In which there is Criminal Minds burbling

[hawkwing_lb]

Criminal Minds 1.13: Poison

And one of the most interesting openings of the first 13 episodes.

Creepy tree branches, carefully atmospheric mood -

Hey kid, your dad's going crazy.

"Get away from my son! Get away from my son!"

And the door swinging open there.

All misdirect. God, I love this show.

Brave cop, still.

Flashy camera cut.

And Gideon and Hotch and JJ go detecting.

And Elle is sensitive with victims of sexual assault.

Irresponsible reporting causes panic: JJ is love.

And Elle gets the clue.

Botulism. Nasty little bug.

And Garcia gets the unsub!

And misdirect again.

Reid cracks the case!

Race to the rescue. Against the clock. Tension. Nice cutting.

And our guys can call this one a win.

JJ and Hotch character moment!

And JJ doesn't lick the envelope. Heh.

#

Criminal Minds 3.04: Children of the Dark

Oh god. I don't like this . This is nasty tension. (I don't deal well with horror intruding into the banal.)

You know, watching this after Poison? You can really see how the writers and directers have improved.

The technique of showing the violence by reaction, by implication, really ramps up the horror and the tension. Ten minutes in, and this is the tightest ep I've seen since, oh, Open Season?

Okay. The killing the cat? Is creepier by far than the murders.

And the kid is a good one. But man, asking Prentiss, "Are there any happy families?" Way to not get a good answer.

Kid. Unsub. Prentiss. Hotch. Maybe a Morgan parallel there as well.

Prentiss. Love.

And the unsub's going for the kids. Point of greatest weakness.

And our guys juuust miss him. Tension.

Oh. Standoff.

And JJ is love. So is Hotch.

And this is interesting. Lets the kid go. What's up now?

Unsub #2 surrenders. But what's happening? It's not over.

Oh. Set the kid up to be a murderer. Eek.

Morgan. Trying to head the set up off at the pass. "I want you to know you can call me. Any time."

Morgan is love. But I don't think this one's working out to be a win.

Reid: "A gun doesn't just walk away."

It does if it's attached to Tyler.

Morgan: "Why would we search the backpacks?"

Oh, Morgan.

So not a win, then.

But oh! The kid shot the pictures! "They're lies."

Morgan: "You could've come in here. And you could've made her pay. But you didn't, because you're good."

And that little catch in his voice.

Prentiss: "And I need to know that I can be human."

And the character moments just keep coming.

God, I love this show. So much.


Tonight was a night for incoherent burbling enthusiasm, and not much else, it seems.