Leaving Ladies

[gingerberrycat.livejournal.com]

OK, so i'm a casual watcher and as such i'm not as familiar with Prentis or JJ.
I don't mean to be insulting, but neither character really stood out for me. Not the way Garcia, Reid, Morgan, and Hotch have.
I do think they're both fine actresses, and talented women, so my question here is what were some of the standout moments for either character?

Comments

[thedamaged.livejournal.com]

In my opinion female characters just make the show better, you don't always need men to make the show cool, shows like The X-Files definitely showed that, Scully was a badass.

I think anything that really involved Emily and her storyline was really interesting and cool sadly we didn't get a lot of storyline on JJ.

[gingerberrycat.livejournal.com]

While i agree that strong female characters are wonderful and needed, the emphasis should be on Strong Character.
A strong woman doesn't make for a strong character.
Of course, i blame that on the industry. How many times do the female characters get sidelined unless they're a romantic partner for the male lead?

[citymusings.livejournal.com]

Minimal Loss really stands out for me as far as Prentiss goes. The entire episode was great for her. Risky Business had some great moments for JJ too. There are more, but those were the two that came to mind.

[firefish.livejournal.com]

Minimal Loss was the episode that got me into the show, and I have Prentiss (and Reid) to thank for that. But mostly Prentiss. It showed her as a real pillar of strength.

[evil-authoress.livejournal.com]

52 Pickup shows Prentiss totally holding her own against a cocky smarmy pickup artist, and is one of my favorite recent episodes.

[littlegirlvik.livejournal.com]

Oh this! I LOVE Prentiss when dealing with Viper on about 34,000 levels.

[a_blackpanther]

*Refrains from exclaiming "What show have you been watching?"*

Emily and JJ kick as much ass as any of the guys: see Emily kicking in doors, doing cognitive interviews with kids, taking the beating for someone else and JJ subtly manipulating media and COTW, comforting families, and trying to live with choosing which cases are the most "urgent" for the team. Not to mention her shoot to kill ratio which is four for four. We've already seen Jordan failing to do JJ's job.

And if that's not enough: this show is about the BAU team and the fact that they're more like family. Taking them away would severely screw with that dynamic. They all serve a purpose in the team and their subtle interactions are what make this show different. If i wanted hot young things i would have watched CSI: LA.

[gingerberrycat.livejournal.com]

Yes they kick ass, but their characters haven't stood out for me. Their persoalities aren't as loud as the others.
One of my personal flaws as a fanboy is that when a character isn't as loud they fall into the background for me.

[emploding.livejournal.com]

Icon love <3

[woodchoc-magnum.livejournal.com]

Word to everything. So much word.

[sweetest-potato.livejournal.com]

JJ: My friends call me JJ.
Creepy Serial Killer On Death Row: Well hello JJ.
JJ: You're not my friend. You can call me Jennifer.

From Riding the Lightning.

[serpentskiss.livejournal.com]

Best JJ moment was in Penelope. I loved how she shot the man who had shot Garcia.

[lunesapphire.livejournal.com]

Hell yeah. I saved that on the DVR just so I could so my mom how awesome it was!

[diemme.livejournal.com]

And it's not all kicking down doors and shooting either; JJ is a bridge between a group of highly skilled, brilliant and emotionally challenged people and the press, general public and families of the victims. She's one of the few female characters who combines strength and professionalism with emotion and compassion. She trusts her compassion to guide her strength and instincts and not overwhelm them - The Crossing is a great example.

[nytekit.livejournal.com]

THISSSSSS!

[underhand-glory.livejournal.com]

for me what makes the show work is the way the entire cast vibes together. removing even one member now, no matter who it is, would completely throw that off for me

[gingerberrycat.livejournal.com]

True, it does feel very much like an ensemble.
No one character holds the show together.

[calanthe-b.livejournal.com]

The two of them, ably supported by one Penelope Garcia, calmly, expertly and delightedly destroying 'Brad the Real Live FBI Agent' after he tries to pick up Prentiss with a transparent lie.

Prentiss telling Rossi about her abortion.

Prentiss and JJ supporting each other after Garcia is shot.

Detail Girl Prentiss cracking the case by noticing a tiny detail of Arabic pronunciation.

JJ supporting Hotch as he supports her at the beginning and end of a difficult case.

JJ smoothly and firmly manipulating Hotch and the rest of the team into taking on her aunt's friend's case (and interviewing a deeply traumatised victim well enough to uncover the truth without destroying her, and using her knowledge of small-town dynamics to work out what was going on at every level). And then talking the team into taking Cal McGee's case when no-one else believed in it - and noticing the tiny detail that made it possible for them to take over the case from a senior officer who was actively working at being unhelpful.

Any time Prentiss works with a teenage girl.

'Seven Seconds'. Just - 'Seven Seconds'.

Prentiss snapping back at Hotch in 'Sex, Birth, Death'.

And that's just what I can remember off the top of my head!

[gingerberrycat.livejournal.com]

Haha, nice list.
I hope you don't think too poorly of me. As i said to someone else, if a character doesn't have a big personality then they fall to the background for me. Its a major fanboy flaw of mine.

[gingerberrycat.livejournal.com]

Good points.
I haven't seen the backdoor pilot yet, and i haven't heard anything good so i probably won't watch it, heh.
Like i said i'm a casual viewer and it's not one of my top fandoms. I do think the ladies are great actresses and are given some great stuff to do. But they just never made a huge 'OMG, that is so friggin awesome, i love her!' impression on me.
Nothing against either character and i am sad to see the ladies go, if only cause the ensemble is so good.

[argyle-socks6.livejournal.com]

I was actually just rewatching "A Thousand Words" from this past season. The last scene of that episode where Prentiss beats Reid at cards... it's such a small scene in the episode, but Prentiss is SO brilliant in it.

I won't say anything more than that in case someone here hasn't seen it yet, but you should definitely watch it. It shows how Paget can take a tiny throw-away scene and make it completely awesome.

[gingerberrycat.livejournal.com]

Haha, ok. I'll look it up when i can.

[melodyclark.livejournal.com]

FWIW, I agree with you. They lost the two weakest characters. It's sad, but it's the nature of the game.

Paget will be on from time to time. AJ will find work elsewhere. They're both top performers. They'll be fine.

[haildorothygale.livejournal.com]

They lost the two weakest characters
I hate to be oppositional, but please state your criteria. Your post has nothing to discuss, all you've given us is something to disagree with.

The last show I watched needlessly wrote out a female character at the beginning of the fourth season, it was cancelled in the fifth. Wholesale changes that don't effect your personal enjoyment can still effect the existence of a show.

[the-dark-zodiac.livejournal.com]

I'll throw my hat in. Revelations. The conversation just after JJ's been attacked and nearly shoots Emily. And Emily's comment about Hotch. 52 pickup makes me laugh. Viper gets so wound up, then Emily and Jordan leave made of win.

tdz.

[alice-the-raven.livejournal.com]

My favorite JJ moments came when she was involved with the New Orleans detective and when Reid was kidnapped.

I really love Prentiss and I wish they had given her more opportunities to shine.

[drabbles-by-v.livejournal.com]

To be honest, when I was first watching the show, the only two characters I could remember were Reid and Garcia. The rest just sort of fuzzed together (I didn't even realize there were two brunettes, or that Rossi and Gideon were exclusive in episodes...I have trouble with faces, haha). But as soon as their faces and voices became familiar to me, they all just sort of popped out at once.

Demonology is obviously an excellent Prentiss episode. Revelations for JJ. I think my favorite Prentiss moment is in Sex, Birth, and Death in the end when the guy is like, "She maced me!" and Prentiss just goes, "Yeah, she did." They're strong in subtle ways.

[doctaj10.livejournal.com]

what makes paget so brilliant as Emily is her subtlety, its the mark of a truly great actress...no need for over the top emotion, outbursts, or ridiculous lines...just great acting

her facial expressions are what sometimes get me the most...she doesn't even need words because the look on her face says everything you need

great moments....all of "minimal loss", the car wreck and aftermath from "retaliation", the interview of the kid in "shades of gray", (interview of any kid for that matter), all of "seven seconds", "deomonology", and "outfoxed"...I could go on and on

JJ doesn't have as many "stand out" moments for me, but again what makes her so great is that she is a complete character that drives the flow for so much of the show

[almightyspaz.livejournal.com]

For me, I am not the biggest fan of JJ, but one moment that always stood out to me is her explaining her job just before she goes onto maternity leave. The woman taking up her job for a few episodes (I'm sorry, I can't remember her name) asks her how she picks cases and she explains her instincts and a whole bunch of other stuff. I think JJ has the toughest job on the show. She has to handle which cases get looked at and ones that don't. I can't imagine having to look at gory case files all day and deciding which ones get attention, I'd lose my mind.

Paget has what I call "the face of awesome" she expresses more in her facial reactions than in words.

[hippediva.livejournal.com]

Clearly a VERY casual watcher. Try viewing all of Season 3 and you'll catch on.

[athousandwinds.livejournal.com]

JJ doesn't get much development, that's for sure. But what we do get is consistent and interesting: she's the plausible liar ("The Boogyman", "North Mammon", "The Big Game"), she finds it hard to deal with romantic relationships ("In Heat"), she doesn't interfere with the workings of the BAU much, because that's not her job, but when she does everyone listens to her ("North Mammon", "Legacy"). She's the gatekeeper; the team couldn't do their jobs without her simply because they'd have to constantly deputise someone to deal with the media (can you imagine Reid or Garcia doing it?).

What particularly bothers me is that AJ Cook and Paget Brewster are clearly being written out because they're perceived as being too expensive, so that the network can hire a presumably cheaper actress instead. Because obviously they're all interchangeable.