Crime Drama TV

Tonight’s repeat of Criminal Minds follows two serial killers operating in the same city, one - the Mill Creek Killer - hunting middle-class brunettes and the other - the Hollow Man - shooting prostitutes. They’re locked in a rivalry leaving the city paralyzed in fear. But before the BAU team takes off, a new member named Emily Prentiss arrives. There’s some confusion due to the fact that Hotch has not approved a transfer to the team but she has the proper paperwork. She’s left behind for now.

After the Hollow Man alerts the media to the location of one of the Mill Creek Killer’s victims, Reid figures out that the two killers are communicating through the newspaper’s classifieds. They use names from Catcher in the Rye, the preferred novel of the sociopath. Apparently I am not a sociopath, because I HATED that book. Wah, wah, wah. Shut up Holden. The team is able to play the Mill Creek Killer and the Hollow Man off of each other and apprehend both.

When Hotch returns to his office, Prentiss is there. In the dark. Waiting for him. Hotch is slightly creeped out, but is impressed with her evaluation of the case file that was delivered for him. He makes no promises - the credits already made them for him - but directs her to someone who can assign her a desk and she practically skips away.

This is one of my favorite episodes; I found it really cool how they played the killers off of one another. They also used handwriting analysis to help profile the Hollow Man, something which I would personally like to see more of on the show. Another thing I thought was particularly interesting was how we saw the Mill Creek Killer’s face in the opening. It was a great stylistic choice, especially since we didn’t see the Hollow Man until the last few minutes, mirroring the media coverage each killer got.

I just want to pop back in to say that Criminal Minds won its time slot, beating a first-run episode of Lost ! How awesome is THAT?! Congratulations to everyone involved in the show; having a repeat beat out one of the most critically acclaimed shows on TV has to feel pretty good. You guys deserve it.