(S02E06) So long Agent Greenaway. Elle is no longer employed with the Behavioral Analysis Unit. It was kind of slow though, wasn't it? I was hoping for a more, I don't know, intriguing or exciting close to Elle's story. Maybe she admits to killing in cold blood or does something to partially redeem herself? Nope. Instead, she blew off work, skipped a psych evaluation, and went to visit her father's grave. Lots of soul searching I guess. She was close to her father though. If you remember the season premiere, she spoke with him in her dream.
But at the end of the episode, it was clear her head was no longer in the game. I'm not sure that Hotch fired her but there was some sort of understanding between them. He didn't want her on the team anymore and she didn't want to be there. So she handed in her gun and badge. I wasn't a big fan of her attitude though. I didn't like that she felt as though the team wasn't behind her (not true) and the crack about Hotch never smiling (also not true) was just mean-spirited even though she delivered it sarcastically. I was initially against Lola Glaudini leaving the show and I'm not sure if the writers did it on purpose, but I feel good about it now. I'm looking forward to what Paget Brewster can bring to the table. Alrighty, on to the rest of the episode.
This was a really good episode, even beyond the whole Elle story. The case the team dealt with was probably one of the top five they've had so far. Plus, to the best of my knowledge, this was the first case where the un-sub was just a young boy. A crazy, bat-wielding, heartless young boy.
The title of the episode referred to an old man who lived in an old house on top of an old hill. But since he was old, he died in the woods one day and our little boy wonder covered his body in leaves. Then he used the old man's house as his base of operations. Now at this point, you're probably wondering what this kid does? He kills his classmates in the middle of the woods and so far he's gotten to three of them.
It was weird to see Sean Bridgers without a beard. I'm so used to seeing him as Johnny on Deadwood and at first I didn't recognize him but his voice is pretty unique. He played the school guidance counselor and Morgan was pretty convinced this guy had done it, but that was only around the halfway point for the episode... so it wasn't him. It was his son though. I loved the way they tied it all together too, with the Epi-Pen and the dairy allergy. The kid didn't realize that the entire time, by duct-taping all the dairy products closed, he was leading a trail right back to himself.
It'll be interesting to see how the team reacts to Elle's leaving now. Especially Reid. He seems to feel guilty for not speaking to Gideon or Hotch about the night he spent talking with a drunken Elle. Morgan could be an issue too. There always seemed to be some sort of sexual tension between him and Elle and I'm not so sure that Derek will be accepting of a new team member so easily. We'll have to wait and see.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-26-2006 @ 12:40PM
Dani said...
I kept expecting it to be one of the two kids who were telling the boogeyman stories at the beginning. But then the boogeyman is never who you expect....
I agree the Elle story was almost anti-climactic. I do not think her comment about Hotch never smiling was so much sarcastic as it was angry.
Are they going to make JJ an actual profiler now? She seems to be taking a more active role in the cases and not just dealing with the press.
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10-26-2006 @ 1:30PM
J-Sim said...
It wasn't the kid that was duct taping the creamed spinach but his father when he delivered the food. Gideon just wanted to make sure it was the kid that had the allergy by offering the father milk with his coffee.
Elle's leaving was slow and I'm not sure that it wouldn't have been better just to have a new cast member at the start of the year during the natural break. She wasn't that important of a team member or all that easily identifiable. This storyline just seemed wrong. Most of the time when a "good" guy kills the "bad" guy it can seem to be the right action(Magnum P.I., Miami Vice, etc.) but I just couldn't connect the rapist with her shooter despite the implication that he stuck his hand into her wounded body.
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10-26-2006 @ 2:18PM
B.D. Ize said...
The mind often interprets certain acts as "violations" of your personal space. For instance, people consider their homes as "secure zones". When a home (or maybe even a car) is burglarized, people often describe this event as a "violation" or even sometimes as something like "rape". A stranger has come into their personal space without their permission, and committed unwelcome acts (theft, viewing personal items, etc). I think this is what the writers were trying to do with Elle - help us to understand that she felt violated and alone in the once place she always felt secure, her home. Her team was not there to back her up, so she lashed out at the only people she could - her team. She never felt closure with what happened to her, since the unsub blew himself up before she could confront him. Finally, when someone came along that was a symbol of the hatred and anger she felt (a violator)- she took care of it the way she was trained. Did they pull this off? To me, only about half way. They expected the viewer to make too many assumptions and a gigantic leap of faith. I don't think that you can do that, and expect 90% of the people to "get it".
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10-26-2006 @ 2:18PM
Patti said...
I thought this was a great Halloween episode. It was fun watching JJ relate her story of why she was afraid of the woods. I knew halfway thru it she was making it up, but as its been said before, that's what makes this show fun. You can figure out who or what will happen next. I originally thought the sheriff was the murderer. Just the little things he said when Gideon went thru the murder scene made me suspect him. The only thing I didn't like about this story was how it ended. The kid who was doing all the killing didn't really seem all that threatening.
Glad the character of Elle is gone, she lost her luster with me a long time ago. I love Reid, Gideon, and Garcia. That phone call between Reid and Garcia was just great!!!
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10-26-2006 @ 2:54PM
Seth Brundle said...
I hope she becomes (more of) a vigilante serial murderer - and the team has to try to track her down even though she knows all their methods...I will miss her boobs.
This was *not* one of the best episodes of the season, the first half kinda sucked, but yeah second half was better then average.
What bothered me most about this episode is that CM seems to be reusing the same or similar outdoor locations. The 'woods' location looks exactly like the 'woods' location of the satanic kids episode.
The Unit is also guilty of trying to pass off the same piece of California desert as half of the middle east. Reminds me of Knight Rider.
The producers of this show should take out their Alias DVD sets for clues on how its done.
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10-26-2006 @ 3:22PM
ferley said...
yeah!!!!!!!!!!! I hate that character!!!!!!!!!!!!
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10-27-2006 @ 9:55AM
matt said...
I felt sad/ She was one of those independent, smart and strong characters.
Old saying goes what does not kill you only makes you stronger.
The character work so hard to get into the BAU, I find it difficult to believe she would opt to quit.
If it was a man who got shot, he would just bounce back stronger.
Its just typical Hollywood. I enjoyed the show a lot and the interactions between Reid, Hodge, Garcia, Gideon, Morgan and Elle had so much chemistry (personally felt). If Ms Lola gets a chance to read this, your character would be sorely missed.
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11-11-2006 @ 2:59PM
Amanda said...
I will miss Elle so much!! She was my favourite charecter
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10-30-2006 @ 7:37PM
Lola said...
Does anyone know how to find out the name of music from the show... I want to know the name of the song they play at the end when the dad and kid touch hands.. Its goes something like "How do we lose this great wrath, something about burning path and balance we made is broke and things being up in smoke.. "
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10-30-2006 @ 8:10PM
Steffi said...
^Hi! The song you're looking for is "Blue Light of the Flame" by Dar Williams.
And for Criminal Minds music, try tunefind.com.
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11-05-2006 @ 1:53AM
doogie said...
The Lovely Lola, I've just read Ms.Glaudini wants to return to the East coast.
When I heard she was leaving I wondered why they didn't do so with the finale shoot out.....possibly leaving the door open for a return, I hope so. If not onto bigger and better things, (although CM is taking it to that silly show Lost) all the best to you!!
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11-03-2006 @ 11:24AM
Karin said...
I really liked Elle and her replacement is just another tv blonde YUCK!! Why doall the shows think adding blonde bimbos in place of interesting characters is going to make for better tv???? Stupid!!
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11-03-2006 @ 2:35PM
susan said...
I do not know about everyone else, but I am think the producers have gone too far with this weeks episode about the three teenage girls. I could not sleep all night after watching that because it disturbed me so much. I guess I am an ex-fan now.
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11-03-2006 @ 9:16PM
Steffi said...
"I really liked Elle and her replacement is just another tv blonde YUCK!! Why doall the shows think adding blonde bimbos in place of interesting characters is going to make for better tv???? Stupid!!"
Karin, don't sweat! Elle's replacement is not a blonde=) The new woman profiler is going to be Paget Brewster and she will be joining the team and the show 2 episodes from now. The actress is about the same age as Lola Glaudini (a couple years older) and she's a brunette.
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11-05-2006 @ 4:12PM
Patrice Cee said...
i'm very unhappy about Lola's departure from criminal minds. She has a unique look which goes against the usual cookie cutter, interchangeable female characters on television.
i hope the best for her and look forward to seeing her in upcoming movies and tv.
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