Criminal Minds #2: How May We Save Your Ass Today?

Since there is 9 Days 22 Hours 7 Minutes and 25 Seconds until the premiere, I thought that I'd go back and rate the episodes of season four. I'd be interested in what you guys think on the subject, too.

The box below isn't a spoiler; it's just my organization:

Spoiler: My S4 Ratings

The episodes are rated in comparison to each other, not to any other seasons.

1) Mayhem 8/10 I liked the episode, but the UnSubs were a tad bit obvious. Also, I was a little bit confused by why the bomb maker was so stupid with blowing up the bomb.
2) The Angel Maker 9/10 Aside from Hotch being the Worst Patient Ever, the episode was rather good. I've certainly watched it enough times. Plus, there's "He's so lifelike". That right there sold the whole thing. :lol:
3) Minimal Loss 9/10 What's sad is that I adore this episode if only for Protective!Emily, but I can't grade it too high because some of it wasn't fantastic.
4) Paradise 8.5/10 Good episode, but minus points for TimeJump. I like damage continuity, and although not having any for Emily during the whole season was annoying, it's even more glaringly obvious in the episode right after.
5) Catching Out 8/10 Eh. I like the story itself, but it's not my favorite.
6) The Instincts 6/10 I like what they did with AJ Cook's pregnancy, but unfortunately I'm tired of Reid episodes.
7) Memoriam 6/10 Same as the one above.
8) Masterpiece 7/10 I haven't seen this one since it aired, but I remember not liking the UnSub. In a bad way, not a "well no duh he's a murderer" way.
9) 52 Pickup 5/10 You'd think that an episode where Emily gets to do stuff would get more points. Unfortunately I don't like Jordan and I don't like episodes where the female cop is bait for jackasses. Sorry, episode.
10) Brothers in Arms 8.5/10 Morgan gets to do things! Bit weak of a storyline, though.
11) Normal 9.25/10 Good episode. Still don't like Jordan, but at least my dislike can be lessened by Rossi being Step-Dad.
12) Soul Mates 8.5/10 Annoying UnSub, and the daughter is a bit... stupid. Cracking codes is fun, of course, but still.
13) Bloodline 9/10 The interview between Emily and the little girl gave me shivers. And Emily is LanguageLass, so I'm personally surprised that she couldn't translate what the mom said to the son. (I know she doesn't speak every language, I just think it's funny.)
14) Cold Comfort 8/10 I think I liked this episode? I haven't seen it in a while, but I remember enjoying Rossi being annoyed...
15) Zoe's Reprise 8.5/10 Rossi got pwned! Twice! I liked the victim, but she went from smart to stupid in .5 seconds.
16) Pleasure is my Business 6/10 I never even remember that this episode exists, if that says anything.
17) Demonology 8.5/10 This is even more "wth? Alex didn't like this episode? THE WORLD IS ENDING!", but I just didn't understand the actual storyline. I love Emily getting some backstory and I love Paget being an awesome actress, but the plot was kind of... dumb, honestly. And who thought it would be a good idea to let Emily interview the guy that possibly killed her friend?
18) Omnivore 9.5/10 Good episode. With Rossi being awesome and Hotch being awesome and Morgan being awesome and even the UnSub being awesome.
19) House on Fire 8/10 Decent plotline. Minus points for implied incest, because the conclusion was kind of ick. Plus points for Garcia screentime.
20) Conflicted 7.5/10 Another one I haven't seen in a while. Pretty good plotline. Minus points for Reid having his Trauma being obvious.
21) A Shade of Gray 8.75/10 Good episode. Morgan hides his trauma a ton better than Reid. Plus, the brother creeped me out. Always good in your sociopathic UnSubs.
22) The Big Wheel 8/10 I really like Alex O'Laughlin, but I remember the storyline itself being kind of weak.
23) Roadkill 8.25/10 I really like this episode, but it loses major points for having completely stupid victims that run straight when trying to escape a huge truck trying to kill them.
24) Amplification 8.75/10 Reid!Episode, but it was offset by a legitimate storyline as well as Rossi and Prentiss getting to work together. I love them, because when they work together there's a whole new level of snark. "Don't Emily me."
25) To Hell... 9.5/10 Creepycreepycreepycreepycreepy. With bonus SadStory.
26) ...And Back 10/10 Rossi uses his powers for good. Reid uses his smarts. Victim is smart. Garcia has an emotional reaction. UnSub is a cocky jackass. Emily and Morgan work together and are awesome and take down an innocent bunny hunter. Victim's Brother is a sympathetic murderer. JJ ran the entire crime scene secretly and you know it. Hotch is... AIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE. Reaper is a bastard. And did I mention that IT IS IN CANADA.

...

That is all.

That was fun. Strangely enough.

 

I missed quite a bit of the first season and I'm just now catching up on it. I really like the team dynamic now and hope that no one else leaves. The first season is very different when it comes to the team than the other years are.

One of the episodes that sticks in my mind pretty well is the one with the case with the family that lost the girl in the mall. I think the Unsub turned out to be the uncle to the little girl. I really liked that one.

Another one is when Morgan went back home and was accused of a crime. The Unsub turned out to be the man that did horrible things to him as a kid.

I think you will be able to figure out which episodes I'm talking about from the descriptions. I still haven't figured out the titles.

 

Erm... I don't think s4 stuff has to be put in spoilerbox... and that kind of wasn't much of ruining. As for episode Roadkill - I was annoyed by the same thing :lol: erm...if car drives towards you, hmm..what to do? a) run along the road or b) run to the forest where the car cannot follow... hmm... I choose a

 

I haven't seen much from season one. I like the current team too much to go back that far. :lol:

Seven Seconds, Season 3
Oh, and it was the aunt, not the uncle. But he was a molesty bastard, too.

Profiler, Profiled, Season 2

I said that I only put it in a box so that there wasn't a ridiculous amount of type in my post. I'll take it out if you want.

 

Ohoh,no need to edit, I was just wondering

 

I tried watching a season one episode on cable the other day, but I prefer Emily and Rossi to Elle and Gideon. I also like the way the rest of the team interact later too.

 

I never really liked Elle, even ignoring my Emily love. I liked Gideon, but I like that Rossi has a tough-love personality. It seems more fitting.

Okay, I surrender. My dislike of season one is partially because I love Emily and Dave. Not that it wasn't obvious at this point. :lol:

 

I'm curious. I'm watching the DVD's of Season 4, and I noticed that Reed uses a revolver, while the rest of the teams use semi automatics. Was there ever a stated reason for that? I find that just a little bit odd to me. I know he used Hotch's backup in LDSK, but I'd never noticed him with a revolver before.

 

At the beginning I actually liked Elle but in season 2 I think they achieved their goal and made her at least a bit bad and not so likeable by the viewers like me who just liked her and were not huuuge fans.

I love Emily's character now:lol:..I could go with both Rossi and Gideon but I guess that would be a bit too much for the show.

^I don't have an answer for that in fact I never noticed it before :shifty::thumbsup:

 

My dad and I were talking about the difference with the team dynamic with Rossi compared to Gideon and he said that Hotch, though he was always the team leader, seems more so now than he was in the first and second seasons. I guess what he means is that Gideon seemed more like the leader to him at first and now that he's gone things shifted.

What do you think? Is there a difference with the team or Hotch's contribution to it?

 

People have noticed, but they've never actually mentioned why in the show. I think he started that in the third season, with no real reason given.

Makes sense. Gideon was always Gideon... he was always the unwritten leader because he was the leader before he had to go on that leave before the first season. Hotch always defaulted to him because he saw Gideon as the leader, even though he was the one with the title. In the beginning of S3, Hotch had to shoulder all of the leadership since Gideon was gone. Then, by the time Rossi got around, Hotch was completely the leader of the team. Plus, Rossi wasn't exactly a team player, so he wasn't going to be a good leader anyway.

This also comes into differences between Gideon and Rossi. I think that Rossi, once he got past the fact that he helped start the BAU but wasn't the head of it, fell more neatly into the second-in-command rule. I never thought that Gideon would be able to put himself into the second chair. Rossi, however, has managed to set himself there and actually be useful. Gideon always seemed to end up in charge, as if he couldn't not be the "leader". Does that make sense?

 

That definitely makes sense to me. Once Rossi felt comfortable as part of the team, Hotch could really be the leader then the rest of the team would follow. Everybody certainly seems comfortable in the role they play on the team now.

I hope that doesn't change in the new season.

 

Oh, Lovable Obsessive One. Your ratings were Epic Win. WAY too many Reid storylines and stupid people.

I love Emily and Dave too much to revert back to Before Them, plus I never liked Elle (She's always been like... Okay, she's... There), and Mandy Patinkin is just weird. Gideon was weird. I agree with the leader thing, though. Everyone ended up looking to Gideon no matter what.

I think everyone is very comfortable in their current role- you should take a look at our Family Tree. It works. Well. And I also hope they don't change it. I mean, seeing people step up to take on different roles is cool every once in a while, but everyone has their place.

 

Squee.

Gideon was weird because he was so PTSD that he made Reid look like a normal twenty-whatever-year-old. Although that was probably because he put everyone in danger on hunches and usually ended up getting people killed and/or injured, so he actually had something to stress about.

Elle seemed... I dunno, I know what I want to say, but don't know how to say it. I'm tempted to say that she was a one-man team, but I'm not sure if that's what I'm really going for...

Every once in a while it's good to see roles switch around because that makes it more like a family. In families, one person doesn't only do one role. People react to certain things in ways that you would expect others to. And the team does that. If one member isn't there, someone else, without really making it obvious, will fill in that role when necessary.

Of course, that doesn't mean that I want any of the set dynamics to change, because they're too perfect.

PS-Bryn, did you want a picture or something? I can't remember.

 

Alex, Um... I wanted like an avvie or siggy or... Something. But I have no idea how to do ANYTHING with graphics, so...

Hahaha. Now we look at Reid and can be like, PTSD much? Psycho. But then compare it to Gideon, and it's like, Oh. Reid is, apparently, semi-normal. Or just less-PTSD than we originally thought.