QUICK REVIEW: Criminal Minds, Castle, Revenge, The Good Wife, Blue Bloods

Criminal Minds

This is not a show that needs recapping every week but every once in a while, an episode or string of episodes happen that warrant discussion.  Last week’s episode broke my heart.  In the early days of Criminal Minds, I rooted for JJ and Reid to get together.  A big part of me, still does.  But I’ve moved on from the idea of those two getting together.  As a result, I was 100% on board with this romance between Maeve and Spencer.  And before you start referencing Manti Te’o asking how can you have a relationship with someone you’ve never met, this show handled it very well to the point I totally believed it.  Matthew Gray Gubler and Beth Riesgraf did a fantastic job selling this relationship that up until this episode, only existed via cryptic phone conversations.  The reason for this, she had a stalker.  So she was in hiding until the stalker was caught. Unfortunately, the stalker found her and kidnapped her and as a result, Reid, who is a very private person, needed to out his relationship to the team and ask for their help in finding her.  Turns out it was someone applying for a PhD and Maeve denied her application and therefore Diane (Michelle Trachtenberg) flipped out and murdered her ex-fiance and ultimately murdered herself and Maeve with a bullet to the head.  It was such a sad scene for so many reasons.  First, Spencer had never seen her face.  Even when Garcia had her picture, Reid refused to see it because he wanted the first time to be face to face.  He also wanted to tell her that he loved her because the last time they spoke, she said she loved him and he didn’t respond.  When he finally saw her, it was with her strapped to a chair with Diane pointing a gun at Reid’s head and Reid pretending to love Diane and not her so he could get her free.  Instead of telling her that he loved her, he had to tell her that he didn’t love her so he could protect her.  Unfortunately, Diane saw through all this and while holding Maeve against her, put a gun to her own head and pulled the trigger, killing both of them.  I told my husband I was afraid she was going to die but then I thought, there’s no way CM would do that to Reid.  Yep, well, wrong again!   Maeve is dead and Reid is crushed.  It was brutal to watch and I’m really curious to see how this will impact him moving forward.  Reid is so private and doesn’t open his heart to many people.  And for him to be ready to make a committment to this girl, only to have her murdered in front of him, will completely damage his already fragile psyche.

Castle

Still one of my favorite shows on TV and I’m loving this season.  The last two episodes were great.  Seeing Meredith (Darby Stanchfield) around making things tricky for Castle and Beckett was priceless.  But it was also a nice change of pace to see Meredith and Beckett go to dinner together and really get along.  Unfortunately before she left, when Kate asked why they didn’t work, Meredith told her the truth.   Castle knew everything about her but she really didn’t know much about Castle.  He’s fun and romantic and sweet, but he never let her in, especially when it came to his dad.  And she couldn’t handle being in the dark.  It really resonated with Kate because she’s in the same situation…to some degree.  Castle knows everything about her darkest time…her mother’s death.  But Beckett knows nothing about, what appears to be, Castle’s darkest period…his father.  And I know there were people who thought Meredith did that maliciously, I don’t agree.  I think she was honestly answering Kate’s question without trying to sabotage anything.  I also think that Kate’s relationship with Rick is VERY different from Meredith’s.  Yes, she is just in the dark about Castle’s history with his father as Meredith is, but she has seen so many different layers to Castle that I’m pretty sure no one else has.   They have been through so much together and she has been around some very vulnerable sides to Rick, that she can’t compare her relationship with Castle to his relationship with anyone else.   She has seen a deeper side to him.  But I think this issue regarding his father, could be a driving wedge between them.  I hope it isn’t but I think it’s inevitable.

I just quickly wanted to mention how much I enjoyed last week’s episode which focused on Esposito. I like when the show puts focus on another character (especially Ryan and Esposito) because I care about them just as much as Castle and Beckett.  Ok maybe not AS much, but it’s close.  Esposito is such a great guy.  I love seeing a hard-nosed, tough guy get hit in his heart (figuratively) because he has no chance to avoid showing his soft side.  I hope the show brings Joey back.  I know cop shows always have those episodes where the cop gives the troubled kid his card where the cop says to call anytime and the cop promises to keep tabs on the kid.  Well I would like to see that.  Not all the time, but I think twice a year wouldn’t be out of the question.

Revenge

I would have to agree with everyone else…this season of Revenge isn’t as good as last season.  I liked the simplicity of last season with a target of the week under the umbrella plan of taking down the Graysons.  Now we have Aiden involved and his story.  Then you have the Initiative involved.  And there’s the Ryan brothers going after the Porter brothers.   It’s too much.  I don’t know why things need to go to this massive levels of story telling.   Sometimes, less is more.  I’d rather go back to last season’s methods with twists and turns complicating matters along the way.   But having said that, I still love the show.  If we can cut down on the side stories (mainly Aiden and the Initiative) I would be ok.  I’m not a fan of Aiden would rather him go away and just have Emily do her thing.  I also don’t know why we needed some major secret group being behind some the Grayson’s decisions.  I would rather have had the Grayson’s be responsible for all their own decisions without having to drag this secret society in.  But if the show can wrap those two things up and go back to business as usual with Emily driving everything and Nolan being there to help her, things will be good again.

The Good Wife

Alicia and Peter sitting in a tree.  F-U-C….whoa!!!!  I’m not going to go there.  But how about that trailer scene? AWESOME!!!   If the show continues down this path with Alicia and Peter doing their thing and Will possibly working on a relationship with Laura (Amanda Peet) I would be very happy.

The second half of the season is already cranking.  They got rid of Kalinda’s God awful husband storyline, the firm is slowly starting to pick itself back up again, the case of the Justice Department going after Eli (headed up by Wendy Scott Carr) resulting in bringing in George O’Malley is fantastic, and Louis Canning is now one of the firm’s creditors which should be an interesting wrinkle.  My biggest complaint?  Cary Agos.   Can we PLEASE find this man a storyline worthy of him?  I’m so tired of him being on the back burner.  It’s time to bring him to the big front burner and let him dominate a storyline.

Blue Bloods

I know I’m really late to the party in commenting on this but I think it’s really shitty the way Jennifer Esposito and her character were handled on the show.  If what she is saying is true, then it’s horrible.  The short version, Esposito had been diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  It went misdiagnosed for years and her form of the disease is pretty severe.  I know people with Celiac and there are varying degrees with some leaving people down right ill for weeks, especially when you don’t know what’s wrong.  Esposito was violently ill but when she finally was diagnosed properly her doctors suggested she have a reduced work load on the show to accommodate her illness.  According to Esposito, CBS didn’t grant the reduced work load nor did they release her from her contract.  She was put on medical leave without pay but because she was still under contract, she wasn’t able to seek employment with another network TV show.   She could do theater, film, or cable TV (as long as it didn’t air at 10pm) but she was pretty much stuck.   That’s the part I don’t get.  You won’t grant her request because it isn’t fair to the cast and crew, that’s fine.  But then let her go so she can find other work.   And they wouldn’t do that.   So she went on medical leave and now she’s gone for good.   I hate it because I thought she was fantastic and her chemistry with Donnie Wahlberg was amazing.  I think it’s a big loss for the show.  Having said that, I don’t think the new replacement, Megan Ketch has been bad.  I actually like her.  Not as much as Esposito of course, but Ketch is doing a good job.  It’s tough shoes to fill and I think no matter who it was to fill them, fans weren’t going to like her.  Now apparently Ketch is moving on and Megan Boone is set to replace her for 4 episodes with an option to be picked up a series regular.  Guess we’ll see how she does.

In terms of the season, as always, I love this show.  I know people can get annoyed at how the Reagan family always does the right thing and makes the right decisions.   But I don’t care.  I like the fact that they are good people trying to do the right thing.  What’s wrong with that?  They still have flaws.  They still struggle with decisions.  But if they always try to go the right way, I’m ok with that.

 

SEASON FINALE RECAP & REVIEW: Grey’s Anatomy “Flight” S8 E24

Another finale, another catastrophic event.  I think Cristina’s line about wanting to get the hell out of Seattle because how many bad things can continue to happen to them was possible a wink and nod to the fans because we are all thinking the same thing.   There was the bomb inside the patient, the ferry crash, the hospital shooting, and now a plane crash.  I’m sure there were more but I can’t remember them all.

So how eerie was it how much the opening was like Lost?  Meredith laying on the ground and the first thing we see are her eyes open and what she hears (screaming, chaos) and she moves not really sure of what just happened.  For a minute I thought it was cool but then I thought, really Shonda Rhimes?   You had to steal from Lost to get an impactful opening?  Whatever.

Ellen Pompeo was simply phenomenal in this episode.  She really brought it.  She had to deal with so much going on around her and the emotional roller coaster she went on was incredible to watch.  The first thing she had to deal with was the fact that her husband was missing.  Everyone has been accounted for except for him. So she is on a massive, panicked hunt to find him.   Eventually she does (actually he finds her) and her excitement is tempered because she sees that his hand is in really bad shape.  Basically he’ll lose it if she doesn’t perform surgery on it in the jungle with no anesthetic.  Can you say painful?   The whole time she is begging for him to pass out so he won’t feel the pain.

But what was the most excruciating part to watch was when she went back to help Lexie.  Lexie was found with the tail of the plane on top of her.  Her legs and pelvis were crushed and according to her, she couldn’t feel her left arm and thought it wasn’t even there anymore.  Lexie was in bad shape.  Mark and Cristina are there and they try to move the tail off her but can’t.  Mark screams at Cristina to get help and water.  She bends down to Lexie and they both look at each other and they both know.  The water and aid won’t help.   Lexie is dying.  But Cristina leaves and that opens the door for a Lexie/Mark reunion the fans have been clamouring for since they broke up 2 seasons ago.  They both declare their love for each other a Lexie slowly slips away.  When Meredith returns, she sees that her sister has died and just completely loses it.  It was a bit surprising because even thought Meredith had come to accept Lexie as her sister and grow to have a bond with her, I still never got the impression they were that close.  Because Meredith isn’t that type of person.  She’s not touchie/feelie except with Cristina.  But I couldn’t stop crying.  I was also surprised that Lexie died so early in the show.  It made feel like someone else was going to drop.  And towards the end, I thought it was going to be Mark.   There are a lot of people who think Mark or Arizona are going to be dead or die when we return.  While I don’t think it’s likely, I wouldn’t put it past Rhimes to make us think all these characters are safe and then to kill someone off in the Season 9 premiere.

In the end, our gang (minus Lexie) is in the woods still waiting for rescue and Owen is just now learning that his team didn’t make it to Boise for the surgery.   Oh, and Owen fired Teddy so she can take this amazing job opportunity that she was refusing to take so she could stay around and help him.

Ok, let’s start with Lexie.  Why kill her?   She turned into one of the most popular characters on the show and she still had some great stories to tell.  I understand cutting Teddy.  She was done.  I have a problem with how she went out but I’ll get to that in a minute.  I just don’t understand Lexie.  Maybe because Rhimes wanted to really rip everyone’s guts out (in addition to Lexie’s guts) since she was a relatively main character and extremely likable.   But that’s why I have issues with Rhimes’ storytelling at times.  She tends to do things for shock value instead of story value and I hate that.  April should have been the one to go because I think her storyline really is finished and no one likes her anyway.  I don’t dislike her character the way some people do but she’s certainly one of my least favorite.  And where do you go with a resident who failed her boards and has no job?

As I mentioned above, Teddy is gone.  She’s another one I didn’t hate the way some people did but I have no problem with her leaving either.   What I had an issue with was the inconsistency with character leading up to her departure.  She basically wrote off Owen as a friend after the whole Henry situation.  And he reminded her of that when she came to him 2 episodes before yelling at him to make sure he does anything to make her stay.  He very pointedly reminds her that they are no longer friends (per her insistence) and that he is her Chief of Surgery.  If she wants Cristina to stay, she needs to figure it out.  It was the first time I think I ever liked Owen.  But now all of a sudden 2 episodes later after seeing him struggle with Cristina and the Chief job, she wants to throw away an amazing career opportunity to stay and help her friend?  What?  When did you become friends again?   I always had a problem with her severing her friendship with Owen but I chalked it up to grief and that when it subsided, she and he would come around.  But that takes time.  They were still on opposite sides not too long ago.  But it’s the season finale so wham, friends again.  I hate that.

So how are we going to get all our Seattle Gracers to stay in Seattle?   If Derek has hand problems and needs rehab and recovery and loses his offer in Boston, I can see the McDreamy’s staying.  I can sort of see Cristina staying after having another life and death experience and not wanting to leave Owen and trying to make it work with him.   Plus with Teddy gone, she can run the cardio show.  I still think it would be slightly out of character for her, but I could deal with it.   But what’s Alex’s excuse.  What POSSIBLE fraud of a reason would he have for giving up Johns Hopkins for Seattle Grace?  I know Rhimes had to do it this way because of the contract situation and not knowing people’s status before writing and shooting the finale, but come on.  Honestly, I would have let Justin Chambers go.  Not because he isn’t a good actor.  He’s awesome actually and I love him!   But his character sucks.  Alex is the same pain in the ass curmudgeon he was when he started.  He hasn’t grown much as a character over the years and quite honestly, I’m tired of him.   He should go to Hopkins and have a great career off-screen.

As for all the talk out there about either Mark or Arizona dying in the season premiere, I don’t know.  My guess would be neither is going anywhere.  If I had to pick one, it would be Mark only because I think his story has run its course, he hasn’t had a real storyline or much to do recently, and it would be fitting to have him join Lexie.  The only reason I think Arizona has a chance is because in the finale, all Callie kept talking about was how great life is right now and all the happiness and joy she has in her life….I’m waiting for the bomb to drop.  But Calzona is pretty popular and if another popular character gets axed, I don’t know how the show lasts after next season.

Speaking of which, I think Grey’s is done.  It’s going into its ninth year, it’s tired, there isn’t a whole lot more I need to see from any of these characters.  I think the 9th season should be the last for GA.  It’s a shell of its former glory.  It was great, then it wasn’t so great, then it was horrible, now it’s tolerable.  Unfortunately, the big four signed for another two years so I think we have to suffer through Grey’s for at least two more years.  And since I’ve watched it this long, I’ll hang in there

 

 

BREAKING NEWS: Criminal Minds

WHEW!!!!!   I think all Criminal Minds fans can let out a HUGE sigh of relief!   Thomas Gibson has officially resigned with Criminal Minds for 2 more years!!!!   While I’m sure 99.9% of the fans are thrilled with this news, you know who is even more thrilled at this point?    That would be the writing team at CM!!!   The writers have been back at work for a few weeks now…could even be close to a month…and production on Criminal Minds 7th season is scheduled to commence in two weeks!!!    So imagine being in the that writing room and creating stories for the show without knowing if the “main” character of Aaron Hotchner will be back or not.  That had to be frustrating and stressful.   But luckily for them (and us) Hotch will be back!

Even though negotiations seemed to be intense and at times very far apart, I think most people believed Gibson would be back on Criminal Minds.  Especially since Gibson had been fulfilling all of his Criminal Minds obligations.  I’m just thrilled that it is no longer a guessing game and we now know for certain.  So other than Mandy Patinkin, our original CM cast is back and fully in tact!

 

Criminal Minds News: It’s Official!!!! Prentiss is in and Seaver is out!!

In news that I’m sure will surprise no one but will probably send most fans into a happy dance, Paget Brewster will be back as Emily Prentiss on Criminal Minds this season.  I am so excited about this because I can’t wait to see the dynamic of the team when she returns.   As you all know if you watch CM, everyone except JJ and Hotch think Prentiss is dead.  How will they all react when they find out she’s still alive?  Especially her partner Derrick Morgan?  I can’t wait to see!!!   I would have to make the assumption that her return also means it will also bring back the great storyline of trying to find and capture Doyle.  Will they do it with Prentiss or will they have to do it before so she can come out of hiding?  I am really anxious to see how they handle that.   I remember being furious this time last year when I found out JJ wasn’t coming back except for 2 episodes to wrap up her story and that Emily would be cut and most likely leaving as well (which she did.)  I couldn’t understand, other than the financial aspect, why CM was getting rid of two strong female characters.  I thought if you wanted to cut back on actor salaries, Joe Montangna must be making a pretty penny.  Couldn’t they cut him?  I don’t like to say that because I love Montangna as an actor and think he’s terrific.  But I don’t think he brings as much to CM as the other characters.  My opinion.  I like Rossi but I wouldn’t be upset if I didn’t see him again.  Everyone else though…Hotch, Morgan, Prentiss, JJ, Garcia, and Reid…would break my heart.   That’s why I’m so happy that both ladies are back and everyone else is also in tact.  Now if they can just sign Thomas Gibson to that damn contract because he is the heart and soul of the BAU and I don’t want to see CM without him!!!

But God giveth and He taketh away.  With Paget Brewster’s return, that sent Rachel Nichols’ Agent Ashley Seaver packing.  No loss though.  She just never fit in and unfortunately for the actress was set up to fail.  So many viewers were upset with the dismissal of Brewster and Cook that no matter who came in to “replace” them (more so Cook) it wasn’t going to work and the fans most likely weren’t going to like her.  And that ended up being the case.   Nichols is great so hopefully she ends up on another show soon.  She just didn’t fit CM.

What are your thoughts CM fans?   Are you happy to see our favorite ladies back in action?

 

General TV News…Chuck, Harry’s Law, Parenthood, Criminal Minds

So a couple of news items have been released and for me personally, I am very excited about all of them!!

Chuck really is the little show that could.  Several sites are reporting the rumor that Chuck appears primed for a 13 episode pickup for 2011-2012.  It’s a bit surprising ( a great surprise) because he ratings have been horrible.  Any other network and Chuck would have been gone after season 1.  So thank God NBC sucks so bad that Chuck can make it for a 5th season!!!!

I have comes to terms with the idea that Chuck would run its final season this year.  I’m embarrassed to say that once can’t miss TV for me has now piled up on my DVR.  I have NINE episodes to watch!!   I love Chuck.  I love the cast and the characters.  But I was starting to feel as though the show had run its course.  Other years, I wasn’t ready to let go of Chuck but this year I was.   But I am beyond thrilled that it’s going to be back again!!!  Congrats to the cast and crew!!

Also on the rumor front is that Harry’s Law and Parenthood will be renewed for the 2011-2012 season.   I’m not sure how many episodes for Harry’s Law (my guess would be 13) but Parenthood looks more likely for a full 22 episode order.   Yeah!!!  Neither show is really a surprise to be renewed but I will be happy when they are both official!!!

Finally on the CBS front, Shemar Moore resigned for next season on Criminal Minds.   Yahoo!!!!!   Now we just need Thomas Gibson resigned because I cannot have Criminal Minds without Hotch!!!  The dream team is almost back together (please let Paget’s comedy fail!)   I know that’s mean but I want my Emily back!!!!

 

JJ Returns to Criminal Minds…For Good????

UPDATE: Thanks to loyal reader Allie, who brought to my attention that this news is even better than previously thought.   Not only has CM signed AJ for next season, she is signed for TWO MORE SEASONS!!!!   That’s right, AJ will be around through 2013!!!!   How excited are you???  I know I am thrilled!!!!

This is not a late April Fool’s Joke.   According to mega scooper Michael Ausiello, Criminal Minds is in the process of bringing back Jennifer Jarreu, aka JJ, aka A.J Cook as a full-time series regular for next season.  Can I get an Amen?   Amen!!!!     In other news, show runner Edward Bernero is subsequently leaving Criminal Minds.   EP Erica Messer is set to take over as the new show runner.

So what does all this mean?   It means JJ is back for good!!!!  It also mean Agent Ashley Seaver (Rachel Nichols) is probably going bye-bye.  Especially if Pager Brewster returns.  Right now, Brewster is set to star in a new NBC comedy called My Life as an Experiment.  If the pilot gets picked up for series, she is going to stick with it.  If it doesn’t, CM has picked up an option on her.  Meaning she would probably return to the show.   Can I get another Amen?   Amen!!!!!   So if Cook and Brewster return, there is no need for Agent Ashley.   No big loss since she hasn’t really hit it off with the fans.   But if Brewster’s pilot is picked up and she doesn’t return, Agent Ashley may stick around.  I still doubt it, but it bodes better for her.

On the uh-oh front, Thomas Gibson and Shemar Moore still have not signed their contracts.   Can I get a …. wait a minute.  They are NOT signed yet.   GULP!!  They are in negotiations so that is a good sign.   But CBS better find a way to keep Hotch and Morgan or the next unsub the CM team will be coming after is me!

 

Criminal Minds “Lauren” Kleenex Clip #3

Morgan coming to Prentiss’ side to help her.

 

REVIEW: Criminal Minds “Lauren” S6 E18

What an AMAZING episode last night.  I was on the edge of my seat last night really not knowing what was going to happen.  There have been so many rumors going around about how this episode will end considering Paget Brewster’s CM contract was sort of, kind of, up-in-the-air.   Was Emily going to die?  Was Emily going to be saved?  Was Emily going to retire?   Was she going to run off with Doyle?  No one knew.  And I like that.  It’s very rare, in this age of information, to not know who is coming, going, and staying on shows.  And when someone is going, it can sometimes take the umph out of their departure because you know it’s coming.  But there was no let down last night.  Beautifully acted by the entire cast and superbly directed by Matthew Gray Gubler, “Lauren” was able to put many pieces to the Ian Doyle/Lauren Reynolds puzzle together (but still left some questions for me) while having suspenseful, stomach turning moments, that really left you guessing until the end as to what would happen.  It broke your heart, it fired you up.  It was touching and it was frustrating.  But it was one of the finest hours of TV CM has ever had.

I think it’s safe to say that Emily Prentiss is not someone you want to mess with when she is on a mission.  I wouldn’t say we saw a darker side, but we saw a determination and a ferocity that we hadn’t fully seen before.  And the range of emotions she went through in this episode…rage, determination, fear, sadness, apprehension, confusion, terror, pain, joy…the gamut was run.  I cannot say enough about how brilliant Paget Brewster was in this episode.  It makes me that much angrier that she is going to be gone from CM!!!!  Or is she?  We’ll get to that in a minute.  Prentiss really took us on a roller coaster ride tonight and the thing I was most happy about, is that the team finally figured out what was going on early in the episode.  If this whole episode had them completely in the dark until the end, I would have screamed.   I loved how as the team was figuring out what was going on, it was flashing to Prentiss preparing to take down Doyle on her own.  And of course, I loved how the were able to incorporate JJ into the mix seamlessly.   Again, I have to admit, it bugged me seeing JJ (A.J. Cook) resurface because it reminded me how much I miss her!!!!

Be honest.  Was there any time in this episode that you thought it would be revealed that Prentiss was really on the wrong side and was actually on Doyle’s side the whole time?   I didn’t think it but my husband did.  My husband and Morgan were on the same side….pissed that they felt betrayed by someone they thought they knew.  My husband swore she was going to end up riding off into the sunset with Doyle and that’s how she was going to leave.  It would have been an amazing twist but not really in line with Prentiss’ character.   But I guess that’s why it’s called a twist!!!

Let’s talk about Morgan for a minute.   I didn’t know what to think about Morgan’s reaction to Prentiss going rogue and keeping information from them.  My first thought was I was pissed at him for jumping to conclusions about his partner without talking to her.  You have known this woman and worked with her for years.  You’ve even become friends.  Why wouldn’t the benefit of the doubt go to her favor instead of against her until you’ve had a chance to talk to her and understand her motives?  Even Rossi, who hasn’t worked with her nearly as closely as you have, is able to say let’s wait and get all the facts before jumping to conclusions.  But maybe that’s exactly why Morgan couldn’t.  His first reaction is to feel hurt and betrayed by his partner.  He knew for a while something was wrong with her and she never trusted him enough to tell him what was wrong so he could help (in his mind.)  So in fairness, it was probably harder for him to separate the “betrayal” and be objective than it was for Rossi.   But in the end, when he figured out what was going on and was able to find her in the spot where Doyle’s son was “murdered,” he could tell her how much she meant to him, how he finally understood what was going on and why she did what she did, and how proud he was of her.  Oh, what a scene and boy did I need a box a tissues!!!!

Speaking of needing tissues, how about that phone call from Garcia?  My recounting won’t do it justice.  Watch the clip below but grab some tissues first!

http://www.cbs.com/e/UaEGSvx1GGhVetYQDK_fht83j73fsq3T/cbs/1/

Crying yet?  I know I am.  Again!!!  People ask me how I can watch a show as dark as Criminal Minds.  I always tell people who if they watch the show, they wouldn’t need to ask that question.  While the cases are fascinating to me, I watch for the characters.  The bond these people have formed is so incredible and people who don’t watch CM don’t realize what a HUGE part of the show it is.  Many casual or non-viewers think it it’s a just sensationalized horror show.  That thought couldn’t be further from the truth.  While the show can be twisted and demented at times due to the types of cases they cover (and the fact that this is a show about the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI which is about getting into the mind of a criminal) the show is also about the people who do this line of work.  And in this instance, these 6 people (Morgan, Hotch, Prentiss, Reid, JJ, and Garcia) have worked together for so many years that they have formed a bond no one will ever be able to match or quite possibly understand.  They are family.  And as a viewer, we have grown to love and care about them almost as much as they do for each other.   That’s why I watch Criminal Minds.  And when one of the BAU’s family members is in trouble or goes down, you can’t help but be moved by it.

But the biggest and most emotional scene is at the end when JJ comes out from the OR to tell the team that Emily never made it off the table.  It is so heartbreaking, I can’t even describe it.  Again, see the clip below:

http://www.cbs.com/e/wIl0AvPiRpSONyx9mn05fXY_Yf8rIMIU/cbs/1/

Now after I took about 10,000 migraine pills due to my incessant crying, I noticed the part where Hotch walks out of the waiting room and JJ looks up at him.  Right there I knew, Emily wasn’t dead.  Although I was expecting her to be at her own funeral watching from afar (got that one wrong) that wasn’t to be.  But my suspicions were confirmed in the next scene in Paris when JJ walks up to a woman and hands her passports and banking information and wishes her luck.  You never see her face but you see those chewed up nails and you know it’s our girl!!!!   Now looking back, I noticed that all the promos and everyone talking about this episode said this was “Emily Prentiss’ Last Episode.”  Well it was certainly Emily’s last episode but I selfishly, I hope it’s not Paget’s!    Is it horrible to hope her pilot doesn’t get picked up and she comes back to CM?  It probably is.  It sounds like this is what Paget Brewster really wants and if that is the case, I am happy for her.  But I will miss her and Emily Prentiss immensely!

I know you can get nit picky and talk about some of the plot holes in the overall story arc but you know what, it was ok.  The story is still open because Doyle is still out there.  I hope this storyline with Doyle will continue with or without Brewster because I think her team deserves a little payback for the loss of their partner and friend.  Until then, great episode!!!  It was a wonderful send off for Emily/Paget and again, I want to give my sincerest compliments to the cast and crew and director Gubler for putting together such an amazing episode!!!

 

Criminal Minds “Lauren” Kleenex Clip #2

Emily’s phone message from Garcia.  

 

Criminal Minds “Lauren” Kleenex Clip #1

The final scene from “Lauren.”