Small and fun details that I appreciated were Reid's socks and his Dr. Reid's ability to connect with the young boy, especially during the piano scenes, was touching. "Coda" was a strong episode both with the actual case and with the forward movement in the Doyle story line. In conclusion, one of Season 6's better episodes apart from especially Seaver being so intolerable here. With the exceptions of Seaver and Garcia, the writing is tight and thought-provoking. Production values are high in quality, and the music, especially that gorgeous song/piece played on the piano in the aforementioned scene between Sammy and Reid, is some of the best-used and most atmospheric music scores of any Season 6 episode. Really enjoy the team dynamic still, and Rossi and Reid in particular have some lovely moments. The unsub is more interesting on re-watch, found him unmemorable on first viewing but on re-watch he is the sort of character where you hate what he's done but you also sort of understand his point of view. The case itself is good, there are more tension-and-suspense-filled episodes but the climax and the latter scenes between the unsub and the mother are still tense enough, while the mystery and emotional impact elements are beautifully done and the profiling is interesting. All the acting is good apart from Nichols (which was not helped by bad character writing), Joe Mantegna and especially Matthew Gray Gubler being brilliant while Skyler Brigmann as Sammy gives one of the show's best child performances along with Jake Cherry in "The Big Wheel". The chemistry itself is touching, and Rossi is also very empathetic. Their scene when communicating through playing music on the piano is one of 'Criminal Minds' most genuinely poignant moments, and it even outshines JJ's hostage negotiation on the radio in "The Longest Night" in this regard as the most moving individual scene of Season 6. What makes "Coda" work however is the chemistry between Sammy and Reid. The side plot with Prentiss and Interpol served very little point and comes over as an uncomfortable fit. Apart from a few touching scenes, Hotch once again is practically invisible, almost like the producers and writers were growing bored of Hotch and would have jumped at the chance of writing him out if the characters wasn't so popular with fans. Here though her banter is cringe-worthy and her remarks regarding the victims when the BAU take on the case veer on the too flippant. Also was not a fan of Garcia, a shame because in the earlier seasons she was a very likable character and a ray of sunshine bringing beautifully timed humour and levity to often dark cases. Rachel Nichols' acting does absolutely nothing to make me like her better. That she has a bland personality, doesn't fit at all within the team and that she is too much of an inexperienced rookie are general problems with Seaver, but she is also face-palm dumb here, especially saying whether Sammy is the unknown suspect which is the one scenario virtually impossible, and even worse is her completely uncalled-for rudeness towards Reid on the plane. Its biggest drawback is Seaver, never have been a fan of her and consider her one of the worst leading female characters on 'Criminal Minds' but she is particularly intolerable in "Coda". "Coda" is not exactly a brilliant episode and could have been done better, but for Season 6 it was a good one. After that, the season became very hit and miss, "Coda" and "Hanley Waters" (from memory) being good episodes while "The Thirteenth Step", one of the first notable examples of a 'Criminal Minds' episode that didn't feel like 'Criminal Minds' (instead feeling like a story derivative of 'Bonnie and Clyde', but nowhere near close to being as good, or something), was one of the show's worst episodes along with the worst of Seasons 9 and 11. It started off promisingly with "The Longest Night", which really gave the creeps (including Tim Curry's scariest performance since 'IT') as well as the feels and was an improvement over the previous season's finale. Season 6 generally has been one of 'Criminal Minds' weakest seasons.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |