Guess which human forgot that it’s still October, and I still need to post something every day. Go on. Three tries, first two don’t count.
Whoops.
I actually started this post early this morning, with the inteniton to get it up by noon. At this point, I’m 11 hours behind schedule. But I also discovered something.
I am absolute crap at typing while I have the TV on.
In the last two days, I have watched about ten episodes of Criminal Minds. I’m just about to start 2×09 “The Last Word”, which is Emily’s first episode. I’ve been mostly skipping through, watching some full episodes, some partially. I’m trying to get the characters’ voices in my head, ahead of the start of NaNoWriMo on Sunday. It’s slow going, but I only have a few left that I absolutely have to watch before I can start writing in… just over 24 hours. Yikes.
I made it a point to start with episode one, “Extreme Aggressor”. I honestly haven’t watched it, or most of Season One, since my first time watching the series back in 2007. This one, and most of Season One so I’ll get this out of the way, just don’t really hold up. It’s a good episode, don’t get me wrong, and it doesn’t fall into the episode plot rut that later seasons are guilty of, but I just wasn’t all impressed. Reid really doesn’t fit at a character yet and Gideon should have never been in the field in the first place.
Episode two, “Compulsion”, was about on the same line. Good, but not great. It was better in memory. The good thing is, I had forgotten most of the episode, so the unsub’s reveal worked for me. Reid also starts to actually have a character here! Only just.
From here, I started skipping around. I watched part of “L.D.S.K.”, episode six, because it actually defines Reid for the first time. It’s truly his episode, one that he and Hotchner shine in. It also, to me, set in stone the more “family” feel that the BAU team sometimes has. Hotch gives off big Dad vibes to Reid at the end, after kicking him to buy Reid time to get his secondary gun off his ankle. It’s a tense scene that both play off well.
I also watched only clips of episode nine, “Derailed.” Look, I was never a fan of Elle, she gave me a weird vibe the entirety of Season One. In fact, when I mentioned I was doing this to Mom, her first comment was, “You’re starting at the beginning? But then you have to deal with Elle. Skip to the last episode before “The Big Game.” You’ll love yourself more for it.” Nothing against the actress, it’s all in the writing of her character. Since I was skipping through it so much, I scarcely saw her.
From there, I skipped right to the end of the season, to one of my favorite two parters of all time, “The Fisher King, Part 1” and “Part 2.” I love the writing in this one, and every character gets to shine (go away Elle). I have a private love for the Arthurian legends, so this pair of episodes has always meant something to be. Also, getting to see Reid interact with someone he loves that isn’t part of the BAU is always a treat.
As an aside, you’ll notice I skipped one of Reid’s primary episodes in Season One, which is episode eighteen, “Somebody’s Watching.” Look, the main guest star is Amber Heard, and I have always had major issues with her acting. I just can’t bring myself to watch it, even if it’s Reid’s first on screen kiss, and crush, and it gets brought up later. I just can’t do it. It has nothing to do with her personal or private life, I just think she can’t act her way out of a wet paper bag being held open and with a damn guide.
Moving onto Season Two, I watched parts of “P911” (episode two) and “Aftermath” (episode five), and all of “The Boogeyman” (episode six). I’m grouping these together for one reason, I was only watching for certain scenes, and I kept getting interrupted anyway. Also, goodbye to the first character on this show that I’m not a fan of. (I also have Gideon issues, but I’m currently dealing with them until Season Three. Rossi is such a better fit it isn’t even funny.)
I have a special place in my heart for “Empty Planet”, which is the last episode I watched before I went and watched a movie over sushi with Mom. The episode has a scene with Morgan that just tugged on my heartstrings so much, and really showed how much of a compassionate character he really is. Since I’m already planning on skipping his best episode this season (2×12 “Profiler, Profiled”), I really wanted to see a good Morgan moment.
What’s next is “The Last Word”, which I am already planning on skipping around through. Then, three episodes solid, thirteen through fifteen. “No Way Out” sets up the end of the season, while “The Big Game” and “Revelations” are the whole reasons I’m doing this. I usually just read this really good summary of the latter, because watching it gives me the creeps, but for the sake of good writing, I shall suck it up and watch it. And take notes. Because writing.
I also have to watch three of my least favorite episodes, which are the next three in order. “Fear and Loathing”, “Distress”, and “Jones” all deal with Reid’s addiction to Dilaudid and him struggling to get ahold of it. By episode nineteen, he has gone through with the withdrawals of detoxing. For some reason, I can watch every arc of this character getting hurt, recovering, going through hell (prior to season eight, which is where I initially stopped), but I just have so much trouble with this one. Maybe because it is mostly implied instead of stated. Rumor has it that either the actor, Matthew Gray Gubler, or one of the writers (Erica Messer is often cited) didn’t want to get explicate with bringing it back again, which sucks. They missed a major shot to bring it up, or at least subtlety reference it in Season Five, after MGG’s leg injury was written into the series.
I’m actually enjoying my rewatch. I used to love this show so much when I was in high school and college, but I had to stop because Mom was having nightmares (and unintentionally kept on deleting the new episodes off our DVR). Now I can watch it all.
I’m off to continue my rewatch. And maybe sleep. But mostly watch. Because I have no impulse control.
Until tomorrow!
