Thanks to the lovely Jasmine, we have this wonderful review of last Wednesday’s action packed 200th episode of Criminal Minds.
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“I can’t sleep” was probably a phrase used a lot after the episode “200″ of Criminal Minds aired, I know I used it. The 200th episode of surpassed even my expectations. I did not envision it to be so well crafted in one tiny hour but they managed to soothe my fears and leave me on the edge of my seat every second of the episode.
It started with seeing our very own JJ being held against her will with Section Chief Cruz near her in the same state. She looks up to see what we can tell is a recognizable face, as she fights her restraints and gag with anger as he approaches her to drug her.
From then on, we are led into a whirlwind chase, as the BAU receives word of her disappearance from Will Lamontagne Jr., her husband, and information that she had worked with their new Section Chief in the past. They race against the clock and against forces trying to stop them from saving both JJ, and the Section Chief’s lives.
Intel had to be gathered quickly, but the team was met up with many obstacles along the way. Garcia had to use many of her skills to go through security clearances to find out the reason why they might have been taken. With the help of Agent Anderson, Garcia and Reid were able to acquire information in
a secured location to what secret mission JJ had been assigned to during her absence in 2010 (season 6), when she was transfered to the Department of Defense. The project had the code name “Infinity”. With the name of the project under their belt, Agent Hotchner went to the U.S. Department of State to
gather the necessary information on what the assignment was about. There he learned of her help in gathering information in the Middle East on the terrorist Osama Bin Laden.
Despite the vital information he did get from Undersecretary Rosemary Jackson, she said that they were doing all they could to recover the Agents and was told that they would be locked out from searching for their missing members, leading the BAU members to be rushed out of their current locations, where they
were gathering classified information. Feeling out of options the team quickly rushed together to find a way to help their friend and family member, despite their specific instructions not to do so. Agent Hotchner went to the only place he knew he could gather vital information on this project and have no road blocks in place, Emily Prentiss, former BAU agent, now head of Interpol.
Emily, hearing that her former co-worker and very good friend, had been kidnapped by terrorist Tivon Iskari, who was hired for torture tactics to gather information, rushed directly onto her private jet to help out her former team. On the plane, she then communicated with the BAU to find out that JJ was indeed being tortured for information (along with Cruz), that was revealed to be security codes for project “Infinity”. Knowing that the information had to be acquired from a nearby area, but not being able to pinpoint the exact location, the team rushes out without Emily to search all locations for their missing member.
Garcia and Kevin, waiting for a clue, get one popped up on her computer screen, with the code word “Blackbird”, a word that is recognized by Emily Prentiss, who enters the scene in time. Garcia and Kevin are then apprehended for hacking into the system, but not before relaying the information on the location of their missing friend and co-worker.
Emily joins the team to rescue JJ, who we see throughout the episode being tortured through such forms as waterboarding, electrocution and attempted rape. The team splits up, guns blazing and hit the right targets, saving JJ before her life is taken. The head of the information gathering, a man by the name of Michael Hastings, who was a former colleague of JJ’s during her assignment on “Infinity”, runs out of the room and tries to escape. The last scenes of battle end with JJ and Emily on the roof of the building, fighting as a team to bring down and kill him.
Despite the heavy injuries of Section Chief Cruz, and JJ, they make it out alive and well.
I must applaud the work of writer Rick Dunkle and director Larry Teng on this amazing masterpiece. They managed to connect the dots to all questions from the beginning of season 9, and fill in one tiny hour of heart racing, gut clenching, emotional moments, leaving us breathless and wanting more.
The show not only had action, but drama, fear and sadness; and just a good feeling that the good guys had won.
The BAU team were protrayed exactly as a true Criminal Minds fans believed they were, a family. They took risks, despite the warning of higher authorities, to save a colleague, and to me, a member of their small family. The group worked diligently and were portrayed greatly on how they fed off one another,
despite the stress of their missing friend.
The fans were also rewarded by many guests appearances of some of the beloved characters on the show. Section Chief Erin Strauss, Tech Analyst Kevin Lynch, Will Lamontagne Jr., Henry Lamontagne, Agent Grant Anderson and last but definitely not least, our very own Emily Prentiss.
Emily and JJ were the main focus on the show, though I felt that there could have been a greater presence of Paget Brewster, especially since fans of Emily had been salivating over the news of her return since many months back. Despite the lack of camera time for Ms. Brewster, the show still portrayed, what was now confirmed as an extremely important and wonderful friendship between Emily Prentiss and Jennifer Jareau.
We were taken back to the days of the episode “Lauren”, where Emily, who was trying to escape her past undercover relationship with an international terrorist, Ian Doyle. Taken hostage by him, JJ, who was supposedly in her new position at the Department of Defense, was called in to help find Emily and
save her from death. Despite the fact that she was saved, JJ had to masterfully plan faking Emily’s death to her teammates, to put her into protective custody. We saw a scene in “200″, showing the jet flight, rushing Emily out to safety in Europe. The moment was heart felt and it showed the beauty of their friendship, and the meaning behind JJ’s code word “Blackbird”. In this episode, the roles were reversed, and we saw Emily
rushing to help find JJ, sealing their true friendship forever.
We also got to learn a secret from JJ in this episode, and one of the most heartbreaking moments on the show. During her time in the middle east, JJ had found out she was pregnant. We see her later on, after having their truck ambushed, learning the truth that she had lost the baby. It pained me to see her clutch her stomach, tears falling down her face. This moment also made me realise that it solved a mystery. During season 9, JJ would have very depressed and pained facial expressions during situations between mothers and their children, and it suddenly became clear to me as to why she always looked so pained.
AJ Cook impressed me beyond my wildest dreams. I had never seen an actress pull all the stops and do it so vividly well. She even did all her own stunts including waterboarding, which is a painful form of torture. She cried, she got angry, she trembled with perfect accuracy. By far it was the best moment in her acting career and I hope it wasn’t the last. Her hard work, though made her live through a numb arm for a couple of weeks, proved that she has the dedication to become an amazing actress.
The entire cast had done an amazing job, though I felt their panic and worry for their friend was slightly downplayed. Garcia had one small moment where she said she couldn’t drink tea, because JJ couldn’t drink tea, but despite that, I was expecting a lot more panic and emotion from the cast. I was especially surprised
at the calmness of Dr. Reid, who was portrayed in season 8, as unfocused, disheveled and completely distraught after having learnt the disappearance of his girlfriend, Maeve. I had expected him to look more worried, and act more sad. I don’t blame the actors for this, I just wished that the show had been a two parter, giving the chance to see how the team really felt about missing their loved one.
In all, I definitely would rate this one of my top 10 episodes of the entire series. They always have me intrigued, but never had I felt so emotionally wrung out by this episode since season 7′s finale episode, and “100″ when Hotch’s ex wife Haley gets murdered. I do applaud the cast and crew for being there for us throughout 200 episodes like my very own family. I wish them all another happy and healthy 200 more!
xxx
Jasmine aka @lintusflower
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