“Open Season”

As a counterpoint to the violent action to come the episode opens with one of the series' funniest moments as the three female BAU members enjoy a girl’s night out in a local bar where a man tries to pick up Agent Prentiss by posing as an FBI agent. It’s little touches like this that help build the characters in much the same way as the similarly story-minded series CSI.

This week we get a riff on the classic Most Dangerous Game story as the BAU investigate a series of murders where the victims appear to have been hunted. Usually the series excels when it focuses on one of the FBI team, creating a personal aspect to the investigation, but what makes this episode special is its plot, giving a decidedly old story (it was originally published in 1924 and filmed in 1932) a decidedly new spin.

The stories often end with a race against time to save the victim but the action-packed climax to this episode adds to the body count before the credits roll.

“Legacy”

Having pulled the episode “Doubt” out of consideration for the victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy, the series reaches the penultimate episode of season 2. Writer Edward Allen Bernero has clearly seen and been inspired by the film Hostel, a fact made obvious by the opening torture scenes but he’s taken ideas from that film and crafted them into a gripping story of a “house cleaner,” a serial killer who believes that he is doing a public service, targeting junkies and street people.

The BAU have to find another way into the investigation when the local police refuse to ask for help even though a local cop contacted them convinced that a lot of people have gone missing. The tension is built up well as the team try and find the killer before he strikes again, but the episode feels rushed as it reaches its conclusion to such an extent that I was expecting a “To Be Continued” blurb to appear onscreen. It spoils what had been a terrific episode and left this viewer feeling distinctly unsatisfied.