Criminal Minds Review of Episode 9×08, “The Return”

Criminal Minds Review of Episode 9×08, “The Return”

 

“I’m always right. Also you’re secretly in love with me.”

We all are, Garcia. That doesn’t change the fact that here we discover that Morgan has had a (who the WHAT now?) real girlfriend for what appears to be quite some time. And not only is our favorite analyst okay with it, apparently the women have each other on speed-dial. The show gets us on her side quickly, having her burn dinner and showing that despite Savannah’s flawless looks (and awesome, relatable name), she’s just a regular gal. We’re further charmed by the way she abandons funtime with Morgan at a moment’s notice from her hospital job, showing herself to be a dedicated professional, and not just a prop for Chocolate Thunder. This could be interesting. Love interests are rarely successful for our team, but I already like her more than boring Will or lackluster Beth.

I have to hand it to Kim Harrison, this week’s scribe. By her own admission she has difficulty with some aspects of writing CM, most notably in plausibility, and definitely in writing Reid, but this is a very solid effort. Eschewing a lot of the frantic pace the show has set up in the later seasons, she takes us step by step with the BAU, deftly delving into the profiling like a pro profiler, and also giving us actual heart in an episode that easily could have leaned toward the treacly, given the overused subject matter that is ‘brainwashing’. She also gave us Rossi and Blake working together again, a team-up that works really well, and is quickly becoming a favorite for me.

 

The tension is distributed evenly throughout, keeping us guessing the entire episode, and I felt real fear for the team when bomber-lady showed up to do her business, ignoring Morgan and JJ’s attempts at reasoning with her and loudly ranting about her dedication to the UnSub while keeping her thumb on the detonator. Yikes!

Speaking of JJ – wow, way to bring it, sister! AJ Cook is getting much more adept at integrating JJ’s two halves, and it’s a welcome thing. Fans were bothered by JJ’s ‘new’ abilities at first, but what bothered me most about that was that she seemed to be a totally different person, discarding all the things that fans loved about JJ in the first place, and the actual character traits that made us scream so loudly when she got fired.

Her compassion and empathy went by the wayside, and that’s when people started yelling again. It wasn’t so much that JJ had these new, tougher, more physical abilities, it was that that was ALL she had any more, it seemed. People missed her crafty way of dealing with the media, and her temperate, kind way she’d always helped the victim’s families cope. Fans blamed Erica Messer, saying she was trying to turn JJ into Sydney from Alias, and rejected her snotty, eye-rolling treatment of fellow team members, especially Spencer. Fortunately that is gone, full stop. I like who, and what, New!JJ! is becoming.

Wanted to give props too, to the guest stars. Usually I don’t give a fig about them, caring about them only inasmuch as they affect my team, but everyone here really brought it (and here I have to give some credit to John Terlesky, the director – nicely done!). Their acting was, like all things about this episode, very close-in and intimate, very real. I felt for every single one of these day players, and remained engaged and interested in the outcome the entire time. Others have noticed a resemblance to the terrorist cell from Lo-Fi/Mayhem (season 3 and 4 ender and opener, respectively), and I have to say I agree. Since the UnSub’s partner wasn’t captured, I’m wondering if we’ll see more of these assholes later on, and if the episode’s title wasn’t possibly referring to that exact thing.

We’ll see. Man, I’m loving this season!

P.S. I rag on Spencer’s and Rossi’s hair when it looks bad, so I’ve gotta comment on JJ’s “eagle-wings” this time. Half the scenes she was in I expected her to take flight. Not very practical for a field agent.