I really like this show and I think it has the potential to last a few solid seasons. That being said, this was by far the most disappointing episode of the season. It just wasn't that good. On a side note, if and when I ever decide to become a psychopathic serial killer who eats people's fingers, then this is the show I watch to get in the game. Every week is a mini crash-course on what not to do if you want to get away with... well, murder. Okay, back to the episode.
Gideon and Hotchner task Elle to go and question a serial killer who's being held in Dallas, and she travels there by train. Apparently the only other people on the train with her are an alcoholic student, a pregnant lady, some super religious guy chasing down his ex-wife, and surprise, there's also a psychiatrist transporting a delusional patient named Teddy to a medical conference. Well wouldn't you know it, some poor sap jumps in front of the train because he probably heard some horrible news (something along the lines of "quality programs like Alias and Threshold are being cancelled" would do it for me... grrrr, sorry I digress) and decides to end his life.
Per protocol, the train stops and this allows Teddy the Nutbag to whip out his gun and take the train's passengers hostage. Apparently Teddy used to be quite the genius, authoring many papers on string theory and other such ideas. Then he went cuckoo, became convinced the government had implanted him with a microchip, and he went and got an imaginary friend named Leo who happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to Gary Busey (who also may be crazy). The BAU team finally arrives and makes contact with Teddy. He demands to have the chip removed... but there is no chip in him. He's nuts remember? Dr. Reid suggests that he put his sleight of hand skills to work - maybe he can pull the wool over Teddy's eyes and make him think that he removed a chip.
So Reid enters the train car and performs the pseudo-surgery. He "removes" the chip from Teddy's arm but things get a bit out of hand when Teddy tells him to turn it on and the psychiatrist gets a bullet in the gut. So now both Elle and Reid are stuck in the train and at this point the episode just gets bland. Reid talks to Teddy, tries to reason with him and finally Gideon gives the go to take out Teddy. But the crazy religious guy whips out a gun and shoots Teddy himself. Apparently since his wife left him, he wanted to find her and have a little "talk." So that was it. The whole episode took place in a train car and for me, it just wasn't as suspenseful as previous episodes. I was disappointed - anyone else?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-24-2005 @ 10:07AM
Chris said...
Well, I still liked it. Your points are valid though. There was never a "this is really intense" moment. However, I don't think this show is or should be about "intense moments". I prefer the discussions about criminal behaviour.
Actually, now that you have me thinking about it I think I'd have to say that this show is really geared towards anyone that likes Law and Order: Criminal Intent. Also, I like that they've given Reid so many opportunities in recent episodes to shine. That said, it would have been nice had Elle been given the opportunity to show that she's just as smart as Gideon. They could have taken the episode in a different direction by having Elle do the talking down and later doing some sort of "Gideon tells Elle she did a good job" type thing. That's what I thought this episode was going to be until I realized it was actually a "Reid saves the day" episode.
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11-24-2005 @ 11:07AM
Mark "Puff" Anderson said...
And it was the 2nd Reid saves the day episode in three or four weeks.
Wasn't that many episodes back when he took the ankle holster from Greg..., well he used to be Greg on Dharma and Greg...can't seem to call his chracters name up right now, and shot the bad guy in the hospital scene.
Seemed like Elle's big thing was her calling Gideon, "Dad", and his not appreciating it.
puff
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11-26-2005 @ 5:57AM
TheMovieGoer said...
This is the "Reverse Patinkin Effect", the less Gideon is in the script, the worse the episode. And this was the least, and the worse, by far.
Generally, this and E-Ring and the best new dramatic series of the season.
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12-01-2005 @ 12:40AM
jimmy said...
I think the episode was by far better than the CSI episode. It had a solid story and the cast is fablous. Hope this how will keep runing for a long time
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12-01-2005 @ 9:34AM
lea ivey said...
I was watching Criminal Minds and cannot for the life of me figure out what BAU means. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks
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12-01-2005 @ 6:37PM
Eileen Wood said...
BAU -- Behavioral Analysis Unit
(Formerly the Behavioral Science Unit, as explained by Dr. Reid in the episode with the obsessive/compulsive serial arsonist.)
I agree with the others that this was a less-than-stellar episode. I know it's bad when I begin rooting for the bad guy to shoot someone... ANYONE.
I've also noticed that the writers seem to be tossing in tiny clues about the characters' backgrounds. In this episode, we had Dr. Reid talking about not being understood by his school peers. In another episode, we had Hotch's character tell a suspect that "some abused kids grow up to be bad guys; others grow up to catch them" (paraphrasing there). It was clear that it was Hotch who was abused as a child.
Personally, I'm enjoying watching for those tidbits. Figuring out their "backstory" appeals to the amateur psychologist in me. lol!
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