(S02E09) I was really looking forward to this episode because it introduced Paget Brewster's new character Agent Emily Prentiss. But she was barely in it! We got an introduction and she showed up at the end of the episode, but she had no involvement with the case at all. I guess we'll have to wait until next week to see what she's made of. She's got skills, that much we know. At the end of the episode, she impressed Hotch by profiling a case that had just been delivered to him. She knows what she's talking about. Here's the only thing I don't get. She claims her two parents (they're both US diplomats) didn't pull any strings to get her on the BAU team. But if that is indeed the case, then how come neither Hotch nor Gideon were notified of her appointment to the team? It doesn't make sense unless she got the job through unconventional means right? Regardless, she does belong and I'm looking forward to see if I like her better than Elle.
The case was actually really good in this episode. I don't think they've attempted something like this before. The premise? What if there were two serial killers active in the same city, different from each other in every way. But what if they were in contact with each other, almost in a competitive sort of way? Interesting idea, at least I thought so.
Here's what I didn't like, mostly because it seemed like a bit of a stretch. There was really no explanation for it. The two killers, The Mill Creek Killer and Hollow Man, were in contact through the personal ads in the local newspaper. The talked using aliases (character names from Catcher in the Rye). But how did one know to check the ads in the first place? Do all serial killers automatically just scan the personals on a daily basis? They did this in Red Dragon too. Even so, how would one know if the ad was meant for you in the first place? This is making me frustrated just talking about it.
The one other thing I wanted to talk about was JJ. I mentioned last week that with Elle now gone, JJ was getting tons more responsibility. This week she was even getting involved with the crime scene, swabbing one of the victims with a Q-Tip. She knows what she's doing and I hope that Emily's arrival doesn't put JJ back into her old role where all she had for responsibility was holding press conferences.
But Emily's arrival is imminent now. So what do people think? Is the team going to be accepting of her? I hope so because I love Paget Brewster. She was great in Huff and I think she'll make a good addition to Criminal Minds.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-16-2006 @ 12:56PM
Dani said...
I thought Red Dragon when the personal ad thing came up as well. Granted the ads were obviously not a pick up or to sell something but how could a serial be sure that it was meant for him/her?
I missed why the Catcher in the Rye is supposed to be popular with serials. Was that explained?
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11-16-2006 @ 1:16PM
Sean said...
IIRC it was because they feel exluded like Holden in the book.
I didn't even think about the whole "who reads the personals anyway" until you mentioned it... I'm going to continue to be oblivious since I just started watching the show and don't want to scare myself off :) A wednesday of Bones and CM is a good one.
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11-16-2006 @ 1:16PM
imdennycrane said...
I agree about the personal ads - seems a very random way to find your serial killer partner. But then again, who knows how their minds work. Other than that, I thought it was a very enjoyable case - creepy but engrossing. The scene at the end when the two killers had eye contact was intense.
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11-16-2006 @ 1:56PM
Neddy said...
I watched this show for the first time last night. The one thing I noticed? When the young blonde agent was wearing a white blouse (especially when she was talking to the reporter), you could clearly see the dark outline of her aereolas underneath. Then, in all the scenes after that, she wore blouses with sweaters over them -- so I guess someone on the set noticed, too.
Okay, that's all... you can go back to your serial killers now.
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11-16-2006 @ 5:08PM
Gordon Werner said...
JJ even had a gun in this episode
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11-16-2006 @ 6:23PM
kristi said...
The connection between the personal ads were found because Reid was reading both papers and comparing the two (while Hotch was talking). They compared those two particular papers because the Hollow Man changed MO between the two editions. I thought that discovering the ads were particularly neat because Reid was probably the *only* person who had the skill to find the connection between the papers.
Re: The new actress -- she needs to bring it down a notch or two. I wasn't all that impressed by her delivery which was way too spastic for me. Hopefully next week will flow better for the actress/character.
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11-23-2006 @ 11:39AM
Kevin said...
Did anyone catch the reference to Millennium? The Mill Creek killer buried his victims in leaves in the woods so that he could "visit" them repeatedly. In a Millennium episode entitled "Paper Dove" the "Woodsman" serial killer spent a week in the woods at remote campsites with his victims. He loved to talk to the victims after they were dead because he said that they were good listeners. The Millennium killer also buried his victims in leaves when he left them alone.
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11-28-2006 @ 7:32AM
Bela Black said...
The whole 'personal ad' thing didn't go over well with me but then again maybe a 'killer' can always spot another 'killer'.
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