Criminal Minds Minicaps: Season 3

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Season 2 provided us with plenty of fresh trauma and personal sorrow for our semi-underdeveloped team. Let's review what we know so far! Here's the team:

Gideon, Jason. Moral, fragile old-school hero. Prone to nervous breakdowns. Estranged from family. I won't spend a lot of time on him as he's (spoiler!) gone by episode 3x3.

Hotch, aka Aaron Hotchner. Grim, stone-faced leader. Weight of the world on his shoulders. Workaholicky; consistently ignores his wife and kid. Father died of cancer. Possibly abused as a child.

Morgan, Derek. Cheerful, sexy action hero. Definitely abused as a child. A lot.

Reid, Spencer (Dr.) Geeky, awkward trauma motherlode. Wise-beyond-his-years, socially awkward and everything else growing up a prodigy entails. Overidentifies with young unsubs, particularly those smart enough to identify their own mental illness. Has a schizophrenic mother (making his childhood even more confusing) and worries about developing schizophrenia himself someday. Was held hostage by a killer with multiple personalities, one of whom tortured him and the other of whom shot him up with powerful painkillers to ease his suffering. Consequently apparently became addicted to said drug, although information about this has been limited mostly to hints and innuendoes. Prone to nightmares.

Prentiss, Emily. The newest member of the team. Was originally planted to spy on the team for higher-ups. Mother is a diplomat or something. Knows a lot of languages. Eerily good at compartmentalizing. Show still trying to figure her out.

Garcia, Penelope. Funny computer/communications expert (hacker). Flirts constantly in Bond/Moneypenny fashion with Morgan (and, at times, JJ, Reid, and Hotch, who does not appreciate it.) Seems to mostly be around for support and comic relief, although she got some nice scenes in season 2 of crying and being emotionally affected by the horrors that surround her, especially Reid's torture.

JJ aka Jennifer Jareau. Good-with-people liaison. Honestly, she seems nice, but after two years, we still don't know that much about her except that she played high school soccer. NOT ENOUGH, SHOW.

 

3x1 Doubt

Life is bad on a small college campus as girls turn up dead.

Character Arclets: Team In Peril: Prentiss works double-hard to try to solve the case, because, as the mole, she knows how much trouble the team is in; she suggests a maverick fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants type call, namely letting a suicidal girl draw out the unsub, which Hotch agrees to, leading to the suicidal girl suiciding herself when the unsub refuses. The supervising agent then suspends Hotch. Way to go, Prentiss.

Character Arc: Goodbye Gideon: This may be vague since I have watched several marathons since this one, but here we go. The framing device shows Gideon in his cabin writing a farewell letter to an unnamed entity and explaining why this case, in particular, bothered him so much. Building on the sad!Gideon season 2 ender, Gideon is increasingly depressed and guilt-ridden, about the victims he's failed and the inability to save them all. Everyone is sort of worried, especially Reid. When Gideon disappears at the end of the episode, Reid goes to his cabin to find him. He walks into the darkened room and gasps. Oh nos, suicide theme?

 

3x2 In Birth and Death

A killer is using his son to help lure women home.

Character Arc: Gideon Loves You It turns out what Reid found at the cabin was not Gideon's suicided body as implied previously, but Gideon's badge, gun, and a letter addressed "SPENCER." "Spencer, I knew it would be you..." the letter begins. How? How did he know? Gideon goes on to explain that it has all caught up with him and he can't do the job anymore: it's too horrible. It's my understanding that this is exactly why Mandy Pantinkin left the show, so they had to write him off. Anyway, Gideon uses the name "Spencer" about nine times in his letter. <3.

Character Arclets: This is a weird episode since the team investigating the crime of the week starts out severely reduced: Gideon's gone, Hotch is suspended, and Prentiss has tendered her resignation in solidarity and desire not to be a mole anymore. So it's just Reid, Morgan, and JJ, with Garcia back home. Personally, I'm in favor. Prentiss ends up doing some work for the team as a civilian, which turns out to be really useful since she doesn't have to follow protocol. Meanwhile, Hotch's wife Haley is really excited that he's got a chance to work in some other department, but Hotch pisses her off by returning to work unofficially the moment the others call asking for his advice. When he returns home at the end of the episode, he looks around, confused. It is implied that she has left.

 

3x3 Scared to Death

A therapist running a phobia clinic gives each patient the death they most fear.

Character Arc (Such As There Is One): I suppose the most character-y thing is with Hotch, who's sort of distant all episode (NOT LIKE WE CAN TELL). In the Mile High Minute, Morgan asks him what's up, citing some evidence that he's acting strangely. "We promised a long time ago not to profile each other," Hotch says. (Interesting, the team, or just Hotch and Morgan?) Hotch confirms that Haley has left with their son.

Impotence Watch: Yup.

Highlights:

 

3x4 Children of the Dark

Adoptive brothers from an abusive foster household kill happy families, and try to induce the children currently living at their old foster house to do the same.

Character Arc (Such As There Is One): When a tragic but strong teenage girl, the sole survivor of an attack on her family, has trouble tracking down relatives to take her in, Prentiss considers adopting her. She has space and money, she explains, and the kid will be at college soon. Hotch cautions, "I need to know that you can be objective," and Prentiss retorts, "I need to know that I can be human." In the end, the girl finds a good home, and Prentiss is a little disappointed. JJ tells Prentiss she'd make a good mom.

Fun Facts: We've seen Prentiss speak Arabic and Russian, and now we see that she also speaks Spanish. But unlike some people, she doesn't rub our noses in it.

 

3x5 Seven Seconds

The team race against time to try to find a missing girl in a mall within the first hour of her abduction.

Character Arc (Such As There Is One): Not much here. At the end of the episode, in place of a Mile High Minute (since the mall was local), we see Hotch going to visit his son at Haley's sister's place.

Highlights: At different points just about every one of the girl's family members is suspected, and there's lengthy scenes of Reid giving her young teenage cousin an excruciatingly uncomfortable interrogation that, in the end, leads to nothing. He seriously spends like half the episode pent up with this kid asking questions about his burgeoning sexuality long after none of the other team members seem to think the kid had anything to do with it.

Guest Star I've Heard Of: The kid is played by Shane Botwin from Weeds.

Heavy Metal Watch: Shane listens to it, of course!

 

3x6 About Face

A killer freaks out his victims by letting them find missing persons fliers with their face before he abducts them. And removes their face. And leaves a blank mask for the police to find. Really, it's just about face.

Character Arc (Such As There Is One): We have a new character, Gideon's replacement and occupying the same role on the team. David Rossi (Joe Montegna, aka Joan of Arcadia's dad, aka the voice of the menacing mob guy on The Simpsons) is a senior agent with a successful book career who's just returning from retirement "to help," he unconvincingly explains. The team mistrusts him because he silently takes notes and doesn't contribute to group discussions, about which Hotch upbraids him. He also clearly doesn't care about the case; he asks Garcia to look records on some old case, ignoring the matter at hand. Yolsaffbridge doesn't like him because his beard is stupid and his notebook is stupid.

Highlights: The episode ends with a montage of the team passing out candy to trick-or-treaters in the neighborhood where they just solved a crime. Reid pulls an infinite supply of candy out of his Bag Of Mystery! (I would not eat it kids he keeps open vials of morphine in there)

 

3x7 Identity

Guy takes on the identity of his dead dominant serial-killing partner.

Character Arc (Such As There Is One): Constant references to some deep dark secret that Rossi won't talk about. I am bored already.

Bingo Score: This is a new feature. During the previous episode I constructed a Criminal Minds bingo board and this episode I played. My score was 10 pips put down - but no bingos. Get your own Criminal Minds Bingo Board!

Highlights:

 

3x8 Lucky

Ewwwww cannibal ewwwwwww.

Character Arc - Morgan & God: Mostly contained in a single incident, but it's sort of Morgan-Rossi double threat. When Morgan and Rossi have to split up, one to interview a priest and another a churchgoer, Morgan privately asks not to have to talk to the priest; Rossi agrees, but then turns around and tells the priest, "Agent Morgan has some questions for you." Morgan is very uncomfortable with the priest (was he abused by a one of those, too?), sticks to the topic at hand, refuses to talk religion. Eventually he confesses he's mad at God for letting his bad past happen to him. He doesn't buy the whole "God never gives us more than we can handle" line.
          Later, Morgan asks Rossi why he did that to him. "I was giving you an opportunity for personal growth," says Rossi. Morgan does a little awesome profiley-arguing, saying he's got Rossi figured out, and he knows he just does the opposite of what people expect or want. Why, Rossi, asks, did you ask me for a favor, then? "I was giving you an opportunity for personal growth."
          I hope he takes it. Rossi's personality seems primarily to be "jerkface."

Secondary Character Arc - Garcia: Garcia gets a little subplot which starts very chick-lit-romance-social-misunderstanding and therefore great. She fixes a cute guy's computer at a cafe and he asks her for a date. She tells Morgan she's not sure if she wants to go, and Morgan tells her to trust her instincts, seeming to imply that Morgan wants Garcia for himself (but he won't do anything about it). Later, Garcia feels Morgan isn't taking her seriously, and she accuses him of believing that the idea of any man wanting her is ludicrous. In a pique, she recovers the cute guy's number from the trash and calls him. Their date goes well. At the doorstep, cute guy says "I've wanted to do this all night," but instead of kissing her, he shoots her with a gun. Oh nos! Cliffhanger.

Bingo Score: 9 - No Bingos

 

3x9 Penelope

Garcia is hunted and attacked by a police officer who shoots people so he can save them, and who believes that Garcia is onto him because she flagged his cases in the database.

Character Arc: Garcia gets a lot of feelings and backstory in this episode, not surprisingly. She feels stupid and sad: she thought the cute boy actually liked her. Morgan attends to her very sweetly; he continues to flirt with her, and it's kind of awkward, because it's unclear how cheered Garcia is going to be by fake flirting at this point. Then again, at times, it seems not so fake. They say "I love you" to each other very sincerely.
          We learn that Garcia volunteers, counseling victims of violent crimes--that's why she was messing around looking into cold cases outside of the BAU jurisdiction. She's suspended on account of her shady activities, which the higher-ups look on with suspicion on account of Garcia being a former hacker (that's how she was recruited in the first place). The team helps Garcia sneak onto her system under their accounts so she can help find her own shooter, and she has an exciting hacking battle with FBI counterhacker Kevin Lynch. At the end of the episode, Garcia and Lynch make eyes at each other.

Guest Star I've Heard Of: Lynch is played by Nicholas Brendon, TV's Xander.

Highlights:

 

3x10 True Night

A comic book artist kills people in a fugue state, his only memories of the crimes coming out in his drawings.

Character Arc (Such As There Is One): This is an overwhelmingly unsub-dominated episode, but features Morgan continuing to be nice to Garcia, offering to stay behind and help her, adjusting her chair for her, etc.

Guest Star I've Heard Of: The comic artist is Malcolm in the Middle himself, Frankie Muniz.

Highlights:

  • Reid blathers on about LA traffic statistics until Morgan warns, "Don't make me smack you in front of all these people."
  • Morgan (on phone to Garcia): Don't make me come down there and spank you.
    Reid (calling to be heard): Don't listen to him, he's all talk!
    Whereupon Morgan smacks Reid upside the head.

     

    3x11 Birthright

    Killer's son copycats his crimes.

    Character Arcs (Such As They Are): JJ seems unusually affected by the family drama. In fact, she looks like she's about to throw up every second. Hotch notices and tries to comfort her, believing that she is upset because the victims, blond women, match her description (this is frequently the case). This would have been the perfect episode to announce she's pregnant but they didn't. Meanwhile, Rossi confesses to the old police officer who worked the original slayings that he, too, is still hung up on his first, unsolved case. Finally, at the end of the episode, Hotch gets served divorce papers.

     

    3x12 3rd Life

    The daughter of a mobster in witness protection is kidnapped.

    Character Arc (Such As It Exists) And/Or Highlight: Reid pleads with the witness protection dad not to shoot the unsub, but his speech is unsuccessful. He stands staring at the body in a shock for a long, long time. When the others come, including Morgan who lays a comforting hand on his shoulder, Reid QuietVoices, "I tried."

     

    3x13 Limelight

    A sexual sadist gets off on torturing ambitious brunette career women with electricity, unfortunately for the ambitious brunette police chief.

    Character Arc (Such As There Is One): Rossi likes the abrasive, self-centered police chief, stating that she reminds him of a young him.

    No Highlights Really, But A Conversation Between Your Viewer Hosts:
    zelempa: The unsub is a surprisingly good artist.
    yolsaffbridge: I know. I'd just draw stick figures in my homemade bondage torture porn.
    zelempa: You do?!
    yolsaffbridge: I'd. I would. Not I do. You think I have homemade bondage torture porn?
    zelempa: Maybe...
    yolsaffbridge: It's all about Reid.

    Without Further Ado, Yolsaffbridge's Homemade Stick Figure Bondage Torture Porn About Reid

     

    3x14 Damaged

    Rossi goes back to investigate his first, unsolved case on its 20th anniversary, while in other news Hotch and Reid interview a killer on death row.

    Character Arcs (Such As They Are): Rossi's unsolved case gets solved, which is big news for him, of course. Also, Rossi learns to work with the team when they come to help him. Garcia spends the episode terrified that Rossi is going to tell on her and Lynch, whom he walked in on when he came to Garcia's house in the middle of the night for files on the cold case. And Hotch confides slightly in Reid, admitting he doesn't want to sign the divorce papers, but what can you do? He signs them.

    Continuity Issues: In 3x11 "Birthright," Rossi said that the case was nearly 22 years old.

    Highlights:

     

    3x15 Higher Power

    The team discovers that a string of apparent suicides are actually "mercy killings" of 12-step support group members.

    Character Arc (Such As There Is One): Um, Hotch sees his kid at the end. That's... that's all I got.

    Fun Facts: Morgan mentions offhand that he owns 4 properties.

    Reid Addiction Update: Reid seems quite knowledgable about 12-step group... not that he's not knowledgable about everything.

    Guest Star I've Heard Of: It's Gabby! Renée O'Connor plays a grieving widow. I find it difficult to see her as anyone's life partner but Xena's.

     

    3x16 Elephant's Memory

    Team tries to stop a high school shooter.

    Character Arc/Reid Addiction Update: The episode opens with Reid at a "Clean Cops" meeting. He says he stopped dilaudid 10 months ago, which would mean approximately right after he started taking it. Oh, lame! Anyway, he's been having cravings due to seeing a kid die in front of him (3x12 3rd Life). He proceeds to be bad-tempered and sulky all episode, kind of like what I guess we're now expected to interpret as withdrawal bitchniess in 2x17 Distress. He overidentifies with unsub, an unpopular high school boy, and desperately tries to prevent harm from coming to him, at the risk of his own safety. He's ultimately successful, because even the show doesn't want to break Reid's spirit that much.

    Fun Backstory Facts: Reid and Morgan compare notes about being unpopular in high school. Morgan says he was beat up every day (!) Reid tells a vivid story about being tied naked to a goalpost. Because he has an elephant's memory?

     

    3x17 In Heat

    The team travels to saucy sultry Miami to find a conflict gay sexual sadist who's taking on the identities of the men he kills.

    Character Arc: Lamontagne, the JJ love interest cop from 2x18 Jones, meets up with the team because he knew one of the victims. It turns out JJ has been secretly seeing him on weekends all year. The show tries to appeal to my slashfic heart by drawing direct parallels between a repressed, closeted gay serial killer and JJ's repressed, closeted attitude toward her straight relationship. It works, I'm rooting for those crazy kids.

     

    3x18 The Crossing

    An unusual episode in which the team is split in two, working two completely separate cases. While JJ, Reid, and Morgan help a woman evade a stalker, Hotch and Morgan get try to determine if a woman had just cause to kill her abusive husband.

    Character Arc (Such As There Is One): JJ finally discovers she is pregnant (good thing she came out of the closet as straight last episode). Hotch and Rossi discuss divorce.

     

    3x19 Tabula Rasa

    A cold case is reopened when the prime suspect awakens from a coma--with amnesia.

    Character Arc (Such As There Is One): There isn't much in this episode; I wouldn't call it a Reid episode, per se, but he does have a little subplot where he is kind to a victim's father and tries to convince him to get past it, regardless of the outcome of the trial.

    Highlights:

     

    3x20 Lo-Fi

    New York City denizens live in fear of completely random subway shootings.

    Character Arclets: No overarching character thing this week, but a bunch of little storylines. The case is overseen by a blonde-haired Englishwoman (for some reason) whom Hotch seems to like, mainly because she looks just like Haley. Hotch tells Morgan that the guys upstairs are considering him for Englishwoman's job, the result of which is that Morgan competes and questions her calls. Finally, Lamontagne takes a vacation to New York to surprise JJ, and they argue about the future. JJ doesn't think she should have to quit her dangerous job if Lamontagne doesn't, but Lamontagne is willing to. So... there's that.

    Season-Ending Cliffhanger: We see each member of the team entering different SUVs to go to different locations. Then, we see an SUV blow up!

    Find out what happens next in Season 4!