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Criminal Minds Season 3 Episode 5

Seven Seconds

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8.8

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 10/24/07

The investigation turns to the family as the BAU and local authorities in Virginia race against time to locate a young girl who has disappeared from a Potomac Mills shopping mall.

FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (19)

oh. wow.

10

By JanetPole, Feb 07, 2013

Every parent's nightmare comes to life in this a family is torn apart.

What I loved about this episode was that the brothers were played by and Salvatore Xuereb. So many siblings shown on TV don't even look like one another so it was a treat!

Loved it.
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Unrealistic

5.0

By AlexLeon1, Apr 23, 2012

Shutting down an entire mall, keeping who knows how many people inside. Calling in two entire FBI teams including the BAU.... That would never happen in real life. More likely the regular city police would of sent everyone home including the parents, and done a half-assed job at finding the girl from the police station. She would never be found until after she was dead, most likely by someone who works in the mall and who just stumbled across her body.

Other than that, the episode was alright, but pretty predictable. I found the acting to be dry and forced on the part of the non-team members.moreless
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I must be the only person on the planet who was bored senseless by this episode. When a young girl disappears from a shopping mall while with her parents, aunt, uncle and cousin, the BAU are called in to find her as it seems like a pattern.moreless

5.0

By Lady_Lancaster, Sep 22, 2011

When a little girl disappears from a large shopping mall, the BAU think they may be dealing with a potential serial killer as just a short time previously, a child was abducted and murdered in a similar fashion and they know they only have a brief time to find her before she troo dies.

For me, every part of this episode was as predictable as though I had already seen it (which I hadn't.) I knew that Aunt Susan of the daggy clothes was responsible, and as soon as the gold necklace was found and it was noticed that it had been ripped from the child's neck, I knew that either her uncle (husband of daggy Aunt Susan) or her father had been abusing her. It is a tragic and all-too-common reality that such things take place and that innocent children are at risk from strangers. When they are not safe even with their own families, we have to wonder what kind of a world we live in.

The premise and concept of the episode were spot, it was just the script and the acting which was, to me, nowhere near up to the usual standard of the show.moreless
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The plot in this episode, the acting and the overall rating.

10

By ClaudiaKraatz, Mar 24, 2011

This episode was AMAZING and not just because of the great acting. First off, this episode's plot, I have to say was just dark and genious!The writers did a great job on this one!Now, for the actor/ress'. first off, Paget Brewster, well done! The interogation of the aunt, that was just speechless, cliffhanging art!A definate highlight in her criminal minds career! Matthew Gray Gubler, that was suberb! It' s great that he explained why he was doing the thing he was to the 13 year old boy and the execution of it was amazing also.Shemar, that was some dope acting. He really fits in with playing Morgan and he really goes deep with it too. Thomas, a great leader and actor as always. What more can I say about Thomas? It' s thoas gibson!A.J., always great, but i didn't see her act as much though. Kristen, lovely and believeable as Garcia as always and just a beauty to watch. As for the " bad guys" and others, well done!It really made me feel for the characters, all of them, espically the uncle, god did I wanna hit him! Lastly, for the directing the camera shoots, lighting and other thing was actually really good.the directing, was presmptualy good, considering. The young actors involved, they did a great jod also and this episde was juat all around FANTASIC, great job Criminal Minds!moreless
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good episode...

8.1

By Fwirrel, Feb 11, 2011

The team is called in to find a missing little girl that disappeared in a shopping mall. The investigation leads to her parents and their relatives. The uncle apparently malested the girl while the aunt kidnapped her. They had a son which was definately neglected. It was a sad story, but it wasn't that interesting and it was predictable. I've seen similar stories in NCIS and Without a Trace and this one was no better, well, actually, it was worse. Overall, it was good though. I loved the end when Hotch went to go see his son. I love his character.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Paget Brewster	SSA Emily Prentiss
Kirsten Vangsness	Analyst Penelope Garcia
Matthew Gray Gubler	SSA Dr. Spencer Reid
A.J. Cook	SSA Jennifer "JJ" Jareau
Thomas Gibson	Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner
Shemar Moore	SSA Derek Morgan

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Molly Baker	Jessica Brooks	Guest Star
Suzanne Cryer	Susan Jacobs	Guest Star
Paula Malcomson	Beth Jacobs	Guest Star
Meredith Monroe	Haley Hotchner	Recurring Role
Cade Owens	Jack Hotchner	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- Although shown as a multi-level indoor mall, Potomac Mills is a one-floor outlet mall located in Prince William County, Virginia, approximately 10 miles north of Quantico.
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QUOTES (7)
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- Beth Jacobs: Do you have kids?
  JJ: No, not yet, but everyone that needs us, we think of as our own.
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- Reid: 99% of abducted children who are killed die within the first 24 hours, 75% within the first three hours, and - what only law enforcement knows - Jessica Davis joined the 44% of children who are abducted and killed within the first hour.
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- Agent James Franklin: It's all chance, really. Wrong place, at the wrong time, no logic, no sense. How does a parent reconcile that?
  Hotchner: They never do.
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- Hotchner: Seven seconds...
  Garcia: All the images I could find, sir...
  Hotchner: ...is all it takes for a child to disappear.
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- Morgan: (examining camera surveillance footage) Well, can't you get a better angle?
  Garcia: Sugar, I'm not London here; I can only work with what they have. And, believe me when I tell you, the 1980s just called. They want their security system back.
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- Hotchner: G.K. Chesterton wrote: "Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed."
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- Hotchner: Dostoevsky once said, "Nothing is easier than denouncing the evildoer. Nothing more difficult than understanding him."
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NOTES (1)
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- The song heard at the end of this episode was "The Moment I Said It" by Imogen Heap.
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ALLUSIONS (3)
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- Hotchner: We'll treat the mall like a neighborhood, and we'll separate into areas of control.
  
  Potomac Mills Mall contains over 220 outlet stores, a food court and an 18 theater Multiplex. It is organized by breaking up the huge single level into numbered "neighborhoods."
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- Morgan: David Westerfield kidnapped Danielle Van Dam out of revenge when her mother rejected him.
  
  In February, 2002, David Westerfield, a neighbor of the Van Dams, kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered 7-year-old Danielle Van Dam, dumping her body by a roadside in San Diego. He was convicted of the crimes, and sentenced to death. He is currently in San Quentin prison, awaiting execution.
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- Reid: Richard Allen Davis strangled Polly Klaas just to prevent her from identifying him.
  
  Richard Allen Davis abducted 12-year-old Polly Klaas from her home in Petaluma, California while she was having a slumber party with friends. Davis had a long history of criminal behavior, including robbery and sexual assault. He was sentenced to death for the Klaas murder and is currently awaiting execution at San Quentin.
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