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Ultimate Gilmore Girls Fanaticism
from the Ultimate GG Fans

Okay, getting my opinion in now before someone says something that makes me want to rant about their opinion instead of my own.  I liked it.  Wish the flashbacks had been a little longer and shown more differences with Hotch and Morgan instead of just Reid.  Although they did a good job with Reid (someone pointed out that four years ago, he wouldn't have been so comfortable talking to the parent of the dead girl.  But, come to think of it, I disagree.  Four years ago, he wouldn't have been good at talking to a teenager or college student or a violent suspect, but a regular adult?  I think he could have handled that). 

There are so many different areas the show can take, since their jobs encompass so much (at least on tv it does, don't know about real life).  Last week, they touched on how each case they take has to be justified to more than just the team.  This time, they showed the team - Hotch, anyway, in court- defending the profile and the whole job of profiling.  And, yes, Hotch profiling the defense attorney was a pure tv, never happen in real life moment.  I don't care.  It was cool.  But, I like that the point was made that profiles (using real cases) could be wrong, although they also pointed out that even when they were wrong once, they ultimately still had a profile that fit the right guy (Olympic bomber- don't know if that's true, but I'm guessing it is).  It's not something they could dismiss or solely rely on.  Profilers are neither charlatans or magicians.  And, um, just how does Hotch know when the horses run?

I really loved that the brain fingerprinting was debated among the team members.  Prentiss taking the "is this ethical" side and wondering if the unsub not remembering made him a different person, and if that mattered.  Morgan feeling that regardless, if he was guilty, he had to pay for the crimes. 

Rossi was Mr. "I hate technology."  And, as someone pointed out, Hotch was a federal prosecutor.  Unless Rossi followed Hotch from his days there to when he became a profiler, Hotch probably already knew a thing or two about testifying long before he met Super! Rossi.  Still, Hotch managed to keep the unsub from killing himself without any help from (or even him being there) from Rossi.

Really liked present day Reid here as well.  The last episode with any real focus on him was Elephant's Memory, and he was a brat.  But, I liked him with the father of one of the victims, figuring out that he was going to shoot the unsub and talking him out of it (not sure how impressive that was, since I knew the father was going to do it, and I wouldn't even be able to figure out the butler did it, if he had the bloody murder weapon in his hand, but emotionally, it was a nice scene).  And, nice Reid and Hotch scenes.  Reid reasoning with Hotch that the defense attorney wouldn't have known where his client went, Hotch listening and instructing Reid to try another way of finding him.  And, I loved the scene at the end before they went to the father's house to return his daughter's watch.  Because of certain people (person) I've become disillusioned with the Gideon/Reid dynamic, so I'm glad it didn't come off as older, wiser agent mentoring and guiding young agent.  But, Hotch and Reid never did relate like that.  Except for when he has to give an order or reprimand, there's always been a sense that when he talks to Reid he talks as an equal.  So, when Hotch asked Reid if the father would get closure, it didn't come off as a teacher trying to see if his student had the right answer, but as one man curious to know what another man thought.

Speaking of certain fan, I bet it burns her up that there was no mention of Gideon.  How to deal with a flashback when two team members who used to be on the show are no longer around?  Don't worry about explaining their absences.  Just ignore that they were ever there:)

The Garcia and JJ scene where Garcia uses her mad hacker skills was nice, especially JJ's smile.  And, the flashback to the first inadvertent flirting between Garcia and Morgan was also nice.

One super gruesome scene of a decayed corpse.  Definitely an eww moment.  Definitely not something anyone who praises Bones should beat on Criminal Minds for.

Overall, I liked it.  Don't mind the timeline issues, or the realism of Hotch's impromptu profile (don't mind it?  I loved it)Rossi was pretty much in the background (horning in on Hotch's smack down, excepted), and there were some nice ethical dilemmas.  Plus, for the people annoyed with so many agents lowering their guns when facing an armed suspect, Hotch kept his gun pointed at the unsub the whole time, even as he talked him down.

Fandom comment rebuttal 1 - Just because something isn't mentioned the very next episode doesn't mean they've forgotten it or it hasn't been followed up on.  I don't agree with people who think there's been too much JJ, but her storyline needs to be spread out so it doesn't seem like it's crammed into every episode.  They'll likely mention the pregnancy again next week.  One episode without it being mentioned won't kill anyone.

eta:  The scene where Reid stops Hotch from laying into the defense attorney just shows the difference between Hotch and the evil supervisor from the beginning of the season.  Hotch has enough confidence in his authority to let his subordinates correct him. 

Okay, technically, her post isn't focusing on him needing a Daddy (Gideon - or any over 50 guy substitute) although I think even this is ultimately where it's headed.  Apparently, Reid isn't "opening up."  Funny, when he told Hotch in Elephant's Memory that he felt it was his turn to save someone, and that he acted the way he did because he was thinking that it would have been the second time a kid died in front of him, I thought that was pretty open.  Apparently, in the version this person saw, Hotch loomed over Reid and scared him speechless.  Another possible interpretation is that because Reid isn't talking about Gideon that means he's not opening up.  A different person appears to think that Reid craving Dilaudid had to do with missing Gideon - even though the episode (and Reid) clearly stated that his issues here were about the case in Third Life. 

Isn't it possible that Reid doesn't go home every night and have a good cry over missing Gideon?  That he's accepted that he's gone and he misses him, but it's not a constant sharp pain?  That other things have happened since Gideon left that have affected him (that he's opened up about - despite this person's idea that he hasn't)?  That the reason he hasn't gone 15 minutes into everything that's troubled him is because episodes focus on one particular thing?  That if an episode is about Reid identifying with the unsub, and about how he connected this case with the case where he saw a kid die in front of him, that he would open up about that?  Not about a whole bunch of other things?  And, not because people don't care, but because the episode isn't about Everything That's Ever Traumatized Spencer Reid Since Conception.  Of course, one thing that would really mess Miss Reid Needs a Daddy;s mind would be if I said the odds of Reid having a big heart to heart about missing Gideon are almost zilch.  Why?  Because the show has moved on from Gideon.  Because Gideon's story ended in Scared to Death.  - Well, the final piece was Rossi removing Gideon's name tag in About Face.  But, for all intents and purposes, Scared to Death was the final farewell to Jason Gideon and to any attention paid to any relationships he had on the team. And, I think that's partly because of Mandy Patinkin flaking out like he did.  But, even Elle didn't get lingered on, and as far as I know there was no animosity with the actress when she left (since she did it the right way).  Still, if someone is looking for a scene where someone asks Reid to let loose about Gideon and why he feels so lost and alone (boo-hoo) they'll never get it.  Or, actually, they got in Scared to Death when he talked to Prentiss.

Oh, and apparently, something is going on with Morgan.  And, once again - no one notices.  I'd really like to know what channel the show is where members of the BAU are constantly ready to throw themselves off rooftops while the rest of them go blithely on not even noticing something might be wrong.  I'd like to know so I can avoid it and continue to watch Criminal Minds.

If you only hear a name, I can get misspelling.  But, when you're on a message board and you're constantly seeing the name spelled out, and the name is spelled on the current page, then - how can you possibly think Hotch is "Hodge"???!!!!!  Anyway, I don't even think the names are so interchangeable that you can't tell just from hearing it.  No one slurs the name on the show.  There's a distinct "ch" sound at the end, not a g sound.

Ah, what TG can do with a pause.  When he asked the wife (Audrey, I think) if she knew she didn't have to talk to them, the way he paused at "and - you're aware that you don't have to talk to us" said that he didn't want to take advantage of her the way he had already gathered her husband and her kids did.  It also might be my bias talking, but JM's delivery of lines is still so awkward.  When Rossi is supposed to sound gentle, he sounds patronizing and exaggerated, like he felt he really was talking to a mentally challenged woman.  I also could have done without the camera continuously cutting to Rossi every time, even when Hotch was talking.

Still, at least this episode alleviated one concern.  I mean, the concern was alleviated for this episode.  We'll see if it comes back.  What I'm talking about is, I didn't get the feel that the role of Gideon is now being played by Rossi.  Specifically with Hotch.  Hotch and Rossi have their own interaction and relationship.  There isn't that mutual protection between them.  And, they aren't like an old married couple. 

And, again, directed at the person who felt that Keri should have kick boxed or shot her way out of the situation (while the main characters run up at the last second and do nothing?), wouldn't that give the message that only certain women could help themselves?  I would imagine that a number of women don't take self defense classes or have learned how to fight.  Whether they should is a different matter.  But, this was showing your basic average woman (I'm sure an equivalent could happen with a man -generally they would have more physical strength, but I'm sure not every man knows how to fight) in that situation. 

Um, now someone is wondering if AJ's agent worked out some deal for her to be the star of "so many episodes" this season.  Like, 3?  Wonder what deal JM got when he starred (and in a bigger way) in About Face, Identity, a huuuge chunk of Lucky, and Limelight.  And, right off the bat, too. Didn't even pay his dues.  Or MGG last season when he starred in Sex, Birth, Death, Revelations, Jones (which was way more of a Reid episode than a JJ one) and had his ptsd/drug addiction issues spread out through Fear and Loathing and Distress.  But, at least someone who had a problem with two JJ episodes in a row (who is actually a JJ fan) also said they didn't like Revelations because it was all about Reid.  This person has a problem it seems with episodes where one character is center stage.  And, that's a more fair thing.

Oh, and now someone says that they validate her purpose on the team because she "supposedly agonizes over the cases."  No, she does that because she's human and caring.  Her purpose on the team was validated by the very fact of her job.

Meh.  Anyway, I liked the twist with the female prosecutor in the Hotch and Rossi case.  Complaining that men always want to see women as the victim.  I got the picture of someone who worked hard to be treated equally, and she felt that women as a whole should be treated equally - including not making up excuses for them and allowing them to be just as guilty as men, instead of being seen as poor helpless creatures.  She felt that they were using their male biases in the case. 

JJ isn't even my favorite character.  I like her, and she's like in a fluctuating four way tie with Morgan, Prentiss, and Garcia, but top on the list is Hotch and right after comes Reid.  But, this talk that the show is becoming the JJ show just because she had two episodes centered on her - episodes that gave the others something to do, and more insight into Hotch's personal story- is just crazy.  And, they did not make JJ the person who runs the BAU.  Picking the cases is her job.  It's a real job.  It's something that's been known since North Mammon last season.  What, is JJ just supposed to pop in for a press conference for a few minutes an episode or brief the team and they never show anything about the difficulties of her specific duties?  They explored how politics plays a part and how that was a problem in Hotch's job and his ambitions.  How keeping score and wanting to win played a part in Reid's actions - and everything about Elephant's Memory (a great episode) connected to Reid.  But, JJ isn't supposed to get any focus?  She's as much a main character as the others.  And, maybe the pregnancy caused the episodes about her to come one right after the other, but that isn't saying that the other episodes won't be mainly about someone else.  Although I worry that even five minutes of focus on JJ in an episode -especially if the five minutes has anything to do with her pregnancy- will be seen as The JJ Show.  This was no more JJ and Friends than Ashes and Dust was Hotch and Friends or Elephant's Memory (or Revelations or Somebody's Watching or Sex, Birth, Death) was Reid and Friends, or Profiler, Profiled was Morgan and Friends. 

I'm sorry, after three seasons and only getting her first episode midway between season 2, there's no way that JJ has used up her quota of episodes.  So, she had two episodes about her.  But, in those two episodes, the rest got screen time and worked the case.  And, they went more into how Hotch is coping/not coping with the loss of his family.  It wasn't all JJ.  And, someone made a good point that Reid has had a whole bunch of episodes.  The response?  That Reid can carry an episode and so can everyone but JJ.  Except your personal opinion of who can carry an episode should have no weight on who should get an episode.  Now, saying that you don't like the episodes with JJ is valid, but I know there are plenty of people who feel JJ can carry an episode and she's a full cast member.  She deserves episodes.  (And, I don't know if I'm being hypocritical in feeling there had been too many Rossi episodes before, but I don't care.  And, I do think there's a difference between two episodes near the end of season 3, which give other characters things to do and even other stories and someone who immediately comes in and gets a whole bunch of episodes where they're the star and everyone else is just background.  At least JJ earned her dues)

And, while I can get the soap opera concerns and comparisons for "In Heat" - even though LaMontagne had a reason to be there that didn't connect to JJ, her story with him was totally personal.  And, the added part of Garcia/Kevin, and even Morgan/Miami cop, I can see it.  But The Crossing?  There was nothing soapy about it.  They didn't even mention the pregnancy until the end and the rest was completely case based. 

I also really don't get the person who felt that since JJ has been doing this job for years, that her being bothered because she had to turn down an earlier case is her acting different than usual.  No, this is them exploring that part of JJ's job.  If these people never got bothered by things, they'd be robots.  I don't want to watch "just the facts, ma'am" and maybe some wisecracks to signal personality.  And, this is something that would get to a person - picking who to help, what happens when turning down a case means someone gets hurt.  And, maybe this would have happened before in her job, but we don't see every case (which, I know those other cases don't really exist, but suspending disbelief) so if it was supposed to have happened before, it doesn't matter.  We see it now.  And, (lots of ands) while breaking down over every case (which JJ didn't do) can't happen, I don't think that they should ever get to the point where the job becomes old hat and where they never get bothered by this job.  To paraphrase Gideon, wants it stops bothering you, you should quit.  Once they stop showing the people on the team as human they should stop calling this a crime drama and just show a documentary.

Huh?  Someone said the stalker victim didn't fight back?  No, she didn't use her fists (since for most of the time, she was restrained and had a gun on her) but she used her brains.  She was as instrumental to saving herself as the team.  First, in taking action by contacting the FBI (don't know how she got directly to JJ, but okay) when the local police couldn't help.  Then, by listening to the advice of what to do if she was alone with the stalker.  And, yes, Morgan came out with a flying tackle (yay!!!!!) but the reason he had the opportunity was because she managed to talk the stalker into lowering his gun so Morgan had the opportunity to tackle him.  It is a show where the main characters are the FBI agents, so they can't go around not doing anything.  But, it wasn't just "cop saves helpless victims"  The victims often fight back and are strong and smart.  And, those are usually the ones that survive.

Oh, man.  The insane shippers.  The JJ/Prentiss shippers.  You'd think the two of them had a relationship on screen and JJ cheated on her.  This is all in their heads!  Why can't they accept that the show didn't write them in a relationship and continue to fantasize on their own?  I've done it with ships on shows that I knew weren't coming to pass.  Of course, I'm not delusional enough to see canon in the flimsiness of subtext.  If you want to see something (or conversely, if you're scared of something) you'll probably see it, even if it's not there.  I'm glad JJ isn't real, or I'd fear for her life.  (Glad that I don't get any vibes that they're delusional about the actors.)

But, on to Hotch.  Mr. Projection Man.  I think he had already connected the case to himself, which is why he was so quick to think Rossi was talking about him.  Saying you can usually see it when families are unhappy, but they looked so happy in the picture?  I'm probably fanwanking (probably 90% is fanwanking here) but I think he was thinking that, despite everything, he thought he and Haley were happy.  Yeah, they had struggles, but what marriage doesn't?   And, I've already talked about how glad I am to see Hotch defend himself in connection to the marriage.  He did try.  And, I think he was hurt.  The job, his dedication to it, cost him his marriage, he thought that someone in the job would understand, and here he felt that Rossi was laying blame (which he wasn't - projection, like I said.  And, see I can be fair to Rossi).  And, I wonder if Hotch is afraid that one day Jack will look at him with the same contempt the abused wife's children looked at her. 

So, this is an episode that was decent -not great- but I actually expect that it will improve upon rewatch.  (Which could be a dangerous expectation)  But, it has stuff to build on.

But, lets get the fan rant out of the way.  Reid's had a ton of episodes about him - more than anyone, I'll bet.  But, JJ gets two episodes in a row (and they certainly don't overload on JJ episodes) and suddenly the show is going to be all about her?  Yeah, this is like when someone says the show jumped the shark based on one episode.  And, what makes a case pointless?  Someone said the Hotch and Rossi (fan practice has forever ruined the convenience of the / between names for me) was pointless.  Why?  It was a case they worked.  What makes a case have point and what makes it so one doesn't?  I could see (but emphatically disagree) with the idea that maybe Hotch's plot in Damaged was pointless (it wasn't!) because it was all personal - Chester Hardwicke was a red herring.

But, back to The Crossing.  Like I said before, I like when the personal and professional intertwine.  JJ had issues with the case, with feeling she hadn't done her best to protect another woman.  That she hadn't convinced the higher ups to take the case.  Shades of Revelations.  Reid rushes off on his own and splits up with her before she can finish her protest that it's a bad idea, and she wants someone to blame her.  The higher ups decide not to take the case of another woman in danger, and she sees it as her fault, and she makes that much more effort not to 'make the same mistake' again.  And, I really don't understand the derision with the idea that these people sometimes take things personally.  It's absolutely believable that these cases would get to them sometimes.  And, JJ is the most professional while taking it personally.  Even though it was clear something was bothering her, she did the job, didn't do anything out of line.  And, it wasn't just because she was pregnant (yes, they revealed it in this episode) that she was bothered.  They took the time to establish what about this case would get to her.  The pregnancy just made the others more concerned.  They didn't know what was going on, but they knew something was more off than even the case.  And, I liked that it was introduced in a very case based episode and at the end. It kind of  implies (although we'll know when the  new episodes come) that the show will still be about cases and not all about her baby.  It'll factor, but it's not all baby stuff.

On to the Hotch and Rossi plot (and I realize I talked about all the JJ stuff and didn't really talk about the case.  Well, you know where my priorities lie).  No, Rossi didn't do anything wrong in the episode, but I'll just keep disliking him.  Hey, I don't have to be reasonable.  Anyway, like I said, he didn't do anything wrong when he told Hotch that he might have tried harder in his 3(!) marriages if he had had kids.  It wasn't a criticism of how Hotch handled his marriage.  Simply an observation of Rossi's marriages. Hotch was completely projecting.  But, I also don't think Rossi was being wise older profiler and trying to get Hotch to open up.  It would have been a terrible way to do it, by saying he would have tried harder if he had kids, which, if it had been directed at Hotch would have carried the unspoken - "like you didn't" which is how Hotch took it. I also don't think Rossi's comment about kids really said he wanted them.  It was just that kids would have made it harder to give up on the marriages.  But, we get a Hotch smile (and Rossi better not be the only person who can make Hotch smile anymore) and some sarcastic humor.  "Four failed marriages between us, we must be experts at something."  A little rusty, some bitterness in it, but glimpses of season 1 and 2 Hotch.  And, as for the projection, acceptance isn't coming as easily as it first appeared.  Which just shows that Hotch can surprise me.  I wanted to talk about (maybe I did?) how when Hotch feels a path is right or inevitable, he doesn't hesitate, even if it brings dire consequences -like ending his marriage.  And, he doesn't waffle over hard decisions.  So, signing the papers was simply accepting the inevitable, not being at peace with it.  And, total fanwank on my part, but I think Hotch is finally saying to himself, "wait a second.  I wasn't some shallow husband who cared more about work than my family.  I tied.  If I couldn't give more time, I tried to give my all for the time I had."  He usually seems completely resigned to being criticized (except when he asked Haley for support for trying to do the right thing at home and work) as a husband or apologetic, or he berates himself - "I'm just the father and husband who's never there."  He set up an impossible task - giving 100% to two separate causes (especially if one cause -Haley- sees the other -the job- as the enemy) but it wasn't for lack of trying.  Just looking at how happy he was to be doing chores at home because he had a vacation to spend with her says as much.  So, yeah, I like to think Hotch was defending himself a little, as well as feeling guilt because he couldn't make it work. 

And, arrgh.  When he and Rossi were talking about something having to give, it was Hotch's marriage, not the job (and TG's time on the show).  We already saw what gave.  Haley left.  Hotch mainly concentrated on talking about Jack.    Seriously, I know Hotch is subtle, but I don't think they'd be so subtle in writing him out as to move at a snails pace. 

Um, case stuff.  Interesting having an abused wife who wasn't beaten but emotionally abused.  And, that it was the woman prosecutor who didn't believe her.  Glad she didn't just fangirl (okay, she was too professional for it to be real fangirling) over Rossi's books, but followed Hotch's days as a prosecutor.  Not sure I buy that she would have accepted that the woman had been abused, even after hearing that she felt it was necessary to clean up the blood from when she shot her husband because it would look messy and her husband would hate having the police see the mess, not to hide what she had done.  I thought maybe she would have felt that the woman was faking.  But, time constraints.  Not sure how Hotch's statement that the woman had suffered enough fits into my understanding of him, but I suppose he saw it as self defense.  (Wish I knew exactly why her breaking point came).  Not even sure how I feel about the killing and the justification (or whatever).  She was emotionally trapped, but I'm still not sure.

The stalker was creepy!  I can watch the killers do all sorts of terrible things (not that they really show them doing it) and none of it scares me.  But seeing that face in the bushes grinning?  Scary!  And, we get a victim who fights back.  Uses her brains (and what she learned from the team) to make the stalker think she was on his side.  And, we get a tackle!  The first Morgan tackle of the season! And, apparently, the writers of the episode see Hotch as the mom of the team (but no way Rossi is the dad.  He shouldn't even be on an equal level with Hotch. ).  I also love that Hotch was okay with the others working on a single stalker case because JJ was passionate about it.  And, that the others also were quick to sign up (even argumentative Morgan) based on her passion.  And, no one attributed it- yet- to some shippy thing between Hotch and JJ.

Here's the thing, on the exact same board, there's long in depth discussions on freaking *Rossi* (that I stopped participating in, since I disagreed with everything posted by almost everyone) that also kind of drift into fairly in depth discussions on Reid (and how Rossi is supposed to have been the catalyst for Reid getting assertive, I have no idea) but on a thread about Hotch, *every* thread, every discussion, every thought pretty much gets hijacked into nothing but variations on "he's hot!" and fantasies about getting him undressed.  I think most people only like TG.  Not that it's surprising to like the guy who plays a character, but I don't think it's the character at all that draws them.  It's just the fact that he looks like TG (obviously) and they'd like him no matter who he played.  But, it's still not fair that there can be posts and posts about Rossi's insecurities (ha!) and how he didn't know the agenda the team had and was wary and all sorts of things that I completely disagree with, but at least they talk about them, but I start a thread about Hotch being a abused (not a sexy subject) and it devolves into swimming pool fantasies.

Sigh.  I tried to explain what I meant about liking the character of Hotch.  That it's the combination of the writing, and how TG plays him, not just loyalty to TG from other roles (honestly, before CM, the only role I really liked him in was the movie The Inheritance, since I was all about MP/Jeffrey Geiger in Chicago Hope) or focusing on his looks.  But, someone said they had never seen anything of his they didn't like, which is fine, but the discussion again drifted to Dharma and Greg.  And, I like Dharma and Greg.  More than I ever expected.  But, I want to talk about *Hotch* and no one else does.  It's like people see Hotch as nothing more than a model or a sexual fantasy.  It's always his looks, and if it isn't, it's about the emotions he doesn't have.  But, Rossi gets a big in depth treatment.  Reid gets one - and in a thread about why Reid is afraid of the dark when it got off topic, it didn't go into how cute Reid was, it went into his drug addiction and the problems with that storyline. 

Okay, to be fair, there's hardly any discussion about Prentiss, JJ, Morgan, or Garcia.  But, that doesn't make the shallowness of every Hotch thread any less annoying.  And, one other board I'm not sure if I'm welcome since it took forever to answer a question I asked and when I did receive one it wasn't from the regulars, but a new person - and the question was one that they would know the answer to (and besides, the general feel there is Hotch is perfect, and I don't think he is.  Perfection is dull). Another board just goes on about how Hotch has no character development and he's two dimensional.  It's no fun going to a thread if you disagree with everyone.

Yeah, it's way back last season, but after reading one of the only threads devoted to the character of Hotch and TG that isn't just gushing about how hot he is, but that still keeps going on about how one dimensional he is, I decided to take a look into the episode that most people point to when they want to show someone a good Hotch episode.  Part of me feels people miss all the wonderful layers of Hotch throughout the entire series (and the emotions that he has) because they feel this is the only episode with it.  But, it's a good episode.  TG does fine work throughout - not just in the one scene everyone remembers.

We get so many different sides, and they all fit.  First, we get compassionate, understanding, gentle Hotch, when he goes to talk to Charlotte Cutler, the woman who lost her husband and son in the same fire that will kill her soon - but who doesn't know that they're dead.  And, this is Hotch centric, but looking again, I don't think Prentiss was upset that he lied (even if she did seem a little shocked that the doctor said that they could lie to her - Prentiss is a very by the book person) I think she was overwhelmed by the sadness and pushing her emotions down.    But, back to Hotch, the part where he offers to stay with Charlotte until she's ready to see her family (but really until she dies) is so poignant.

Then, there's his gradual move from suspicion and coldness to identifying to not being able to keep that famous self control because he's grown to care so much for their first suspect, Evan Abby.  It's not the first time Hotch has started off antagonistic and then grown to respect someone - it happened with Blackwolf in The Tribe.  He feels Abby is guilty of something, even if he's not directly responsible for the murders. And, he's not above trying to intimidate him.  But, when he realizes there's something that he hadn't expected, you see his feelings change.  (I also realized looking at the transcript that Hotch's question to Prentiss about whether Abby weighed 185 pounds was the first clue that Abby was sick - weight loss)  But, it's still gradual.  First, his absolute conviction that Abby is guilty wavers - but not completely.  But, he finds out that Abby has leukemia.  And, that he's estranged from his son.  So, now he identifies with Abby as a father.  The next time he talks to him, the antagonism is gone.  They talk as two men who've been on both sides of the fence - Abby as the father who will leave his son soon, Hotch as the son who lost his father when he was young, just like Abby's son will.  And, under that, is the layer of Hotch as a father who feels guilty about the time he is away from his family.  Abby names a guy who could be the unsub (and who is) But, Hotch still keeps a tail on Abby just in case.

Abby shakes the tail.  And, that brings another one of the great scenes, great emotion, and another example of the great friendship between Hotch and Gideon.  Hotch's comment about being at home and being in a "silent panic" feeling he has to be perfect, because the phone will ring and he'll be called away on a case is just what people who feel he didn't care about his family should hear.  He can't ignore the call that they need to catch a criminal and save people, but he also doesn't want to fail his family (and with a wife like Haley, it's impossible not to) so he puts unbelievable pressure on himself.  He needs to be perfect at both the job and his family and he can't.  You see him all wired up.  And, he says he feels the same panic in Abby - his time is running out, too, permanently.  And, you see Gideon get Hotch to say what he doesn't want to believe about Abby.  At first Hotch is sure Abby is a serial arsonist and has no problem calling him on it ("Are you accusing me of a crime?"  "What do you think?") but now Gideon has to pull out every response.  What would Hotch do in Abby's place, if he found someone was using an organization he set up for good as a way to kill?  Gideon tells him to say it, don't think about it, because he knows the answer.  "I'd stop him."  And, then he asks how.  And, Hotch is almost scary.  "I'd burn him."  Because it's not just an act to trick an unsub like in LDSK.  Pushed to the edge, Hotch just might do that.  Then, Hotch goes off to try and prevent the tragedy, and to save Abby.

But, he can't.  And, we come to the famous scene.  But, before that, there's more of the bond with Hotch and Gideon.  Gideon is informed that there's no way to stop the fire, which means they can't save Abby.  So, Gideon gets things set to protect Hotch (and he must have known that he would need to).  He calls Morgan who's driving with Hotch, and tells him not to put the phone on speaker.  And, Morgan stops the car at a distance from the fire.  Hotch is confused, but when he's told it's too late, Hotch wastes no time getting out the car.  And, I still love this.  All logic has flown out of Hotch's head, but he doesn't race like a madman into the burning building.  He marches, with sheer determination, like a man on a mission.  It's only Gideon and Morgan holding him back, telling him to stop that keeps him away.  But, he still yells, surprised that they want to just stand there while Abby burns to death.  And, when he finally has to accept that there's nothing he can do, he just seems so -not sad, so much as worn down by how futile it is.  He can only say that Abby wanted his death to mean something.  (And now I wonder - does he feel Abby got that, or is he sad that Abby didn't?)

Finally, there's the scene with Hotch and Abby's son, Liam.  Again, we see Hotch's gentle side.  And, again, we see that any failings Hotch might have as a husband and father aren't from lack of caring.  We know he really started to identify and care about Abby, but when Liam (who saw Hotch with his dad before) mentions that he wasn't at his funeral, Hotch says he had to be with his family - when Hotch has a choice, he chooses his family.  And, for Hotch when it comes to people in danger, there is no choice.  We also know that Abby grew to respect Hotch, since he gave him something (an envelope, don't know what was in it exactly) to give to his son.  If I could write Hotch (and I actually care about getting the character right) I'd write a story where Liam does call Hotch with questions about his dad.

Well, I've heard complaints about the romance taking away from the crime plot and turning it into a soap opera. Agree or disagree, a complaint like that has some realm of believability.  I mean, a soap plot can take away from a crime plot.  This is the first time I've heard someone say they're worried about it becoming a soap because there aren't any interaction between the team members since now they all have time for romance.  Oh, and there's no flirting conversation between Morgan and Garcia and Kevin Lynch isn't hot.  So, flirting conversation between two characters and a hot character is completely non-soapy?And, I don't know what this person means about character interaction.  They seem to be focusing most of their complaints on Kevin Lynch.  Funny, I don't see a lack of interaction among the team.  Garcia and JJ.  Morgan, JJ, Prentiss.  Hotch and Reid.  Morgan and Reid.  JJ and Prentiss.  Morgan and Prentiss. Prentiss and Garcia.  (even some interactions with Rossi that I don't care about).  The only interaction that's been missing is the flirting between Morgan and Garcia (and I think the writer of A Higher Power did attempt to put some of it in, even if it wasn't like the other times).  And, if people miss the flirting that's fine.  I thought it was cute.  But, say you miss the flirting.  Don't act like the rest of the characters don't exchange any conversation except to relay case facts.  Because there have been conversations about Hotch's divorce, Reid's risking his life and him being bullied, Prentiss wondering if they're making a difference, Morgan saying how the job and whatever he does with his properties makes him feel like he's making a difference. 

Never thought I'd disagree with anyone who wants more focus on Hotch.  Not that I'm disagreeing with the idea of more focus, but the idea that there hasn't been any.  First, someone said that Hotch hardly had anything to do in Seven Seconds (among other complaints).  That's surprising.  I thought that was the best episode for giving everyone on the team something to do.  Did the person miss where Hotch interviewed the father of the missing girl?  Not to mention the intense scene of getting the uncle to admit that he molested her.  And, Hotch was the one who found Katie.  And, now, someone feels that they wrapped up Hotch's divorce story with nothing but a one minute conversation with Reid and a brief scene of him signing the papers.  Well, I didn't get out a stopwatch when the conversation was happening, so maybe it did take only a minute.  Of course, I was more concerned with the quality of the scene (I mean the emotional quality) and that was excellent.  And, the scene where Hotch signs his divorce papers?  An extremely moving scene and once again shows how well TG can act without uttering a word (except voice over).  Now, I agree that they could have shown the scene where he explained things to Jack (but someone probably would have complained about taking away from the case if that had happened) but I certainly don't think they fizzled out his divorce story.  Besides, along with the conversation with Reid (I can't believe people reduce the importance of that scene to calling it just a "one minute conversation".  Some of the most memorable minutes of tv last only a minute.  I'm sure it didn't take more than a minute for Garcia to get shot), there was Hotch's whole unravelling with Chester Hardwicke.  That was all due to Haley wanting him to sign the papers.  No, he didn't mention the divorce, but it was quite clear that it was the reason why he acted the way he did. 

Besides, don't all stories come down to the last few minutes?  I mean, sooner or later, they all have to end.    There were the same complaints about how quickly they wrapped up Rossi's stupid case.  Even if you write a storyline that lasts 5 episodes (and come on, we had references to that stupid case 3 episodes before it was solved) sooner or later, you get to the last episode where the story comes to its conclusion.  I'm not sure what else they could have done with Hotch's divorce story.  We saw the situation where Haley left and take Jack.  Then, Hotch admitting to someone for the first(Morgan) that Haley had left. Then, Hotch asking to be able to talk to Jack on the phone.  Then, Hotch going to see Jack and showing the changing dynamic of how he needed to ask permission to see his son.  And, Hotch getting the divorce papers.  And, finally him signing them.  And, yes, these scenes were mainly at the closing scenes of the episodes, but they were all moving.  And, Hotch's entire storyline in Damaged, from the second we saw him on screen talking to JJ was all about the divorce papers.

So, it happened again.  Someone said that the show can be either mainly about the case or mainly about the characters.  I said that actually it's possible to have both.  And, gave the example of LDSK.  That episode was balanced between the case - profiling and trying to catch a sniper (yeah, I know, I'm using the word the show says it doesn't use)- and Reid trying to pass his gun qualification and his lack of confidence because he couldn't carry a gun.  There was a plenty even balance of both stories in the episode.  Well, I get a reply back that "balance" is one interpretation.  But, I'm not sure how she what she posted wasn't actually the exact same conclusion.  She said there was a lot of character development in some episodes.  Seems to be pretty much in line with what I said.  Then she proceeded to give examples like "Ashes and Dust" and "Revelations".  I assume those were examples of episodes with lots of character development (she even said we learn stuff about the characters in them) that were also case related.  Again, I'm not seeing where we were saying anything different from each other.  But, she seemed to think that when I say "character development" I mean "personal stories that are unrelated to the case" (maybe I mentioned that in my last post here?  Who cares!).  The only thing I can think to explain that is because my comment came in a thread about an episode where there were character subplots unrelated to the case.  But, we got off a strict focus of that episode awhile back. 

Now, 180 degree turn (with spoilers):  Despite saying - and believing- that this episode isn't a shark jumping episode (or rather, that at this point it's impossible to tell if it is) I do have some misgivings, because the season finale is supposed to cast a character who is a romance for Morgan.  And, she's cast for one more episode.  Now, the two episodes is because one is a cliffhanger, so she's probably there to finish the story (she's a Scotland Yard detective, working with the FBI).  If by "romance" they mean a minute or two of flirting in either or even both of the episodes, I'm fine with that.  If they mean a possibly recurring character beyond that, like Kevin and maybe even JJ's boyfriend (don't know if he's coming back.  They brought him on to establish that she's in a relationship so when her character becomes pregnant we'll know who the father of the baby is) that will be too much.  Hopefully the fact that she works in England will be enough to keep her away after this.  If it's like his flirtation with the cop in "In Heat" I'd be fine (although it would be better if it didn't happen in two episodes so close together).  Because, despite the complaints about Morgan's scenes in the episode, the amount of time he spent flirting with the cop was confined to when he was first introduced to her and didn't know she was a cop, and the very end when she invited him back to see the "real" Miami.  The rest of the time they did nothing but work the case.  I also don't see why people expect to see her again.  Just because she said she'd show him Miami doesn't mean that we'll see it on screen.

Back to the whole "this episode jumped the shark"  thing.  Why weren't people predicting that we'd get nothing but "agents in peril" after Reid got kidnapped?  Or mostly episodes where the unsub was someone on the team after Morgan was arrested?  Why this episode?  Yes, I realize I have misgivings, but I'm basing those on what I know about future episodes, not assuming how the entire show will be based on a single episode.  (And, even with my misgivings, I'm still hoping that the whole romance thing is an exaggeration by a tv writer of something that amounts to just a little flirting and doesn't take away from the story of the case.  And, that, there will still be plenty of episodes next season without romance, with lots of case stuff and lots of character stuff that neither takes away from or is sacrificed for the case.)

Twice, people have given me long answers for questions I didn't even ask.  First, in a discussion about the Criminal Minds novel, I asked how it benefited the readers unfamiliar with the show to give them false information about the character.  I received an answer that the reason there wasn't a lot of character stuff was that the writer wanted to write the plot and didn't want a lot of details that new readers would find confusing since they didn't know the characters.  Um, how does that answer my question?  How does "why didn't they get the details right" turn into "why didn't they put in more details?"

Also people were complaining that there was too much romance in the last episode.  And, even I felt they could have done without the Garcia/Kevin scenes.  But, people were going on that the episode jumped the shark (a phrase that needs to be retired or used the way it was intended - a point where you look back and see that it's the episode where the show took an irreversible downhill slide, not just a really bad episode) and that if this is the direction the show was taking they were out of there.  I said who says there won't still be episodes where the cases are given the primary focus?  Who says this episode is how all future episodes are going to be?  Then, I was told that, no, you can't have an episode with lots of romance and an interesting case that people can get into.  I never said there could be.  I asked why couldn't there be episodes that weren't like this one? 

Now my rant and then differences of opinion as what counts as "character 'development'" in the episodes.  I find it very annoying when someone completely dismisses my concerns.  Don't tell me that it doesn't matter that the writer of Jump Cut attributed false reasons to the tension between Reid and Prentiss.  Maybe it doesn't to you, but don't try to convince me that it shouldn't bother me.  And, the most ludicrous justification for the mistakes is "he knows the characters as well as you do so if he made mistakes, he made them for a reason."  And, if the show made every episode a "can't miss" episode (which amounts to any episode that gives any new detail about the characters)they would have a reason for doing that, but she wouldn't like it. 

Also, people seem to have a very different idea of what counts as character 'development'.  I put development in quotes because people seem to take that to mean changes in the characters or their lives or new info.  That's not necessarily the case, although development is more precise than saying that the character "stuff" is as vital, (to me) as the cases.  Someone said you can either have it be mainly about the cases or mainly about the characters.  And, I believe her definition (why do I always assume these people are female?) for being about the characters were personal stories, or where we see them off work. And, she said those only take up a few minutes in the episodes they're in.  True.  But, what about an episode like Sex, Birth, Death?  (I didn't use that as an example, because I wasn't sure if they felt the subplot of Nathan Harris over took the case.  I used LDSK, a very good balance of both case and character)  We had the case about someone killing prostitutes in DC.  The episode got into the political ramifications of crime happening there, the fact that the unsub could work in politics as feel impotent in his life (and impotency was one of the things mentioned in the profile), how prostitutes are easy targets, how the unsub wanted to be stopped.  But, it also had the story of Nathan Harris, a kidwho could become an unsub, and his fears and wanting help before it ever got that far (and since a lot of the profile pointed to him, the focus on him was also connected to the case).  And, as for character stuff?  We got Reid identifying with Nathan, feeling responsible for him, saving his life, worrying that by saving him, he unleashed a future killer.  Not to mention scenes that related to the friendship between him and Garcia.  Plus, there was character development for Hotch.  we saw Hotch dealing with three issues when it came down to being told by a congresswoman not to publicize that the murders were happening.  His desire to catch the unsub and keep the women safe, his ambition (he was told that leading the FBI had as much to do with politics as law enforcement) and whether the BAU would even be able to work the case at all if he didn't comply (he was also told that the team would be taken off the case if he didn't work it quietly).  We saw him struggle with those things, take his frustrations out on Prentiss.  And, for even more character stuff, we found that Prentiss was capable of standing up for herself, even if she was the new kid, that she could make it quite clear that she felt that he was out of line while remaining completely respectful, and that she hated politics.  So, I don't know why people feel that character stuff can only be used in a few episodes or the cases are always going to suffer.

So, I bought the first in a series of Criminal Minds novels (actually the second was only recently published).  I had reservations (the book does the whole "Hotchner" thing, and then ups the cringe factor by calling JJ "Jareau".  I won't go into my whole diatribe against that) but I was curious.  So, I will say it wasn't a total agonizing experience.  There were good points.  They got some stuff about the characters right, and added in interesting and plausible extras.  There was a very nice paragraph about Hotch's humor (along with an extra annoying "Hotchner" since we were hearing Reid's thoughts, and Reid wouldn't think of him as "Hotchner") that was perfect, and a very nice scene with Gideon and a homeless lady.  (This is post Prentiss, pre-Rossi) They also got things incredibly wrong.  Someone else agrees with me about the flaws in characterization and she actually seems to have a more negative reaction to it than I do. 

But, on to the people defending the book.  The main defense is that he's writing for people not familiar with the show.  Fine.  I'm sure that's why he explained that Hotch is the leader now, but that Gideon was before his PTSD and that's why they worked together in a kind of co-boss relationship.  It's why he introduced all the characters and their job descriptions (well, after profiler, there's just JJ as the liaison and Garcia as the technical analyst) which people like me don't need.  It's why he went into detail about old cases on the show, that regular viewers would know (although they might have forgotten if some are the type to just watch an episode once).  All that's totally fine.  We know it, but it doesn't hurt us to have a rehash so the new people will be up to speed.  But, this argument is used when someone questions why he got things wrong.  And, I don't understand the logic of that.  How does taking the time to put in characterization, but putting in misleading characterization (there is no evidence that Reid resented Prentiss for taking Elle's place), make it any easier for a new reader to follow?  Would a new reader really be confused if they wrote in tension between Prentiss and Reid and connected to his behavior in Distressed?  Which the writer actually brought up as part of it, so it's not like he felt the whole ptsd/drug arc was too confusing for a new reader.  How does taking out the false stuff confuse or turn the new reader away? How does accuracy turn unfamiliar readers away?

And, one person - the same one who feels character details should be sporadic on the show, so people can miss episodes (isn't the point to get people to watch, not miss?) says that he knows crime writing and writes the CSI books.  First point, maybe he does.  The crime was something like an urban legend comes true, but I didn't have a problem with it and nothing struck me as implausible.  But, I don't know crime.  I figure if I had noticed something wrong, it would have to have been terribly bad.  Didn't happen.  But, the second point about the CSI just adds to my opinion of how little importance she places on characterization and that she sees these shows as merely cookie cutters with only slight variations of each other.  Criminal Minds is CSI dealing with the criminal's minds.  CSI is Criminal Minds dealing with the physical evidence.  But, the characters?  Being able to write for one may be a great help in writing the crime part.  But, even if you get the characters on CSI correct (and I wonder if he did) that doesn't mean that he can write the characters of Criminal Minds.  They're not interchangeable.  Just like being able to craft a good crime plot doesn't mean you can write good dialogue or something like that. 

Another point given in his favor was that he knows a lot about writing.   So what?  No writer is exempt from criticism. No book is universally loved. I pretty much think the plot of Othello hinged on people being morons, otherwise the whole play would have fallen apart.  And, being Shakespeare doesn't change my mind on that.  So, throwing in the "he knows a lot about writing" has an undertone of "you don't, so you shouldn't complain about someone who knows better than you."  Well, I know a lot about Criminal Minds.  I've watched every episode more than once (even the hated ones, when I had a marathon with my mother) and some too many times to count.  Some things about characters can be debated.  We see people differently.  He wrote that Reid listens to jazz.  It didn't sound like Reid to me, but there's nothing on the show to suggest he doesn't, so that's just a different way to see him.  Not that I wouldn't debate or rant on a difference of opinion, but it is a difference.  But, some things are wrong.  If he wrote that JJ breaks down into tears every time she has to talk to a victim's family, that would be false.  And, when you're dealing with pre-existing characters, you should get it right.  And, if it doesn't matter anyway (as some would say) than it's no skin off the writer's teeth to get it right.

Okay, someone has given what they see as evidence that the show might be trying to set up Prentiss and Reid. Like she was concerned about him and she enjoys him when he gets geeky.  Then, she said that maybe they weren't written to be shippy, maybe Paget Brewster just plays them that way.  She's still saying that it's something that's originating with the people on the show, either the actors or writers. I told her they seem like perfectly natural things for friends to do, and she said all those friendly interactions could set the stage for more. 

I had a long drawn out response here that I just edited out.  Because someone else responded to her and said it so much better.  The examples she gave were "shipper forced".  Meaning (or I interpret) this person likes the romance stuff and wants it and will read everything through ship glasses and assume that every shippy moment is one that someone else intends them to see, not one they created in their head.  The person responding also said you could find vibes between every character if you have a shipper view. 

Well, that's misleading.  So far, it's only been one person from each shipper contigency - last night, a JJ/Prentiss shipper, today a JJ/Reid shipper.  But, I believe they aren't the only person from those ships who share these opinions.

Anyway, the JJ/Reid shipper is annoyed by last night's episode (and the set up of JJ being in a relationship with LaMontagne) because she's supposed to be with Reid and "they've teased it quite a few times."  Well, there was the fourth episode of the season, where Gideon gave Reid two tickets to a football game and told him to take JJ.  And, the fifth episode where the full extent of attention paid to the date was this conversation between Reid and Morgan (this was also an episode that JJ herself did not appear on):

Morgan: So what happened with you and JJ at the Redskins game?

Reid: Top Secret

That's it.  There's been nothing else.

And, now, someone is speculating that they're setting up Reid and Prentiss, because Prentiss is the only one who doesn't stop Reid when he gives a long winded answer to a simple question.  The way people talk, the only two interactions between people is antagonistic or wanting to sleep together.  Friendship or even natural human civility just because it's decent don't exist.  You have to have an ulterior motive.

Someone actually posted that people wouldn't believe the relationship between Garcia and Kevin unless we saw them kiss.  Now, even though they showered together (off screen, thank  goodness) apparently they did it like buddies. I'm not that close to any buddy and know I ever will be.  I suppose they also had sex like "buddies" since we know (again, thankfully off screen) that they had sex.  Maybe this person doesn't understand what the term "post coital" means.  And, I know it's not a common term, but I think they dropped enough hints to have it understood.  But, apparently not since sleeping together and showering together are still things that pals do and it's not until the lips touch on screen that a relationship is validated.

Oh my freaking goodness.  I knew this would happen.  The people who have to pair up main cast members with each other would have a fit when the show gave JJ a canon relationship with a guest star.  Now, I don't have a problem with saying that the creator of a character has written their own creation out of character.  I don't find anything particularly or remotely out of character for her to be in a relationship with William LaMontagne Jr.  But, that's not all.  Someone actually said she had been "body snatched" (which I think is to say they think she's been written totally out of character) because - get this- she's dating a man.  Because the people who pair her and Prentiss up aren't dealing with a fandom creation.  It's canon and now canon has been messed with.  So far, I haven't seen that reaction with the JJ/Reid shippers or the JJ/Hotch or any other JJ/other main character fandom.  Although, with the shippers, it might be only a matter of time.  And, she's "trying too hard to be straight"?  Come on.  Any romantic relationship between JJ and Prentiss or JJ and anyone else on the team is fan created.  So, no, she hasn't been body-snatched.

And, on the note of fan created relationships/attractions/loves it's time to retire the "JJ/Reid Redskins game date" as proof that either one is in love with the other. It was 3 seasons ago, it went nowhere, it hasn't been brought up since.  Basing fanfic around it is one thing.  Using that to build a case for a canon relationship (Reid's heart will break when he finds out JJ is seeing someone else!  - uh, no) or feelings is totally off the wall. 

Someone actually posted that people wouldn't believe the relationship between Garcia and Kevin unless we saw them kiss.  Now, even though they showered together (off screen, thank  goodness) apparently they did it like buddies. I'm not that close to any buddy and know I ever will be.  I suppose they also had sex like "buddies" since we know (again, thankfully off screen) that they had sex.  Maybe this person doesn't understand what the term "post coital" means.  And, I know it's not a common term, but I think they dropped enough hints to have it understood.  But, apparently not since sleeping together and showering together are still things that pals do and it's not until the lips touch on screen that a relationship is validated.

I agree that criticizing fans on a public message board is not nice (which is why I do it here, because I don't have to be nice) and a rule against that is a sensible one.  But, when you can get in trouble for saying, "My judgment of a story may have been effected because I was aware that it wasn't well received" that's going too far.  If you participate in an online discussion, you know that other people watch the show (Criminal Minds, naturally).  Most stories get dissected by the audience before they ever air on tv, so you know people discuss things.  Every story is received a certain way by different people.  If you watch, you form some opinion.  Saying you've noticed a negative opinion among the forums you frequent isn't really talking about the fans.  But, someone said they didn't see the negativity to the story (quite plausible, depending on what boards you frequent - although I know the one board we both post on had some negative posts regarding it) but that she didn't want to get into it because she knows not to discuss things like that on the board.  My problem is, her caution is probably justified, which says the moderating is ridiculous.

Anyway, the story is that JJ has been involved with a detective that came on the show last season and they've been secretly dating for a year.  And, while I wasn't too thrilled with how they handled it (but still see potential good for where the story is heading) why is it people always seem to invoke the dreaded "turning into a soap" for anything that suggests that we're not supposed to imagine the characters go into stasis pods when they don't have a case?  I can see there being too much romance - heck, even I didn't think they needed Garcia/Kevin in this episode- but I don't count three dimensional characters who don't push a reset button in their development every episode as "soap opera."