"The Ballad of Nick and Nat" is not quite one of the worst Season 1 episodes of 'Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders'. Episodes such as "The Harmful One" and "The Matchmaker" as far as the previous episodes were offensively bad, will be re-watching "El Toro Bravo" for fairness sake but remember from my first watch of that being on that level. It is this close to being down there, the show never got off the ground and episodes like this show perfectly why.
And it's not just the representation of Cubans that's the problem, though even the not so easily sensitive are likely to object by the inaccuracy, insensitivity and one-sidedness of how they're stereotyped. Despite being autistic and being very easily upset when something goes wrong or if given bad news, but it actually takes a lot for me to be offended by a film, episode etc. "The Ballad of Nick and Nat" left a bad taste in the mouth, not just because of the above but also because it has all of the things that was bad about the previous episodes.
It is hard actually to search for a redeeming quality, but Alana De La Garza does do her best with the too little she has.
However, there is no other praise regarding the acting. The acting for the rest of the team ranges between not wanting to be there and being annoying. The team have hardly any chemistry together and don't work cohesively, any little character moments that could be found in some lesser episodes of the original 'Criminal Minds' can't be found. All the supporting characters are stereotypical and under-characterised. The unsubs are not interesting in the slightest and have no menace to them whatsoever, neither actor disappearing into their roles and seem to be over-compensating. Their motivations are pretty muddled too.
None of the story is interesting, there is absolutely no tension or suspense, the pace is very leaden, a lot of it is ridiculous and some of it even doesn't make sense. How and why some characters behave the way they do makes them stupid in an insulting way. Found the climactic moments erratically paced, intensity-free and too conveniently resolved. The writing is awkward and condescending. If any of these complaints are familiar, and not intentionally, it is because all the previous episodes have exactly the same problems so it is actually not hard to accidentally repeat oneself.
As with before, "The Ballad of Nick and Nat" lacks authenticity in locations and is cheaply shot. The music is forgettable at best and as for the direction there doesn't seem to be much and what there comes over as disorganised.
Overall, poor episode all round and am saying this with a heavy heart, not malice despite how it sounds. 1/10
And it's not just the representation of Cubans that's the problem, though even the not so easily sensitive are likely to object by the inaccuracy, insensitivity and one-sidedness of how they're stereotyped. Despite being autistic and being very easily upset when something goes wrong or if given bad news, but it actually takes a lot for me to be offended by a film, episode etc. "The Ballad of Nick and Nat" left a bad taste in the mouth, not just because of the above but also because it has all of the things that was bad about the previous episodes.
It is hard actually to search for a redeeming quality, but Alana De La Garza does do her best with the too little she has.
However, there is no other praise regarding the acting. The acting for the rest of the team ranges between not wanting to be there and being annoying. The team have hardly any chemistry together and don't work cohesively, any little character moments that could be found in some lesser episodes of the original 'Criminal Minds' can't be found. All the supporting characters are stereotypical and under-characterised. The unsubs are not interesting in the slightest and have no menace to them whatsoever, neither actor disappearing into their roles and seem to be over-compensating. Their motivations are pretty muddled too.
None of the story is interesting, there is absolutely no tension or suspense, the pace is very leaden, a lot of it is ridiculous and some of it even doesn't make sense. How and why some characters behave the way they do makes them stupid in an insulting way. Found the climactic moments erratically paced, intensity-free and too conveniently resolved. The writing is awkward and condescending. If any of these complaints are familiar, and not intentionally, it is because all the previous episodes have exactly the same problems so it is actually not hard to accidentally repeat oneself.
As with before, "The Ballad of Nick and Nat" lacks authenticity in locations and is cheaply shot. The music is forgettable at best and as for the direction there doesn't seem to be much and what there comes over as disorganised.
Overall, poor episode all round and am saying this with a heavy heart, not malice despite how it sounds. 1/10
