Criminal Minds (TV Series) Secrets and Lies (2006) User Reviews

CIA vs FBI

[shelbythuylinh · 9/10 · 24 December 2021]

As the BAU is called over an "off the books" in a sense investigation to investigate the CIA at 3AM over in the mole there as a woman from Saudi Arabia and her two kids are killed in a car wreck.

But that the CIA stages the attack to protect her and the BAU must decide from a list of sixteen suspects from the CIA from Gideon's contact there if there is a murderous mole.

CIA taken over the investigation as that it is one thing that there could be a mole but that they do not do things in the USA as it is falling under the FBI jurisdiction there.

Love JJ and Garcia as both are a riot together. Too bad due to being a hacker, Garcia's name is on a list.

Solid episode...despite really disliking Elle

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 19 September 2016]

Season 1 of 'Criminal Minds' has seen some great episodes ("The Fox", "Riding the Lightning", "The Fisher King Part 1", "Extreme Aggressor" and "Compulsion" for examples).

This said, the episodes between "The Fox" and "Riding the Lightning" are hit and miss with "What Fresh Hell" being the best, though the weakest episode and the only real misfire is "Machismo". "Secrets and Lies" is a good, solid episode without being one of the season's better episodes. My general indifference towards Elle turned to dislike here, always have found her cold and annoying and this is her at her coldest, most annoying and bitchiest.

Most of the acting is very good indeed, with commanding Mandy Patinkin and truly delightful Kirsten Vangsness stealing the show, but Lola Glaudini's personality-less and overacted Elle and a one-note Lisa Vidal are exceptions. The part with the note doesn't quite make sense.

On the other hand, the episode looks great as usual, and the music suits the tone well and never distracts if not quite enhancing. The script is tautly structured and tense, while also allowing room for some great humorous moments with Garcia which blend remarkably well.

Story-wise, "Secrets and Lies" is edge-of-your-seat stuff with some nice twists and turns and a shocking reveal, after several episodes of the first season where the unsubs have been too obvious. Garcia has some of her funniest moments ever here too, especially the parts about Princess Diana and Prince William's number. Direction is solid.

In conclusion, a good episode if not immune to flaws. Not the best of the season, but not the worst, somewhere around top middle. 7/10 Bethany Cox

CIA vs FBI

[ShelbyTMItchell · 8/10 · 3 December 2012]

CIA ask the FBI BAU to investigate a possible mole. As the former team will cooperate with the latter team. Despite both of them not liking one another very much it seems from the get go.

Despite Gideon working with one of them in the past. As a mother and her two kids are kidnapped. As someone in the CIA may be selling out the agency.

As the BAU has to profile them one by one. While the arrogance of the CIA, (as we have seen this with the FBI and other federal agencies being arrogant with local/state law enforcement as well but that's another story), really getting on the BAU's nerves.

One of the CIA agent's has her head fatally broken in half. As not only is there a mole but a killer among the agency.

Will the BAU find the killer/mole and save the mother and her two kids? Nail biting to say the least.

loved it

[mattjiva · 10/10 · 17 February 2012]

I can be critical too, and I almost feel like apologizing for writing this, in consideration of the *four* other scathing reviews!

Anyway, I want to congratulate Jeff and Simon on an engrossing episode of Criminal Minds that was out of the ordinary for the show.

FBI vs CIA- c'mon, isn't that of interest?

-- I would like to add that many of the rips against this episode by the other commentators could be said about most episodes of this series.. my point is, in this case, I saw what caught my interest and that was most entertaining. Thanks for an excellent show guys!

Note- I saw the show about 4 1/2 years after it came out.. in 2/2012

Full of plot holes and Lisa Vidal can't act but still entertaining

[dennismay · 6/10 · 4 May 2006]

What were they thinking in casting Lisa Vidal. Her acting is so limited. She had one expression on her face the entire episode: evil, conniving, underhanded.

But fortunately, in spite of her the episode was still somehow enjoyable.

Another minus was the script. I know they were trying to do a "24-like" episode, but really, did they also have to copy the plot holes. The most absurd thing in the episode was that they are scrambling to save the informant woman, but somehow, nobody thinks it weird to keep the three suspects in the front lines, giving them the perfect chance to kill her.

How absurd! hopefully, the plot holes will disappear next episode.

Maybe I'm just stupid but this is kind of confusing

[lottiemarshalllm · 6/10 · 1 August 2020]

Disclaimer:I am no expert reviewer, I just need a show to binge watch and I'm going to Write a review for every episode I watch.

This may be just because of my slight inability to focus but I had a difficult time understanding the premise of this episode let alone the ending.

That being said I did find this episode intense and thrilling because of the idea of a mole.

This may just be a personal preference but I don't love when The team is doing things that aren't a part of their job. For example I didn't like when they go to Mexico in machismo and I didn't like that in this episode they were working with the CIA I think there's enough interesting stories to be written about their regular job and saying that this is still season one I wouldn't want to see that until later. Again just a personal preference I guess.

Overall thrilling but maybe just a little too condensed for one episode.

Too Predictable

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 11 February 2007]

After their best field agent is tortured and killed, since only that certain department in the CIA anti-terrorist unit knew about his whereabouts, it's apparent there is a mole in the group. The head of that unit calls in old friend, Gideon of the BAU, to help find out who is that mole. A Saudi woman and her two kids lives are in danger if the mole isn't found because the Arab women's husband - a bad guy - is out to kill her. So, the BAU team has two assignments: find the missing woman and her kids (whom the murdered agent was hiding and didn't divulge) and figure out who is the traitor.

Gideon and his group narrow the search quickly down to four people, so we see each of them profiled. Members of the BAU are assigned to follow and interrogate each of the suspects.

There are some twists and turns to keep the viewer off balance, but if you know this TV program and the PC bias it always has, it's not hard to figure out the traitor. I was hoping I was wrong, but the writers were predictable.

24?

[TheVramster · 7/10 · 15 November 2008]

what was with all the references to 24? first of all, it all took place in CTU, which was invented by 24. second of all, all the talk of a mole and stuff made me think 24 right away. the episode overall wasn't bad. why did the mole keep talking about his career- he clearly cared more about money then his career. criminal minds should have a crossover with another show officially once. i wonder how Gideon would react to the guys from CSI: New York and whats with Elle? screaming at a CIA agent about being kidnapped? shes usually so reassuring and comforting. that was the last thing i expected from her. I also noticed that this episode aired on the 24th of the month. coincidence?

What's going on...

[moysant · 4/10 · 5 December 2006]

This is one of the worst episodes because the script is trite and the leaps of logic large. I'd taped this and even replaying it I couldn't figure out what was going on in some scenes because the actors muttered too quickly. It was something about a CIA agent that Gideon had done a psychological review of being murdered and a family he was trying to hide from foreign interests disappearing. His murder is an inside job and the BAU team has to identify which CIA agent in the guy's team is the bad guy. Amazingly, even though they are working inside the CIA building they aren't bugged. Worse, two unbelievable scenes should've been scrapped altogether: Elle tries to strong arm a female CIA agent by nastily asking if she was sexually assaulted on a recent case, and when the agent doesn't respond Elle shouts at her. So much for the exceptional mental cool Gideon tells the team the CIA agents have at the beginning of the show. Elle's character just isn't consistent from one show to the next. The second unlikely scene is when another agent is shown a note Gideon wrote (we don't know what it says at that point) and told by Hotchner to consider his next words carefully (he's being offered a deal). Later, when we find out what the note said, this conversation (and the agent's response) doesn't make sense. If the note said what it said what was THAT scene all about? All over the shop to be honest.

Lazy, silly, bad.

[sweeney-sa · 2/10 · 14 November 2019]

I'm not overly critical about plot holes, but this was over the top. The plot holes were so extreme and so far beyond the run-of-the-mill leaps or liberties taken in any episode so far (all or most of which are totally forgivable), that I thought I had missed something and kept rewatching the same scenes multiple times to try to catch whatever it was.

I could go on and on with example after example, but I've wasted enough time on this episode already. I was really looking forward to this episode based on the summary. Profiling CIA agents?!? Even if it didn't rise to the level of "great television," it could have at least been a really fun watch. However, it went so far in the opposite direction that I'm now doubting the entire future of the series. If the laziness has already set in before the first season finale (to such an extreme and glaringly obvious degree, even to the more forgivable audience members), it's hard to have much faith in the episodes to come. Maybe this is just a hiccup. Or maybe we'd be better off reading John Douglas's books about the real BAU instead. Note - I'm pretty sure Gideon's character is loosely based on Douglas. Worth a read either way. Over n' out.