Criminal MindsMinimal Loss
Original Air Date: October 8th, 2008
JD - TwoCents Reviewer
JD@thetwocentscorp.com
Oh, how I hate to admit it, but every once in a while, my favorite show on television leaves me with a reaction that can be summed up in one word: Meh. It almost pains me to say that Minimal Loss was one of those episodes. Andrew Wilder, you wrote us so many great episodes: Elephant's Memory, Lucky, North Mammon, L.D.S.K.. What happened? I have to wonder what kind of hacking occurred between script and screen. Was it in the editing? I wish I knew. The only plus in this episode for me was the focus on Rossi. They actually touched on his past with Waco and Ruby Ridge, and let him use his experience and strength as a negotiator, which is an honor that usually goes to Hotch. It was a bright spot in an otherwise 'Mind'less episode.
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[photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS]
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Criminal Minds
ReplyDeleteMinimal Loss
Original Air Date: October 8th, 2008
JD - TwoCents Reviewer
JD@thetwocentscorp.com
Oh, how I hate to admit it, but every once in a while, my favorite show on television leaves me with a reaction that can be summed up in one word: Meh. It almost pains me to say that Minimal Loss was one of those episodes. Andrew Wilder, you wrote us so many great episodes: Elephant's Memory, Lucky, North Mammon, L.D.S.K.. What happened? I have to wonder what kind of hacking occurred between script and screen. Was it in the editing? I wish I knew. The only plus in this episode for me was the focus on Rossi. They actually touched on his past with Waco and Ruby Ridge, and let him use his experience and strength as a negotiator, which is an honor that usually goes to Hotch. It was a bright spot in an otherwise 'Mind'less episode.
The episode begins in a rather jarring way. We get fifteen seconds of a news broadcaster, in La Plata County, Colorado, telling us that we are apparently awaiting to know the fate of women, children, and FBI agents in a building we can see in the distance--a building which promptly explodes. Fifteen seconds, and then we're sucked back in time three days to Reid and Prentiss driving to the compound of a self-made prophet, Benjamin Cyrus (played by Luke Perry), to investigate an anonymous call about young women being sexually abused. They go in as "Child Victim Interview Experts" to interview Jessica Evanson, the girl suspected of making the call, but they quickly find it couldn't have been Jessica who made the call at all. She worships Cyrus; she's completely brainwashed, completely in love with him, and married to him at the tender age of fifteen. She argues that there is nothing wrong with the love she shares with Cyrus. And then suddenly, without warning, the compound is being raided. The next twenty minutes (it felt like it was that long, God help me, but it's more than a little possible that I'm grossly exaggerating) were filled with gun fire, people getting shot, people shouting, more gun fire, and repetitive shots of the same battering ram being slammed into the same door over and over. The whole intro just felt choppy, and I was already on my way to the general malaise this episode inspired in me.
The rest of the team hears of the raid the same way the rest of the world does. They see it on the news, and they're quickly on their way to try and save the day. Turns out there had been a six month weapons investigation on the compound that the team didn't know of when they sent Reid and Prentiss in. The reason? Colorado Attorney General Jim Wells lied and told them there were no pending state investigations, planning to use the weapons bust to boost his upcoming election for Governor. Ouch. Sorry, Prentiss and Reid. Sucks to be you.
Garcia is quickly there to inform the team that Liberty Ranch was founded originally by Leo Cain to be a self-sustaining commune, but when Cyrus took over eight years ago, he introduced religion. Once the team arrives on the scene, Hotch talks Rossi into being the lead negotiator on the case, and then has one shining moment of glory when he gets right in the Attorney General's face and tells him to get off the crime scene. Savor the moment, because I'm starting to wonder if the explosion in the premiere killed a few of Hotch's brain cells. Last episode, he was returning to work when he clearly shouldn't have, and this episode, after making Rossi the lead negotiator and getting fierce with Wells, he spends the rest of the episode making bad calls and not trusting Rossi's arguments. Now Rossi has made plenty of questionable calls since he's been on the team, but Hotch has, aside from the very first of Rossi's flubs, always trusted his judgement before now. And I get that Hotch was emotionally invested in the case, but so was Rossi. I also get that Hotch just lost a friend in the premiere and has gone through recent trauma, but please, please don't let him pull a Gideon. Don't let him do the 'I found I could no longer be objective' song and dance. Hotch, I hate to be disappointed in you.
Rossi shines, though. He gets into the compound, confirms Reid and Prentiss are okay, leaves bugs behind, and now the team is in business. We get to see him more in his element than usual. He's not a man with a small presence anyway, but it's nice to see him in control in a way that's working smoothly with the flow, rather than against it as he so often does.
Morgan wasn't around much in this episode, and neither was JJ. Hotch was making dumb calls. Prentiss was fine, but not outstanding--and I know there are those that will think he was awesome in this episode--I do have to give her that volunteering herself as the FBI to spare Reid, when Cyrus found out there was an agent in the compound, was very brave--but she did nothing for me, generally speaking. And Reid, love him as I might, was obvious. Yes, he was faking Stockholm Syndrome, but I honestly just kept thinking he was going to give himself away any moment and get shot. And thinking he would have deserved it if he had.
There was so much action in this episode and not enough humanity, not enough psychology and getting into peoples brains. Isn't the word 'Minds' was in the title of the show for a reason? Don't get wrong, I still adore my show, and the episode was fine. The storydid hook me. At one point my TV died for a split second, and I jumped out of my seat. But while the story itself was good, I though it was a little sloppy in the execution, and I found myself not caring about the characters. I didn't get a chance to know enough about Cyrus and his band of crazies, and my team, with the exception of Rossi, was sorely misused.
This episode was action, action, action. It's nice every once in a while, but didn't we just do that in the premiere? You know, the episode before last? This makes two out of three episodes of the season lacking in the Minds part of the show, missing the actual profiling and the thinkiness that I adore. Is it just me? Was this episode lacking for any of you? I asked in my review of the premiere if you preferred the action or wanted to return back to the profiling format, and I think it's still a valid question after this episode. Are you hoping the show will continue in this vein throughout the season, or are you feeling worn out too? Give me your two cents!
I saw Hotchner's questioning/doubting of Rossi's decisions as more of a fear that this would be a replay of Ruby Ridge/Wako ~ and this time with 2 of their team members inside. I think they played Hotch's responsibility/guilt/fear well in those scenes - especially in the end when he told Rossi "I can't go in there" & Rossi said that he would, as if to step up & take care of their kids (face it, they are the adults & the rest are teenagers learning at their feet).
ReplyDeleteI wish they had done a bit more with Prentiss & Reed, but the end scene with her asking him to (basically) forgive himself for not being the manly man - that was a nice touch. I figured that she would have sacrificed herself to the beating b/c they would have been easier on her as a woman than on Reed as a man - ykwim?
But Rossi was a little *too* quick to catch on to "Reed's talking to us!" every time. I mean come on, it's a script but Still!
Not my favorite episode, but they can't all be A++
Obviously they we all scared it would be a replay of Ruby Ridge or Waco, in which case it's really Rossi that should have been the most unsettled. It's stated that in another episode (I'm blanking which one right now) that he actually left the BAU the first time because of those two events. And as far as there being two of the team inside, Hotch has seen his team in trouble before. In Revelations, he watched Reid die. Literally. And he still managed to hold it together and actually be the one who saved him. So unless this is supposed to be about his trauma in Mayhen, I don't really buy that he's suddenly become more sensitive to seeing his team in danger.
ReplyDeleteface it, they are the adults & the rest are teenagers learning at their feet
In The Crossing, Morgan actually refers to Hotch and Rossi as "mom and dad". I absolutely adore this analogy, and you're absolutely right about that!
But regarding Rossi catching on too quick: this is the guy that helped write the book on this sort of scenario, and people were trained on his model of this. As Hotch says in the episode, "why ask one of the students when you can have the teacher?" So if Prentiss and Reid were trained on his model, and Hotch's assertion the Rossi is "the teacher" seems to imply that, they both knew what was going on when Rossi walked into that compound, and Rossi would have known they knew that.
Then again, I'm a huge Rossi fan, through and through. There a not so small possibility that I'm a little baised. :)
I think the stories are very well thought out, and the acting is super. I never thought I could take Thomas Gibson as a serious actor after Darma and Greg. But I think he is so good in this...All r fabulous!!! Nip it Watch Criminals Mind Free here...
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, Thomas Gibson is wonderful. Hotch is definitely in my top two favorite characters on the show.
ReplyDelete