After all these years, we FINALLY got some information about J.J.'s parents. Lately, I've been wondering if one or both of them were still alive.
Ooh, hoo! A rare moment when we see Reid get physical. That caught me by surprise.
I hate when this show dips into science fiction. The whole "Mr. Scratch" fiasco got out of hand and turned this crime drama into a fantasy. Now, don't get me wrong; I love sci-fi. It's my favorite genre. But it has no place in this show. This is supposed to be a realistic crime drama showing the ugly side of the world we live in. The subliminal messaging hypnotizing kids into leaving their homes and entering a stranger's van, even at injury to themselves? Sounds like something out of Fringe. Not to mention that hypnosis can't make you do anything you don't want to do (such as jump off a roof). This episode would have been better if the UnSub targeted these kids online and promised them something if they left at night. That's more likely to actually happen.
And why do these kids even have their own email addresses? That one mother said she monitored everything her son did, so she likely would have had her son use the parents' emails to sign up for anything. A lot of children's websites also require you to use a parent's email if you are underage. Sure, they could've created their own emails, but why would they? I know adults who don't use email, so why do these 10-year-olds not only have one, but regularly check it? And how would the UnSub get hold of it and know it's theirs? No one (especially not kids) uses email for social interaction. Those kids would have found a social media site or a chat room or even just the comments section on sites like this one. And because they're kids, it's certainly not a business email. I guess it's possible the UnSub had them create an email only he would know so he could send messages directly to them, but the guy was only at the school for three weeks. I doubt he made that much of an impact on those kids that they would rush to check whatever message he sent in the middle of the night.
This entire episode was focused more on fantasy than practicality or even providing possible explanations with some basis in probably reality. That's never a good sign for Criminal Minds. 6/10, boosted from a 5 for the J.J. side plot...
Review by SophieFilo16BlockedParentSpoilers2020-02-18T01:09:17Z
After all these years, we FINALLY got some information about J.J.'s parents. Lately, I've been wondering if one or both of them were still alive.
Ooh, hoo! A rare moment when we see Reid get physical. That caught me by surprise.
I hate when this show dips into science fiction. The whole "Mr. Scratch" fiasco got out of hand and turned this crime drama into a fantasy. Now, don't get me wrong; I love sci-fi. It's my favorite genre. But it has no place in this show. This is supposed to be a realistic crime drama showing the ugly side of the world we live in. The subliminal messaging hypnotizing kids into leaving their homes and entering a stranger's van, even at injury to themselves? Sounds like something out of Fringe. Not to mention that hypnosis can't make you do anything you don't want to do (such as jump off a roof). This episode would have been better if the UnSub targeted these kids online and promised them something if they left at night. That's more likely to actually happen.
And why do these kids even have their own email addresses? That one mother said she monitored everything her son did, so she likely would have had her son use the parents' emails to sign up for anything. A lot of children's websites also require you to use a parent's email if you are underage. Sure, they could've created their own emails, but why would they? I know adults who don't use email, so why do these 10-year-olds not only have one, but regularly check it? And how would the UnSub get hold of it and know it's theirs? No one (especially not kids) uses email for social interaction. Those kids would have found a social media site or a chat room or even just the comments section on sites like this one. And because they're kids, it's certainly not a business email. I guess it's possible the UnSub had them create an email only he would know so he could send messages directly to them, but the guy was only at the school for three weeks. I doubt he made that much of an impact on those kids that they would rush to check whatever message he sent in the middle of the night.
This entire episode was focused more on fantasy than practicality or even providing possible explanations with some basis in probably reality. That's never a good sign for Criminal Minds. 6/10, boosted from a 5 for the J.J. side plot...
Signed:
~SophieFilo16~