Acting was really good, the plot was just really weak. first off, they didnt have to shoot him and second off, how was the daughters death not in the report. why did it take them time to find out she was already dead the day after she went missing?
8 Reviews
Hard to Watch
ryanniksa19 November 2015
The episode's premise was actually pretty good, but I was turned off by the brutality of the torture inflicted in the episode, even for Criminal Minds standards. Maybe it was a combination of the mind games and physical torture, but by mid-episode it became pretty hard to watch. What has become apparent with Criminal Minds over the years is the shift from discussing how the BAU profiles the Unsub to showing more and more of the violence committed by the Unsub on whoever he or she targets, which definitely becomes deadening to viewers after a while, especially after 11+ seasons. To just try to shove all the analysis and thought process from the profilers before throwing a red herring at the end of the episode seems almost too little too late. Maybe it would have been different with the presence of Reid, but I doubt it.
All that being said... and maybe spoiler alert and for that, I'm sorry.
garnetred-1916726 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
But I had to say this. I too was turned off mid episode by the intense torture but have you ever lost a child tragically... a beloved grandson... did you ever sing You
Are My Sunshine.to them? If so you might find this episode gut wrenching, perceived flaws and all..
I love Criminal Minds but the Geography always bothers me
maryspangenberg27 July 2019
Why is it always wrong? I have lived and visited many of the episodes settings and it is just wrong. Normally no big deal. I get it is filmed elsewhere and photo shopped but it is always just way, way too wrong. It bothers me. Maybe research a tad better? Living in Phoenix this is the second show where you just see it is obvious not PHX, not correct in their research. In the cop killer episode, I worked a block away from the street they supposed setting of the gang raid. It was obviously Cali and not PHX.
In this episodes, Awake, it was a blatant geographical error. Driving to Chandler from PHX is a pure city 15 minute drive, the 5th largest in the USA to be exact. It is a short drive, no one would pull over to sleep. There is no large open desert area as shown, there is no rural area at all. There is most certainly no rest stops. If you were to drive from Phx to Chandler it would look like a [reaking parking lot on any given day in LA. Way off on this one. It is not that hard to make it more realistic. Like Phx to Wickenberg or Payson. I have seen this error in many cities they go to. It is annoying and lazy. To me the city in this show is a character in the story.
In this episodes, Awake, it was a blatant geographical error. Driving to Chandler from PHX is a pure city 15 minute drive, the 5th largest in the USA to be exact. It is a short drive, no one would pull over to sleep. There is no large open desert area as shown, there is no rural area at all. There is most certainly no rest stops. If you were to drive from Phx to Chandler it would look like a [reaking parking lot on any given day in LA. Way off on this one. It is not that hard to make it more realistic. Like Phx to Wickenberg or Payson. I have seen this error in many cities they go to. It is annoying and lazy. To me the city in this show is a character in the story.
Another good episode with a bad ending
CrimeDrama11 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Why do the writer's like making the BAU team look bad? This has occurred several times before in the series after the team concludes a case. The ending of "Awake" confirmed they didn't even try to find the girls kidnapper/killer, they just flew home. Will they search for the man with the skull tattoo in a future episode? I doubt it. It is not really a cliffhanger, it made the team look like they didn't care! The writers should have avoided that at ALL cost. The girl's father should have been showed distraught enough to chose suicide by cop to be reunited with his daughter - but the writer's didn't do that. Meanwhile, it was nice getting a break from Reid's character. He lacks self awareness, which bothers me - especially given what he has gone through. A child prodigy turned adult genius/FBI agent lacking self awareness is NOT cute.
Fell completely flat for me
TheLittleSongbird9 July 2016
Generally Season 11 has been one of the weaker seasons of 'Criminal Minds' (a show that this reviewer is a big fan of), and "Awake" to me was one of the biggest low-points.
It is saved just about from being total dreck by the as ever slick and atmospheric production values, good acting from all the team regulars and some nice little character moments especially with Morgan and JJ over new mother realities (loved the exchange about coffee) as well as with Garcia.
However, "Awake" falls completely flat. Reid's absence is immediately noticeable and very quickly is very deeply felt, which is testament to how such a great and interesting character's (to me he has always been the most developed and likable of the characters) absence can sink an episode.
One of "Awake's" biggest problems is that the story isn't that compelling. Some good ideas, but masked by agreed torture that goes well overboard on the brutality and gratuity factor ('Criminal Minds' is brutal, disturbing and gruesome often but never like this and mostly it happens for a reason, here it was for the sake of it seemingly), very stilted soap-opera-ish dialogue, too much emphasis on JJ and Lewis and not enough on the case and thrown in (almost like it was constructed at last minute) and ridiculous profiling delivery line-up. Plus the pacing lacked tightness.
Two scenes particularly stood out in a bad way. One was the scene with Rossi and Morgan. Although it was intended as an impersonation of Reid to help JJ sleep, it was much more reminiscent of mockery which was insensitive and uncomfortable, painting Morgan and to a lesser extent Rossi (saying lesser because Joe Mantegna looked much less comfortable doing it) in a negative light. The other was the wildly implausible lock-down in one of the worst 'Criminal Minds' endings along with "200" and "Zugzwang", especially considering the wrong two people were involved (one sleep-deprived, the other a newcomer) and no sane boss would agree to it.
As William Taylor, Todd Lowe is good. He did have potential to be one of those unsubs you hate but also feel bad for him, considering his situation it is hard not to, and Lowe did effectively play him that way. What stopped it from being completely successful was the brutality and excess of the torture, that cheapened the character and made him less sympathetic in a way. Lewis is slowly fitting into the team (quicker than Alex Blake and Kate did), if not completely gelling, but it's not easy yet to feel invested in a character that we don't know much about yet and is played with a general lack of warmth by Aisha Tyler.
On the whole, not total dreck but fell completely flat. 3/10 Bethany Cox
It is saved just about from being total dreck by the as ever slick and atmospheric production values, good acting from all the team regulars and some nice little character moments especially with Morgan and JJ over new mother realities (loved the exchange about coffee) as well as with Garcia.
However, "Awake" falls completely flat. Reid's absence is immediately noticeable and very quickly is very deeply felt, which is testament to how such a great and interesting character's (to me he has always been the most developed and likable of the characters) absence can sink an episode.
One of "Awake's" biggest problems is that the story isn't that compelling. Some good ideas, but masked by agreed torture that goes well overboard on the brutality and gratuity factor ('Criminal Minds' is brutal, disturbing and gruesome often but never like this and mostly it happens for a reason, here it was for the sake of it seemingly), very stilted soap-opera-ish dialogue, too much emphasis on JJ and Lewis and not enough on the case and thrown in (almost like it was constructed at last minute) and ridiculous profiling delivery line-up. Plus the pacing lacked tightness.
Two scenes particularly stood out in a bad way. One was the scene with Rossi and Morgan. Although it was intended as an impersonation of Reid to help JJ sleep, it was much more reminiscent of mockery which was insensitive and uncomfortable, painting Morgan and to a lesser extent Rossi (saying lesser because Joe Mantegna looked much less comfortable doing it) in a negative light. The other was the wildly implausible lock-down in one of the worst 'Criminal Minds' endings along with "200" and "Zugzwang", especially considering the wrong two people were involved (one sleep-deprived, the other a newcomer) and no sane boss would agree to it.
As William Taylor, Todd Lowe is good. He did have potential to be one of those unsubs you hate but also feel bad for him, considering his situation it is hard not to, and Lowe did effectively play him that way. What stopped it from being completely successful was the brutality and excess of the torture, that cheapened the character and made him less sympathetic in a way. Lewis is slowly fitting into the team (quicker than Alex Blake and Kate did), if not completely gelling, but it's not easy yet to feel invested in a character that we don't know much about yet and is played with a general lack of warmth by Aisha Tyler.
On the whole, not total dreck but fell completely flat. 3/10 Bethany Cox
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