killers in the country? All of these are great questions that I'd love answers to.
Other points about this episode:
The local detective Gordinsky? Could he have been more incompetent? This episode would have been slightly better if he had been more convincing and we were left with the teeniest potential that maybe Morgan did it. Instead, there was never doubt of Morgan's innocence because this guy was a blithering idiot.
I found it interesting how this case placed Gideon and Hotch on different sides. From the beginning, Gideon was never willing to consider Morgan a suspect and never treated him as such. Hotch did. He profiled Morgan while Gideon profiled what mattered -- the case. It'll be interesting to see how Morgan reacts to that treatment in the future because Hotch certainly showed his true colors.
Overall, very good though. I'm looking forward to the Super Bowl episode now. I wonder if the show will be airing in its intended order or if a more suspenseful episode will be shifted to fill that time-slot now?
