'Criminal Minds' did a generally great job with their not many throwback episodes, with Seasons 12 and 13 looking back on past cases from Season 3. With Reid's prison arc that dominated Season 12, featuring Lindsey Vaughn, and "Lucky Strikes" with Floyd Ferrell (one of the show's more notorious unsubs). Throwback episodes can potentially be cheap and pointless. They can also potentially be nostalgic and intriguing. "Lucky Strikes" was mostly in the latter category, but the prison arc left me very mixed.
Likewise with "Flesh and Blood". Am probably going out on a big limb here and people will look at my opinion with raised eyebrows and a confused expression, but...to me "Flesh and Blood" wasn't horrible. Was expecting worse with it being one of Season 14's lowest rated episodes (not that that clouded things too much as "Broken Wing" is too as of now and that was a much better episode than expected too) and that the previous reviewers didn't care for it. But it actually for me turned out to be one of Season 14's best and more interesting episodes and actually found it one of the more successful throwback episodes of the show as well.
Not everything quite works in my view. Although very sweet, Prentiss' personal life subplot didn't gel with the case, which is here a very brutal one even by 'Criminal Minds' standards, and doesn't add massively to it. It ends pretty cheesily too.
Can also understand the feelings some have of the brutal nature of the case being on the sadistic side. The episode is not subtle in its depiction of violence and at times it goes overboard. For my tastes of course. Garcia's comments at the end agreed didn't strike me as particularly tasteful, being usually not a person who would appear to justify crimes of this nature.
"Flesh and Blood" still has a lot to like about it. It is shot with a lot of atmosphere and slickness, as (nearly) usual. The music has a haunting vibe without being over the top on that. It's directed with tautness yet with breadth too and the tension doesn't let up. The script is very well crafted and thought-provoking, with plenty of moments between the team to make one smile. The acting is more than fine, Paget Brewster being the standout of the regulars, especially at the end, while Judah Simard's performance is quite powerful. Interesting to see a different side to Penelope Ann Miller.
Actually on the whole really liked the story. It is a disturbing case, definitely not for the faint hearted, but also one that brought a lump to my throat. It is not too complex but never gets too obvious at the same time, even the unsub's identity is not that foreseeable and it is not clear straightaway (in a good way) that it is connected to an earlier case from years ago. The team work is great, the profiling not being underused and the answers provided through a connection that comes as a surprise and is not done too conveniently or in a contrived way, and again the closeness within the team is a joy. Loved Prentiss' sympathetic side, almost maternal later on, and the ending is one of the most touching ones for 'Criminal Minds' in a long time. The unsub is a very interesting one (one of the season's more interesting ones with a back-story that gives one chills and breaks the heart), and despite the awfulness of the crimes (and believe me they are exactly that) it is not actually them one ends up hating at the end.
Summarising, found myself surprisingly really liking "Flesh and Blood". 8/10
Likewise with "Flesh and Blood". Am probably going out on a big limb here and people will look at my opinion with raised eyebrows and a confused expression, but...to me "Flesh and Blood" wasn't horrible. Was expecting worse with it being one of Season 14's lowest rated episodes (not that that clouded things too much as "Broken Wing" is too as of now and that was a much better episode than expected too) and that the previous reviewers didn't care for it. But it actually for me turned out to be one of Season 14's best and more interesting episodes and actually found it one of the more successful throwback episodes of the show as well.
Not everything quite works in my view. Although very sweet, Prentiss' personal life subplot didn't gel with the case, which is here a very brutal one even by 'Criminal Minds' standards, and doesn't add massively to it. It ends pretty cheesily too.
Can also understand the feelings some have of the brutal nature of the case being on the sadistic side. The episode is not subtle in its depiction of violence and at times it goes overboard. For my tastes of course. Garcia's comments at the end agreed didn't strike me as particularly tasteful, being usually not a person who would appear to justify crimes of this nature.
"Flesh and Blood" still has a lot to like about it. It is shot with a lot of atmosphere and slickness, as (nearly) usual. The music has a haunting vibe without being over the top on that. It's directed with tautness yet with breadth too and the tension doesn't let up. The script is very well crafted and thought-provoking, with plenty of moments between the team to make one smile. The acting is more than fine, Paget Brewster being the standout of the regulars, especially at the end, while Judah Simard's performance is quite powerful. Interesting to see a different side to Penelope Ann Miller.
Actually on the whole really liked the story. It is a disturbing case, definitely not for the faint hearted, but also one that brought a lump to my throat. It is not too complex but never gets too obvious at the same time, even the unsub's identity is not that foreseeable and it is not clear straightaway (in a good way) that it is connected to an earlier case from years ago. The team work is great, the profiling not being underused and the answers provided through a connection that comes as a surprise and is not done too conveniently or in a contrived way, and again the closeness within the team is a joy. Loved Prentiss' sympathetic side, almost maternal later on, and the ending is one of the most touching ones for 'Criminal Minds' in a long time. The unsub is a very interesting one (one of the season's more interesting ones with a back-story that gives one chills and breaks the heart), and despite the awfulness of the crimes (and believe me they are exactly that) it is not actually them one ends up hating at the end.
Summarising, found myself surprisingly really liking "Flesh and Blood". 8/10
