This was the first episode of Criminal Minds, so it was make or break. I have to say, I got hooked in, by the beginning until the end of the episode. Thank God, it wasn't name 'Quantico' as I had no clue, what that was, at first. Upon watching the show, it quickly stuck out from other shows that I've watched as it is more than catching the bad guys. It's about figuring out what is in the minds of the unknown subjects. I guess, great minds think alike. This show is an almost exact remake of the short-lived 1989's Unsub, just with a better cast, and stories. Despite cast changes in the years to come, and all of that, it's the stories that drive you back to watch the older episodes. The way the action unfolds make this show a 'must see'. The show is about FBI Agents that belong to the Behavioral Analysis Unit. Their job is to profile killers and see what are their next move will be. In this episode, the team is call up to solve the unknown subject or 'unsub' AKA Seattle Strangler who kills women. When another young woman goes missing at the hands of the strangler. The time has come for them to find the killer, before it's too late. The episode also contain hints of several side stories that would get featured in later episodes mostly involving Supervisory Special Agent Jason Gideon (Mandy Patinkin). Jason Gideon in the beginning of the episode, has been on a six-month medical leave from his job as lead profiler of the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) of the FBI due to a bombing miscall that got several agents killed. He was call back, to see whether he can still cut it and return to the field, after suffering a nervous breakdown. This will be revisit on Season 1, Episode 3 'Won't get fooled again'. Then there is the speech of Footpath killer that would be feature in Season 1, Episode 2, 'Compulsion'. If there is some faults to this episode, it's that it focus way too much on him. Gideon is little bit unrealistic good at his job as he's able to come up with a profile even when the rest of the team are still wrangling with the inconsistencies. People with psychological problems can be just as functioning as everyone else so it should be harder to trace. The dominating unsub are very meticulous with their crimes. They knew exactly what he was doing and how to do it. They initially don't give off any reason to be suspects. Where are these profiling facts coming from? Somehow, I found their profiling to be a bit out there in fantasy TV land. First off, there wouldn't be a group of BAU dealing with all types of diverse cases. The real BAU is break down into units, with key subject areas where they are train to analysis, but there is no such thing as a profiler. Most of their cases are after the fact, type cases, which means after the criminal been capture or killed by other law enforcement agencies. Psychological profiling has not been empirically proved to help solve cases. Indeed, science like in forensic still take the lead in solving most cases. It's seem like the show could need a little more explaining to where they get these analyses. Other things, the episode had that became part of the show is the random famous psychological quotes by Gideon at the start of the episodes or the end, whenever they're flying somewhere. It's a bit odd at first; it's a nice hook. Sometimes, the quotes matches what is happening in the episode, sometimes it doesn't. The characters in this were too stereotypic written even if their personal life is depicted. I really didn't understand what Derek Morgan (Shermar Moore) really does, besides play up as a smooth socializer; ladies' man. Most of the time, he's barely doing anything. Supposedly, he is their expert on obsessional crimes, but he much less well defined character. I hate that they gave the hacking of the computer job to him in this episode, rather than Tech Analyst Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness). Garcia was completely throw-away in this episode, they call her and then immediately move on and we don't see her again, so either they're just establishing the character or her scenes got cut. It's a shame because Garcia is the light hearted charm of the show. Derek didn't even solve that as one note Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) manages to work out what the password is. The CD scene with Reid and Morgan was a little implausible. They had no evidence the password was from a CD at all, and I'd have thought a teenager crafty enough to set up that kind of protection on his computer and wipe another computer with a virus, would be more smart enough to likely to pick a random password rather than that. Plus, the song that was pick as a password wasn't originally in that CD that the unsub had. Elle Greenaway (Lola Glaudini) doesn't really stand out in this episode, beside the fact, that she is a woman in a sausage fest. I almost mistake her for another actress that would end up as the new female character. It's nice to see Thomas Gibson doing serious dramatic work as Aaron Hotch. It does work for him. The ending of the episode is a great cliffhanger, and makes us want to follow to the next episode. Great marketing. The show can be very dark, so please proceed with caution as it is full of sick disturbing acts of torture on people. Overall: a great watch.
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