Not to be dramatic, but I am so confused. How did a killer-of-the-week format become this?
It’s that time of the week again which means I am a little late on a post, but at least it’s here before the weekend, and we get to dive into what I’ve been up to this week. Which, as those caught up will notice is not consistent with where we were last. Do not fret, it has not been abandoned.
I was watching Castle, so much so I reached Season 7… I, however, have a curious mind, varying levels of self control and Fandom Wiki is just so available. Let’s just say I did not like what I read and I am procrastinating. I will, however, finish Castle this time. I have promised myself that. I did say the same thing about Blindspot, though, I believe. So… we’ll see.
That said, with procrastination in full swing we pivoted from one crime drama to another and took a look at Criminal Minds: Evolution this last week. I am sure I have mentioned Criminal Minds here before, as I adore them so, they were one of those first shows I loved (though I can never remember which I watched first so ‘one of’), I return to them both regularly and infrequently. A show I have watched so many times I can drop in and out of a season or episode and be perfectly content, which is rare for me.
So, with the newest season having finished dropping a few weeks ago now, it was more than high time for me to finally sit down and watch it, and so that’s what I did. I, in fact, watched all 20 Episodes of Evolution. Choosing to rewatch Season 16 before diving into Season 17, which was a good shout because I did not remember all that much of it.
However, before we get ahead of ourselves and dive into anything more I do believe, Criminal Minds is due the boring details.
An Introduction
Criminal Minds is an American police procedural crime drama. It was created and produced by Jeff Davis. The first season premiered on CBS on the 22nd of September in 2005, with the original series running for 15 Seasons and concluding on the 19th of February, 2020. Having ran for a total of 324 episodes.
Two years later it was announced the show would return retitled as Criminal Minds: Evolution for Season 16 with 10 Episodes, which premiered on Paramount+ in 2020. Season 17 aired this last year, and they have already been renewed for Season 18.
Criminal Minds was a ratings hit for CBS, and spawned several spin-off’s including Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders during it’s time on air. Both of which had crossovers/back-door pilots with the original series.
Criminal Minds has had a long list of main cast members over it’s near two decades on air, but the original cast consisted of seven: Mandy Patinkin as Jason Gideon, Thomas Gibson as Aaron Hotchner, Lola Glaudini as Elle Greenaway, Shemar Moore as Derek Morgan, Matthew Gray Gubler as Dr Spencer Reid, A.J. Cook as Jennifer Jareau and Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia.
The show has had many cast changes, with some members being replaced after departures from the show. At current, the cast still features Cook and Vangsness, with additions of Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss, Joe Mantegna as David Rossi, Aisha Tyler as Tara Lewis, Adam Rodrigues as Luke Alvez. As well as Zach Gilford, and Ryan-James Hatanaka who joined them for Evolution.
In Brief:
Criminal Minds follows a team of profilers in the BAU (Behavioural Analysis Unit) of the FBI. As the unit name suggests, they focus on the behaviours of criminals, largely serial killers, in order to find and arrest them. They construct a profile of the ‘unsub’ (unknown subject) in order to find these individuals.
Between the cases the show also takes time where it can to show us the development and personal struggles of the team.
Criminal Minds is available to stream on Disney+ in the UK. You can find more details about CM at IMDb.
Putting the DRAMA in Crime Drama
That may be inaccurate but I liked it. I mean to say, they are SO DRAMATIC this season. Everything is drastic, everything is dark (often quite literally). Like tensions felt noticeably higher. Sure, they’ve always had a level of drama but they were also a show that could have a prank war as a B-plot, and, man, I miss those days sometimes.
I get it. Evolution is different. It’s got less episodes, it’s taken a different format, hell, it’s even got a different aspect ratio, it is more season long arc than it is killer of the week (it kind of has to be with that episode count). It is not Criminal Minds, it is Criminal Minds: Evolution and while those are treated like the same thing they are not. It has been, as expected, rebooted you could say. This is it’s facelift for the modern era, and damn, is it a dramatic one.
The stakes felt higher, especially with this Gold Star shit, but in a way that felt almost clumsily over the top. Like Gold Star very quickly escalates, and just continues to do so throughout the season. You think it’s one thing before it turns out to be another thing, each with higher stakes and more horrifying implications and suddenly I think this arc has had far too many twists and you need to calm down.
I mean like… this is the same universe as Criminal Minds, where the killers are just that and the conspiracies are often the criminal kind. I felt baffled that this stuff was coming up in this show. Not because any of the individual ideas have not been seen before. The BAU has confronted their fair share of cults and the like and many dark acts I’d really rather not write too much about. There is not a lot they have not seen. Ya know, we may be acting like Voit is the worst thing this century but there was also that cult with the collective body count of nearly 300 for the 300th episode, wasn’t there? That was kind of the height of their drama, with some of it’s best rivals maybe being some of the shit Emily and JJ have gotten up to, and you know what top secret shit I’m referring to.
Yet, here we are with trained serial killers apparently? And Jill Gideon, and BAU history, and every diplomat including The Director of the FBI (here on out referred to as Coulson-Lite) is trying really hard to cover their asses… but then any ex-SHIELD agent will tell you some secrets are better left kept. I joke, but seriously he basically said that.
Why did it feel like this kept getting deeper and deeper? Why are we talking about conspiracies? Why is BAU-gate a thing at all, writers? What the hell is going on?
This is not to say it’s bad. It is actually, technically speaking, very good. I, of course, like the cast very much already so they can do whatever the hell they want and I will tune in anyway. I enjoyed it, with much confusion.
I, at times, felt like I was watching other shows that would regularly run stakes this high. See: Blindspot, a little Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and weirdly Orphan Black towards the end. Not to mention when Jill sussed Damien out to a tee and I realised his story is basically Caleb Widogast’s (See: Critical Role | The Mighty Nein) without the fantasy elements. I may not have seen Caleb’s whole story play out yet, but I do recall his ever so dramatic Episode 18 lore dump and my reading of his comic. Prove me wrong on this.
Look, all I’m saying is, I know it’s a crime drama, but every time something new weird, wild and strange happened all I could think was: What the Actual F**k is Going on?
Little Details
There is a benefit to this episode count and that’s that things felt smaller… occasionally.
The case, of course, was not. It seemed to keep growing and growing and taking bodies with it. But somethings got a focus the previous incarnation of Criminal Minds would not always have been able to lend. For example: Rossi dealing with the trauma of being buried alive. Trauma that was not simply forgotten when it became inconvenient. Factors, though ultimately inconsequential really, like BAU-gate and Jemily getting high did come up again! Garcia and Alvez history has not been dusted aside. They’ve not just tried to move on past Tyler and Garcia like nothing happened. Jill appeared for more than one episode, which was oddly unexpected. They keep mentioning members of the team that aren’t here anymore, and I quite like that.
Side note: Why is Tyler still here?
The point is, there feels a focus given that the procedural format didn’t always give them quite as much time for. Even with Will’s presence, and Rebecca’s introduction last season. They were consistent players, and it was nice to see. Of course, Will is conspicuously totally absent in this new season, but I knew that going in. I’m sure he’s fine.
That said, Elias is still here for no other reason it would seem than to annoy me. I get the Rossi trauma stuff, and like… I get that narratively they gave him a purpose, I just don’t like it and I think we can be done with him now. He was a cool villain, and mildly scary conceptually, but now he’s just irritating. Also, it might just be me but now that I think about it, aside from being a dad, Elias sort of bares some resemblance to Blindspot‘s Season 3 Roman Briggs. Just… give it a think.
Tyler, on the other hand, may be an unnecessary presence that I don’t think needs to stick around but at least he is less irritating.
They Job Well
I am very fed up people trying to take their jobs.
I know this was mostly last season, but to be fair Emily did get suspended and then nearly quit (again) this season so…
If they’re so good at their jobs, which they frequently tell us just how good this particular unit of the BAU is. They’re the best. They tell us, routinely. Why, then, are people always trying to disband them, shut them down, split them up, force them to quit, fire them, force them into retirement, reassign them… and etc…
There was Strauss (who admittedly redeemed herself), Barnes and then Bailey it felt like. I know everyone seemed to like Bailey by his unfortunate end, but erm… I didn’t. I was already annoyed at him.
I’m almost fairly certain there were others who nearly shut them down but I can’t remember right now. It feels like it happened one too many times. I know budgets and job insecurity are a real life issue, but I’d really like if my fiction could be devoid of those.
Diversify Your Wardrobe
I know we were going for dramatic, and dark and gritty but must their costumes reflect it so?
I think there was one or two scenes I commented “Did you all buy your jackets from the same rack?” because they all looked… so similar.
Like ignoring the fact that even Garcia isn’t bringing as much colour as we’re so used to, the rest of them have all apparently decided that dark colours are in and nothing else.
Not to mention, half their wardrobes felt like they were interchangeable! Like someone walked round a single store, picked up a couple dozen outfits, and called it a day.
I’m just saying, at least give us some colour variety.
His Name is Coulson
It’s Clark Gregg! What do you expect me to think?
Considering what I had heard about his character in this, namely that he was kind of an arse, I was quite surprised that not only did he appear in all of two episodes but that he was kind of just okay. Did Gregg’s face have something to do with how I felt about him considering he was supposedly really annoying the BAU? Probably. But he wasn’t all that bad when we did see him. He had ‘Coulson on a bad day’ vibes and at his best ‘Coulson on a mission’ vibes, honestly. I was okay with it.
He has a weight to him, don’t you think? Worthy of that dramatic entrance they so clearly wanted with that cliffhanger like ending in the last season. Maybe it’s all that time playing S.H.I.E.L.D. Director but Gregg sure knows how to carry himself like he commands an entire agency. I am totally biased, as we know, but I did quite like him in the role. He worked. Great addition.
Also, yes, I absolutely never bothered to learn his name. I texted a friend while watching and he was only ever Coulson-Lite. He is Coulson’s second cousin. His distant half-brother. He is off-brand Coulson, or as my friend, joked, ‘Couldaughter’… and so, forever and always the Director of the FBI will be known as Coulson-Lite.
Also his lines in that last scene with Emily! I sniggered.
“I’m no profiler, but I am a dad. So, I know a passive aggressive after action report when I see one.”
Coulson-Lite – Criminal Minds: Evolution – Episode 1710: “Save The Children”
I mean, yes, I’m sure Daisy wrote plenty of passive aggressive after action reports in her time. Thank you for this new head-canon.
To Conclude
As new seasons go, it’s very good. I was mildly confused and occasionally baffled, but that does not mean it was bad. I love them all the same.
So! That is how we shall end this week and I shall see you all again in two weeks time. Thank you for reading to the end if you did and I hope you enjoyed it! Hopefully it was not a bore.
This Sunday marks an anniversary for The BOMFF so look out for that!
Until then, thank you once more for reading and feel free to comment below.
You can follow me on Instagram at: @thebomff or on Threads at: @thebomff
On to the next!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the images, narratives or characters present or referenced in this post. All rights belong to CBS, Marvel, and all other relevant parties.