By Matt Thompson
As CBS’ “Criminal Minds” entered its seventh season, I questioned whether the show’s fans would continue to embrace some of its darker themes. I also questioned whether I would continue to follow the police procedural drama on a weekly basis when crimes became increasingly heinous, and resolution and happy endings became more and more rare. But Wednesday’s episode, titled “Foundation”, helped settle some of these questions for me as I thought this particular episode was beautifully written. One aspect where I think CriminalMinds continually triumphs over other shows is their continuity of plot storylines. The show will often reference a team member, villain or issue from years past in a subtle way that re-energizes me as a viewer. It is an important point for me to know that the characters I watch and love from week to week are still learning from their past and evolving as a character. This week, that aspect became integral to the plot.
The BAU began their latest journey already boarding the plane on the way to Flagstaff, AZ, receiving background from computer-analyst Penelope Garcia on the fly. A child had been kidnapped in the area immediately upon the escape of another child, who had been held prisoner underground for years. The problem the BAU immediately encountered was that the original captive was so traumatized by his experience, he could not speak or identify his captor. That’s where Agent Derek Morgan and his backstory come into play. Morgan is able to earn the child’s trust slowly but surely throughout the episode, eventually coaxing him to talk by revealing his own past story of abuse. (This was featured several seasons ago in an episode and showed not only Agent Morgan’s roots, but also what makes him who he is and tells us why he eventually went on to join the bureau. In addition, it illustrates that the past continues to fuel and motivate Agent Morgan). As it usually does so brilliantly, the team is eventually able to track down the unknown subject – UNSUB to seasoned viewers – and give us what I thought was a surprising and upbeat conclusion.
(Spoiler Alert) As the writing is crucial to my opinion this week, the following is an analysis of that aforementioned surprising and upbeat ending.
Most noteworthy about this week’s conclusion is that they closed with a back-and-forth scene of the two boys reuniting with their parents. Many episodes, especially in recent seasons, have ended in a grim manner or at least one that didn’t end happily. I thought the reuniting scene was a nice change of pace for the series. At some point, viewers will tire of negative endings, and I thought this served to remind us that sometimes they catch the bad guy AND save lives. We know that the villain will be caught between 50 and 55 minutes past the hour, but we don’t know if the other characters end up okay. Usually, the conflict ends abruptly and leads into the team plane flying back to Quantico with little explanation or final resolution of events. It was good to see last night that everyone ended up okay.
In fact, Mandy Patinkin, who played Agent Jason Gideon in the first few seasons, actually left the show because of its increasing level of violence, CSI-esque approach of revealing gruesome forensic pathology scenes and lack of happy themes. Obviously, many fans of the show come for these types of storylines, wherein forensics helps tie theories to villains. But for a while, I really believe the show was trying too hard to be emulate CSI. What I love about the show is the mental aspect, not the physical one. Getting inside the head and studying the behavior of criminals and our weekly protagonists is much more appealing to me.
And that’s why I must praise the writing of this particular episode so much. From Agent Jareau’s comforting motherly instincts to Dr. Reid’s cerebral analysis to Agent Morgan’s heartfelt recollection of his past, each character’s strengths were highlighted in a way to contribute to the team and still allow viewers to embrace their flaws as human and endearing. Each time I become disillusioned with the direction of “Criminal Minds”, I’ll think back to last night’s show. Just as the result inspired hope for the characters, my restored confidence in the writing will inspire hope for me each Wednesday at 9:00 p.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment