Favorite Season 1 CM episode...

[ficdirectory.livejournal.com]

What's your favorite Criminal Minds episode from the first season? Share why in the comments:

[Poll #1637108]

Comments

[ficdirectory.livejournal.com]

Riding the Lightning - Because "My friends call me JJ...You are not my friend. You may call me Jennifer." And all the intricacies of the characters in this episode. We are taught to believe that people on death row automatically did something to get there, but this episode shows that this isn't always the case. I love the lead female unsub here, because she is so unexpectedly sympathetic. I love the layers in this episode.

[call-me-ps.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah. That's a phenomenal episode. It made me cry the first time I saw it.

[midgetnazgul.livejournal.com]

Riding the Lightning is my favorite Gideon episode ever - by far the best episode Patinkin ever did. I was never a huge fan of him, but this episode is by far one of the best out of every season.

[icy-imaginary.livejournal.com]

That is hard. I don't have one special farvorite episode.
But I think the one I've watched the most is "Compulsion" but I can't really describe why I like it that much. The case was one of the most interesting ones in this season and also how they found out in the end about the profile and unsub.

[goddessdster.livejournal.com]

LDSK set up some interesting intrateam dynamics (I'm a Systems Theorist, so I always study the team) that were then developed upon in future episodes and seasons. I love shows that are willing to let their characters grow.

Also? "Hotch, I was a twelve year-old child prodigy in a Las Vegas public high school. You kick like a nine year-old girl." Is one of the best Reid lines ever.

[pilla06.livejournal.com]

compulsion, I love the lines between Garcia and Derek in that episode

Protracted love-song for season one!

[elliptic-eye.livejournal.com]

Bless you for making it tickyboxes rather than radio buttons.

"Extreme Aggressor" — far from perfect, but a pretty strong first episode. (I don't think CM got pilotitis until the second ep, for whatever reason.) I occasionally wanted to smack Gideon during this ep, but he interested me, and I appreciated that they kicked off with a hero (ish) figure who was "damaged goods"; I also loved his rapport with Reid. It had Elle doing something smart. It had Morgan voicing his misgivings re: his superiors. It didn't have much Garcia, but what Garcia it had was snarkful. Best of all, it had "I think you're an absolute moron." So it set up a lot of what I came to love about the series in general, basically.

"Won't Get Fooled Again" — just thought it worked. Good followup to the backstory introduced for Gideon in the first ep. Sympathetic peripheral figures. Etc.

"Broken Mirror" — I actually forgot to check this one! But I love it. Mainly I love the phone scenes, where they're all sitting around analyzing the unsub while he insults them. Team sharing food. And, of course, Gideon calling the unsub an idiot, which is always enjoyable.

L.D.S.K. — mainly for the final "you kick like a nine-year-old girl."

"The Fox" — one of their scariest unsubs ever. The opening where the wife kisses the unsub on the cheek, then sees her husband, and then the unsub sits up shrouded in the sheet makes me shudder every time. Still ticked off that they made this unsub so cartoonish when they brought him back, because in his original confession, whoa nelly, was he scarily out to lunch.

"Derailed" — I loved the little clues about Reid we get scattered here, and how absolutely furious Gideon looks when Reid argues his way into going on the train. (I'm a sucker for their mentor/protégé-ness, what can I say.) Elle frankly didn't get much to do in this one, but she's adorable with Reid there at the end.

"Riding the Lightning" — a blatant tear-jerker, but I liked it anyway. The end.

"Somebody's Watching" — is it terrible that I love this mainly for "Do I look twelve?" "…Fourteen?" D'awww, Reid is adorable with his surrogate dad in the more innocent days of S1. ♥

"Secrets and Lies" —

Gideon: You've striven your entire life just to seek the approval of your father, obsessively tried not to make the same mistakes he made… the emotional cost wipes the smile off your face.
Hawkes: You know, my kids… they don't even know who or what their father really is.
Gideon: But they know there's absolutely nothing you wouldn't do for them. And who says, you know… our kids need to know everything about us? Trust me: We're not that interesting.

No love for this episode? :( Well, I loved the way they used the CIA as a sort of mirror for the team, especially Bruno Hawkes for Gideon, Kruger Spence for Reid, and Gina Sanchez for Morgan (and, come to think of it, Gideon, a little bit…). Actually, I adored Sanchez, period. She ranks rigt up with Nathan Harris as the one-off character I wish they'd bring back most; she was epic. If we must lose Paget at the end of this season, please could we have Gina to replace her? Not to mention all the JJ/Garcia.

"The Fisher King" —

Morgan: 'Kay, but wait a minute: Unsubs, they don't contact us this way. I mean, they might taunt us, dare us to catch them, but they don't drag us into their fantasy.
JJ: Why not?
Morgan: Because they're sexual fantasies. I mean, taunting us is a show of power, but making us the object is… I don't know what the hell that is.

Honestly? 'Cause I'm weak for unsubs who want to interact with the team. And because of JANE MOTHERFUCKING LYNCH.

One thing that bugs me about it, though, is that I don't think they ever did fully address the issues Morgan brought up in the quote above. But I suppose that's what I have fanfic for.

[autumnsfire.livejournal.com]

LDSK because it showed Reid and Hotch, for the first time since the show began as PEOPLE moreso than just characters.

The Tribe because it introduced us to the most awesome character John Blackwolf who needs to come back if only to call Hotch Captain America again.

[ah-betty.livejournal.com]

I voted for Riding the Lightning because it made me cry.
And it's my favourite Metallica song lol.

[brabbel.livejournal.com]

Riding the Lightning - I like that this isn't your typical "get the unsub"-episode, and I loved the character-interaction.

Though... I'd never let her be executed at the end (but then, I'm not at all in favour of the death penalty, so that might play into that decision), while I understand her reasons, *she* didn't deserve to die, and her son would have learned to live with his past. Imagine him looking up his parents and thinking *both* of them were monsters - would that be so much better?!?

[ah-betty.livejournal.com]

IA whole heartedly with the above.

[coffeeem.livejournal.com]

L.D.S.K., Natural-born Killer, Riding the Lightning--nope, I can't do it. Too much great storytelling. *g*

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

I voted for LDSK because it's when I first started getting really into the show. It really set up the team dynamics and started showing us more about the profilers as people. Also, how can you not love it when Reid and Hotch team up together to kick unsub ass? They're one of my favorite duos within the team, and this is the first time they really get to do something cool together.

[drabbles-by-v.livejournal.com]

LDSK obviously because of amazing Hotch and amazing Reid...

But Riding the Lightning is one of my favorite episodes of all of them. The story is breathtaking, Sarah Jean is absolutely beautiful, it's touching and heartwrenching and captivates me every single time I watch it. Also, badass JJ.

And then Fisher King pt. 1 because both of those are just love.

[fun-french-fri.livejournal.com]

Extreme Aggressor, Compulsion, The Popular Kids, and The Fisher King Part 1.

Wow, L.D.S.K. is so far ahead of everything.

[call-me-ps.livejournal.com]

The Tribe. Because Blackwolf is so completely awesome and I ship Hotch/Blackwolf so.freaking.hard. Plus it's a well-written episode with an interesting case.

But mainly because of Blackwolf.

[paksenarrion2.livejournal.com]

I chose 2-LDSK and The Tribe. LDSK because of the dynamics between Reid and Hotch. The Tribe simply because of Blackwolf.

I also loved Ride the Lightning. Sarah Jean broke my heart-giving herself up to save her son the pain of knowing his parents (more specifically his dad) were serial killers. And I actually liked Gideon in this ep.

[eviljr.livejournal.com]

Wow. I didn't realize there were so many others who liked LDSK as much as me!

[midgetnazgul.livejournal.com]

The Fox is probably in the top five most chilling episodes ever, imho. I still get goosebumps at the very end when they open the box. /shiver

I considered it the darkest episode until "100" happened.

[kandy-barr.livejournal.com]

I forgot what I voted for, lol. The Tribe was the episode that made me really think. And it made me laugh a little, too.