Episode discussion

[a_blackpanther]

This is the discussion post for episode 4x01 "Mayhem". Watch out for SPOILERS in the comments.

Comments

[shoshannagold.livejournal.com]

Hi, I'm Shosh, and I'm new around here. *waves* I mainlined all three seasons this summer and I'm totally gone on this show in a way I haven't been in a long time. I haven't done the intro post thing yet, because I haven't had a lot to say, and, um, I'm a little shy. But tonight's show totally rocked and none of my friends are really into CM and, really, I just have to babble for a while.

So, the really important thing first: Dear God, what is with JJ's shirt?!?! I mean, city at risk, big bombs, multiple unsubs, yeah, yeah. But that SHIRT! I couldn't stop staring at it whenever she was in a scene. Pregnancy doesn't kill your fashion sense! Wardrobe, are you on crack?

The first 20 minutes or so, before Morgan showed up, and it was just Hotch alone with Kate - and, fine, the kid (Sam? I clearly need to start taking notes if I watch it when it airs, because I'm so used to being able to rewind whenever I want.) Hotch, I get that you were just blown up, but you're on a New York street in the middle of a crisis, and there's only one guy around? And then a lone paramedic? A weird one, at that? Hmm. Anyway, it was just so powerful, because Hotch is usually the one in control, manning the command centre, directing SWAT, that kind of thing. And there he is, all alone with his friend dying, with help just out of reach. It hurt every time he called for help and nobody came. I like the way those scenes were shot, too, all dark with only light on Hotch.

Did Morgan profile a cop in a split second, or were there actually Marines on the ground? It wouldn't surprise me if he had, I just wasn't paying close enough attention to the other guy - and, really, can you blame me, because OMG Morgan, go save your man!

I did a double-take when I realized Hotch was driving the ambulance. Of course he would be, because there's nobody else to do, and there's nothing that man can't do, but it caught me by surprise. And how totally Hotch, to hold on until Kate's being taken care of, and then to just go down. I have undying love for Hotch. And they can put Thomas Gibson in a hospital gown anytime they want. I also thought that it was really awesome that Morgan sent for Hotch's go bag without even had talked to him. They all know each other so well and it comes out with tiny, intimate details like that, which make my heart go all smooshy.

I wanted to hold Garcia's hand for the entire episode. I mean, more than I wanted to hold everybody else's hand, too. Prentiss, Rossi, Reid, and JJ all had each other for most of the ep, but there's poor Garcia, phone lines going down all over the place, calls going to voice mail when people might be dead, her boss - who she totally loves and respect and is one of her family - getting blown up in front of her over and over again, Morgan playing the hero all night long ... okay, you all watched, too. You know what I mean. *grins* Anyway, all this is happening, and Garcia is all alone with this tech who she barely knows. Great girl, good head, but not one of her team, you know? Then again, I loved the way she's in the middle of all this, knows that Morgan's out there with the bad guys, and trusts that he can talk to her and do his job at the same time. That relationship, the way they care about each other - I totally cried.

There was barely any Reid tonight (or any Rossi, really, but I'm fine with that). Very tempting to do a recap from his point of view.

[shoshannagold.livejournal.com]

(I exceeded comment length. *blushes*)

Morgan's going to be the death of me. First, a dark subway tunnel with a guy who just blew up Hotch, and then the ambulance with a big bomb that BLEW UP! No, please, take as many unnecessary risks as you have to. It's fine. I'm sure my heart will start again any second.

Lovely moment with Hotch in the hospital room, taking care of Kate however he can, even if it's just her body. So, a woman to whom he's close, who is the spitting image of his ex-wife, basically bleeds out in his arms. I don't suppose that this is somehow symbolic of his love for Haley dying, so he can move on and stop being so broken? That's totally wishful thinking, isn't it? He's just going to keep on being broken. WOULD SOMEBODY PLEASE FIX HOTCH! If there's anybody who deserves to be taken care of, it's him. Or maybe he can't let other people in enough to do that?

We go from Hotch saying, 'You do your job very well, and people notice,' to 'You don't trust, therefore you are (somewhat?) untrustworthy'? I had a really hard time reading Hotch during that scene, but what I got out of it was, 'I don't want to lose you, too, even if it makes you hate me.' And, okay, the ep needs to show up online now (I haven't any way to tape it, sadly) because I need to watch that scene about a dozen times, because I feel like there were nuances there I couldn't catch in one go. Anybody have any thoughts on that? Or on Morgan's reactions?

Wow. This is more than I've posted in my journal in like a month (writing my thesis, no personal life allowed, etc). And I totally abused italics. I just have so much love for this show - you may have gotten that - and I'm so happy that it's got such a nice fandom, with a place where I can go on and on...

[a_blackpanther]

I didn't even know there was a comment length. Anyway, welcome to the community! The more the merrier.

Emily's gonna fix Hotch. She can do that. If they'd let her. /fangirl

You might find the ep on youtube, and it's definitely downloadable from different torrent sites.

[shoshannagold.livejournal.com]

Yep, after 4300 characters LJ says 'OMG DUDE SHUT UP AND STOP HOGGING THE INTERNETS!!' and won't let you post anything more than that. *grins*

I totally believe that Emily could fix Hotch. But I'm a slasher at heart, and so I've been playing around with various ideas in that genre about how to fix Hotch. I don't think it could be Morgan or Reid, at least not Reid right now. I'm kind of thinking about doing a crossover (God knows there are enough cop shows either based on the FBI or set in DC for me to do it with!) or go with an original character.

I find the ep online! Yay! Now I can obsessively watch it over and over again. *grin*

[vomitsmoothie.livejournal.com]

I wanted to hold Garcia's hand too! Poor gal, she probably just wanted to break down into tears and panic but there's no time for that when the whole team..and pretty much the entire city for that matter.. depends on her.
Do we know the tech lady's name? She seems pretty savvy and helpful. I like her better than Joyner, that's for sure.

[shoshannagold.livejournal.com]

Garcia totally held it together and I'm hoping she had a good cry on Morgan's shoulder at some point. Neither one of them are stiff-upper-lip types, thank goodness.

The NYPD's tech is called Lisa Bartleby (I didn't remember that, but I was already on tv.com, which always has stuff like that). She was great, and I loved the way she didn't question any of Garcia's OCD and just rolled with it.

I think Joyner must have been much nicer the first time Hotch met her, because he's not somebody who makes friends easily, and he was quite taken with her. But you're right, she really didn't go out of her way to make nice with anybody, even though they were there to help her.

[mcgarrygirl78.livejournal.com]

In re Joyner: Hotch may be one of those guys who ends up liking women who make him overpower him in some way. He wouldn't be in the minority you know, and with a Southern mother....she could have been the overbearing type (no offense to any Southerners, I come from a Southern family myself)

That's just my opinion of course but something I noticed over time.

[shoshannagold.livejournal.com]

I have a Jewish mother, who are also known for being overbearing. Moms!

As a boss, Hotch is completely egalitarian re his treatment of male and female team members - as far as I can tell, anyway. My guess would be that he looks for an equal in his intimate relationships as well. He's strong, in all kind of ways, and he's admitted that he can be a bully, so maybe he looks for women who not only can stand up to him, but will do so regularly. They could definitely be perceived as overbearing, especially by somebody like Morgan, who's attracted to a completely different type.

I'm actually really interested in Haley/Hotch pre-series, especially since Rossi commented about how they used to be on the phone ten times a day.