Reflection of Desire

Season 6, Episode 8, Aired
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The BAU becomes involved in the search for a kidnapped woman in the nation's capital after a woman dressed like a 1950s starlet is found murdered in a Georgetown alley.

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Fan Episode Reviews (9)

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  • So, please ......

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By iretos, Dec 01, 2011
    I can't say I'm a true fan of this show, but I like it from time to time. The fact is that, like somebody else already said, when the episodes are bad they're so really bad!
    This one shouts "ridiculous" in any moment. Serial killers are ridiculous in their own way - or at least in the way they depicted them - but sometimes it's too much. And this is that time.
    In addition to this, it's not the first time that the screenplayers copy from Hollywood scripts, but THIS time they overdid. Hitchcock was something, they are something completely different and copying doesn't do any good to anybody.moreless

  • I like this show, but... this is ridiculous. I mean. Seriously.

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By Feathoron, Dec 01, 2011
    I feel like it's always been hit-or-miss with this show, either delivering the best or worst television has to offer. The characters are endearing, but sometimes they change drastically from episode to episode. Most of the time, I feel that an episode is good or bad based on if the profiling seems realistic or not. A good episode usually has influences from real cases (And then, the team themselves often reference those cases). Bad episodes usually feel as though they are influenced by Hollywood (I understand that Hollywood often draws from cases, but often times in turn the CM episodes are too distilled from the source).

    As the seasons have progressed, "Hollywood" episodes have become more common. It's become less like 1 out of 2 or 2 out of 3 good episodes, and more like... 1 out of 10. SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT.

    Anyway, this episode was Hollywood through-and-through. The profiling seemed completely off, the team was jumping to conclusions that they simply COULDN'T. The killer was ridiculous. I remember thinking, "Oh, great, it's like Norman Bates, except his mother's alive..." and then... oh, wait. Nevermind. It's like Norman Bates, except... no, it's just like Norman Bates.

    Secondly and finally, there was already a fairly similar killer who kept the body of his deceased mother in season 1. Could it be that Criminal Minds is no longer doing variants of real cases in favor of doing variants of Criminal Minds episodes?moreless

  • This show is getting ridiculous

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By jbruntjen, Dec 01, 2011
    This show has become so stupid. Doesn't anyone else think it is ridiculous the conclusions that they can draw from the information they have. Where the hell did Morgan come up with the idea that he put marks on the top of the tree just like an animal does. They make too many extreme guesses about characteristics of the killers and are way too often right about it. Remember last week when they got the fact that the killer was a resident by the train station because he was there for longer than two hours so that must mean he didn't park at a meter and that he has a residential parking permit. I mean does that not sound way to far fetched based on the little information they had to be exactly right? Please someone write back if you disagree.moreless

  • A "different" episode! Terrific acting by Robert Knepper!

    10
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    By amazing_race, Dec 01, 2011
    This episode was about the abduction of two female young blond girls. One if found dead, and the race is on when the killer takes a second victim.

    I though t that the storyline was not the best one we have seen, but it was very suspenseful, and even somewhat gruesome. The acting of Robert Knepper bolstered the storyline immsensely. I loved his role on Prison Break, and as soon as I heard he was on this episode, I knew I would enjoy this one!

    The ending is seriously weird, if you ask me, but it certainly goes to show just how lost someone can be. Really gruesome stuff!

    All up, I really enjoyed this episode. The little side-show of Penelope Garcia's life outside the BAU was very interesting, and it added another dimension to an already interesting case. Keep it oing, Criminal Minds, and I am very interested and imporesed by this one!moreless

  • Norman Bates meets Hannibal Lecter as the BAU hunt a killer who is abducting beautiful young blond women in the D.C. area and using them to re-create the glory days of the 1950s era of films.moreless

    8.5
    "Great"
    By Lady_Lancaster, May 28, 2011
    I have to admit that watching the opening sequences and seeing that Garcia is moonlighting as a stage actress was certainly interesting and it was good to see some real evidence that someone outside of the team has a life with parts not at all connected to their jobs at the BAU.

    I am a huge Garcia fan and have been from the start of the series, but it seems to me that Hotch getting her to do all these jobs for which she is not qualified and is ill-prepared would not be even close to reality with the real FBI, particularly as she is so obviously NOT keen on doing these things. I love her insecurity and indecision as it's very much how I think Garcia would react if instructed to give a press conference etc. but, once again, it seems that the writers are trying to make her a replacement for J.J. and that is not going to work, Garcia is Garcia, she isn't J.J.

    Anyway, kudos to Robert Knepper for a great performance as the unsub and great work by Sally Kirkland as well. It was obvious that his mother was dead given that she had an almost 'shiny' appearance all the way through but that was ok because I think it was meant to be obvious to the audience whilst the unsub himself was secure in his fantasy world.

    It seemed odd to me that the policeman had to suggest that the crowd around the site where the victim was found should be photographed, the BAU should have already had that one covered. I also didn't like the way Pentiss and Morgan spoke to and treated the homeless man, Prentiss in particular. The way they spoke to him was out of order. Coming up through the mean streets of Chicago, Morgan should have known better, but it isn't the first time he has been less than polite to people. He was derogatory to Reid's mother and has been quie unpleasant to several children over the last several years which doesn't really make sense considering we know how kind he was to the kids from his neighbourhood.

    Taking crime scene photos with cell phones seemed very strange indeed to me. I know, of course, there would have been qualified crime scene investigators around earlier but both Reid and Morgan took cell phone photos of items of evidence which looked odd and unprofessional.

    The lack of profiling of the unsub was, once again, disappointing. The team didn't get together and work through a profile before going off to try and find him or her, in fact, they didn't seem to have much of a clue about who or what they were looking for for quite some time.

    The behaviour of the mother on the cell phone was appalling! Fancy chatting for all that time, looking stern and angry while your little girl talks to a strange man without even moving closer to see what was being said! One gets the impression that he could have walked out of the station with the child and the mother wouldn't have noticed until she'd finished her call!

    I noticed that a reporter called Garcia 'Agent Garcia'. I wonder did Hotch tell her to refer to herself as that or whether the reporter simply thought she must have been, given that she was giving a press conference on behalf of the BAU? With all the duties that Hotch has been giving Garcia since J.J. left, one either assumes that he, as Unit Chief, has the authority to do so, or that Erin Strauss is away on an extended vacation and isn't aware of what's going on because I can't see her just sitting down and taking it if it hadn't been sanctioned!

    Having Garcia do both the voice overs was a nice touch, as was the team going to see her play but I really hope there is far more to Garcia's 'secret' than the fact that she acts in plays during her time off, especially given the fact that the 'CM' producers have lead us all to believe that the 'secrets' are all very exciting and revealing. To be honest, while Garcia acting in her spare time is terrific, it is not all that surprising, given how 'theatrical' she can be at times.(In a good way!)

    A worthy episode but some more profiling and having the team appear a bit more organised would have been nice. Certainly excellent work by both Robert Knepper and Kirsten Vangsness though. Nice job!moreless
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  • QUOTES (3)

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    • Reid: Oh, that's a first. I see your concern.
      Garcia: What?
      Rossi: A photo wasn't all he took.
      Garcia: Reid, what?
      Reid: Her lips have been removed.
      Garcia: Oh my god!
      Rossi: Maybe a trophy.
      Reid: Maybe he ate them.
      Garcia: Can I have that memory burned in my mind for the rest of my life?
      Reid: You asked.

    • Garcia: I believe humanity was born from conflict. Maybe that's why in all of us lives a dark side. Some of us embrace it. Some have no choice. The rest of us fight it. In the end, it's as natural as the air we breathe. At some point, we're forced to face the truth. Ourselves.

    • Garcia: "Fame will go by and, so long, I've had you, fame. If it goes by, I've always known it was fickle. So at least it's something I experience, but that's not where I live." Marilyn Monroe

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    • Reid's line, "There's something in her throat," is an nod to Silence of the Lambs where Clarice Starling uses the same line while examining a body.

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