Criminal Minds (TV Series) 52 Pickup (2008) User Reviews

Impulse to Disembowel

[ttapola · 7/10 · 2 September 2010]

A definite improvement over the previous episode and shows that when the writers stick to simple yet effective ideas, they produce solid, gripping episodes. A serial killer who's taken a course on how to pick up women? Fabulous! The writers also provide a fascinating back-story for him. Way too often we get boring lectures on the evolution of a serial killer from members of the team, and well into the fourth season it's starting to get a bit repetitive. I know this is supposed to be a show that anyone can hop on uninitiated, unlike heavily arc-based shows, but if the intention is to *keep* the viewers, there needs to be more variation.

Anyway, this episode has some great humor in it, which is needed since the killer's modus operandi is so sick and twisted. I wouldn't have minded a jet black episode, but then we wouldn't have had The Viper. Boy, is he a character! And he's so great because there actually are people like him in the *real* world. He doesn't feel fictional. And his scenes with Prentiss are a real treat. Speaking of Prentiss, we get a rare Hot Party Mode Prentiss, something which the heterosexual males, bisexuals and lesbians in the audience will no doubt appreciate. We usually have to rely on Paget Brewster to make a talk show appearance to get an idea what a-night-out-Prentiss might look like.

There really is nothing much to criticize, yet nothing *really* special either. The way the episode is resolved is unremarkable, meaning that this one won't stay in the memory like gems such as season 3's "3rd Life". This entertains, but just doesn't have the viewer on the edge of their seat like the best of episodes. So, this is "just" a solid 7/10.

The case of the murdering pick-up artist

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 19 February 2017]

Season 4 is a very strong contender for the best season of 'Criminal Minds'. A season with so many classics (like "The Big Wheel", "Zoe's Reprise", "Minimal Loss", "Memoriam", "The Instincts" and "Conflicted" to name a few), some of the best of the whole show, and one where even weaker episodes such as "Demonology" and "Catching Out" are still watchable and much better than the worst episodes of Seasons 6, 9 and 11.

"52 Pickup" is neither among the season's best or worst. Instead it is a solid episode and somewhere around top middle in ranking. It's also one of those episodes that does very little wrong and where all the good things are numerous, the things that people see 'Criminal Minds' for being present and correct, but just missing the extra spark to make it special and one of the best.

One of the very few criticisms of "52 Pickup", other than the numerous good things being done even better in other episodes, for me is that the character of Todd has never really done much for me. There are certainly far worse female team characters, particularly Tara Lewis and Ashley Seaver, both characters having far worse things than just being a bit dull and lack of gelling chemistry. "52 Pickup" deserves credit for trying to give Todd more development, but her personality just isn't engaging me and it is only really with Prentiss where she gels properly.

The only other fault is that there are episodes with more memorable climaxes, the climactic moments are a little lacking in tension and suspense and resolved somewhat too conveniently.

However, visually the production values are without complaint. It's very well shot and lit and is overall stylish, gritty, classy and atmospheric. The music is moody in the haunting and melancholic sense and fits well, without either enhancing or distracting from it. The direction keeps the momentum going but lets the case breathe, and most of the pacing is breathe especially in the latter parts when the tension builds.

It's a mostly well-written episode too, thoughtful, solid in flow and well balanced between case and team dynamic. In terms of concept, the story is pretty fascinating with a unique case for the fourth season and one of the better-developed unsubs of the season. Tension and suspense is mostly there, love how darkly twisted the unsub is and the balance of fresh genuinely funny humour (which agreed was needed and didn't jar) and adorable emotional moments. Reid and Prentiss really shine here and Garcia, despite her screen time not being much, is charming and amusing.

Acting is very good all round. Overall, not always remarkable but interesting and well done episode. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Poisonous pickup lines

[lirmihn · 8/10 · 4 April 2022]

Good episode. The newbie sinks then redeems herself. Spencer gets to be flirty. Hotch gets to be the 'good' boss. Great guest actors!

The profiling seems a little superficial in this one, maybe ocd Clean Killers are so ubiquitous to serial killer junkies that it's an easy skate.

Sadly the thing that horrified me the most in this episode was the prominent display of using BLEACH & AMMONIA TOGETHER. It's a reactive combo that produces CHLORAMINE GAS which is highly toxic & can be DEADLY in confined spaces (like bathrooms ). Sloppy for this obvious safety fauxpaux to be so prominently pushed in the episode.

Good premise, lacklustre execution

[kaleestraza · 5/10 · 21 May 2018]

Criminal Minds is at it again with their trend of eschewing their horror-ridden, psych profiling roots for rote cop drama I could easily find in any one of the many police procedurals currently airing.

The idea of a serial killer disemboweling people and using the slow death that entails to force them to clean up their own blood and guts is uniquely horrifying in a way that, as the series grows, becomes harder and harder to find. Unfortunately, this episode contains almost no criminal profiling, and utterly fails to capitalize on that horror. Why a serial killer may choose this method of killing and this avenue of sadism is left entirely unexplored. There are no artistic shots inviting the viewer to understand what being victim to this killer might be like. We are given no insight into his daily life. Even after we find out why he commits these crimes and what his stressor was, there is no interesting psychobabble explaining it all.

The idea of a serial killer using oft-sociopathic PUA tactics was a great idea as well, one that predicted the recent Isla Vista and Toronto killings, but again, this episode fails to dissect and criticize the practice properly despite taking much time to present them. I have no idea why they missed the opportunity to go in-depth on why such techniques are poor and attractive to antisocial personalities.

The scene with Reid and Morgan was cute and a nice insight on them both. The filmmaking and script were competent, I suppose, if barren.

The time spent on things tangential or even outright extraneous to the case is disproportionate to how meaningful the scenes therein are. Take, for example, "What Fresh Hell" from Season 1, and compare it to this episode. It uses less than half the time that "52 Pickup" does to cover extraneous subjects, but somehow the scenes from "52 Pickup" with the sole exception of Reid and Morgan's one manage to be far less meaningful, informative, or realistic.

If these showrunners lack the ability to make plot-irrelevant information compelling, I suggest they give us more of what we came here for: Actual criminal profiling and infamous, mind-bending crime.