The Return
- Episode aired Nov 13, 2013
- TV-14
- 41m
When teenagers who were reported missing are suspected of a series of mass murders in Chicago, the BAU investigates their whereabouts to find a motive for the crimes. Also, Morgan has confli... Read allWhen teenagers who were reported missing are suspected of a series of mass murders in Chicago, the BAU investigates their whereabouts to find a motive for the crimes. Also, Morgan has conflicting feelings when his girlfriend takes her job at a hospital as seriously as he takes hi... Read allWhen teenagers who were reported missing are suspected of a series of mass murders in Chicago, the BAU investigates their whereabouts to find a motive for the crimes. Also, Morgan has conflicting feelings when his girlfriend takes her job at a hospital as seriously as he takes his.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe woman who plays Daniel's mom is Jan Broberg, who was abducted by a family friend as a child. She was abducted twice by Robert B. Berchtold, who used an alien conspiracy story to keep her obedient. In this case, the abductor uses a soldier mentality to keep Daniel obedient. The storyline somewhat mirrors Jan Broberg Felt's own life story.
- GoofsIn the opening scene, the waitress delivers a heaping plate of food to an older boy, Gavin, sitting alone at a table along the outer wall. The waitress returns to offer something else to Gavin who pushes his food aside as the waitress puts his check on the table. Gavin pulls out a gun. Shots fired, fade to black. Return to the scene of the restaurant where investigators are working the crime scene: Bodies are gone but blood pools remain where people have been shot. Det. Reyes draws Rossi and Blake's attention to the table where Gavin was sitting. The table appears as if it had been bussed clean. The plate of food and check are gone and all condiments were neatly in place.
- Quotes
Penelope Garcia: You are not really looking at my project. You always look at my projects, Derek. What's wrong?
Derek Morgan: Ah, Baby Girl, I am sorry. I don't know, me and Savannah we had like this amazing night, and cut to four hours later and she throwing me an air kiss and rushing out the door to work, and I got stuck at 2 o'clock in the morning walking her little pup!
Penelope Garcia: Oh, you got Morganed.
Derek Morgan: Morganed? What? What are you talking about?
Penelope Garcia: You are on call, 24/7, and when a case comes in, you drop whatever and whoever you are doing and haul ass back to work.
Derek Morgan: Well I guess I never thought about it like that.
Penelope Garcia: And now you have what Oprah calls an aha moment. Think about it: if you would have gotten the call, you would have done exactly the same thing to her because your job comes first and so does hers. And that's why you two work.
Derek Morgan: [sigh]
Penelope Garcia: Oh my gosh, she is you in heels.
Derek Morgan: You're right.
Penelope Garcia: I am always right. Also you are secretly in love with me.
However, "The Return" is also nowhere near one of the best episodes, when 'Criminal Minds' was good or at its best it was riveting television and compulsive viewing. Instead it is one of the average/difficult to rate episodes.
One of "The Return's" biggest flaws is that it all feels unbalanced, with too much focus on Morgan and Blake (JJ also plays a big role, but while there is a preference to how she was written in the earlier seasons her story is dealt with quite poignantly) and not enough of much more interesting characters like Reid, Hotch and Rossi (who are still a delight to watch but feel underused somewhat), which hurts the dynamic of the team. The more this viewer sees of Blake, the less she likes her. By all means she is a better Prentiss replacement than Kate and Tara, because her interaction with Reid does have some entertainment value. She is not as ill-fitting as she was in the 8th season, but still feels cold and disconnected.
Morgan and Savannah's (not one of the dullest or most forgettable love interests on the show but not very interesting at the same time, though she is played with decent charm) relationship also eats up too much of the story, is too soap-opera-like and can slow the episode down, also not playing to Morgan's strengths as a character who excels in empathising with kids and victims and being the tough guy. Plus while it has been worse in other episodes, Morgan and Garcia's unrealistically flirtatious and overly close relationship sees some quite cringe-worthy banter and feels out of place in such a dark story.
The main plot line of "The Return" did have potential, and did see some tense and poignant moments like the boy tearing up at the sound of his mother's voice, but there is a run-out-of-ideas and derivative feel, pacing is pedestrian and rarely gets going and suspense is too far and between, so there was not enough genuine threat and it didn't feel developed. Also felt that the personal lives of the BAU got in the way of using the story to its full potential. Neither did the unsub's motivations ring true, seeming rather extreme and over-the-top for such awful crimes. While other episodes do a worse job of not feeling like 'Criminal Minds' there is not enough of what makes the show so great at its best, like the profiling, psychological delving into the criminal's mind and procedural aspects or the little character moments that are so fun to watch.
Conversely, "The Return" does look great, stylish, appropriately dark and audacious, while the music is haunting and melancholic. As said there are some tense and poignant moments, the controlled children are believable and while he is underused the unsub is quite chilling and menacingly portrayed. The dialogue is taut and thought-provoking and the acting is very good from the regulars, Jeanne Tripplehorn does do her best also with material that's beneath her really.
All in all, this review does seem very negative and while it is a disappointing and difficult to rate episode it's not terrible and there is far worse in the show. 5/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Aug 3, 2016
Details
- Runtime41 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD