I love CBS, and I watch all of the network's shows. But, they're not known for their cutting edge plots or stories. I've been binging Criminal Minds on Netflix, and was entertained, but not super impressed. Good characters, great one-off stories for the most part. They've done some story arcs to keep you watching, fairly successfully. But, this episode catches you off guard.
First of all, it's in the middle of the season - usually TV shows (that don't kill off characters often) do it at the end, or sometimes the beginning of a season. Secondly, this episode doesn't just complete one story arcs, but two, not to mention the expression of Hotch's PTSD that's been building throughout the Foyette storyline. I think it's his true character finally being revealed that makes this so good, the psychology of his character. And Gibson gives a stellar performance.
Hotch has always been so serious, but as Haley says, we know he wasn't always like this. When he gets attacked by Foyette, we see a vulnerable side of him, as he struggles with the trauma. He develops PTSD, becoming obsessed with the case, pretending to have it together ("I stepped down so he would think I was losing control"), while he was slowly becoming more unstable.
We expect the rage that he shows when he kills Foyette, and who could blame him? What we don't expect is how cathartic it will feel, how little we will question whether it was right or wrong. The writers did a wonderful job of making us understand Hotch's point of view throughout his character development. We see Haley and the team through his eyes. For a show rooted in psychology, they've created a great character study. We see how incredibly sensitive he is, and vulnerable, and how those traits enable him to not only survive, but to save his son.
Granted Haley is an auxiliary character, and we always had a sense that something might happen to her, it was still a rare out-of-the-box surprise from CBS.
First of all, it's in the middle of the season - usually TV shows (that don't kill off characters often) do it at the end, or sometimes the beginning of a season. Secondly, this episode doesn't just complete one story arcs, but two, not to mention the expression of Hotch's PTSD that's been building throughout the Foyette storyline. I think it's his true character finally being revealed that makes this so good, the psychology of his character. And Gibson gives a stellar performance.
Hotch has always been so serious, but as Haley says, we know he wasn't always like this. When he gets attacked by Foyette, we see a vulnerable side of him, as he struggles with the trauma. He develops PTSD, becoming obsessed with the case, pretending to have it together ("I stepped down so he would think I was losing control"), while he was slowly becoming more unstable.
We expect the rage that he shows when he kills Foyette, and who could blame him? What we don't expect is how cathartic it will feel, how little we will question whether it was right or wrong. The writers did a wonderful job of making us understand Hotch's point of view throughout his character development. We see Haley and the team through his eyes. For a show rooted in psychology, they've created a great character study. We see how incredibly sensitive he is, and vulnerable, and how those traits enable him to not only survive, but to save his son.
Granted Haley is an auxiliary character, and we always had a sense that something might happen to her, it was still a rare out-of-the-box surprise from CBS.