“Dirty Hands”
This week Chief Tyrol gets upset when he sees the working conditions on one of the fleet’s ships and calls a strike. Aaron Douglas outdoes himself as Tyrol and the episode brings to light some hidden resentments and highlights the colonies' class system. It also shows Adama (again) and President Roslin in a harsh light, while Baltar is shown to be more sympathetic than before. The ending, however, feels like a cop-out with everything sorted by the time the credits roll. The series is often at its best when it mirrors real world events but this marks three episodes in a row without a Cylon and that’s pushing things a bit far.
Criminal Minds
“The Big Game”
James Van Der Beek is this week’s serial killer, murdering wealthy couples in their homes. It’s a good episode with the cast all on excellent form but as the first part of a two-part story, it really only serves to set things up for the cliff-hanger ending that puts Dr Reid in the killer's hands.
“Revelations”
With Reid in the killer’s clutches it’s a race against time to save him. James Van Der Beek is surprisingly good as the killer who suffers from multiple personalities but the real star is Matthew Gray Gubler as Reid. His character really gets put through the wringer and the repercussions are still being felt. This episode really highlights why the series has improved this year; putting as much emphasis on the characters as on the plot has really paid dividends.
“Fear and Loathing”
This is a more by the numbers episode than recent entries, with only the racism angle setting this apart. It feels like someone’s read that serial killers are mostly but not always white males and decided to give us a black killer. The cast do their best but they really have little to work with. The worst episode of this season.
“Distress”
I think this is the first time the series has had us rooting for the killer, a war veteran suffering from PTSD who thinks he’s back in a war zone. It’s up to the BAU to find him before the local police do. You get the feeling almost from the start that things will end badly but you’re hoping against hope that you’ll be wrong. There’s always a sense of sadness about Gideon but this episode you really feel the weight he bears. Mandy Patinkin is never less than good but his work at the end here is stunning. He doesn’t have to say anything, we read it all in Gideon’s face.
Article comments
1 - manfred
imo the Nikki/Jessica plot was pretty fun in Run. She finally comes out well , something that hasnt been shown before.
Nice to see you writing again Ian :)
2 - Ian Woolstencroft
Hi manfred.
Yes Run was one of Niki's best episodes. Early on she was one of my favourite characters but she dropped down as the series progressed. She's started working her way back up now though.
The only character who's been at the top of my favourites list since the beginning is Clair and she just gets better and better.
Thanks for reading.