It is always good to see Lou Diamond back on TV and it was an okay episode here. it did get a bit too repetitive, and the idea of any kid willingly going along with a crazy adult wanting to be a pirate is a little inplausible, but it was still kind of entertaining. Simmons' ineptitude should become a storyline on this show though as he completely botched the handling of the situation on the dock, and it's not the first one this season he has done wrong.
6 Reviews
An episode that would be beautiful if wasn't a Criminal Minds episode
Gustavo_Valadares30 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Much of this season breaks the usual 'Criminal Minds' formula of how the stories should operates and this episode was no different.
BAU team effort and investigations are okay and the serial killer seems to be the regular deluded guy however everything else in this episode runs slightly off from a regular episode.
In this episode BAU gets less precipitated about drawing conclusions from simple evidences being more asserive, the episode paces really slow, the serial killer identity is revealed right in the beginning, the main focus is primarily dedicated in exploring a little coastal village and its villagers more than the investigation itself and even the ending is not as satisfactory as you expect from a Criminal Minds episode (it's very weird actually).
Sometimes it feels more like a CSI episode where the investigation is a mere instrument to lead into the story itself. Criminal Minds however usually works in the other way around, the unsub story is a mere background to lead into how the team investigates and figures the murder,. Not in this one.
This episode could be seen as a boring but I see more as experimental, they break a lot of their old formula when:
Ultimately, people tune in to Criminal Minds to watch a malevolent creepy and disturbing Serial Killer acting, to find out how BAU agents slowly discovers who the killer is and why and, finally, to watch the unsub get caught in the end. This episode doesn't deliver any of these criterias in a satisfactory way: the unsub is very childish and we are meant to be empathetic with him, BAU work is very shallow (but effective), all the subplots doesn't ends well, the unsub get away.
Have it be a separeted story outside of Criminal Minds spectrum and being much more developed, this could be a great film or short but in the context of a Criminal Minds episode, it doesn't quite works...
BAU team effort and investigations are okay and the serial killer seems to be the regular deluded guy however everything else in this episode runs slightly off from a regular episode.
In this episode BAU gets less precipitated about drawing conclusions from simple evidences being more asserive, the episode paces really slow, the serial killer identity is revealed right in the beginning, the main focus is primarily dedicated in exploring a little coastal village and its villagers more than the investigation itself and even the ending is not as satisfactory as you expect from a Criminal Minds episode (it's very weird actually).
Sometimes it feels more like a CSI episode where the investigation is a mere instrument to lead into the story itself. Criminal Minds however usually works in the other way around, the unsub story is a mere background to lead into how the team investigates and figures the murder,. Not in this one.
This episode could be seen as a boring but I see more as experimental, they break a lot of their old formula when:
- the killer at the end get away and the team leaves the case without catching him,
- when a BAU agent approachs the killer and get shot,
- when at the end they can't save the day/bring the solution for all the subplots that was built,
- when they don't bother too much about exploring the behavior of the unsub for the audience.
- when they focus a lot in the drama going over the town (the drought, submerging bodies, officer love interest, father looking for a son, a kid tying to befriend a random guy)
- when they used a weird jumpscare, which no one expects from this show
- when the ending gets a little poetic and the opening quote doesn't really relate to the story.
Ultimately, people tune in to Criminal Minds to watch a malevolent creepy and disturbing Serial Killer acting, to find out how BAU agents slowly discovers who the killer is and why and, finally, to watch the unsub get caught in the end. This episode doesn't deliver any of these criterias in a satisfactory way: the unsub is very childish and we are meant to be empathetic with him, BAU work is very shallow (but effective), all the subplots doesn't ends well, the unsub get away.
Have it be a separeted story outside of Criminal Minds spectrum and being much more developed, this could be a great film or short but in the context of a Criminal Minds episode, it doesn't quite works...
A not bad episode could have been better but not bad.
coti-095535 January 2018
A not bad episode could have been better but not bad.
I liked that Lou Diamond Phillips guest starred he's a pretty good actor.
Submerged:
When cases of pool related murders/killings happen the BAU investigates the incidents.
As they piece the clues along with the unsub and area together they tie things off.
The ending wasn't bad either.
In the end rain won over everything.
I liked that Lou Diamond Phillips guest starred he's a pretty good actor.
Submerged:
When cases of pool related murders/killings happen the BAU investigates the incidents.
As they piece the clues along with the unsub and area together they tie things off.
The ending wasn't bad either.
In the end rain won over everything.
Puzzling submerging
TheLittleSongbird20 May 2018
'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, in fact it's been quite good. 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. As far as the previous Season 13 episodes go, "Wheels Up, "Killer App", "Dust and Bones" and "False Flag" were particularly good. Up to this point, only "To a Better Place" and "Neon Terror" were a little disappointing, with a lot of admirable qualities but also an over-familiar and not much special case.
While they were disappointing however, they were still above average. "Submerged" for me was the first episode of the season to be merely average. By all means, "Submerged" is not a bad episode and a long way from a 'Criminal Minds' low point. It's just not a great episode either and far from a classic.
There are obvious good points. As always with 'Criminal Minds', the visuals are stylish and atmospheric. The music is not too over-bearing or low-key. There are intriguing moments in the writing and some of the direction is alert and accommodating. The rain at the end was a nice if clichéd touch and the start struck interest.
All the acting from the leads and support is without complaint, and Matt has settled well. Far more so than most new team members that either took a while to gel or never did. The procedural aspects and team work are balanced well with the case and intrigue. The unsub is an interesting one, one that one feels oddly sorry for despite the uncondonable actions. The back-story and how the crimes came to be were where the case fared strongest and actually had a lot of heart.
For all those good things, there are some debits too. The case for me was underwhelming, definitely the weakest up to this point in the season. It did from personal opinion lack tension and suspense, sometimes going the unintentionally goofy route. Outside of the backstory and previous circumstances the story was fairly routine and the unsub's methods were perplexing and awkward. Some of it was on the vague and under-explored side too, more questions than there were answers, and the victimology aspect was pretty strange for 'Criminal Minds' could have been clearer.
Pacing at times could have been tighter, as could have other parts of the writing. The climax was somewhat too pat and could have done with more tension. The team work and procedural aspects within the team worked well, would though have liked more character moments and little things. There were for my liking not enough and it was only the stuff with Rossi that was particularly memorable and even that could have gone into more depth.
In conclusion, not bad but disappointing. 5/10 Bethany Cox
Season 13 so far has not been too bad, in fact it's been quite good. 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. As far as the previous Season 13 episodes go, "Wheels Up, "Killer App", "Dust and Bones" and "False Flag" were particularly good. Up to this point, only "To a Better Place" and "Neon Terror" were a little disappointing, with a lot of admirable qualities but also an over-familiar and not much special case.
While they were disappointing however, they were still above average. "Submerged" for me was the first episode of the season to be merely average. By all means, "Submerged" is not a bad episode and a long way from a 'Criminal Minds' low point. It's just not a great episode either and far from a classic.
There are obvious good points. As always with 'Criminal Minds', the visuals are stylish and atmospheric. The music is not too over-bearing or low-key. There are intriguing moments in the writing and some of the direction is alert and accommodating. The rain at the end was a nice if clichéd touch and the start struck interest.
All the acting from the leads and support is without complaint, and Matt has settled well. Far more so than most new team members that either took a while to gel or never did. The procedural aspects and team work are balanced well with the case and intrigue. The unsub is an interesting one, one that one feels oddly sorry for despite the uncondonable actions. The back-story and how the crimes came to be were where the case fared strongest and actually had a lot of heart.
For all those good things, there are some debits too. The case for me was underwhelming, definitely the weakest up to this point in the season. It did from personal opinion lack tension and suspense, sometimes going the unintentionally goofy route. Outside of the backstory and previous circumstances the story was fairly routine and the unsub's methods were perplexing and awkward. Some of it was on the vague and under-explored side too, more questions than there were answers, and the victimology aspect was pretty strange for 'Criminal Minds' could have been clearer.
Pacing at times could have been tighter, as could have other parts of the writing. The climax was somewhat too pat and could have done with more tension. The team work and procedural aspects within the team worked well, would though have liked more character moments and little things. There were for my liking not enough and it was only the stuff with Rossi that was particularly memorable and even that could have gone into more depth.
In conclusion, not bad but disappointing. 5/10 Bethany Cox
Too tedious
fmenaker4 January 2018
Pool... pool... pool!
justfreshh26 April 2021
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