Elliott's Pond

It's still sad to see Hotch go as a character, but this episode made up for all the cast changes before. It's a well plotted mystery, the interaction with the crew-member is solid and strong. The 'new' team rocks: the diversity of characters, their interaction, their personal takes on their job. I loved it. Glad to see at least till the end of season 15.

Storyline about the missing children good: it's actually a bit more of a mystery story then a manhunt this time. And that a nice variation. The acting of the unsub or unsubs (i shall not spoil) is believable, the outcast of the village (the brother of two previous missing children) is heartfelt and leads up to an emotional ending, where i actually shed some tears.

And very glad Prentiss is back!

In its prime (Seasons 1-5, with Season 4 to me being the best and most consistent season with a lot of classic episodes and even the weakest episodes being far from awful). From Season 6 it did become hit and miss, with the odd gem, but a lot of average episodes and some stinkers.

Apart from the disappointing "The Anti-Terror Squad", the weakest episode since Season 11's "Inner Beauty", Season 12 has so far been much better than expected. No classics yet but no low-points, but it has done very well considering the circumstances. After being let down by the previous episode "The Anti-Terror Squad", Season 12 gets back on track with its best episode yet (replacing "Keeper") "Elliot's Pond".

Rossi's final speech felt rather forced and tacked on and while it was good to have an explanation for Hotch's absence it felt like an unsatisfactory send-off for one of the show's longest-serving and popular characters and him being written out in this way has done the character an injustice.

"Elliot's Pond" as ever is very well made visually. 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 it. Matthew Gray Gubler does a typically wonderful job in his tenth episode directing 'Criminal Minds', it has all his directorial trademarks and he brings out the melancholy, creepiness, intensity and poignancy extremely well.

Scripting is much improved over the previous episode, only striking a false note in Rossi's speech. It's thought-provoking and Garcia has some great lines. The team seem to function far better here, more cohesive, and they do a much better job with their interaction and investigating. Garcia is a delight and bringing Prentiss back is one of the best decisions the show has made in recent years.

On top of that, the story is creepy, sometimes suitably bizarre and moving, with the best executed twist of the season so far. The kids' rescue and the characters themselves bring tears to the eye and the unsub is the most loathsome of the season yet. The acting is strong.

In summary, the season is back on track in its best episode yet. 8/10 Bethany Cox

As much as I would have liked to to see a better send off for Hotch, I'm glad that Gibson got fired for what he did. A physical altercation with a co-worker (especial seeing as this is the second such incident) should definitely get you fired.

Additionally I have had shows that I have really liked but later found out that one of the actors was confrontational, or abusive to co-workers and it really ruins your perceptions of the show.

This is not the only episode with a far-fetched plot with the characters having epiphanies out of nowhere with the exact far-fetched plot, all with the aim of sappy reunions at the end. But this one has a double with the announced departure of Hotch after his absence from prior episodes with the weakest story I've ever heard. Honestly, it sounds worse than any first grader explaining a missed assignment. Did people behind the scenes leave with Thomas Gibson and Shemar Moore? I like the character development with Penelope, playing off of Luke. But the return of Emily Prentiss makes me wish I'd stopped binge-watching after the 11th season.