Episode reaction to 4xI'mterribleatrememberingnumbers

[jadesfire]

Everyone seen "Amplification"? What did you think? I've put my own thoughts under the cut and the comments seem like a good place for discussion, but if you've got your own post somewhere on Dreamwidth, just drop me a link and I'll put it up here as well.



The first thing that struck me about this episode was how strong a team feel there was to it. Everyone was there, all doing their jobs as we expect them to, and all having the issues we know they have. One thing I love about Criminal Minds is the emotional continuity and the strength of these characters. We know how they're going to react because we've seen them do it before, not to mention the literal continuity that bubbles away under the surface.

Let's see, we've got Hotch's continual dilemma over whether/how much to tell his family (and how much do I love him for not *saying* that to JJ, keeping it about her not him), Morgan's protectiveness of Reid, as well as his refusal to let anyone take one for the team (Hotch might have been right, but his job was a lot easier with Morgan on the station as well), Garcia's constant worries and fears at the dangers everyone faces (and her 'happiness bubble' that Rossi points out so sharply in 'Penelope'), and Rossi's detachment in contrast to Prentiss' compassion (I love how they keep getting partnered together, because they contrast and compliment each other really well).

And oh, Reid. Generally speaking, I prefer Reid not to be the victim of these things, just because he's so often put in that position in fanfic, but this hardly pushed any of my sigh-buttons at all. I really liked his determination to stay in control - the message to his mother, going on working rather than to the hospital, refusing narcotics, sending Morgan away - and the feeling that this happened to him because it happened to him, not because he's Reid and that's what the writers do to him, if that makes any kind of sense.

For my taste, some of the Rossi & Prentiss conversation felt unduly laboured. It felt very 'company line' but coming from the writer rather than Rossi. In fact I could have lost the whole of that scene and not really regretted it much, unlike losing Hotch calling Jack on the phone, which feels like the first time we've seen him smile in half a season. Also, I don't know that much about Anthrax, but the way the doctors were talking about 'a cure' made me think that the writer hadn't quite found time to finish his research. Does someone who knows more about these things know if that's realistic terminology or not? I was expecting 'treatment' or even 'antidote' but that could just be me and language having issues again.

Overall, I really really enjoyed this and it felt like a return to the strong teaminess that I so enjoyed in S3. What about everyone else? Everyone who enjoyed watching Reid getting hosed down raise your hands, although complaints about where the scene was cut should be passed to the production team, not me...

Comments

[aoibhe]

Thanks for posting this honey. I know it was my week, but things went to hell. Again. ::g::

[jadesfire]

Pffft, I've never mastered timetables ;) I'm more of a 'what you can when' type of person - de nada! Besides, I was writing it anyway, and I do love to talk...

[kate]

and the feeling that this happened to him because it happened to him, not because he's Reid and that's what the writers do to him

Yes, this.

I liked the episode - and I haven't been fond of the back half of this season. You're right, the teaminess of it really makes it work.

Nice review!

[jadesfire]

Thanks :D

I have strong feelings about any character being made a regular punching bag, so this episode was a lovely breath of fresh air on that front.

The back half of this season has definitely felt...flat. It's not that the series is losing quality, it's just that the episodes have been decent rather than good. I'm going to keep everything crossed for the finale!

[kate]

I'm pretty much pinning my hopes on next season. I think I'm also spoiled because I watched seasons 1-3 all in one go, and having to wait in between episodes means I'm losing the continuity of the characters. I'll be glad to have this season on DVD and watch it all in one go, I think.

[triggerhappy]

I liked it, a lot. The team feel was definitely there.
And I love the things they do to...to continue a characters story or show pieces of who they are. Sometimes it's a big deal, and sometimes it just is.

JJ's worry and near panic was well done - as was Hotch's response to her. He has to toe the line, and he's right to do so, and yet without saying a word, Gibson got across how much Hotch knows what she's going through. And that he remembered when he had to make that same decision. (can't remember which episode, but it was something to do with a bomb at a mall and Haley was going to take baby Jack to have pictures taken)
Hotch made the same decision then, as JJ did in this episode.

JJ and Garcia's talk was wonderful as well.

And seeing Hotch smile while talking to Jack? That was golden. It really has been a long time since we've seen him really smile.

Emily, who hates lying, who was uncomfortable when Hotch lied to the dying burn victim in Ashes and Dust because she hates it so much, lied. Flat out lied.
Woah.
I'm still kind of in shock over that - and yet it was realistically done.
This season is stomping all over Prentiss in all sorts of ways and I love it. And I love the continuity that she was the one that had the big problem with hiding things from the public. Politics are making their way into her job and boy, does it piss her off. hee!
The last conversation with Rossi was a bit heavy handed, though.

Even liked all the Reid peril and I was a bit wary about that - it just seems like he's always in peril. But it was well done and I really loved when he emphatically stated he did not want narcotics.
More continuity! Yay!

Morgan was Morgan and of course he's not going to leave Reid or Hotch.

The one thing I had a problem with was the end hospital scene. The rest of the team should have been there. Or at the very least mentioned having been there or something.
It makes sense that Morgan would be there, that he would stay there, but...it just doesn't seem right that no one else was there.

[kate]

I dunno - I get this. JJ and Hotch both wanted to be with their kids, and (maybe it's just me) but I don't see a whole lot of closeness between Prentiss or Rossi and Reid. I can see Garcia being there, but, especially with her 'happiness bubble' I can see her not wanting to visit anyone in the hospital.

I find the kinda weird Morgan/Reid vibe strange, though. I hope it's not fanservice - I've never found it work well when a show panders to it's 'shipping fans. It seems to always make the show worse and not really make the fans happier or the fic better. But that's just my two cents - I'd be happy to be shown wrong on that front.

[triggerhappy]

I see the Morgan/Reid vibe as brotherly and it's (for me) been there from the beginning.
So last night was just a continuation of that.

[kate]

I'm not a Morgan/Reid 'shipper myself, so I definitely can see the brotherly sort of affection. Unfortunately, I'm a slasher, so I see the potential when there's just normal friendship stuff going on. Add innuendo about getting naked and I think... have the writers been reading the fanfic?

And every time the answer to that is yes, and they're writing things with little secret messages to the 'shippers, I think we lose a little. Because the best part of the fanfic is making it work within the boundaries of the characters, and as soon as you do something to open the flood gates, it worsens the show (by undermining the characters) and the fic (by making it too easy).

To tell you the truth, I don't 'ship anybody on this team. I think they're a team, a family, and I like them the way they are. Add romance between any of them and you ruin the dynamic, I think.

[wildefae]

Having not seen this episode - and honestly, I'm not getting TOO spoiled by this entry, but I'm backing away now - I will say that it's entirely possible that it's the actors, as much as the fans, that have led to this.

For example: Morgan and Garcia's flirting was entirely invented because of Kirsten and Shemar acting inappropriate on set (after a sexual harrassment seminar, I want to say).

Now, I know KV and SM are friends offset as well, and I also know that KV and MGG are, so there's no reason for me to think that Shemar and Matthew don't hang out.

Add that to the fact that Reid (aside from some of his in-show-continuity) is essentially Matthew in some important ways: from Las Vegas, knows magic, etc -- it's possible that's just an extension of their REAL relationship: brotherly with a bit of inappropriate joking.

I agree with you, with the possible exception of Morgan/Garcia. I just don't BELIEVE Penelope/Kevin, even after that episode before this one. I love Nicholas Brendon, let's get that straight -- but make him a regular character or don't. He's not around enough for me to believe their relationship - which comes off controlling and noncommunicative from both ends, honestly - and especially not for me to believe that a hacker/computer nerd would sabotage a relationship so it didn't have to be long-distance. I like the open-ness of Morgan/Garcia, when they've had some real moments.

[kate]

Yeah, I'm torn about the Penelope/Kevin too. I bought it more before they shoved it in our faces last episode. And I love Nicky Brendan, so I was willing to go on faith for his sake.

However, one of the few pairings I like is Morgan/Garcia (though it's falling flat this season - along with a few other things for me). But I think some of the best stuff has come from them being good buddies, and I find it a little hard to stretch to romantic.

It wouldn't surprise me at all to know that those three hang out off-set. And I do like the vibe Morgan and Reid have most of the time - it reads quite easily like friends or brothers - but this episode just hit my buttons a little. If it came from the two of them, then it's fine. If it came from the writers/director then I worry. I'm ambivalent at the moment (and happy we're coming to the end of the season, honestly - it's been a little long and is starting to feel a little cracked around the edges, character-wise), and hoping that it was a one-time thing, or my slash goggles are on a little too tight or something.

[wildefae]

I bought it more before they shoved it in our faces last episode Yes, this.

Mm...I'll have to disagree personally, but I see where a lot of people could have your viewpoint about Morgan/Garcia. I think it's falling flat this season too, largely from a lack of effort/good writing. I think certain writers like it more than others, and they're either not writing anymore or not writing the majority of this season.

I'll have to watch the episode and write back. Would I be devastated if they wrote a for-real gay plot onto CrimMinds? No, not if they did it WELL. But it's that that concerns me. I don't think they ever would, though: I think making jokes makes the slashers excited, and having real storylines alienates people, and so they avoid it, even in the case of real relationships (ie: no one who's IN a real relationship, like Garcia or JJ, brings it onto the show much).

[kate]

I think it's falling flat this season too, largely from a lack of effort/good writing.

Yes! I was more excited about Morgan/Garcia before this season. It's like they've forgotten how to write them, which sucks because they were a highlight of the show.

Do you mean a gay character? (I guess I don't consider the overarching character development plot.) I don't see them making any of the characters gay, as all of them have already been identified as dating people of the opposite sex except Prentiss (though what a fantastic lesbian she'd make!). They could go the bi route, but I don't really see that happening either.

In the end, you're right - none of the relationships are onscreen much. Sexual tension makes shows, sexual consummation breaks them (Moonlight was the biggie for this, but there have been plenty more - X Files comes to mind). I think it's brilliant how much of our main characters' personal lives are off-screen. Not only does it give the viewer some credit, it also provides room for the fandom to play around in, which is really smart.

Do watch and come back! I'd love to know if I'm overthinking the Morgan/Reid or if someone else can see what I'm seeing too.

[noxie]

--- The one thing I had a problem with was the end hospital scene.

Just my thoughts. Everyone else seemed to just go by their day, while Reid was still in hospital. Things were so different when Garcia had been injured - everyone was there. It really bothered me that it was only Morgan this time. But oh! How much did I love the jell-o bit? Seeing those two together always makes me smile. All in all, it was a pretty good episode.