Message in a Bottle

I very very rarely leave a review or rate anything less than a 10 star but this episode was horrible. I love these show but it's really going down hill quickly. Previous episodes have been increasingly hard to watch. The brief moments of light that made the series so enjoyable over all these years are completely gone. Yes the acting is incredible as it always is but writing is destroying characters integrity. Even Penelope's character is losing its gentle but smart edge. On a side note so far all of the Evolution episodes are filmed so dark you can barely see anything. Unfortunately this review is coming late so likely not to do any good.

**Title: "Criminal Minds Has Lost Its Plot - Literally"** **Rating: 2/10**

As a longtime fan of Criminal Minds, it pains me to say that the heart of the show - the intelligent profiling, tight procedural storytelling, and grounded character work - has been buried beneath a mountain of melodrama and increasingly implausible serial killers. What was once a smart, gripping, and often unsettling look into the psychology of criminals has become a soap opera with FBI credentials.

Let's start with the plot lines. The early seasons of Criminal Minds were grounded in the team's work: profiling a different UnSub (unknown subject) each week, piecing together behavioral patterns, and using logic, instinct, and experience to solve heinous crimes. It was fast-paced, cerebral, and often chilling - not because of gore or spectacle, but because it reflected the terrifying plausibility of real-life criminal behavior.

Now? Each season seems to revolve around one grandiose, comic-book-style supervillain. This formula - dragging one killer out over multiple episodes or even seasons - completely undermines what made the show work in the first place. We're no longer seeing the BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit) chase a variety of criminals with diverse psychological motivations; we're watching them spiral into personal hells while being hunted by the latest over-the-top nemesis with a Hollywood flair for murder.

The villains are no longer believable. They're caricatures. We've had serial killers who command global terror networks, manipulate entire government agencies, or kill with such impossibly intricate methods that they'd have to be part-time magicians. It feels less like a crime show and more like a spy thriller with trauma flashbacks. The tension that used to come from realistic stakes has been replaced by an eye-roll-inducing need to outdo the last supervillain.

Then there's the writing, which has shifted dramatically - from sharp, understated scripts to melodramatic monologues and overwrought exposition. Characters now speak in emotionally loaded, self-aware clichés rather than natural conversation. Everyone is constantly processing trauma, whispering about their pasts, or battling inner demons. I'm not opposed to character development or emotional arcs, but when it overshadows the case work - and worse, feels forced or redundant - it becomes tiresome.

Where's the balance? In early seasons, we got to know the characters through how they worked cases: the empathy of Reid, the moral compass of Hotch, the no-nonsense smarts of Prentiss. Now, every episode seems like it's more about them than about the crimes they're supposed to be solving. The team spends more time emotionally reacting to cases than investigating them. Half the time, I forget what the episode is even about until the final act.

Even the basic concept of the show feels lost. Criminal Minds was meant to be about the science of behavior - how analyzing the psychology of a criminal can bring justice to victims. The "mind" part of Criminal Minds is barely present anymore. Profiling has become a buzzword instead of a methodology. Cases are solved not by careful deduction, but by sudden hunches and improbable breakthroughs. It's lazy storytelling disguised as high drama.

The structure has also become sluggish. In the early days, each episode had a tight arc: introduction of the crime, investigation, profiling, and takedown - interspersed with just enough character development to keep things human. Now we have three- or four-episode arcs with padded flashbacks, character side quests, and a constant sense of emotional exhaustion. It's no longer about solving a puzzle - it's about surviving trauma porn.

To be clear, I'm not saying character development or recurring threats are bad ideas. But Criminal Minds has leaned too far into these elements at the expense of its foundation. Instead of feeling like a psychological thriller with procedural roots, it now feels like a drama that happens to involve criminals.

If you're a die-hard fan of the characters and just want to see more of their personal journeys, maybe this direction works for you. But if, like me, you fell in love with Criminal Minds because it was a smart, eerie look into the darkest corners of human behavior - with skilled agents navigating that world - then this new incarnation feels like a betrayal of the original concept.

What made the show great was its balance: the procedural, the psychological, and the personal all feeding into one another. Now, that balance is gone. And so is the magic.

Final verdict: Once a clever and chilling procedural, Criminal Minds has devolved into overwrought drama with unbelievable villains and a complete loss of focus. It's a shame to watch something with such a brilliant premise spiral into something so cliché.

Good moments but slow tempo

This episode Dave and Tara get deeper about that is troubling him and how it's affecting him. Garcia Luke and Tyler have a sticky situation as they are involved with one of Tyler's X girlfriends who could be connected to Goldstar while JJ heads out to make sure Prentis is doing okay after last weeks episode.

There isn't much progression this week I think it's an episode that's just there. I did however really enjoy the scenes with Dave and Tara, seeing him finally open up about what he is going through to the team is big. I also enjoyed the jj and prentis section, showing how the team always bounce back.

An episode with our team not much of a case breaking episode, 7/10.

This show used to be one of the best on TV, but this season is garbage. Could we please be done with the whole 'Voit' storyline & get back to the Criminal Minds of the past. This whole storyline is tedious, & the episodes are slow to the point of boring. I used to look forward to each new episode but now I can barely them & I'm to the point of just writing off the show. The characters are not enjoyable anymore & it's made worse with Spencer no longer with the show. Then you have the fact that conspiracies & office politics have taken over the show along with the stupidity of the Voit character. Unfortunately it probably means the show is close to the end along with a number of other good shows that Paramount has destroyed or cancelled over the last few years.