'Criminal Minds' has always been one of my most-watched shows and was a personal favourite for a while. Seasons 1-5 was its best period, Season 4 was especially great. It did get hit and miss from Season 6 onwards, with a mix of good and more episodes and disappointing and less episodes. Season 11 was, apart from about 5 episodes, pretty weak. Season 12 was inconsistent but generally an improvement, its weakest episodes nowhere near as bad as the low-points of Seasons 6, 9 and especially 11.
Season 13 so far has not been too bad. It is already so much better than Season 11, which started off well actually but quickly went downhill, and has generally settled quicker than Season 12. It started off really strongly with "Wheels Up", a very emotionally powerful episode that was, and "Blue Angel", a very odd title for an episode that had a story that rendered the title irrelevant, was also a solid effort. "To a Better Place" was a little bit of a let down but still had a lot of admirable qualities.
It is very hard to decide which is the better episode between "Wheels Up" and "Killer App". "Wheels Up" may get the slight edge, but "Killer App" turned out to be one of the better episodes of the thirteenth season. It was actually intended to be the third episode apparently, but it had to be pushed back after the Vegas mass shooting, which was definitely the right decision. If originally intended, when people would still feel emotionally raw, it would have felt like it was too soon and hit home too much, that it was pushed back showed respect.
There is not much at all to fault with "Killer App". It may not say much new about the subject and the political element distracts ever so slightly. For some, it probably would have hit home and bring back painful memories in the aftermath of such a horribly tragic event.
However, such a lot compensates for any misgivings and the good things are numerous and big. "Killer App" does have by far the best case of the season so far, it's a harrowing and in a way poignant one with a surprisingly sympathetic unsub and it doesn't feel over-familiar or recycled. It doesn't suffer from any of the problems that undermined many of the latter season episodes, and there is a lot here that reminds one of what made 'Criminal Minds' so great in its prime. Plus there are a lot of shocking twists and revelations towards the end.
The video game etc. aspect is handled fascinatingly, and the topics that "Killer App" have a lot of relevance and are neither preachy or trivialised. This is so much more than just a propaganda episode and shouldn't be dismissed as one. There are a lot of traumatising images.
Plenty of nice character moments within the team, another thing that is why 'Criminal Minds' is seen by me. The standout being the sweet ending scene, that brought a welcome levity closure to a case so harrowing and relevant to today. "Killer App" also deals with the aftermath of the Mr Scratch story seen in "Wheels Up", how it affected the team and providing closure, something that was needed and what was the previous episodes didn't do.
Great performances all round, from all the regulars and supporting actors.
Visually, "Killer App" is atmospheric and stylish, complimented by haunting and never-overbearing music, a taut script that is thought-provoking, poignant and at times entertaining and controlled direction that keeps things moving but allows breathing space.
Overall, very, very good and nearly great with a couple of small niggles. 8/10 Bethany Cox
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