Well filmed episode with great external and internal sequences, especially of the death watch prison cells. The actors who play husband and wife serial killers about to be executed are gritty enough to add some realism (especially with shaven heads!).
Where this episode falls down is the logical leaps that make Gideon and the team decide that the wife may be innocent of the murders, including that of her son. For profilers they don't seem to have done their homework particularly well (especially for such a famous case). There are no clues as such, but the leaps of logic Reid and Gideon make are tenuous and outright laughable. And Garcia's rapid computer tracking magic is way too unbelievable (can she really read THAT fast?).
The decision Gideon makes in the end is morally repugnant, and I don't know why it seems acceptable to the rest of the BAU team who've also come to the same conclusion about the wife. Does he have a right to make a decision on their behalf, or that of the State? What if one of the team is anti-death penalty? It is just too dumb and undermines the character of Gideon who in other episodes has been portrayed by a smart and morally staunch man who has no time for killers or their supporters, and can't be manipulated. It's just dumb that it didn't cross his mind that she may have a Martyr complex so wasn't able to make a sound decision for herself (the 'supporters' outside the prison who dress like the Jacob's victims - the husband killer - should've been a clue). Even if the woman is a saint, he has proved himself to have failed the Law he is suppose to uphold, no matter how sorry he felt for her.
Pity, because it could have been a gripping episode if a bit more logic and thought had gone into the story.
Where this episode falls down is the logical leaps that make Gideon and the team decide that the wife may be innocent of the murders, including that of her son. For profilers they don't seem to have done their homework particularly well (especially for such a famous case). There are no clues as such, but the leaps of logic Reid and Gideon make are tenuous and outright laughable. And Garcia's rapid computer tracking magic is way too unbelievable (can she really read THAT fast?).
The decision Gideon makes in the end is morally repugnant, and I don't know why it seems acceptable to the rest of the BAU team who've also come to the same conclusion about the wife. Does he have a right to make a decision on their behalf, or that of the State? What if one of the team is anti-death penalty? It is just too dumb and undermines the character of Gideon who in other episodes has been portrayed by a smart and morally staunch man who has no time for killers or their supporters, and can't be manipulated. It's just dumb that it didn't cross his mind that she may have a Martyr complex so wasn't able to make a sound decision for herself (the 'supporters' outside the prison who dress like the Jacob's victims - the husband killer - should've been a clue). Even if the woman is a saint, he has proved himself to have failed the Law he is suppose to uphold, no matter how sorry he felt for her.
Pity, because it could have been a gripping episode if a bit more logic and thought had gone into the story.