Criminal Minds (TV Series) 100 (2009) User Reviews

Stunning

[b-adams44 · 10/10 · 16 August 2014]

I dare you to find me an episode of Criminal Minds that is written this well to provide tense and interesting story, as well as the superb acting from all actors involved.

I always enjoy when procedural shows start at the end, especially when the tension created at the start is actually shown to carry through right to the end (tension created at the start of an episode that is then diffused halfway through the episode in a poor way = a big no-no).

From the first second, you knew something terrible had happened. It was immediately made clear that Hotch was involved somehow, but quite rightly, they never showed Hotch in the present-day interview scenes until after it was shown that he had survived The Reaper's attack.

The two scenes with Jack and Hotch, talking about Jack "working the case", are two of the most emotional scenes I have ever seen on television. Couple that with the final exchange between Hotch and Haley and you had all the emotion that an episode needs.

The fight scene between Hotch and Foyet was superb. You could feel the anger flowing through Hotch, and were completely cheering him on to kill Foyet.

Though the episode was Hotch-focused, Matthew Gray Gubler was superb, in particular, in his interview scene.

This was one of the best, if not the best, episode of the show.

One of the best episodes of 'Criminal Minds'

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 30 June 2016]

Having been a fan for six or seven years now, this reviewer does admit that some episodes and seasons are better than others definitely like with most shows, but there are a number of great episodes and "100" is one of them.

Not only is "100" special, being an anniversary episode being the show's hundredth, but it has everything that this reviewer loves about 'Criminal Minds' in the first place.

As ever, it's well made visually, being made with a lot of classy style and atmosphere and the locations are nicely done. The music, like with the hypnotic and haunting theme tune, fits very well when used (being used relatively sparingly), doesn't intrude and matches the impact of the drama on screen while not necessarily enhancing it instead of distracting from it.

"100" is incredibly well written, while the mystery aspects, Strauss' debriefing (a great way of framing the story while telling the story through a flashback structure) and rapport between the BAU team continues to intrigue and delight with nothing being out of place or pointless, the highlights are Foyet's taunting, which very effectively chill the bone and bite the nails, and the tense and heart-rending final exchange between Haley and Hotch. The characters are well-written and serve a point to the storytelling, Hotch is more interesting than he usually is (in a show where Gideon, Rossi, Prentiss and Reid are admittedly more compelling characters) and this episode demonstrates why Foyet is one of the show's most notorious, perhaps even the most notorious, serial killers for good reason.

There is also a truly riveting story, with great tension and suspense. There are two highlights. One being the final exchange between Haley and Hotch (the scenes with Hotch and Jack also bring a tear to the eye), which is definitely the single most poignant scene on 'Criminal Minds' where my reaction to the scene was the same as Garcia's (yes more so than JJ's appeal speech on radio in "The Longest Night"). And the other being the climactic fight between Hotch and Foyet, which is a nail-biting bloodbath where the suspense levels are almost overwhelming and one really does find themselves rooting for Hotch entirely. The brutal torture of Kassmeyer is also effective in showing how irredeemably evil Foyet was.

'Criminal Minds' regulars all do strong work, with Thomas Gibson giving some of his best acting of the series showing off greater emotional range than his material usually allows. Matthew Gray Gubler is also excellent. Meredith Monroe really gets to the heart of the final exchange and looks as though she was in tears herself, but it's C. Thomas Howell who comes off best.

Foyet is one of the most notorious, creepiest and most interesting serial killers on 'Criminal Minds' and Howell really is a revelation, whether through Foyet's brutal torture, where he is demonic and merciless, or through the malicious taunting of Hotch, which Howell relishes with glee. This is proof that, despite many bad performances in rubbish low-budget films (some mock-busters) indicating a bad actor, that when his material is worthwhile and very meaty that Howell can really shine, his work as George Foyet on 'Criminal Minds' is some of the best of his whole career and it's the best and meatiest work he's had in a long time.

Overall, brilliant and special episode and one of the best of 'Criminal Minds'. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Absolutely amazing episode

[LoveIsAStateOfMind · 10/10 · 29 December 2015]

Oh.My.God.

Amazing opening sequence. Loved the way they filmed it and how they teased you by not showing you who was the other side of the camera at first. And although I'm pretty sure most people realised who was going to get killed going in, the way they did that made me think that Haley was the first body and then it was Jack's .....

Also, I liked the multi-POVs thing as well. I mean I think if it happened every week it would irritate me but for a one-off (like they did on Grey's the other week), it really really worked.

JJ/Henry/Will family moment! I melted at the cute.

All the undercover agents pretending to be normal people on the street coming out of their roles and pulling out their guns and running. <3 OMG the torture! Man Foyet's clever though. Glad that the marshal turned out to be a good guy and a hero even though it didn't do any good.

Holy crap at Haley's speech. I mean I kind of guessed it was going to go down something like this but the emotional impact of it was just .... and the gunshots and the reactions of everyone ..... . even down to the camera work on Hotch's face .......

Then when Hotch arrived at the house and was going through room by room ..... I don't think I breathed the whole time.

OMG when Hotch shot the curtain I thought that it was Jack behind there (and Foyet had set it up to trick Hotch to get him to kill his own son) and you have no idea how relieved I was when it was actually Foyet. And then I freaked when his eyes opened and then the whole fight sequence ... epically done.

God I'm so glad that Jack survived. I don't say this about children a lot but he really is very cute.

I know a lot of people don't like Erin Strauss but I don't have anything against her and every show needs someone like her to antagonise the team but in the end she does what's right.

Oh the last scene. TEAM BONDING MOMENTS = ABSOLUTE LOVE.

There is absolutely nothing they could have done to make this episode better than it already was. I mean it was perfect. It hit all the right notes and had the impact it was aiming for. And it flowed perfectly. Also sometimes I think that there's always moments of "Yeah right, that would never happen in the real world" especially in high drama episodes but everything made sense in this .... the way they managed to slip JJ's family moment into being the key to solving the case, the excuse to have Kevin there, the extremely clever way Foyet managed to get hold of Haley, the ploy Hotch used with Jack to get him out of the way, ....... the only thing that was a bit tenuous was Reid's working out Foyet's alias ... but then he's a genius so whatever.

The thing that definitely surprised me was the Haley/Hotch/Foyet convo because I thought the acting and writing of that was absolutely out of this world and the fact that you had nearly the entire main cast in a car driving and not there watching it all play out in front of them meant that the way that they managed to make it even more emotional and powerful than scenes where they actually react to killings on the spot is pretty amazing. I

A rare thing when television climaxes perfectly

[sherylchilders82 · 10/10 · 21 November 2019]

I love CBS, and I watch all of the network's shows. But, they're not known for their cutting edge plots or stories. I've been binging Criminal Minds on Netflix, and was entertained, but not super impressed. Good characters, great one-off stories for the most part. They've done some story arcs to keep you watching, fairly successfully. But, this episode catches you off guard.

First of all, it's in the middle of the season - usually TV shows (that don't kill off characters often) do it at the end, or sometimes the beginning of a season. Secondly, this episode doesn't just complete one story arcs, but two, not to mention the expression of Hotch's PTSD that's been building throughout the Foyette storyline. I think it's his true character finally being revealed that makes this so good, the psychology of his character. And Gibson gives a stellar performance.

Hotch has always been so serious, but as Haley says, we know he wasn't always like this. When he gets attacked by Foyette, we see a vulnerable side of him, as he struggles with the trauma. He develops PTSD, becoming obsessed with the case, pretending to have it together ("I stepped down so he would think I was losing control"), while he was slowly becoming more unstable.

We expect the rage that he shows when he kills Foyette, and who could blame him? What we don't expect is how cathartic it will feel, how little we will question whether it was right or wrong. The writers did a wonderful job of making us understand Hotch's point of view throughout his character development. We see Haley and the team through his eyes. For a show rooted in psychology, they've created a great character study. We see how incredibly sensitive he is, and vulnerable, and how those traits enable him to not only survive, but to save his son.

Granted Haley is an auxiliary character, and we always had a sense that something might happen to her, it was still a rare out-of-the-box surprise from CBS.

very sad, but excellent episode

[moviemania513 · 9/10 · 11 March 2011]

100 is the 100th episode of Criminal Minds. In this episode, Suprevising Agent Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner (Thomas Gibson)'s nemesis, The Reaper, a.k.a. George Foyet now knows where Hotch's wife and son are hiding. Hotch and his team now have to stop him before it's too late.

This definitely has to be one of my favorite episodes on the show. This episode made me like Hotch a lot more than I used to. It was very sad but it was an excellent episode. After I first saw the episode, I knew something bad would happen but I was looking forward to it. This is one of the best episodes, and being the 100th episode, it has the right suspense and action.

The most emotional episode of the series

[tealeewoo · 10/10 · 27 February 2021]

To see the ever stoic Hotch reduced to a helpless and distraught mess is agonizing. You feel the tension throughout the episode as you try to figure out exactly what happened. You know something terrible took place but you're not exactly sure what. The entire story is executed perfectly, all the way to the end. Hotch, and the entire team, actually having to listen to Haley's final moments was the breaking point. Hoping there was time to save her but knowing Foyet would never be that merciful. And then Foyet thinking he had the ultimate power over Hotch by "surrendering" after murdering Haley...because he never believed Aaron would bend the rules, never mind BREAK THEM, by not taking him into custody. He wanted to break Hotch but didn't expect him to lash out like that...fatal mistake. I think they ended this story arch perfectly because there was no way Hotch could properly feel closure with Foyet alive, especially knowing he'd escaped once before.

Saddest episode, but definitely one of, if not THE best.

Any story that can make me bawl like a baby...

[jared-467-4890 · 10/10 · 15 December 2018]

Aaron Hotchner is an absolutely tragic figure in this series. His dedication to the job broke up his marriage. He obviously is a very broken man, with many major conflicts that he has struggled to resolve. First his struggles in his marriage... then a divorce... and now this? He is a candidate for some serious therapy in the future!

Essentially, Hotch has been given a series of awful choices, been forced to make those choices, always tried to make the BEST choice out of an array of terrible options, and he just keeps on being given worse and worse choices to make, with no clean or easy way out of the situation. How do you choose between "let this person die at the hands of a serial killer" versus "maybe make your wife mad enough to leave you"?

That said, Hotch has a definite "hero complex". "I am the only person in the world who can solve this problem, so I have to be the one to do it, even if it means maybe sacrificing my marriage and relationship with my wife and son." This is how Hotch produces such a horrible array of choices.

This episode was done so well, with the dramatic management of the timeline. Showing the very end first, without revealing who died, then giving the story of how we came to that ending, and revealing the tragedy in the final moments.

Woven through all of this is the overlapping drama of this lady who is nothing but a politician and bureaucrat, callously judging from the outside looking in, and seemingly trying to end Hotch's career, break up the team, and otherwise make everyone miserable, all to make some sort of name for herself, or cover her own butt.

In the end, you are taken on a ride, where you feel such empathy for all of these characters, that you can become overwhelmed with the grief they all feel. It's like each member of the team has their emotions pouring in to you, concentrating it and distilling it, so that you feel it all at once. In the end, if you're not crying like a baby, you may not have a soul.

One of the best episodes!

[randomness-96 · 10/10 · 22 April 2020]

This episode made me cry... hard.. every character in that episode did a very good job. You felt what they felt, it was a very well put together episode. You'll definitely need a tissue box set in place for this one.

Most memorable episode

[Jackbv123 · 9/10 · 26 September 2019]

Given the suspense of the moment, the extreme grief of the outcome, and the profound consequences, this episode is the most memorable of the Criminal Minds show. It also contains many of the elements that I love, that make the show what it is. There is a lot of profiling and deduction. There is sparkling witty dialogue. The few moments that we see Spence, his character excels. There are so many poignant moments. The code with Jack is brilliant. The actions of the villain are awful. This episode is literally filled with these elements, especially suspense and poignancy.

1 star deduction for things I hate. I hate witch hunts. I hate when a procedural show starts with a bureaucratic investigation and uses flashbacks to tell the story (although in this case that didn't ruin the flow as much as they sometimes do). As to the basis of the witch hunt, in an unbiased world with no agendas and where rules are secondary to people, it would be hard to fault anything Hotch did. However, there are rules and agendas in the world and many of them exist for a reason. An organization like the FBI needs to, and should, live by rules. Rules protect the general public and actions based on personal feelings can and are damaging to others outside the immediate situation. What doesn't make sense is Strauss suddenly changing her official stance as if none of it mattered. (I never liked Strauss. As a villain, she was weak. As a boss, she was indecisive and too political. ) Perhaps they wink at these things a little and keep him in the agency and on the team, but they don't immediately return him to unit chief especially if any of the earlier questions about him were legitimate.

Because of the objections I raise, I can't give this episode a perfect 10. That doesn't mean it doesn't stand out at the top of the list in so many ways. Especially if you don't personally cringe with me at some of my pet peeves, this episode is eminently watchable and brilliant.

Best episode

[katepur2011 · 10/10 · 20 March 2021]

Makes me cry every time so sad The team are fantastic in this

The third 10/10 episode out of the first 100 ep !!

[nicofreezer · 10/10 · 23 May 2021]

Great great moments of tv here... Wont spoil like some others stupid review, just watch the episode and you ll see why Criminals Mind is better than NCIS or CIS or other show like that. When Aaron enter the house it might be the most Epic moment of the first 100 episode.

" 100" is my third favorite episode so far a great watch.

Bitter Loss

[ttapola · 7/10 · 28 July 2011]

When is the 100th episode not the 100th episode? When IMDb counts #4.25 as one episode, but production company counts it as two. That aside, one really has to ask, how lame is that title? On a sitcom, "100" would work - "30 Rock" has an episode also titled "100", which, fittingly, IMDb counts as the 101st episode.

But I digress. It is disappointing to see that the Reaper arc ends so soon, after only a dozen episodes or so (I don't count "Omnivore" a part of the arc, merely his introduction). There was so much potential for a season long arc, but it seems the showrunners got scared at the thought of possibly losing viewers who, over four years, had become accustomed to *not* having to see every episode.

The opening presents us with a mystery. Clearly, at least two people have died, but who are they? The decision to tell the story through Strauss' debriefing/questioning of the members of the BAU team works nicely, but the various members' recollections of the events are hardly subjective - essentially the fragments are just standard flashbacks. There is wasted potential in not exploring the possibility that the various members see the events in a different light - now they just all fall nicely in line to support Hotch's decisions during the events. We only see their differing reactions to Strauss' questioning.

JJ's husband and son appear for no purpose at all - she could have found out about Foyet's medication without them. And it's always good to see Nicholas Brendon, but his character was last seen in #4.23 and does very little here. It's like a small-time all-star gathering, and it serves only to distract from the main plot, which is lean and mean, but appears to run a little short, hence the fillers.

C. Thomas Howell, who once played the victim of Rutger Hauer's legendary The Hitcher (forget the remake), has been a revelation as the diabolical Foyet. His performance during Foyet's brutal assault on Kassmeyer is just chilling, recalling the classic scene between Kurtwood Smith and Miguel Ferrer in RoboCop. And during Foyet's sadistic mental torture of Hotch over the phone Howell is just demonic.

The final act has all the ingredients to make this a classic episode, and it was unexpected to see that the showrunners actually had the cojones to kill of Haley so unquestionably, even if the act itself is only heard, not seen. From thereon, the following segment is almost impossible to fumble: Hotch's search of the house and fight with Foyet only demands basic understanding of directing, editing and scoring (music, that is). And it is *good*. When Hotch actually beats Foyet to death with his bare hands, I almost checked that I wasn't dreaming. Could this be this series' Se7en? The point of no return?

But no. By the episode's end it *seems* Strauss is willing to look Hotch's actions through her fingers. The final scenes almost *seem* to spell that "It's all right now, a happy end". Sure, we are not explicitly told what will happen next: is Hotch going to retire? Past members like Gideon and Elle have retired from less harrowing experiences. If Hotch hops back in the saddle next week without so much as taking a recovery leave, I will lose my hope of this show.

With the lack of clear resolution of Hotch and his son's fate, the clichéd use of *that* Nietzsche quote and the fact that the supposedly brilliant Foyet falls to the old Explaining His Evil Plan to the Hero and Wasting the Opportunity to Finish Him, giving Hotch the chance to gain the upper hand, this potential masterpiece is "just" a 7/10 in the end. It's still better than most crap on TV, but it had the potential for so much more. Watch Se7en instead.

bad father gains custody at last

[annb-4 · 2/10 · 1 July 2017]

In which Aaron Hotchner, one of TV's worst fathers, gets rid of the pesky ex-wife and gains custody of his child, no courts or lawyers needed. Hotchner, who more than once asked his wife to wake his son so he could talk to him - who does that? - and who lost his family by opting out of their lives, now gets to raise his son on his own, while we get the turn of the screw that is victimizing his wife, who was well out of his life, but had to die anyway. Sexist, stupid TV drama sludge.

I ugly cried

[jenster-64887 · 10/10 · 6 June 2022]

This episode made me ugly cry. The emotions I felt...I felt like I was Hodge. From the moment he spoke with Haylee on the phone to him fighting with the Reaper.

Good Episode

[Mehki_Girl · 8/10 · 20 April 2021]

Someone with a one star rating pointed out, why didn't they just call the local cops.

My answer to that is probably because the local cops would screw it all up. The team knew that the Reaper was very clever, very good, and probably would know the cops were coming and would kill his wife and his son right then, before they ever made it into the house.

When the reaper was getting the crap beat out of him I was giving the punches. I was talking to my screen, telling Hotch how to kill him. The wife's death really didn't bother me, I was just worried about the kid.

Emotional

[kellielulu · 10/10 · 25 October 2022]

There was no way to keep Foyet alive. It could end no other way. Foyet had avoided the police for years not even knowing it was him. They finally capture him and he easily escaped. Foyet would have killed Jack. That's my thinking on that part.

I am less convinced that Haley would believe anyone but the team much less someone she didn't know . Her lack of suspicion has always struck me as odd. I don't know why they chose to write it that way . I suspect like Penelope they wanted to present her as more trusting.

The last scene for Haley was heartbreaking. The reaction of the team understandably emotionally upsetting.

Later they had longer arcs for unsubs but none with the impact of this one . Certainly one of the more memorable episodes of the series.

Amazing

[reeceaaleyna · 10/10 · 27 July 2021]

The most emotion we've seen from Hotchner in the whole show. The scene where he killed Foyet - absolutely amazing. But a truly heartbreaking episode.

100

[PredRodrigo · 10/10 · 2 August 2022]

100 is a great episode. Criminals Mind has many episodes that are worth watching over and over again. I'm turning this into a testimonial because I don't want to spoil it, but watch the episode and you'll see why!

Best episode so far, for all the worst reasons.

[samimabry · 10/10 · 9 July 2023]

I don't want to spoil anything (even though I believe one of the user-submitted synopses gives plenty away on its own), so I will try to keep this purposefully vague.

Let me start by saying that I never watched this series when it was originally on air. Several years ago, I decided it was high time for me to start watching the series back when it was on Netflix and had far fewer seasons-but I ended up stopping the binge watch sometime shortly after season 2. My husband worked nights and I was almost always home alone with our young children during late hours (which was also the only free time available to watch the show!!), and so many episodes hit too close to home during that time, I couldn't take it.

Fast forward to about 1-2 months ago, when I randomly had the urge to pick it back up again (and by that I mean "start from S1E1 because my memory is awful and it had been too long"). Paget Brewster is probably a huge part of my return to the series; I just love her so much and when I realized she is in fact still on the show when so many others have left over the years, I decided I must get back into it!!!

So here I am, creeping along in the early seasons, many many great episodes already seen before this one, but tonight I watched this episode for the first time and it made me fall in love with the show even more. In all the worst, saddest, most tragic ways, unfortunately, but the writing and acting from start to finish, top to bottom, are-while horrifyingly, desperately sad-easily the best of the short binge watching I've done so far. Previously I would've ranked another episode as the best; I believe it was the finale for either S3 or S4, when Hotch's SUV is blown up right outside of the federal building and his old friend/crush/ex-wife lookalike is killed after suffering horrific injuries. That episode, to me, was phenomenal, as was the one immediately preceding it when all you're left with is an explosion and don't know whose car it was until the following season premiere (thank goodness we can binge these now without waiting!!)

But tonight I completely stand corrected and have to say that this is definitely the best episode thus far. There have been a handful so far that have made me teary-eyed, usually the ones involving children, but THIS one made me bawl my eyes out because it was so terrible and tragic yet so perfectly executed on ALL LEVELS. If I meet anyone who hasn't watched this series before, this will be one of maybe 4 episodes that I vaguely reference in a spoiler-free effort to convince them that they should drop everything and start watching the show NOW.

10/10 stars. Would and will watch again-though I think next time I'll prep myself with a Xanax.

My All-Time Favorite Episode

[ezrialover12 · 10/10 · 2 April 2023]

This is my all-time favorite episode not just of season but also of the series as a whole or rather my all-time favorite seasons. Thomas Gibson and Meredith Monroe give their best acting in the scene between Aaron and Haley right before she is murdered by George Foyet which the whole team hears. The others are great as well but those two are the stars in this episode mainly because of that scene. They are the ones who really make that shine and I cry every single time especially when he finds her body and Jack says: "I worked the case with you, Daddy, just like you said." So sad and heartbreaking.

I need you to work the case with me

[angelaverton · 10/10 · 31 January 2023]

This episode has it all; anticipation, thrill, emotional, excellent story, good climax. The way it was put together is beautifully done. It wouldn't work for every episode, but how they started with the bodies and interrogation made the suspense even more thrilling.

I think the climax needed to be the way it is. It's so sad that Haley had to be killed, but at least Foyet is dead as well. Jack is so adorable here and I'm so glad they kept him alive.

We saw a vulnerable side of Hotch, and the emotions of the team. They are a family and the pain was felt through the screen. This is a "on the edge of your seat" kind of episode and I've watched it many, many times now and every time I'm on the edge of my seat.

Anyone else getting tired of Strauss???

[stephjones-35526 · 6/10 · 21 June 2021]

I'm sorry but the same old tired story of Erin Strauss and her vendetta against Hotchner and getting in the way of the team doing their jobs is wearing a bit thin to me. Same old story different episode.

Strauss was a j...

[apd8 · 1/10 · 25 July 2021]

I simply hate politics.

The story was 'well written' as the top review said, except the part that politics were involved. Working in the situations which included the family was already stressful, the team had to be worried about the politics! What the fork is that!?!

And then at the end, the character behavior twisted. Suddenly Strauss became soooooo sympathetic, even had teary eyes, like she never knew what had happened before. Yes, WE, the viewer, did not know, but for a person in Strauss position, she should have been reported before the 'interrogations' already, so it was unrealistic that she still showed such arrogant expression while asking questions to the team.

For that 9 stars taken.

nonsense for dramatic effect

[dranthonykstevens · 7/10 · 30 July 2016]

This episode kills Hotch's wife in a manner that makes no sense. The director's concept was to make it so hopeless that the viewer would think that the worst thing possible could happen to them at anytime. How is that entertainment. Hotch races to stop the reaper. Then Hotch races to save his wife. It takes him a long time in each case. But, there are no local police or FBI agents that can get there to help or stop it. He finally arrives, but the reaper stays to try to kill Hotch. Time continues, but no police or anyone to give backup. The bottom line is that the FBI are completely incompetent to help anyone and so stupid that they do not even call local police for help.