Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Criminal Minds Comments Thread about 'the Silencer'




here you can post your comments about the Criminal Minds episode 'the Silencer'.

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34 comments:

  1. I thought this was a little understated premiere, but I'm fine with that since we didn't have the big cliffhanger. Great introduction to Alex! Which to me, was mainly what the ep was about. And that's understandable as well. Rossi had the ol' snark back, which I loved!! And I absolutely loved that we got more team than unsub!! Sorta figured out the implant thing when they first showed the scar. And I think I've got a good idea who the season long unsub is; but I'll keep that ace in my pocket for a while.;) Great job as always by cast and crew!!

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  2. I liked this episode a lot. I especially liked that this was a talky episode. I always prefer when there is more discussion about the unsub and his/her motivations than mindless action scenes and explosions. The BAU is the more cerebral arm of the FBI anyway. It was very refreshing to see the team talking things out, in pairs and in a group. I hope there is more of that in this season's episodes. We may have seen the unsub, but we knew nothing about him until the team figured it out, and it was nice to be discovering it along with the team.

    I liked the story, and it was different than things we've seen in the past. The unsub's motivations and desire for silence were a bit different. I liked that the team didn't even know who the unsub's name was, or anything about him, even though he was an escaped prisoner. It was also nice to see very little violence. The unsub's signature was creepy, but everything was either implied or shown after the fact. Again, I hope they keep this up for future episodes.

    I personally liked Alex, and am pretty sure I'll continue to like her. This episode was written to play to her strengths, just like "Lessons Learned" played to Emily's new strengths. I like her no nonsense, cerebral approach to things, and I think she is well positioned to have different, but interesting connections to all the other team members, much like Rossi connected with the team in different ways. I'm particularly interested in seeing more professional interactions between Alex and Reid.

    I thought Penelope's introductory speech about Alex was funny and bitchy, and summed up what many fans were saying over the summer. I liked seeing the Penelope/Morgan interaction, but was relieved it was back down to early seasons connection, and not the unprofessional, ridiculous over the top banter like last season.

    And yes, the ending was very creepy. We know nothing about the unsub, only that someone has the BAU in his/her sights. I look forward to seeing this storyline unfold.

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  3. I enjoyed the episode, it feel a littl old school CM.

    Actually looking forwards to the long season UNSUB, I hated the Doyle arc but this one looks interesting.

    As for Alex, she seemed to have potential. I loved Rossi from the start and I like Prentiss too, even though I preferred her as geeky, tension creating prentiss in e second season rather than super spy prentiss. Alex seems more believable to be there than Seaver ever did and I like that she has some past with strauss, I just hope she doesn't become the main focus, I like the show the best when the whole team have equal focus.

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  4. LOVED the original characters! But TOO MUCH Tripplehorn and not up to level of writing. Wake up CBS your long time characters are why people watch... USE THEM!
    MTwkdtuna

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  5. I really liked the storyboard of the episode and the unsub was very unique and I really liked the message sent out regarding people that get frustrated due to difficulties with communication and how it can be prevented. I think that Jeanne Triplehorn did a great job in terms of acting, but I do not like the Alex Blake character. I find she doesn't mesh well with the team and though she has the credentials, I feel like she feels higher than everyone else and was treating the other characters except Reid and Hotch that they had less competency than her.

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  6. Thought it was a solid premiere! Alex Blake seems a bit pushy to me but I am seeing good qualities in her....loved how she stood up to Strauss!! Jeanne, if u ever read this, don't worry! I'm sure people will come to love your character! I think it will take a few episodes to establish her character, but I am totally giving her a chance! Can't wait to learn more about the creepy UNSUB at the end!

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  7. I liked the story line. I'm stuck with re-runs ever since wathcing the episode! I missed the show!

    I understand why there is a lot of Blake now as she is new.. She needs to have something strong to fit in. I'll wait and see what happens! Not sure wether I am going to like the thing between her and strauss.. But hey! it's a new thing..

    And to the gals I know (as i recognised you all on the photos here).. just wavin' at ya! Hope you are all ok!

    Cheers
    - Sonja/BlueCurl

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  8. I agree with Rockhotch31... Good introduction to Alex. Not an Emily clone. I ADORED Garcia in her UK garb and her Keep Calm t-shirt. All did great. Still feel as though JJ is looking for her place on the team. Sometimes I feel her lines are more for us than the team .... a bit redundant. Have to be fair and say I choked up at the Titles and not seeing Paget there but that miss will be around for some time. Good Unsub, one I actually felt for. The ending. . . well, quite the cliffhanger and making me want to see more. Curious as to whom Rockhotch31 thinks it is. The ending reminded me a bit about S6E22 "Out of the Light" because we saw the Photographing Teacher/Pedo developing pictures in the old as well. Ashley saying she had a weird feeling not going after the man. Or is that just me.

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  9. Blake character (coffee obsession) and creepy new unsub with photos is completely recycled from a similar show from the the 90's called Profiler. Particularly the 4th season. Not sure I'm liking Criminal Minds anymore...

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  10. i did not like the new Alex character. To pushy and arrogant.

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  11. There was a lot to like in this one.

    I liked not knowing really anything about the Unsub until the end. That was well done.

    I liked having a little bit of everyone involved. Hello team.

    I liked that Garcia was channeling the fan feelings and working it all out for us. And I liked that she and Morgan had the Emily shout-out going.

    I liked the tension between Blake and Strauss, that made for a few interesting moments.

    And I like, make that love, that we only got a hint at the year-long Unsub. Although I kind of suspect as well, and I wonder if Rockhotch31 and I are thinking along the same lines, but I won't say it and risk a spoiler.

    Now I like Blake as a concept, she's got the right pedigree for the team, and I like J. Tripplehorn as an actress, but for some reason Blake just didn't quite click for me. But then it took me a couple of episodes to get into Emily and almost a season for me to like Rossi, so that might just be me.

    All in all a reasonably solid start.

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  12. I like Alex, what we've seen of her so far, because she's a calm and kind middle-aged woman who earned her position on her own merit. She's not a back-stabbing serpent, like Strauss. I also like Alex because finally Reid has an intellectual friend who isn't going to denegrate him for using large words, or shush him for speaking above her comprehension level. Reid gets shushed too often. Too much of the dialogue on the show has been dumbed down. Let's have some deep thoughts for a change, something deeper than JJ's quest for shoes and Garcia drooling and babbling about Morgan's body.

    Garcia being a brat to Blake as a surrogate for all the fans who don't approve of Alex -- that was very heavy-handed. Garcia was acting like a spoiled 12 year old snot. You're going to have to let the fans either like or dislike Alex by themselves. You can't order them to like Alex. You can't shame them into liking her. You can't force them to like her. Either they will like her or they won't. It's not something the show can control. Stop trying to force people to like Alex. It will only alienate those fans further.

    There should be tension with a new person on the team. There should be a period of uncertainty. There should be a period of time during which they are not all getting along. Most importantly, this tension should not all be solved by the end of one episode, like last season with the fallout over Prentiss's return and the lies that JJ and Hotch told all being solved by one Pasta Party at Uncle Dave's House. Tension between team members builds drama and makes the show more interesting. The cliche of the team being one big happy family is fine, but that doesn't mean there aren't going to be petty conflicts and rivalries and jealousies between team members. They don't have to hold each others' hands and be besties all the time. Let us see their faults. Let us see their fights. That makes them more human, and more interesting.

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  13. I also think there should be more tension and conflict between the team members. And I also agree that we should see their faults. But we should see the faults of ALL the team members and the conflict should also not always be between the same team members.If "fans" wish a character should be written off the show because he dares to speak out to another character then we better have no conflict.


    About the 8.01 episode. The writing did not always make sense to me. I found it a bit strange that the team (specially Blake) were lamenting that they are not invited to some cases and then she ignored a question from the local law enforcement ( the US Marshals in this case)and only Morgan called her out on that. Maybe behavior like Blake`s is the resaon why they are not invited to cases....

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  14. A good episode. Delghted CM is back. Blake was fine - a bit edgy and angsty but so much better and more interestig than sweeter than sweet Ashley Seaver..... i know they hav to giv time to new team member but i thought it was to th detriment of Hotch this time round. Why cant we see Hotch's reactions and not always Morgans or Garcia's. messer doesnt write Hotch well at all. Still a solid start. The ending was good. Who is watching th team!!

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  15. @ the Anon above me. They used Hotch when Prentiss was introduced to the show and when Rossi was introduced to the show. So IMO it was good that they used other characters this time.

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  16. Really enjoyed this episode; more psychological tension, with some creep factor, but not over the top. Unsub not a monster, which I liked. Liked tension between Strauss & Blake; well-rounded use of team in episode, & preview for 8.02 gave me chills.

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  17. I gotta say - I don't like Alex. I mean obviously no one can really replace Emily, but I don't know, she just seems... kind of arrogant. I think (personally) that there was more need for Elle in the first two seasons being an expert on the sexual stuff than a linguistics expert - if you ask me, Spencer does a pretty good job at that! On the other hand, I did enjoy when she was signing with the unsub, I thought that was pretty cool. And as for the... ending, it just seems like there were so many ways to introduce the season-long unsub and for me it just missed the mark. In my opinion, not one of the better season starters.

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  18. Hello, I would like to hear your opinions on the following connection I made: in the end of the episode (the silencer) it shows a man developing photographs of the BAU team. I immediately remembered the man "Marcus Talbot" from season 6 episode 22 " out of the light" in the episode, Talbot is a photography teacher who is suspected of kidnapping and killing woman. In the end it is suggested that there were not just one, but two killers.. The man (I'm not sure of his name) who the team thinks is the killer is shot underwater by Hotch and the hostage is saved... The vary last clip shows Tolbot in a dark room developing pictures of the victims being tortured. So basically it suggests he was involved. If you compare the last clip from out of the light and the last clip form the silencer, they are very similar.

    Tell me what you all think
    -Cole the criminal minds fan

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  19. I live in India so I was just sitting in school in envy when everyone back in the western hemisphere was watching CM,but that's why I love the Internet!The episode was awesome,as usual.It was nice to see someone(Blake) not scared of Strauss for once.Absolutely loved Rossi,somehow he perfectly eclipsed the Gideon void.Hotch,JJ and Morgan looked professional and Reid was...well,Reid.
    Although I like the idea of getting to know the UnSub along with the team,but the only-UnSub parts of the episode kind of confuse me a lot.There's a lot of screened murders without any given explanation,which I think was unnecessary.Prentiss was missed,but it's good to know the character has settled down well and good in her new home.

    'nuff said!
    Keep rockin' CM!

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  20. I realize they had to introduce a new character and now that they have can they please move on to create some interesting storylines for the male characters. The show has become entirely too female centric in the last 2 years. I realize some of this is because of CBS's meddling but these people are writing for prime time network television and should have been able to handle it without reducing the male characters to minor roles. I realize they have all had episodes here and there but it is just so female dominant. Case in point, this episode could have been written any time in the last 2 years as a Reid episode as he has the same skills they had Blake demonstrate. What stoylines has Hotch really had since the beginning of Season 6? We have seen a little bit more of Morgan but that is only because there is so much Garcia now you see him but it does not really do the character justice. I truly hope we see more of the men this season, it has been far too long.

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  21. They've neglected Reid so much that many people didn't even realize he was a linguistic expert himself.
    But they write a whole episode to allow the new character to display her skills as one.
    So I agree with you.Where were these kinds of episodes for him the last couple of years?

    Ever time Blake spoke a line that would've normally gone to Reid I got pissed off.He gets so few lines anyway and I see her as taking even more away from him.

    ITA with you that it's gotten too female centric,but Morgan definitely fared a lot better than the other males with episodes like Foundation and The Company.But I do agree that much of his screen time is due to his interaction with Garcia.

    Rossi had that thing with his dying ex wife and Hotch had that lame romance,which MESSer plans to continue.

    I sincerely hope that there's an improvement over the way MESSer runs CM
    If not I think they should seriously think about replacing her.

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  22. The glue was missing. Emily is/was the glue. It is not that she outshines Reid or Hotch or any of the other cast members but her interaction held the characters together. Just as any member of the team missing would effect the over all team. In seasons 1-5 we never had to say "this person didn't get time on camera or he/she had such few lines". I wish we could go back to those seasons where everyone did their job to figure out the unsub and the story line was so awesome that everyone just fit in with their part to the case. Good writing just fits everything together without having to try to make this character have time on camera and more lines. Focus on the story line (not revealing the unsub) and the cast members just fall into place as well.I mean come on guys CM has the BEST actors! Let them do their job. I found the first episode somewhat boring and too much like all the other crime dramas on.
    CG

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  23. If you are trying to say Emily had good chemistry with the team I agree.
    And that is so true what you said about the good writing.Unfortunately CM lost many of it's better writers and the show has been suffering since.
    You are right this is one of the best casts on tv.It's just a damn shame that much of the time they are not given any decent material to work with.

    So not a fan of the new character yet,but I'm going to try and give her a chance.Alex may or may not click with the audience.Much of it will depend on how they write her and of course some of it will depend on the actress herself.

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  24. Hello, I would like to hear your opinions on the following connection I made: in the end of the episode (the silencer) it shows a man developing photographs of the BAU team. I immediately remembered the man "Marcus Talbot" from season 6 episode 22 " out of the light" in the episode, Talbot is a photography teacher who is suspected of kidnapping and killing woman. In the end it is suggested that there were not just one, but two killers.. The man (I'm not sure of his name) who the team thinks is the killer is shot underwater by Hotch and the hostage is saved... The vary last clip shows Tolbot in a dark room developing pictures of the victims being tortured. So basically it suggests he was involved. If you compare the last clip from out of the light and the last clip form the silencer, they are very similar.

    Tell me what you all think
    -Cole the criminal minds fan

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  25. Hope that with the Premiere ratings being quite low any reservations the network had about bringing back Paget as a guest star ended. We need her for sweeps. Blake is ok, but i really agree with everyone that says Prentiss is the glue of the team.

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  26. To the Anonymous above my comment:

    The ratings for the premiere had nothing to do with Paget leaving( if it was, the 3.5m viewers and the 1.0 demo 18-49 that are 'missing' would have migrated to the SVU premiere or at least some of it, it wasn't the case SVU premiere had less viewers than Harry's Law last season http://www.thefutoncritic.com/ratings/2012/09/27/wednesdays-broadcast-ratings-fox-holds-onto-demo-crown-with-the-x-factor-287405/broadcast_20120926/) the fault is mostly, to the more extensive use of DVR. ALL of CBS, FOX, ABC and NBC (except for Xfactor and The voice all reality shows that are not much DVR) shows were down in live + same days viewing. There are many reports about this, you can read this one http://www.deadline.com/2012/10/premiere-week-dvrs-power-grows-nbc-tops-revolution-leads-drama-heavy-fall/ you can also check The FutonCritic site which does list this season premiere for all shows compared to last season.

    Btw in season 6, the CM ratings did not go down after Paget left. Again, you can check the futon critic site or tvbythenumbers.

    I do follow the twitter accounts of many tv journalists, and the twitter account of two of CBS excutives ( one is the one in charge of scheduling https://twitter.com/calibadger ) and the executive manager in charge of scheduling at FOX ( https://twitter.com/maskedscheduler ) and they all agree that DVR is changing the way we look at ratings, we cannot ignore DVR ratings anymore and the industry will have to change what is reported as the Live + same day viewing as it is no longer accurate but the L+7 days viewing are now the accurate ratings for all shows except for sporting event and reality shows like Idol, The Voice etc.. as those are barely DVR.

    All this to say, wait until the ratings for the live + 7 days viewing comes out before making any judgment because if we look at the premiere week numbers all of CBS BUT NCIS, LA and The Big Bang Theory and Grey's Anatomy should be canceled! ;)

    btw Live + 3 days viewing are starting to leak out and to give and exemple, Person of interest had 2.9 demo and 14.28m viewers on the live + same day viewing, with the L3 ratings POI gets a 3.8 demo and 17.01m viewers ( source CBS executive producer Chris Ender https://twitter.com/soundbyte53 ) and those will go up a bit more with the Live + 7 days viewing. Same happen with CM last year.

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  27. Of course Grey's Anatomy is not a CBS show but a ABC one, should have mention that in my above comment.

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  28. Brigitte
    Thanks for the info.I checked the live+3 days ratings for CM and there was definitely an increase.I plan to check the live+7 days ratings also when they come out.

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  29. Hello, I would like to hear your opinions on the following connection I made: in the end of the episode (the silencer) it shows a man developing photographs of the BAU team. I immediately remembered the man "Marcus Talbot" from season 6 episode 22 " out of the light" in the episode, Talbot is a photography teacher who is suspected of kidnapping and killing woman. In the end it is suggested that there were not just one, but two killers.. The man (I'm not sure of his name) who the team thinks is the killer is shot underwater by Hotch and the hostage is saved... The vary last clip shows Tolbot in a dark room developing pictures of the victims being tortured. So basically it suggests he was involved. If you compare the last clip from out of the light and the last clip form the silencer, they are very similar.

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  30. to Anonymous above my comment,

    Good observation, could be him. Wonder, why would he go after Blake who was not part of the team and neither is Strauss( I think I saw her picture)?

    Why would he go after the team? He got away with it unless toavenge his partner in crime?

    Any theory?

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  31. Got the Live + 3 days viewing for CM and demo went from 3.1 to 4.0 and viewers from 11.5m to 13.84m and those are not even the Live + 7 days viewing, those will be higher than the L3.

    Those are excellent numbers!

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  32. I've checked some data I'd from last season and those numbers Brigitte has just posted mean Criminal Minds very well may be getting the same C3 (commercial views) numbers than then. And this would be the best thing that could happen!

    So you all know what I'm talking about, last season CM had a 97% of retention from the show to the ads (97% of the people that watched the show, watched too the ads) in the most desired demo, but at the start of the season that retention was a 103%, which means lots of people that watched CM recorded watched the ads too... and we all know that watching the ads is the way the networks have to pay the bills of a show production.

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  33. I was the anonymous poster about the silencer...idk like I'm a criminal minds freak! Haha well...I've watched season one through seven in about 3 months and that was the first thing I thought of when I saw the silencer. I could not remember what Isolde number it was so I just typed in "Hotch shoots somebody under water" and I found it haha...I think there is a good chance it can be him.....or maybe he isn't after the team but just monitoring the team to make sure he isn't caught...so the team doesn't realize they missed something
    -cole

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  34. What the number is** sorry autocorrect

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