From comments on social media, it seems as though people are enjoying this season so far.
Unfortunately, I'm finding many faults and can't help but wonder if the magic has already run out on Criminal Minds: Evolution or if it's the state of programming in general that's causing my malaise.
I don't quite understand a few things about Criminal Minds Season 17 Episode 4, so maybe you can help me figure them out.
Will All the Cases of the Week Lead Back to Gold Star?
In a world where, suddenly, every open case seems to have ties to Gold Star, the girl murdering law enforcement didn't seem like it would pass that test.
But, it was possibly the most significant clue to date, revealing that the BAU team had been profiling one man, and that man just so happened to be helping pull off these murders.
Criminal Minds Evolution Season Premiere Review: What is Gold Star?
Or something. To be honest, the way these stories interconnect doesn't make sense until they spell it out. An important part of storytelling, especially with mysteries, is allowing viewers to suss out the clues themselves.
You tell me: are there any logical connections between these cases that we could find without the team using exposition to explain it?
Tara spat out a profile for the girl based on nothing. Did they really need a profile when the girl did nothing about covering her tracks? She even spat in her dad's face, leaving DNA evidence in her wake.
The cases may be more gruesome, but they seem to make less sense in this overarching arc setting. Trying to connect everything back to the main case is growing tiresome, and the way it's done is even more so.
Speaking of Gold Star, It's a Network, Not a Person
The latest with Gold Star gave the writers a good chance to poke fun at conspiracy theories.
It's clear they're "follow the science folks" who may not be familiar with the fact that science is malleable. Every new discovery changes the science that came before it.
It's the same with a murder investigation. They can make a profile, as they did with Gold Star, but it turned out that the profile was for Damien alone, and Gold Star is a network.
Can we just imagine for a second that Elias Voit, who hasn't told the truth in his life, is also behind Gold Star to some degree?
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He admitted to speaking with someone in relation to Gold Star, but the odds are slim that his network of nuts wasn't otherwise connected, and he darn well knew it.
The Voit Family Reunion
No surprise here, but Elias couldn't get his head out of his ass even long enough to talk rationally with Sydney about their children.
Narcissists are disgusting.
"His last request" would be to see and hold his children, and because he is good at making people believe what he says matters, the BAU went along with it.
I disagree 100% with Sydney's idea that the man who pulled wool over the family's eyes to such a blatant degree could provide closure for their children.
She's not been seeing what's affecting them, or she would have been prepared for Holly to attack her father. Another sticking point? A maximum security federal prison allowed Holly to carry in a knife disguised as lipstick.
GIVE. ME. A. BREAK.
There is no way in hell anybody would enter that facility with anything that hadn't been scanned, X-rayed, and pulled apart. In most cases, you leave your belongings outside and collect them later, just like the prisoners.
Holly Voit Is a Girl In Trouble
The reunion began as one daughter ran into her dad's arms, and the older one, Holly, hid behind Sydney.
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Asking questions like, "When are you coming home," shows that Sydney hasn't told them the truth. He's using the "I shot at federal agents in self-defense" ploy with his kids, and Sydney is going along with it.
Why? I don't know.
That's far more detrimental to their long-term health than the truth would ever be. That he was lying to her was more offensive to his eldest daughter than it would have been if he'd admitted to being a serial killer.
She'd also rather kill her father than see her mother in so much pain.
Through a combination of overhearing a detective talking with Sydney and her love for podcasts, Holly sussed out the truth, but she can't make sense of the duality of the man she knew as her father and the man he is: a serial killer.
Voit won't go the extra mile to a confession, but he's worried enough about Holly to ask for help.
She's on the path to becoming her father, which, if he doesn't confess, just means she'll shoot at federal agents in self-defense. Even he can't hold up that ruse for long.
This little event got Holly in trouble and wasn't the best-in-show for Voit, who had a hard time rationally marrying the idea that his daughter could be in danger of following in his footsteps as he did his uncle and the fact he claims he's only guilty of self-defense.
All of this ended with Emily granting Voit yet another privilege: he's being routed back to Quantico's sixth floor so he can feel like part of the team.
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Why Does Emily Trust Voit To Tell the Truth?
None of his actions suggest that Voit is playing ball with the BAU. He knows far less than he lets on, yet he manipulates Emily once again into getting what he wants.
I'm still not sure why Emily gives any more credence to what "I'm not Sicarias" says than she does her former neighbor, Brian Garrity.
Neither of them are trained, but they both have info. Yet she'll lean hard into giving Elias what he wants while making fun of her neighbor and his conspiracy mindset.
Is there a bigger plan waiting to be revealed behind Emily's actions? There's no evidence of that, but I wouldn't be surprised if they talk it through for us on screen at some point.
Other "Kingdom of the Blind" Points
As much as I hoped Tyler was made part of the cast this season, his role with the BAU and his relationship with Penelope is too cryptic.
What did he do to shatter Penelope's trust that she doesn't feel safe with him all of a sudden? Does that tie back to Criminal Minds Season Evolution Season 1 Episode 10 when he went rogue? That doesn't seem logical.
Emily's arrest continues to nag at me.
In another WTF segment, the police I was so skeptical of during Criminal Minds Evolution Season 2 Episode 3 got me again. The police cruiser was a regular vehicle, without a separation between the criminal and the cops.
This whole story is just strange.
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Stranger still is that Garrity's involvement abuts Gold Star. He knows the term, and he's off to find more evidence. Don't worry. Emily will still think he's a whackjob. But Elias Voit will be housed with them as his machinations continue.
And finally, you can tell that Alvez is still reeling from his discovery about BAU Gate. We aren't quite sure how JJ feels about it.
She hoped to talk with Prentiss, no doubt to discuss what she saw and how it was kept from her, but Emily kept getting pulled away, and then JJ seemed to give up on it.
Does that mean she's giving up on all of it or just trusting in Emily? I guess we'll find out more as the season continues.
Are you satisfied with the story so far? Does it have too many rough edges for you, too?
I was happy to see someone in the comment agree that Emily made a terrible mistake on "Homesick," so I have hope that I'm not alone here.
Shoot me a comment down below!