‘CRIMINAL MINDS’: BAU REACTS TO BOMBSHELL REVEAL

[thecowboycliche.livejournal.com]

From Entertainment Weekly

‘CRIMINAL MINDS’: BAU REACTS TO BOMBSHELL REVEAL

If you follow me on Twitter, you know where I was yesterday. Not that I’m bragging — except I totally am. But while on set of Criminal Minds (aside from getting to talk to the entire amazing cast), I got to sit down with executive producer and showrunner Erica Messer and ask about the huge reactions we’ll see from the team as a result of the return of presumed-dead Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster).
“Because I’ve been with these guys from day one, we have a really good working relationship of the characters we’ve all created, so we had conversations,” she tells me. “I scripted it that everyone was going to have a huge reaction to her returning, but I’m not about to say, ‘Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) does this,’ ‘Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) does that.’ I only gave them words. Garcia says, ‘She’s alive.’ And Reid says, ‘But we buried her,’ because Garcia is very emotional and Reid is very logical.”
Messer said Morgan (Shemar Moore) will also struggle with the fact that he believes Hotch (Thomas Gibson) betrayed the team by telling them she was dead. And subsequently, Hotch “had to keep this secret from the team while they were pouring their hearts out. He’s burdened with that,” she says. “It’s a complicated tale. When secrets are kept, it’s natural to be complicated.”

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Comments

[philstar22.livejournal.com]

I'm really confused as to why any of the team would be upset about this. I mean, she faked her death for her protection. It made sense for Hotch to know, and JJ clearly had something to do with giving her a new identity. It also made sense to keep it from the other team members both for her protection and for theirs. It doesn't really say much for Morgan that he would care more about being kept out of the loop than he would for her safety.

[emmakitty.livejournal.com]

From what I understand, it's not that anyone's upset that she's a live or anything or doesn't understand what happened and why, but it seems like the bonds of trust between them, especially between Morgan and Hotch are broken because of Hotch's deception. It doesn't matter whether or not Hotch's decision to lie was the right one; he still lied to Morgan which jeopardizes Morgan's trust in Hotch.

Incidentally, this is also the whole reason I'm a little hesitant about Prentiss' return to the show.

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

For months, they've been living under the impression that someone they loved and cared about died. For months, Morgan has been carrying around the guilt of the fact that maybe if he'd been a few minutes earlier, he wouldn't have had to hold his good friend while she died.

And for months, JJ and Hotch, two of the people that everyone on the team is supposed to be able to trust absolutely, have been lying to them about Prentiss being dead. Not only just telling them that, but listening to them lose faith in the job and fall into depression, holding them while they cried over her death.

I think they have every right to be upset that they were put through a tremendous amount of pain and grief. Hotch, JJ,and Prentiss had no other choice, and I don't blame them for having to do what they did, but to say that the other members of the team have no right to be upset? Anyone who's ever had someone close to them die knows just how much that scars and damages a person. That grief, and the changes to all of them that came with it, is not just going to evaporate into thin air because Prentiss never really died. Her death was a lie, but the way that they felt afterward was real, and that's not the sort of thing that you just shake off.

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

And honestly, Morgan more than ANYONE has the right to be upset about this. Can you imagine being in his position? Him and Prentiss were close. Like he said, they were partners. And he was too late to save her. He had moments to try to make it known to her that he cared about her, and that he didn't look at her differently because of what they'd learned, and that she was still the person that he loved, trusted, and relied on. He held her hands as she (to his mind) bled to death in his arms. The nightmares that must have followed that--the fact that he was going to have the image of her dying burned into his mind for the rest of his life, and that he would never be able to stop feeling guilty about not moving a little faster, not getting to her just moments earlier--that isn't something that you put on someone. He has every right to be pissed off that he, along with people that he cares about, were lied to and betrayed by the people they are supposed to be able to trust.

[philstar22.livejournal.com]

Betrayed isn't the right word to use, though. Yes, lied to. But considering they were doing it to protect Prentiss, that isn't a betrayal. And while I can see him being upset, if he really honestly thinks they were wrong not to tell them, that I have problem with. Because they weren't wrong. They made the right decision in order to protect both Prentiss and the rest of the team.

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

Logically? No, they weren't wrong. But that wasn't the RIGHT thing; it was the ONLY thing. There was no RIGHT in this situation. There's nothing right about putting someone through that level of grief. It's not something Hotch or JJ would have done if there was any other option.

And logically, yeah, I'm sure they're all going to realize that it was the only thing that could happen, and know that they couldn't have been told it. But emotions aren't logical. Anger and grief especially. You can't expect someone to push aside months and months of grieving over someone that they loved and be perfectly okay with it. Morgan has the right to be pissed off and feel betrayed (yes, betrayed "to decieve or lead astray", and they were deceived) by the fact that Hotch and JJ did this.

The fact that it was a necessary measure on their part does not mean that no one else is allowed to be hurt, or to feel betrayed, or to be angry.

[lawless523.livejournal.com]

You're trying to impose logic on feelings. It's possible for it to be the right (as in rational and logical) decision and still piss people off, even to the point of their feeling angry and, yes, betrayed. Just because you might not feel that way, or think it's not reasonable to feel that way, doesn't mean everyone would.

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

Thank you! This is what I was trying to get at.

[triggerhappy.livejournal.com]

Yes to this.
AND, Morgan already has trust issues, which is just going to add to his feeling of betrayal.

[kandy-barr.livejournal.com]

Iawtc

[dragonladyk.livejournal.com]

*tries to count all of the times Morgan's current emotional episode flew in the face of all logic* *runs out of fingers*

Yes, yes, I believe you do indeed have an excellent point. :)

DragonLady

[nwjarvis.livejournal.com]

And for months, JJ and Hotch, two of the people that everyone on the team is supposed to be able to trust absolutely, have been lying to them about Prentiss being dead.

But JJ lies; it's her job and she's very good at it. And Mom/Hotch gets all the shitty jobs.

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

JJ doesn't lie to the TEAM. She deceives the media and the unsubs occasionally, but she's a member of the team, and there's a level of trust among them. There's no reason for them to not trust JJ before this happens. And Hotch is their leader; he's the person they have always trusted. I'm not seeing how "JJ lies to the media sometimes" and "Hotch has to do shitty things for the job" is equaling out to "so the team shouldn't be able to trust them anyway".

[manicpixiegirl.livejournal.com]

I really hope the writers do a good job with this storyline and not just solve all the problems within the first episode. This kind of betrayal is not something one would get over quickly, and (in Reid and Morgan's case) would cause huge issues with trust.

[the-gubette.livejournal.com]

I have a feeling that's what is going to happen. It really seems like they're just going to wrap up the whole storyline in a neat little bow and move on. Which will suck.

[amichevole.livejournal.com]

I'd like to think the fact that there's a new showrunner would change some things re: continuity, but we'll see, I guess.

[the-gubette.livejournal.com]

I hope so too. It just makes me nervous that Prentiss is just *back* in the first half of the first ep. Like OHAIUGUYZGUESSWHOSBACK. And the ep 2 will be completely resolved. I hope I'm wrong.

[amichevole.livejournal.com]

I at least hope they'll deal with the other kinds of death-faking fallout. Like not having a place to live, not having any stuff. There're a lot of options, and if you're right, and they wrap it up all neatly, I will be fairly annoyed by it all.

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

Oh also

"But we buried her" made me burst into tears earlier because I am way too invested in this ship oh god

[manicpixiegirl.livejournal.com]

I can just imagine his poor puppy dog face when he says that in barely more than a whisper.

I am going to cry like a baby.

[patch-tank.livejournal.com]

OMG me too. I'm going to, like, try to reach through my tv screen to hug him, or something.

[murf1307.livejournal.com]

Where is that damn "Hug a Character Thru the Screen" invention? The Star Trek fans have also wondered this.

But yeah, this'll be something.

[patch-tank.livejournal.com]

This invention needs to happen. I can see several uses for it, like for example, if Derek Morgan was shirtless.

[kandy-barr.livejournal.com]

I'm really trying my very best to put some faith in Messer and her direction for the new season. I dont think I can handle any of the bs that was pulled in Season 6.

[angleico315678.livejournal.com]

This. I don't think I can handle any more of that either.

[annievh.livejournal.com]

It’s a complicated tale

Yes, that's why you'll probably drop it after two weeks - like Haley's death.
:P
But at least Prentiss is back. Hazzah!

[hotch-fan.livejournal.com]

A little late but...

I'm a little wary of how they will handle all the chaos they created with all the Prentiss/JJ mess, but hoping for the best.