The main case is creepy. Makes me wonder if I will ever go to a salad bar again. The second case, about Garcia is not as lame as some people here think. Why hates the Gracia's moments? I think it is really good and touching and meaningful. It must be hard to carry the guilt for both parts all the years. Forgiveness can come in handy. After all it has been 20 years and we need to move on in order to free ourselves from the pain of the past. Just my opinion... Btw, I still miss Hotch. It would be great if only Hotch and Morgan could still be in the team.
7 Reviews
Check your history
bratzahl10 February 2023
Penelope had went to speak/forgive the drunk driver in a way earlier season/episode. She stayed the execution after Morgan tried to talk her out of it but was waiting for her outside of her apartment when she got back. Oops, try again. I have watch every episode no less than three times. So it is hard for me to believe you do nit have a wat if checking a database on all storey lines. If not that it would seem that one of the actors should have thought something should have seemed alittle familiar, I get they have done years of this show but not many that have mich to do with Garcia's family. So, Really?
All You Can Eat
bobcobb3016 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
They did try to give us something a bit different with this episode, but it was not a good one at all. A very predictable ending, and one that did not even take the law into account.
An accidental drunk driving manslaughter would rarely get 20 years, and the idea of the children speaking to try and deny him parole is absurd.
Different, but really boring.
An accidental drunk driving manslaughter would rarely get 20 years, and the idea of the children speaking to try and deny him parole is absurd.
Different, but really boring.
Garcia Ruins It
Johnny_West12 April 2018
The main story is about a serial killer that liquifies rat poison and puts it into food at social events like Rotary Club meetings, Chamber of Commerce, etc. Lots of people are dying, and the BAU needs to find the killer pronto. This episode does not deliver much in terms of twists and turns.
However, what makes this episode a drag is that a solid twenty minutes are dedicated to the character of Penelope Garcia. Garcia is going to the parole hearing of the drunk driver who killed her parents. She visits her brother, at her home town. Her brother lives in the family home where Garcia grew up. This episode could have been about a positive and uplifting reunion of the siblings.
Thanks to Garcia the emotional cripple, it becomes about Garcia, and what she wants to do, so she can feel good about herself. Anyone that has watched this show for years, knows that Garcia only cares about Garcia, even though she thinks she is being nice to everyone.
However, what makes this episode a drag is that a solid twenty minutes are dedicated to the character of Penelope Garcia. Garcia is going to the parole hearing of the drunk driver who killed her parents. She visits her brother, at her home town. Her brother lives in the family home where Garcia grew up. This episode could have been about a positive and uplifting reunion of the siblings.
Thanks to Garcia the emotional cripple, it becomes about Garcia, and what she wants to do, so she can feel good about herself. Anyone that has watched this show for years, knows that Garcia only cares about Garcia, even though she thinks she is being nice to everyone.
Very under-cooked
TheLittleSongbird25 May 2018
'Criminal Minds' has always been one of my most-watched shows and was a personal favourite for a while. Seasons 1-5 was its best period, Season 4 was especially great. It did get hit and miss from Season 6 onwards, with a mix of good and more episodes and disappointing and less episodes. Season 11 was, apart from about 5 episodes, pretty weak. Season 12 was inconsistent but generally an improvement, its weakest episodes nowhere near as bad as the low-points of Seasons 6, 9 and especially 11.
Season 13 so far has not been too bad, in fact it's been quite good. It is already so much better than Season 11, which started off well actually but quickly went downhill, and has generally settled quicker than Season 12. As far as the previous Season 13 episodes go, the only one to be less than mediocre was "Annihilator", a season and show low point and the worst episode since Season 11 with "Inner Beauty". Most of the episodes actually ranged from decent to very good, though there aren't any classics.
"All You Can Eat" is one of the season's weakest episodes. Would go as far to say for me it was the second weakest with only "Annihilator" being worse.
Of course there are obvious good points. As always with 'Criminal Minds', the visuals are stylish and atmospheric. The music is not too over-bearing or low-key. There are intriguing moments in the writing and some of the direction is alert and accommodating.
All the acting from the leads and support is without complaint, Kirsten Vangsness does have patchy moments but her performance is fully committed.
The team work is nice and the start intrigues.
For all those good things, there are some debits too. The case for me was underwhelming, definitely one of the weaker ones of the season, though still much better than "Annihilator". It did from personal opinion lack tension and suspense, sometimes going the unintentionally goofy route. The story was fairly routine, the unsub was not one that was particularly interesting or menacing and this is another episode where an unsub's motivations for such elaborate crimes and methods are rather ordinary and "killed for that?"-like. Some of it was on the vague and under-explored side too, as well as messy and sometimes ridiculous.
It does play second fiddle to Garcia's subplot. Unfortunately this was something of a problem, for me it was a subplot that had too much prominence and was not interesting, rather soap-operatic and melodramatic actually. Some of its sentimentality was not easy to stomach and Garcia was written in a melodramatic way reminiscent of how she was written in "The Black Queen" and "Burn", even Kirsten Vangsness' acting on occasions was forced.
Pacing at times could have been tighter, a lot of it was dull. The writing can be sloppy and goes overboard on the sentimentality in Garcia's subplot. The climax was somewhat too pat and could have done with more tension. The team work and procedural aspects within the team worked well, would though have liked to have seen more of it more character moments and little things, also that all that balanced better with the case which is overshadowed by the personal life subplot (a big problem when both are flawed in execution). There were for my liking not enough and what there is are not very memorable.
Concluding, disappointing and under-cooked. 4/10 Bethany Cox
Season 13 so far has not been too bad, in fact it's been quite good. It is already so much better than Season 11, which started off well actually but quickly went downhill, and has generally settled quicker than Season 12. As far as the previous Season 13 episodes go, the only one to be less than mediocre was "Annihilator", a season and show low point and the worst episode since Season 11 with "Inner Beauty". Most of the episodes actually ranged from decent to very good, though there aren't any classics.
"All You Can Eat" is one of the season's weakest episodes. Would go as far to say for me it was the second weakest with only "Annihilator" being worse.
Of course there are obvious good points. As always with 'Criminal Minds', the visuals are stylish and atmospheric. The music is not too over-bearing or low-key. There are intriguing moments in the writing and some of the direction is alert and accommodating.
All the acting from the leads and support is without complaint, Kirsten Vangsness does have patchy moments but her performance is fully committed.
The team work is nice and the start intrigues.
For all those good things, there are some debits too. The case for me was underwhelming, definitely one of the weaker ones of the season, though still much better than "Annihilator". It did from personal opinion lack tension and suspense, sometimes going the unintentionally goofy route. The story was fairly routine, the unsub was not one that was particularly interesting or menacing and this is another episode where an unsub's motivations for such elaborate crimes and methods are rather ordinary and "killed for that?"-like. Some of it was on the vague and under-explored side too, as well as messy and sometimes ridiculous.
It does play second fiddle to Garcia's subplot. Unfortunately this was something of a problem, for me it was a subplot that had too much prominence and was not interesting, rather soap-operatic and melodramatic actually. Some of its sentimentality was not easy to stomach and Garcia was written in a melodramatic way reminiscent of how she was written in "The Black Queen" and "Burn", even Kirsten Vangsness' acting on occasions was forced.
Pacing at times could have been tighter, a lot of it was dull. The writing can be sloppy and goes overboard on the sentimentality in Garcia's subplot. The climax was somewhat too pat and could have done with more tension. The team work and procedural aspects within the team worked well, would though have liked to have seen more of it more character moments and little things, also that all that balanced better with the case which is overshadowed by the personal life subplot (a big problem when both are flawed in execution). There were for my liking not enough and what there is are not very memorable.
Concluding, disappointing and under-cooked. 4/10 Bethany Cox
This episode isn't that much good one.
XueHuaBingYu13 April 2018
I'm a big fan of Criminal Minds. I always watch and totally like it. Every episode is really cool. But like the other guy said, this episode is totally a bad one. The main thing I don't like is Garcia character. Maybe Kirsten couldn't handle the character or something like that. Garcia character in this episode is totally worse. Her acting in the meeting scene with Jessie is very bad. I totally disliked it. It ruined the entire episode. Those scenes are totally unnecessary, but to destroy the whole episode.
The other fact I'm going to say is maybe it's just me because I'm not that much good at English. I don't really know why the unsub murdered those people. In every episode, the cause is clear, but in this one, it isn't. That is the other fact which I don't like.
I hope upcoming episodes would be better than this one.
The other fact I'm going to say is maybe it's just me because I'm not that much good at English. I don't really know why the unsub murdered those people. In every episode, the cause is clear, but in this one, it isn't. That is the other fact which I don't like.
I hope upcoming episodes would be better than this one.
Just not the same anymore.
twanster-9765528 September 2019
Gidion was such an amazing character for the show so him leaving made a dent, but leaving early made it easier to carry on. I noticed everytime a new cast member joined the shows quality dipped.
Without Morgan and hotch the show just doesn't have the edge anymore. The producers should of been begging them to stay, no gidion. No hotch. No Morgan. No show.. Reid held his own, as did Garcia but rossie.. JJ.. Prentice.. Haven't managed to carry the show and the newer cast members just seem abit low budget,crime drama extras.. I love watching the reruns and do try catch the later episodes but can't maintain interest anymore since hotch and Morgan left.
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