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Criminal Minds Season 6 Episode 15

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8.5

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 2/16/11

The BAU is called to upstate New York to investigate mysterious disappearances. Meanwhile, Prentiss receives some disturbing news about one of her former colleagues at Interpol.

FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (6)

An unfair score, you say? Perhaps. But the abysmal, haphazard writing has finally combined with lackadaisical, uninterested characterization to unleash a fatal poison that has turned this once brilliant show into a limping ghost.moreless

1.0

By Finnegan77, Nov 09, 2011

Bleach. By itself, a fantastic cleansing agent. Whites are whiter, stains disappear, the slate is wiped clean.

Ammonia. Perfect for my messy windows. Or for bringing a fainting lady back to consciousness.

But together? Toxic, sometimes fatal results.

And now, Criminal Minds is unconscious, chloramine gas filling its once clear, oxygenated lungs, searing along its, obviously metaphorical, throat, gouging out deep wounds.

Painfully horrible plot-and- character-stealing writing has finally combined with flat, boring, utterly inane characterization to complete the fatal poisoning of this show. The most interesting, most talked about character of this season has become Sergio the cat.

Kathy Bates has been reincarnated as a totally crack!brained life coach whose back-story is so full of holes it can be used to drain the spaghetti-twisted reasoning of these oh-so-brilliant profilers. Just try to watch Misery and Single White Female at the same time and you'll have a better story than this one. Even if you watch it in Sanskrit. Without subtitles.

So, the story - not the first story stolen from true crime novels or Saturday night television movies from the 1980s (and I'm just talking this season, folks) - was utterly forgettable. And illogical. And jammed together so haphazardly that the viewer is left to trot behind the BAU saying, "what?" "her grandparents?" "water burial equals female? Well, I'll have to inform the Navy!"

The second ingredient for our poison-bomb then rears its ugly head. The team - this round table full of quirky knights and insightful heroes, the family that we've grown to care about for five years: afterthoughts mouthing empty phrases that don't even hang together for the few minutes they're on the screen.

The recent focus on the unsubs is now explained. The writers have become completely uninterested in Hotch, Rossi, Reid, Morgan, and Prentiss. And that other girl that trails along making random insights. The writers they've hired to replace the GOOD writers who were either fired after the strike or have been lured away to the spin-off don't know our characters. And couldn't care less. So, I ask you, why should we?

Hotch no longer leads. Rossi, one of the men who began the BAU, is now schooled by a cadet. Reid still gets a few good scenes and a handful of humorous lines, thank God. Morgan flexes. And Prentiss minces around with her phone glued to her ear ignoring the team around her who actually work for the FBI and might help. These once vital, once intriguing characters are yawn-worthy cardboard props for bad stories and hopeless directing.

Together, these two wrongs don't make a right – they make a boring, predictable, not-suspenseful crime procedural that has been gutted and left to rot, not unlike one of its victims.

I blame the spin-off. Money siphoned off has led to JJ's dismissal and Emily's long drawn-out (and yet, blasé) B-story. Waning interest on the production side has focused all the intensity on a new venue (which resembles nothing more than a cookie-cutter, "younger, cooler" clone) and has stolen CM's mojo. The ratings confirm this. Bernero and his buddies have torpedoed CM – and quite successfully! – in order to ramp up interest in its squalling newborn.

I won't drink the Kool-aid. The not-so-subtle machinations of producers and network execs leave me icy.

Barring an injection of interest and enthusiasm from the back-office, I believe this series – the patient in my little hokey analogy – is in a persistent vegetative state. Emphasis on persistent. Give it back its organs, Bernero: stop harvesting the life from this established show to hook up your Frankenstein monster. I, for one, won't be lurching along behind it just to see where it goes.moreless
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I didn't like this episode first time through; disappointed by the lack of continual Emily's story just more teasers! But actually not a bad episode when I rewatched it :)

8.0

By StephanieLaba, May 31, 2011

First off, we get giant recap of all we've seen of Emily's past-life. So I happily got ready to delve even more into that sub-plot. Yet, it seems we have to wait another week at least for the climax of hr story. However, we do learn a little more of how she left her past-life, the people involved in it and how dangerous Ian Doyle is.

Seaver is back. And she shows how little she is qualified for the BAU when not understanding the point in visiting an old dump site and just stating the obvious the viewer could work out for ourself 'She bought the same purse' T_T. The little contribution she did give toward the end of the episode did not add to the episode or towards the unsub's capture at all, and really seemed a bit of a 'woe-is-me' moment. She thinks she's the only one who knows how the victims feel because she's been there, but come on, the actual BAU team already know how the victim feels because of their experience and knowledge in their specialised area fgs. (Oh and she just didn't have any chemistry with Garcia, and I didn't think that was possible!)

Anyway, back to the story.

This is another unsub we see throughout the episode, it seems the writers do like this set-up if we look back over this series.

I obviously see the similarities to Stephen King's Misery too, yet don't see why this is a bad thing. The victim and unsub both played their parts perfectly. The victim playing along to begin with but starting to let cracks show after a while was realistic and believable, and her struggling when first disabled was good acting again. After watching *that* scene from Misery I was not looking forward when she picked up the hammer, but what the viewers saw was just enough. When the unsub watches the girl walking along with the chair with such pride in her eyes was good enough to be creepy. And the final scenes between them and police was believable once again.

I think Garcia's stylist did lose the plot a bit this week really, she is usually bright, quirky and beautiful, but this week it was quirky with a side of too much out of control. On the other hand, I feel the writers are still on target for the other characters. Morgan and Reid worked together well in this episode, we saw some good Rossi moments too with the victim's family. Little of Hotch was seen though in my eyes :(. Reid's care and concern for Emily was brilliant and very convincing. I presume the characters are going to take it in turns though, Morgan last week, Reid this week, Rossi next week maybe and then finally the whole team with Hotch coming together for her?

All in all, a good episode to fill the series whilst we wait on tender-hooks for Ian Doyle to evolve. The killer and victim both held my attention and really, not a boring episode.

Oh wait; Seaver is in the opening credits?!?! Say what?! That didn't take very long :(moreless
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Another sub-standard case, but Prentiss' storyline thickens, and it is very interesting!

9.5

By amazing_race, May 31, 2011

This was a very good episode of Criminal Minds, if you only look at the bits involving Emily Prentiss, as her storyline continues to evolve, wit h a criminal coming back from her past.

As for the actual case that we saw in this episode, it was average at best. The idea of a female psychopath made it much more interesting than usual, but the story that was created did not live up to what we have come to expect.

All up, I definitely think this is an episode that you could afford to ignore. There were some good moments to the case, and I really enjoyed the ending, but nothing too special takes place. Th e Prentsis storyline was the best part of the episode undoubtedy, and I think they should have done better with this case.

A decent episode, but in my opinion, nothing special.moreless
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Girl gets chained to a bed by female psychopath.

3.0

By professorca, May 09, 2011

Probably some of the worst writing in television history. This episode used every cliche, and jumped every shark possible. Has Criminal Minds overstayed it's welcome? A blatant rip-off of Misery, the victim is such an idiot that you almost think she deserves what she gets. Tip: when you are chained to a bed and a psychopath feeds you popcorn, it's best not to spit in their face. It ticks them off. Do these victims not own a television? As as to the Misery rip-off, at least the writer had the originality to change the perpetrator/torturer/motivational speaker's weapon from a sledge hammer to a claw hammer. Big deal. The final scene of " I'm free and I'll limp my way to the highway and get a ride" of course evolves, or more correctly devolves to "oh gosh, the first car that comes along is driven by the killer." Who would have thought it? The only thing missing here is the escaped damsel (ala 1950) running through the woods while being chased by the monster, and tripping on her stiletto heels. In the end we have a baptismal moment when the killer seeks purification for the unconscious victim by submerging her in a lake. Of course the unconscious victim comes back to life (probably a result of the cold water) just in time to splash and oh gosh oh golly save herself. The psychopath resembling a flustered Ricki Lake fresh out of Hairspray is properly subdued. Garcia who is increasingly being made to look like Bozo the clown is at her best plunking away at her keyboard while wearing a ring the size of a pie plate. In the end we are all treated to the usual Criminal Minds homily as the jet flies back to wherever.moreless
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The danger for Prentiss deepens and it was nice to see a female killer on the show again.

9.0

By freddy_91, May 09, 2011

I wonder if I got one thing right; AJ Cook AKA JJ can't stay because of some sort of budget problem, but it's okay ti immidiately after hire a new person?

Why couldn't they just let JJ stay? It would have been much better!

I don't like Seaver even if she's not replacing JJ directly since she's not a liason, but it's still just wrong for here to be there. If AJ Cook had left on her own will, then having Seaver of the show would have been okay. Now, let's move on to the episode. Since the majority of the unsubs are male on the show, it was nice to see female unsub again. I'm only waiting for a female serial killer that they don't catch in one episode. Something that continues for several episodes like the Reaper- case.

I like the way that the threat and danger that Prentiss is in with Doyle on the loose isn't over-shadowing the rest of the episode, but it's kind of in the background and keeps us waiting for the big showdown. It's obvious that something big will come out of it and the suspense is well built up around it.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Thomas Gibson	Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner
Joe Mantegna	Senior SSA David Rossi
Matthew Gray Gubler	SSA Dr. Spencer Reid
Shemar Moore	SSA Derek Morgan
Paget Brewster	SSA Emily Prentiss
Kirsten Vangsness	Analyst Penelope Garcia

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Rachel Miner	Molly	Guest Star
Rebecca Field	Jane Gould	Guest Star
Joshua Leonard	Lyle	Guest Star
Timothy V. Murphy	Ian Doyle	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (2)
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- Although red for the beginning of the season, Garcia's hair went back to blonde in this episode.
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- This episode was reminiscent of Stephen King's novel Misery, in which an obsessed fan kidnaps, holds hostage, and tortures a writer to force him to rewrite his latest novel. The book was later adapted to a film of the same name, which starred Kathy Bates and James Caan.
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QUOTES (2)
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- Rossi: "It's hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head." Sally Kempton
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- Prentiss: "There's no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul." Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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NOTES (2)
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- Original International Air Dates:
  Czech Republic – June 5, 2012 on Prima family
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- Rachel Nichols is credited as a series regular beginning with this episode.
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ALLUSIONS (0)
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