Season 11 started promisingly with "The Job" and "The Witness", which were two of the better episodes of a mostly disappointing season, where there were a couple of great episodes, a couple of good ones and the rest ranging from average to poor.
It sadly went downhill with "Til Death Do Us Part". "Til Death Do Us Part" had a couple of good parts, but to me overall it's one of the worst Season 11 episodes and one of the low points of the show too. A shame because while there are better seasons than others and none of the seasons are completely consistent in quality, when an episode was really good or more (which it often was) 'Criminal Minds' is one of my favourites.
The best thing about "Til Death Do Us Part" was the end with the team, especially Rossi's hilarious anecdote regarding his third wife. This was the closest the episode came to having the little character moments that this reviewer always looks out for and thoroughly enjoys when watching 'Criminal Minds', and one wishes there was more. The song by Gia Mantegna was also a lovely touch, and brought some poignancy. The episode is well made, hauntingly and melancholically scored and the acting from the regular leads is fine, with the team dynamic feeling well balanced and not feeling like too much of somebody or too little.
Unfortunately, there are some big let-downs to "Til Death Do Us Part". It does suffer from having too much of the unsub and too little of the BAU, and what did make it a problem is that the unsub was not very interesting and never struck me as somebody to hate or feel sorry for regardless of the crimes and Lewis' relative sympathy for them. The three main characters part of the unsub's story were played in a stilted and inexperienced-looking manner, Ashley Fink is both over-the-top and dull and it really hurts her character's impact.
No better news about the story either. There is nowhere near enough of what makes 'Criminal Minds' so great, particularly the profiling, while the case is dull, so easy to figure out that it becomes painfully predictable and by the numbers with no tension or suspense and even goes overboard in ridiculousness. The denouement completely rings false and the role the BAU play in it comes over as patronising. Had very mixed feelings on the start with Morgan, liked that it referred to Morgan's sporty past but it just felt like blatant and misplaced product placement somewhat at the same time.
Dialogue only really shines at the end with the team, elsewhere it isn't tight enough and lacks flow. Joe Mantegna's direction has been much more inspired before, and while the regular cast are fine the character of Tara Lewis doesn't really gel and Aisha Tyler looks stiff and shows her limitations as an actress here (her and the character have been worse as the season progresses but still).
Overall, signalled the decline of Season 11, a slump that apart from the odd high point never fully recovered. 3/10 Bethany Cox
It sadly went downhill with "Til Death Do Us Part". "Til Death Do Us Part" had a couple of good parts, but to me overall it's one of the worst Season 11 episodes and one of the low points of the show too. A shame because while there are better seasons than others and none of the seasons are completely consistent in quality, when an episode was really good or more (which it often was) 'Criminal Minds' is one of my favourites.
The best thing about "Til Death Do Us Part" was the end with the team, especially Rossi's hilarious anecdote regarding his third wife. This was the closest the episode came to having the little character moments that this reviewer always looks out for and thoroughly enjoys when watching 'Criminal Minds', and one wishes there was more. The song by Gia Mantegna was also a lovely touch, and brought some poignancy. The episode is well made, hauntingly and melancholically scored and the acting from the regular leads is fine, with the team dynamic feeling well balanced and not feeling like too much of somebody or too little.
Unfortunately, there are some big let-downs to "Til Death Do Us Part". It does suffer from having too much of the unsub and too little of the BAU, and what did make it a problem is that the unsub was not very interesting and never struck me as somebody to hate or feel sorry for regardless of the crimes and Lewis' relative sympathy for them. The three main characters part of the unsub's story were played in a stilted and inexperienced-looking manner, Ashley Fink is both over-the-top and dull and it really hurts her character's impact.
No better news about the story either. There is nowhere near enough of what makes 'Criminal Minds' so great, particularly the profiling, while the case is dull, so easy to figure out that it becomes painfully predictable and by the numbers with no tension or suspense and even goes overboard in ridiculousness. The denouement completely rings false and the role the BAU play in it comes over as patronising. Had very mixed feelings on the start with Morgan, liked that it referred to Morgan's sporty past but it just felt like blatant and misplaced product placement somewhat at the same time.
Dialogue only really shines at the end with the team, elsewhere it isn't tight enough and lacks flow. Joe Mantegna's direction has been much more inspired before, and while the regular cast are fine the character of Tara Lewis doesn't really gel and Aisha Tyler looks stiff and shows her limitations as an actress here (her and the character have been worse as the season progresses but still).
Overall, signalled the decline of Season 11, a slump that apart from the odd high point never fully recovered. 3/10 Bethany Cox