Restoration
- Episode aired Apr 3, 2013
- TV-14
- 43m
The BAU goes to Morgan's old neighbourhood in urban Chicago in search of an UnSub targeting middle-aged men, and a clue leads Morgan to believe that they are after someone connected to the m... Read allThe BAU goes to Morgan's old neighbourhood in urban Chicago in search of an UnSub targeting middle-aged men, and a clue leads Morgan to believe that they are after someone connected to the man who molested him as a child.The BAU goes to Morgan's old neighbourhood in urban Chicago in search of an UnSub targeting middle-aged men, and a clue leads Morgan to believe that they are after someone connected to the man who molested him as a child.
Photos
- Sheila Goode
- (as Nadege August)
- Jerome
- (as Jakobe Dempsey)
- Officer Rodriguez
- (as Adela Tirado)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAll entries contain spoilers
- GoofsThe team presents a profile of the killer as having an "extreme form of borderline personality disorder," which Reid defines as the "borderline between anxiety and psychosis." This description came into common usage in 1938, and continued through the 1960s and 1970s, but had fallen out of use by the time the DSM-III was published in 1980.
- Quotes
Derek Morgan: Carl Buford was an expert at spotting and exploiting vulnerabilities in adolescent boys that he coached at the community center. He had the entire community thinking he was a hero. Parents, teachers, cops. I mean everyone. After my dad died, he locked onto me. And he manipulated me into compliant victimization. Now, you remember how I told you that I got into with that local gangbanger when I was younger? Well, somehow Buford got it all expunged. Now, I didn't understand why a guy who barely knew me would do that. But Buford gave me his time. He taught me how to play football. And then he took me to his cabin on the lake. I was a kid. I was a kid from the south side, I'd never been to a cabin before, much less a lake.
Aaron Hotchner: Morgan... you don't have to do this.
Derek Morgan: They need to know, Hotch. They need to know this guy's M.O. Buford built up my trust, and then he would lower my inhibition with Helgison wine; he called it his Jesus juice. And he would molest me. And every time he would see that dead look in my eye that said I wanted him to stop, he would just say "You better man up, boy. Look up to the sky."
Jennifer Jareau: Did you ever tell anyone about that phrase?
Derek Morgan: No.
David Rossi: We're probably looking at someone Buford abused.
Aaron Hotchner: Victim could harbor a great deal of anger if he didn't deal with his own abuse, and with the right trigger, it could develop into this kind of rage.
Alex Blake: Where's Buford now?
Derek Morgan: We got him locked up for homicide in 2006, but because of the statute of limitations, we never got him for molestation.
Dr. Spencer Reid: Buford ran the community center for years. An offender like him could have hundreds of victims.
- SoundtracksIn a Sentimental Mood
Composed by Duke Ellington
Lyrics by Mann Curtis (as Manny Kurtz)
Performed by Chris Vadale
"Restoration" along with "The Lesson", "All That Remains" and "Broken" one of the best episodes of a very much variable Season 8. "God Complex", "The Good Earth" and "Alchemy" were also among the better episodes, while the rest of the season consisted of mostly average to decent episodes and some mediocre ones like "Magnificent Light", "Through the Looking Glass", "The Replicator", "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Magnum Opus".
This episode, despite being very well received on most websites, has garnered a much more mixed reception on TV.com, with people showing a dislike for Morgan as a character and why this particular chapter in Morgan's life was re-visited. To me, while there are a few good to great Morgan-centric episodes, Season 2's "Profiler Profiled" to this day is still one of the best episodes of that season and of the show and of all the Morgan subplots the sexual abuse at the hands of Carl Buford one has been by far the most interesting and very much relevant, which is most likely why it was re-visited.
Visually, the production values in "Restoration" are without complaint. It's very well shot and lit and is overall stylish, gritty, classy and atmospheric. The music is moody in the haunting and melancholic sense and fits well, without either enhancing or distracting from the atmosphere. The direction keeps the momentum going but lets the case breathe.
The script is very thought-provoking and often leaves one moved and repulsed, with some well-timed humour from Reid and Garcia to contrast with the story's darkness and a closing voice over that couldn't have summed up the episode more perfectly. The story has tension and suspense with a dark case and skin-crawling tension between Morgan and the returning Buford and it is often very poignant, Morgan's speech being one of the show's great tear-jerkers and the stand-off with the unsub is quite powerful. It's also heart-breaking to see how many people were completely broken by the repellent actions of one man, and the writers did a great issue addressing a sensitive and still very much relevant issue with tact, sensitivity and candour.
Despite being Morgan-centric, the rest of the team still have moments to shine, function cohesively as a team and the profiling and case-solving some of the season's most satisfying. Wouldn't have said no to more Rossi, who is side-lined pretty much apart from the odd exchange, but Garcia's bubbly humour and Reid's explanation of Borderline Personality Disorder (classic Reid that).
"Restoration" has a compelling case with an unsub that while never condoning his actions one kind of feels sorry for. Actually it's Buford that the viewer hates much more, just when you think he'd repented very quickly you see, like with the ice-cream exchange with Morgan, that he hasn't changed a bit personality-wise. The tension between him and Morgan is brilliantly done.
Acting is very good, Shemar Moore explores many emotions with impeccable nuance and Julius Tennon is skin-crawlingly creepy as Buford. Everybody is fine, but these two are the ones that shine and quite rightly. Other than the under-using of a couple of BAU members, my only other complaint is that Buford's fate is a little anti-climatically handled. On a side note, that the Replicator subplot didn't feature was a good thing from personal opinion, if included it would have felt out of place.
Summing up, an excellent episode and one of the season's best. 9/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Feb 23, 2017
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD