Criminal Minds 2x15 "Zoe's Reprise"

[jadesfire]

I should start this review by saying that my brain is very blank at the moment, so I'm not having the emotional responses to things that I usually have. This may therefore be a rather colourless and (possibly) short response. I don't plan in advance, so we'll see what happens.

As I think I said in my response to 'Cold Comfort', one of the things I love about CM is its ambiguity. None of the main characters are drawn in black and white, and certainly none of the unsubs are.

Rossi's arrogance is especially interesting, because the guy has a lot to be proud of. We know that he helped pioneer the BAU, and that his books are selling well enough for one of them to be re-printed ten years later. As Morgan says, his books sales are a million reasons not to come back, and yet he does. But even when 'his' case is solved, he stays on with the team. We're not given a reason for this (and yes, of course, I understand casting and contracts, but still, it's interesting from a character point of view), it's just what he does. Yes, he's an arrogant SOB on occasions, but he's one with depth, and I like him for it.

The other thing that CM does at its best is twist TV tropes to keep wrong-footing the viewer. You think the girl is going to be the one to crack the case where arrogant experience fails? Nope. Except then she's the missing link that does. You think this guy is just a serial killer groupie? Nope, he's an apprentice, trying to find his 'voice'. You think that girl is his latest victim? Wrong again, except that she's not just an ignorant by-stander. She turns out to hold the key to the case.

There are so many twists in this episode that you'll sprain your neck trying to keep track of them, and they in no way detracted from the character moments we were given. I think my favourite was Hotch and Rossi, outside the police station, especially the way Hotch goes with what Rossi's feeling to get him to do his job. The way he changes tack from "it's not personal" to "so it's personal" felt just right. Sometimes, even Hotch doesn't know everything (just don't tell him that) and has to change his approach.

What chilled me most in this episode was the way they kept talking about the unsub 'finding his voice' and 'figuring out who he is'. It made him sound like an artist, which is not an uncommon theme among CM baddies, but hearing the team describing him as such was a little disturbing.

And despite this being a Rossi-centric episode, it did feel very much like a team one, and I liked how they're now his first port of call. This is a very different Rossi to the one even in 'Damaged'. When he has a problem now, he starts with asking them, not as a last resort. I liked his going to JJ for help, especially after last week, although I don't know if I believed her story at the end. It's possible, of course, but I don't know. But what I really love about this show is that it doesn't actually matter whether it's true or not. Rossi probably doesn't care whether it's true or not, because what matters is that she reached out to him when he was hurting, and even if her story isn't true of her, it could be true of someone else. I love the way the show plays with the idea of how much they can keep from each other, and how much they can't help knowing. Understanding people is what they do, and pretending they don't do it to each other is just nonsense. But at the same time, they don't say anything to each other, becaus that's crossing a line that should only be crossed when necessary ('Profiler, Profiled', 'Jones'). I'm instinctively drawn to shows with strong team dynamics (the first fanfic I ever read was The A-Team, so make of that what you will :P), and the way the BAU team functions continues to fascinate me.

The actor playing the unsub did a great job of making him seem simultaneously normal/fairly harmless, and utterly alien. His line about not understanding how normal people get through their day without wanting to bash someone's head in felt believeable. CM keeps humanising the bad guy, keeps saying that these are people. Yes, they're monsters, but they're also human beings. That's what makes them scary.

As a final random thought, I love whoever set-decorated Zoe's room. It was the perfect room for someone who's grown-up and professional while not wanting to relinquish being a girl just yet. It felt just right. Her mother's grief was as deeply upsetting as it should have been, although bearing in mind how JJ walked the cop through 'informing the family' in 'Open Season', I did wonder about talking to her on the doorstep. But that was a minor detail in an incredible performance. And I loved that she took little comfort from the killer being caught. It might make a differnce to her one day, but there and then, she was just hurting, and it hurt to watch.

For me, this was definitely an 9/10 episode, and one I'm going to come back to frequently, I think.

Comments

[hilsongirl.livejournal.com]

"This is a very different Rossi to the one even in 'Damaged'. When he has a problem now, he starts with asking them, not as a last resort."

I notices that and love the way his character grew from being "the outsider" to be part of the team.

[hilsongirl.livejournal.com]

"This is a very different Rossi to the one even in 'Damaged'. When he has a problem now, he starts with asking them, not as a last resort."

I notices that and love the way his character grew from being "the outsider" to be part of the team.