With 'Criminal Minds', some seasons are better than others and every season has a mixture of outstanding, great, very good, good, average, mediocre and bad episodes. This said, lesser episodes of Seasons 1-4 (with possible exception of "Machismo") are better than the lesser episodes of Season 6 onward.
"Restoration" along with "The Lesson", "All That Remains" and "Broken" one of the best episodes of a very much variable Season 8. "God Complex", "The Good Earth" and "Alchemy" were also among the better episodes, while the rest of the season consisted of mostly average to decent episodes and some mediocre ones like "Magnificent Light", "Through the Looking Glass", "The Replicator", "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Magnum Opus".
This episode, despite being very well received on most websites, has garnered a much more mixed reception on TV.com, with people showing a dislike for Morgan as a character and why this particular chapter in Morgan's life was re-visited. To me, while there are a few good to great Morgan-centric episodes, Season 2's "Profiler Profiled" to this day is still one of the best episodes of that season and of the show and of all the Morgan subplots the sexual abuse at the hands of Carl Buford one has been by far the most interesting and very much relevant, which is most likely why it was re-visited.
Visually, the production values in "Restoration" are without complaint. It's very well shot and lit and is overall stylish, gritty, classy and atmospheric. The music is moody in the haunting and melancholic sense and fits well, without either enhancing or distracting from the atmosphere. The direction keeps the momentum going but lets the case breathe.
The script is very thought-provoking and often leaves one moved and repulsed, with some well-timed humour from Reid and Garcia to contrast with the story's darkness and a closing voice over that couldn't have summed up the episode more perfectly. The story has tension and suspense with a dark case and skin-crawling tension between Morgan and the returning Buford and it is often very poignant, Morgan's speech being one of the show's great tear-jerkers and the stand-off with the unsub is quite powerful. It's also heart-breaking to see how many people were completely broken by the repellent actions of one man, and the writers did a great issue addressing a sensitive and still very much relevant issue with tact, sensitivity and candour.
Despite being Morgan-centric, the rest of the team still have moments to shine, function cohesively as a team and the profiling and case-solving some of the season's most satisfying. Wouldn't have said no to more Rossi, who is side-lined pretty much apart from the odd exchange, but Garcia's bubbly humour and Reid's explanation of Borderline Personality Disorder (classic Reid that).
"Restoration" has a compelling case with an unsub that while never condoning his actions one kind of feels sorry for. Actually it's Buford that the viewer hates much more, just when you think he'd repented very quickly you see, like with the ice-cream exchange with Morgan, that he hasn't changed a bit personality-wise. The tension between him and Morgan is brilliantly done.
Acting is very good, Shemar Moore explores many emotions with impeccable nuance and Julius Tennon is skin-crawlingly creepy as Buford. Everybody is fine, but these two are the ones that shine and quite rightly. Other than the under-using of a couple of BAU members, my only other complaint is that Buford's fate is a little anti-climatically handled. On a side note, that the Replicator subplot didn't feature was a good thing from personal opinion, if included it would have felt out of place.
Summing up, an excellent episode and one of the season's best. 9/10 Bethany Cox
