It broke from tropes and made my stomach churn and constantly threw curveballs. yeah, i'm a little baked.
4 Reviews
whatever i loved this episode
peachboyspeaks2 March 2021
We need to deliver the profile
ryan_reed15 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
An overall excellent story that seemed to lack the necessary glue to hold it together while watching. What did seem to hold it together, and connect the dots during viewing was Garcia. And, there was plenty of banter between Morgan and Garcia -- of that nature that would get you and I fired -- to help smooth out the rough spots.
Earlier in Criminal Minds, the reason for FBI/BAU involvement in a case was straightforward. Occasionally, there would be an oddball episode, but it was the exception rather than the rule. In this episode, the team is presented with a case of a kidnapped attorney. The kidnapping happened 12 hours ago. There are no precipitating events given, nor are there any related kidnappings or other crimes. But, let's send in the BAU for a single adult kidnapping (which normally would be a police matter).
For a procedural show, there seem to be an increasing number of liberties taken. One in particular stands out as agents bust into the victim's "love nest" when no one is home. Although there might have been one, we don't see a warrant or hear anyone say, "Open up, we have a warrant." Given the information the viewer knows at this point, it is unlikely that a warrant is in hand as all of the information stems from the hacking of various and sundry computer systems by Garcia (see below). Television is supposed to be entertainment, and maybe the writers and producers want to spare us the minute details, but I believe there should be some effort made to root the workings of the agents in the true form of the procedure they are trying to mimic. Of course, just knocking on the door and walking away when no one answers does not make for good television.
As for Garcia, from the very beginning of the series we have given her slack. She's a former hacker with some pseudo-mystical ability to retrieve details from obscure (or non-existent sources), and then cross-reference them with more obscure details to narrow down search results. This is all fine until this ability crosses a line and becomes the primary method used by the FBI to crack the case. That is what happens in this episode. Everything hinges on the hotel receipts, bank records, apartment leases, and social media that Garcia can just "click into" while the rest of law enforcement would get bogged down with subpoenas and warrants.
Hearing Callahan say, "We need to deliver the profile," in this episode made me cringe and realize how overused this line is in the series. Maybe it's because of Hewitt delivering the line here -- she is not believable or convincing in her Callahan character let alone capable of delivering this "ah-ha moment" line. In any case, I think it's time for the writers to retire this line.
The flaws here are too bad. The story is excellent, and could easily have spun into a two-part episode with the discovery made at the end about the younger unsub.
Earlier in Criminal Minds, the reason for FBI/BAU involvement in a case was straightforward. Occasionally, there would be an oddball episode, but it was the exception rather than the rule. In this episode, the team is presented with a case of a kidnapped attorney. The kidnapping happened 12 hours ago. There are no precipitating events given, nor are there any related kidnappings or other crimes. But, let's send in the BAU for a single adult kidnapping (which normally would be a police matter).
For a procedural show, there seem to be an increasing number of liberties taken. One in particular stands out as agents bust into the victim's "love nest" when no one is home. Although there might have been one, we don't see a warrant or hear anyone say, "Open up, we have a warrant." Given the information the viewer knows at this point, it is unlikely that a warrant is in hand as all of the information stems from the hacking of various and sundry computer systems by Garcia (see below). Television is supposed to be entertainment, and maybe the writers and producers want to spare us the minute details, but I believe there should be some effort made to root the workings of the agents in the true form of the procedure they are trying to mimic. Of course, just knocking on the door and walking away when no one answers does not make for good television.
As for Garcia, from the very beginning of the series we have given her slack. She's a former hacker with some pseudo-mystical ability to retrieve details from obscure (or non-existent sources), and then cross-reference them with more obscure details to narrow down search results. This is all fine until this ability crosses a line and becomes the primary method used by the FBI to crack the case. That is what happens in this episode. Everything hinges on the hotel receipts, bank records, apartment leases, and social media that Garcia can just "click into" while the rest of law enforcement would get bogged down with subpoenas and warrants.
Hearing Callahan say, "We need to deliver the profile," in this episode made me cringe and realize how overused this line is in the series. Maybe it's because of Hewitt delivering the line here -- she is not believable or convincing in her Callahan character let alone capable of delivering this "ah-ha moment" line. In any case, I think it's time for the writers to retire this line.
The flaws here are too bad. The story is excellent, and could easily have spun into a two-part episode with the discovery made at the end about the younger unsub.
Yet another Season 10 episode with a great idea poorly executed
TheLittleSongbird1 October 2016
Season 10 has been an inconsistent season. There have been outstanding episodes like "Nelson's Sparrow" and "Mr Scratch" (two of the best 'Criminal Minds' episodes in recent years, also remember "A Thousand Suns" and "Rock Creek Park" being good but they need re-watches).
At the same time, there have also been episodes like "If the Shoe Fits", that was strange in a bad way, and where there are great ideas and concepts executed poorly like "Hashtag", "Burn" and this. If remembered correctly, the episode was originally meant to be titled "The Boys of Sutton Place", but it was changed to "The Boys of Sudworth Place" for legal reasons, don't take my word as gospel though.
There are good things about "The Boys of Sudworth Place". 'Criminal Minds' has always been a well-made visually show, and that is true of this episode too, with a stylish and moody look to the photography and lighting. The music is also quite atmospheric, and there are good moments in the script, especially some of Jack Westbrook's lines which do chill the bone and Kate doing a "Reid" on Rossi with the football statistic (something you do not expect to come out of Kate, no wonder Rossi was caught by surprise). In the limited amount of place he has Rossi's sass also comes through, the line about people seemingly perfect having skeletons buried in the closet sums up the episode and the character of Jack perfectly.
Very good acting is another virtue. The regulars do do what they can, Joe Mantegna commands the screen really well and Shemar Moore movingly shows Morgan's vulnerabilities when remembering his painful past. Not usually a fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt, but she did have some good moments here especially in that piece of dialogue with Rossi. In support, Garrett Boyd succeeds in making one feel sympathy for him even though he is a criminal himself, while Jeffrey Nordling disappears into the role of Jack and makes him a quite repellent human being and one of the show's most despicable victims.
Regarding JJ's scene with the wife, some have said that her actions were cruel, not to me. It was good that JJ is closer to the sympathetic profiler of the earlier seasons than the out of character condescending and ninja warrior-like JJ when she returned, it's only recently that she's come closer to what she was like before. And bear in mind that the team weren't just speculating, they had proof, plus the wife would have found out at some point anyway.
However, the abduction idea has been done here much better on 'Criminal Minds' with more excitement, suspense and surprises. There was a lack of suspense, the episode does have its dull spots and it was clear very early on that Jack was not what he seemed. While a mostly great job was done making the character despicable, Jack also makes a couple of stupid decisions, especially at the start where he should have just called the police and done nothing else and even worse is the scene with Brian where knowing how vulnerable Brian is at this point he practically baits him into committing what he does next.
"The Boys of Sudworth Place" is also disappointing in that it is too unsub-heavy and consequently the team feel secondary to the plot and really there was not much use for them. There was also too much reliance on Garcia's computer providing all the answers and not enough of the profiling and team work which further adds to the uselessness. The case had a potentially harrowing and poignant subject matter that could have turned stomachs. Because the story is lacking in key ingredients, despite how good a job was done with Jack on the whole, it wasn't quite enough of either. Also felt that only Brian of the unsubs was interesting the other two were a little bland due to not being as developed.
Morgan and Garcia's flirtatious banter chockfull of innuendos are getting increasingly cringe-worthy and annoying, and in serious need of a toning down, plus it added absolutely nothing. The deaths also lacked build-up and feel random in placement, the climax felt disjointed and there was no need for the last scene foreshadowing the story arc later on in the season, that just felt like a clumsy way of exploring Kate's home life. Generally there is not enough of Reid and Rossi, and once again Hotch is side-lined to invisibility.
Overall, great idea, poorly executed though not without its moments. 4/10 Bethany Cox
At the same time, there have also been episodes like "If the Shoe Fits", that was strange in a bad way, and where there are great ideas and concepts executed poorly like "Hashtag", "Burn" and this. If remembered correctly, the episode was originally meant to be titled "The Boys of Sutton Place", but it was changed to "The Boys of Sudworth Place" for legal reasons, don't take my word as gospel though.
There are good things about "The Boys of Sudworth Place". 'Criminal Minds' has always been a well-made visually show, and that is true of this episode too, with a stylish and moody look to the photography and lighting. The music is also quite atmospheric, and there are good moments in the script, especially some of Jack Westbrook's lines which do chill the bone and Kate doing a "Reid" on Rossi with the football statistic (something you do not expect to come out of Kate, no wonder Rossi was caught by surprise). In the limited amount of place he has Rossi's sass also comes through, the line about people seemingly perfect having skeletons buried in the closet sums up the episode and the character of Jack perfectly.
Very good acting is another virtue. The regulars do do what they can, Joe Mantegna commands the screen really well and Shemar Moore movingly shows Morgan's vulnerabilities when remembering his painful past. Not usually a fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt, but she did have some good moments here especially in that piece of dialogue with Rossi. In support, Garrett Boyd succeeds in making one feel sympathy for him even though he is a criminal himself, while Jeffrey Nordling disappears into the role of Jack and makes him a quite repellent human being and one of the show's most despicable victims.
Regarding JJ's scene with the wife, some have said that her actions were cruel, not to me. It was good that JJ is closer to the sympathetic profiler of the earlier seasons than the out of character condescending and ninja warrior-like JJ when she returned, it's only recently that she's come closer to what she was like before. And bear in mind that the team weren't just speculating, they had proof, plus the wife would have found out at some point anyway.
However, the abduction idea has been done here much better on 'Criminal Minds' with more excitement, suspense and surprises. There was a lack of suspense, the episode does have its dull spots and it was clear very early on that Jack was not what he seemed. While a mostly great job was done making the character despicable, Jack also makes a couple of stupid decisions, especially at the start where he should have just called the police and done nothing else and even worse is the scene with Brian where knowing how vulnerable Brian is at this point he practically baits him into committing what he does next.
"The Boys of Sudworth Place" is also disappointing in that it is too unsub-heavy and consequently the team feel secondary to the plot and really there was not much use for them. There was also too much reliance on Garcia's computer providing all the answers and not enough of the profiling and team work which further adds to the uselessness. The case had a potentially harrowing and poignant subject matter that could have turned stomachs. Because the story is lacking in key ingredients, despite how good a job was done with Jack on the whole, it wasn't quite enough of either. Also felt that only Brian of the unsubs was interesting the other two were a little bland due to not being as developed.
Morgan and Garcia's flirtatious banter chockfull of innuendos are getting increasingly cringe-worthy and annoying, and in serious need of a toning down, plus it added absolutely nothing. The deaths also lacked build-up and feel random in placement, the climax felt disjointed and there was no need for the last scene foreshadowing the story arc later on in the season, that just felt like a clumsy way of exploring Kate's home life. Generally there is not enough of Reid and Rossi, and once again Hotch is side-lined to invisibility.
Overall, great idea, poorly executed though not without its moments. 4/10 Bethany Cox
The title needs correcting
syracheeseman19 November 2014
I have tried to correct the title as it seems to appear as "The Boys of Sudworth Place" on the page, though everywhere else it says "The Boys of Sutton Place" - this being the correct one. It appears to already be entered correctly when I come to edit it and yet it still appears incorrectly on the page. I'm not sure what is wrong with it but hopefully you can deal with this quickly, there is no option to report a problem on the page, perhaps there ought to be for future mistakes that can't be fixed simply. Haven't actually seen the episode itself yet as there is nowhere to watch it in the UK yet >.<
Syra
Syra
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
