#cm crit

hey. hey cm. why are we learning this about the new character six minutes into the episode. also why is she saying this to hotch and rossi who clearly already know. like this is a pretty interesting character backstory and i feel like revealing it this quickly does such a disservice to it. at least wait until the end of her first episode?

something i think could have worked:

keep this conversation. and if you keep it, i do think you need to do the backstory reveal in the same episode because otherwise it's just...weird. it's too heavyhanded to carry an arc. or, cut it entirely and sprinkle hints before a reveal.

but anyway, if you keep it: don't end the conversation like this. end it at "i appreciate the concern." episode happens, la la la, at the end, either hotch or rossi (probably rossi? from what i understand, he winds up having the best dynamic with seaver) checks in with her, asking whether or not the case wound up triggering painful memories. she says no.

someone else overhears, and as they leave the jet, they stop her— "painful memories?"

and then have this line. also, whether you keep the scene and do the reveal at the end of the episode, or scrap the scene and do the reveal later (and in that case i think only rossi should know) you could do a little bait-and-switch where you imply that she's lost someone to a killer rather than losing someone because they were a killer.

aldhskdh it’s definitely controversial but youre so so right for it?? i feel like a lotta people just… ignore morgan. it wouldnt feel as purposeful or malignant if they didnt give the exact things morgan deals with to reid?? the same thing kinda happens w hotch, where people obsess over reid so much that it overshadows the places where they’re similar (like hotch being a nerd or autistic hotch or transmasc hotch) but even then, at least he’s got the hotchgirls to balance it out. where are the morgangirls?? where are they??

it seems like such a waste that morgan gets sidelined as the himbo jock football guy when the writers went out of their way to let us know that’s not who he is?? it’s the one time i think the writers actually did good in comparison to the fandom: they made him one of the smartest, most emotionally open characters. he’s so so caring. and reid is smart, sure, but even morgan has his strengths. he’s a better chess player than reid (something i wish we couldve seen more of), which i think no one ever fucking mentions. morgan seems like an afterthought at most in cm fics, with moreid, hotchgan, and morcia. he’s just.. underappreciated in general in comparison to his white counterparts.

as far as the trans masc hc… ok.. this one might get me into trouble lol but it feels so… uninteresting? he’s “gnc” bc he has long hair ig. i dont wanna say too much more on that bc morgan/hotch seem very comfortable in their gender identity, and it’s probably easier for questioning people to identify with the generally-insecure reid. which is like.. fine ig but it feels? belittling almost? infantilizing/woobifying trans men? idk

hi anon! im sorry in advance this is so long. spoilers and cm/penelope crit below 

(writing penelope crit makes me legitimately sad 😭)

JJ as a character is very bland, in the early season liaison jj didn't do much for me, but she was tolerable and stayed in her lane

the moment they transformed her into GI Jane fist fighting unsubs ALONE, super profiler who's suddenly somehow on the same level as seasoned profilers and being called for a super secret op overseas i just.... like cmon be for real

the writers had an agenda to push her character and not were they shoving her down our throats, meanwhile sis never really gave😭 😬 their best bet was to keep her as media liaison, there really and truly was no reason for her to become a profiler

she really went from being the least experienced on the team (like genuinely—no profiling experience or the relevant education) to being poached by the state department or whoever for a job she’s not qualified for and has never done before??

The unsub in 702 is so creepy and f'd up. It was pretty good writing.

I don't really understand the fued between JJ and Reid because at the end of 701 everyone is in the meeting room and looks fine. If they had written that Reid wasn't there then it would've made more sense in 702.

Also I didn't like the writing when Reid yells at JJ, it just didn't flow well.

I don't understand the whole "what if I had started taking Dilaudid again would you have let me part?"

Specifically the "would you have let me" part.

It should have ended at "What if I started taking Dilaudid again?"

And going to JJ's house crying. That's not really Reid's character...he doesn't really ask for help, people usually ask him if he's okay and eventually he may say something...like with the drug problem or the headaches...

What do you think?

701 was one of their worst episodes honestly. the whole doyle arc was done so well, which makes it so much worse when the finale falls flat. i think bringing declan’s mom as a foil for lauren was cool (and low empathy emily interacting w no empathy doyle is fucking hilarious), but other than that, it was just so… disappointing. all that build up for nothing. even the reunion felt insincere (other than shemar who acted his fuckijg ass off w that kicked puppy look). no one really reacted. idk they just made that whole ep so… uninteresting. like it wasnt entertaining at all and made absolutely no sense for anyone. truly a waste. the doyle arc couldve been so good if they just managed to stick the landing

702 was definitely the most blatant ableism in a while.. that being said, it’s a fun episode bc they make him so vile. and tbh i kinda like the little reid jj drama.. it does admittedly feel like it comes outta nowhere, and it’s not even bc the last episode didnt build up to it—we just haven’t seen jj/reid interact in an emotionally vulnerable way? like of all people, jj feels like the last person reid would go to if he needed to cry. she’s shown him nothing but disdain or indifference when he’s ever emotional around her. but i do think it’s fun that they played w the betrayal. jj’s annoyance that reid hadn’t forgiven her yet was so in character and it was interesting to see that confrontation

i dont mind their fight honestly. yeah it’s a little choppy and all over the place w reid jumping from one point to another, but i think it works bc 1) when anger reaches a certain point it becomes difficult to think linearly and 2) reid in particular isn’t exactly known for being in touch with his feelings, so he’s dealing with it while arguing. all his emotions are bubbling up at once, all the different reasons he has to be (rightfully btw) upset. reid is already a little scatterbrained and has a hard time focusing—he has so much going on in his mind at any given time that it’s hard for him to control when he’s this frustrated. all things considered i think he got his points across pretty well

i think it’s interesting that he brings up his addiction now when it’s gone unmentioned for like three seasons. i think it shows that (yeah the writers probably just forgot/didnt care) he’s pretty private about it. it’s something that was embarrassing for him, and we know he doesnt have the healthiest standards for deserving self respect. it’s partly bc he wants to be private about it and partly bc his attempts to reach out went ignored in the early stages of his addiction. so he’s been quietly struggling in the background all this time—recovery isn’t linear either. it’s definitely realistic for him to want to turn to a familiar sense of release. i think that’s what he was trying to convey: how deeply this hurt him. he was in genuine pain, and he resents jj for letting him suffer when she knew emily was still alive. to be fair i dont think he’s processed that she didnt really have a choice, or thought at all about the repercussions of jj telling the truth. bringing up dilaudid was his way of saying “what if it got that bad? how miserable do i have to be to earn mercy, to earn the truth? do i have to risk ruining my life for you to be honest?”

"she's just the vessel for the writers shitty idea of what a strong woman looks like" soo true though. every attempt falls flat, or upholds stereotypes and her inability to look outside her own experiences

the fucksibdjdjfkdkg "my friends call me jj. you're not my friend you can call me jennifer"

its so fucking elementary afsgdghdjfh 9 year olds say worse to each other. it's not the slay moment everyone thinks it is

one instance in particular i can't stand is in s3ep14, they're at that carnival for rossi's case, and derek says "I can't believe people waste good money on these fixed games" and girlboss jj says "men" "its not people it's men" "only a man would waste $50 trying to win that $3 stuffed animal"

and just. parents. parents bring their kids to carnivals all the time. to have fun and win shitty prizes. oh but I forgot she wasn't a mom yet, so that wasn't her entire personality. I don't know. for me it just never hits as the girlboss moment every one thinks it is. but go off I guess afsghdhfkh

I've fallen out of it with cm a little lately, but unfortunately it will always have some hold on my soul lmao, and I got caught up in reading through your takes, and truly, this show fucking sucks, but analyzing it can be sO fun and you drop nothing but bangers. it reminded me in a way why I like this god awful show in the first place afgsgrhfjfjgshf

like if anyone gave me a single solid reason to like her character at all i might give her a chance. but i’ve been watching cm for a decade, and kept a finger on the pulse of the fandom for half that. so far ive heard absolutely no legitimate thing to like about her

even fanon jj falls flat for me? she’s so one dimensional and they never address any of her flaws. people either make her the target of emily’s infatuation (which is so fucked up on so many levels?? as if we need any more of the aggressive/obsessive lesbian stereotype) or they keep her as the mom of the group and leave it at that. absolutely NO nuance!! im convinced its bc they know we’re right… actually giving her a personality would mean acknowledging how insufferable she us

imo the best thing you can do with her character is actually talk about her internal conflicts. she’s got massive imposter syndrome and she takes it out on everyone!! thats interesting at least!! lets talk about that!! but nooo bc that would mean admitting everyones favorite blonde haired blue eyes beauty makes mistakes

god ur so right in that aaaaaall her girlboss moments are just so pathetic. i love to tear those moments to pieces because its just so fucking easy. clearly shitty attempts at the writers thinking theyre saying something clever or profound. it scares me how frequently the fandom falls for it. like. develop some critical thinking skills pls i am begging