'Criminal Minds' is one of my favourite and most watched shows. Seasons 1-4 (and to a lesser extent 5, 4 is particularly strong) have the highest number of great, even classic episodes, and garnering the most re-watches.
Disappointments (and even they are still watchable) or stinkers were very few, with lesser episodes of that period being nowhere near low-point level of Season 6 onwards. This is with the exceptions of "Machismo", "The Fight" and "Hopeless", with a few other big disappointments being "The Performer", "Honor Among Thieves" and "Parasite".
Season 6 along with 9 and especially 11 has varied wildly in quality. It has some good ("Remembrance of Things Past", "Hanley Waters", "Safe Haven", "Into the Woods" and "The Longest Night" faring best), have yet to see a great one, episodes. It also a number of disappointing ones, such as "Today I Do", "25 to Life", "Corazon" and in particular "The Thirteenth Step" (a bottom 10 'Criminal Minds' episode, also remember "Big Sea" not being good but that needs a re-watch).
"What Happens at Home" is better than those, but my feelings on it mirror the comments, ranging from indifference to dislike, expressed on other sites reviewing it, rather than the praise it's got here. It is notable for introducing Ashley Seaver. JJ left big shoes to fill, and it must have been daunting replacing her. The good news is, Seaver is nowhere near as annoying as in succeeding episodes, she at least serves a point, she doesn't do or say anything anywhere near as dumb or face palm-worthy, she actually has an interesting and quite painful if not exactly unique back story and Rachel Nichols gives by far her best performance as the character, showing more engagement and less limitations.
Against all this, Seaver doesn't gel very well and vastly overshadows the rest of the team, is still rather bland, is too inexperienced (a "rookie" if you will), her actions at the end were unrealistic and stupid and her dialogue even for a debut is still poor. Really could have done without that sob story, that felt very misplaced, coming out of nowhere and really feels awkward in placement and writing. While it was laudable trying to make Seaver interesting and with a story, "What Happens at Home" does feel at times like it's trying too hard to like her or feel anything for her and goes overboard, as said that sob story should have been scrapped and there could have been less of the rubbing in of her qualifications and the whole stuff about her father and exposition.
It is a shame, because, while there could have been more of them, the rest of the team are still fun to watch and have such adorable chemistry. There are still enough little character moments to satisfy, especially Reid's mini-monologue, the Star Trek reference, Prentiss' deadpan and snarky manner towards the security guy and the moment between Rossi and Hotch (with a rare opportunity to see Hotch smile). The acting is still very good indeed, with nobody coming over as weak.
The story disappoints here. There are definitely moments, the concept was great and there was a little tension and suspense, the revelation of the unsub was a shock to me and the climax was occasionally scary, one also feels sorry for Heather. What stopped it from being any more was that sob story, the unsub's too calm and cocky attitude and that very sappy and lengthy ending song that just kills the mood. The story on the whole however was pretty forgettable and bland, with too much of it being predictable. Was also a shame that the profiling, psychology, delving into the unsub's mind and the victimology was barely there, as well as not enough of the team's detective skills and the unsub being pretty underdeveloped and not as interesting as ought.
Production values are still very high in quality, being stylishly photographed and atmospherically lit, and most of the music is haunting and effectively moody, the only misfire being the climactic song.
Overall, the introduction to Seaver was a mixed bag and the episode was just average. 5/10 Bethany Cox
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