It's time to sit down and think about what's going to happen on Criminal Minds' tenth season.
Summary of what we know:
Well, we know for sure that Jeanne Tripplehorn will not be rejoining the cast this season. Instead, Jennifer Love-Hewitt was hired to replace her; Alex Blake has become Kate Callahan. Certain interviews have revealed that Kate already has some rapport from within the BAU, and that she likes to work in undercover situations. Apparently, she "will do whatever it takes to get the job done." This should be interesting, considering we haven't seen that much from the team in terms of going undercover ever since Emily Prentiss was on the show.
Casting:
It was announced that C.S. Lee will be in the fourth episode of Season 10, portraying a high school English teacher. However, he will have an obsession - a deadly one. His backstory involves being traumatized because of his overbearing father. His father used to lock him up with his brother in a shed just because of their poor grades. The kind of obsession that the character has wasn't disclosed and we will all have to wait when "Criminal Minds" season 10 airs. As a huge fan of Dexter and Vince Mazuka, I am quite excited to see what C.S. will bring to the forefront of Criminal Minds.
Also guest starring in episode four will be Alicia Coppola, former Jericho actress. She will be starring as Lisa Randall, the head of a Morgellons syndrome support group who's "willing to go as far as she can to protect group members privacy." Perhaps she will be protecting C.S. Lee's character? This should be good.
My personal wishes, hopes, fears:
I have compiled a long list of small and big things that I hope to see this coming year.
- More actual profiling, less violence simply for shock value. Less jump scares and gore, although it works and is cool, please continue having lengthy profiles that explain everything about the criminal mind.
- Accurate characterization
- Spencer Reid doing more with the PhD’s he has (Mathematics, Chemistry, and Engineering)
- Other characters having that moment of realization where they suddenly understand what they’ve been missing to solve the case besides Reid, who seems to be the only one capable of this
- More mentions/backstories about Penelope Garcia’s parents
- More insight on Aaron Hotchner’s parents, specifically his dad
- More information about Derek Morgan's dad
- Basically anything about everyone’s childhood and family life
- More female Unsubs
- I miss the feeling of not seeing the Unsub’s face until the last possible moment. That adds an unexplainable tension to the episode. That needs to start happening again
- More use of the green screen while the team is giving the profile
- David Rossi and Carolyn’s son (We still don't know what happened there)
- The end of Reid’s anti-technology phase and him actually getting a pop culture reference
- For fans to accept Kate Callahan because she’ll be getting enough crap from people who still miss Prentiss, and now will miss Blake. I know I miss them both, but I'm willing to see what Kate can do.
- A follow up to Alchemy/Gatekeeper where Rossi checks in on Reid. I need more Reid and Rossi moments.
- Hotch and Garcia - Route 66 was a nice start, but I need more.
- A REAL MENTION OF BLAKE'S RESIGNATION?! SERIOUSLY, DON'T PULL THE STRAUSS OR THE ELLE CRAP. IT IS JUST SICKENING. PLEASE HAVE THE TEAM DISCUSS HER LEAVING. PLEASE.
- Adding on to that point, maybe having a killer that relies heavily on linguistics, with some comment by the team, "Where's Blake when you need her?" to show people that Blake was a true team member and wasn't expendable.
- I guess it's too late for JJ to open up to her team members about her miscarriage. That being said, I want REAL Will and JJ moments. How about a dinner? A play date with Jack, Hotch, and Beth? So many good ideas...
- I want to see a pure psychopath again, like Frank Brietkopf, or something. Rossi still needs a nemesis. ;-)
- More of Hotch being Unit Chief-like. He was basically just another team member last season.
- Please don't make Kate the sassy/rebellious type. You made Blake this way and it didn't resonate well for people. (I'm an exception, but alas, the majority of fans wanted someone younger, prettier, nicer...)
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What do you hope/think is going to happen in season 10? Leave a comment below!
Congrats on your first post Laura, welcome to the team.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Laura. Glad we have someone covering Criminal Minds this season, I still enjoy the show a lot. Favorite characters are Reid and Rossi
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sharon! I'm very excited to cover the show I love so much! Reid and Rossi are my (current) favourites too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the preview laura!
ReplyDeleteReally interested in seeing how JLH integrates into the show.
Thank you very much!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure!
ReplyDeleteMe too! The team haven't done too many undercover stunts yet, so it should be very interesting to say the least.
Not yet convinced about Jennifer Love-Hewitt but I will give her a chance. Looking forward to the direction they take us this season.
ReplyDeleteI agree, she is a risky choice. But that's the show - throwing curveballs at us every step of the way!
ReplyDeleteI agree about the actual profiling.
ReplyDeleteI tend to prefer the episodes where we don't know who the unsub until the end and we see the profiling up to the reveal/twist.
Looking forward to your reviews
I`m hoping for a background story about Morgan`s time undercover which was established in season 1 episode 8.
ReplyDeleteGreat preview Laura! Glad to see Criminal Minds getting some love :-) It's one of my favorite shows - been with it since the beginning.
ReplyDeleteAt first I was doubtful about JLH's casting because the only thing I remember her from is "I Know What You Did Last Summer" but after the announcement, I checked out the first season of Ghost Whisperer and really liked it. Now I'm looking forward to her character shaking things up a bit!
I want to see a bit more of Hotch and Beth. I would love to see an undercover episode, similar to the one with Reid and Prentiss in that cult.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great list, I like it ;)
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree with no.1. When I wanted to recommend this show, I'd say 'It's a different cop show. They're professional in human mind study and can find the bad guy by figuring how he\she thinks.' Now I can't say the same thing. It's become the show of ultra crazy murderers whose pure violence is just sickening.
I'd want another big bad unsub, but I hope he'd be different and not another creepy bloodthirsty. Frank Brietkopf or Foyet can't be repeated, they were captivating b/c they were new. They should use creativity and not mere violence to attract audience.
Also I agree that everyone should have their own specific role, I miss the boss Hotch, turning JJ to a profiler was a big mistake, same as for others. Now they're just a bunch of expendable coworkers you could change their scripts and nobody would notice it! LOL
I hope to see more article from you this year. Thanks :)
Thanks so much! Glad to see we agree!
ReplyDeleteYou're right - that would be amazing!
ReplyDeleteHey Emma, thanks so much! I am looking for to JLH as well - although it's tough to say goodbye to Blake.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, Paul!
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks so much! I'm happy to see we agree on pretty much - everything! I absolutely prefer JJ as a press liaison, and I wish 200 showed us more of the background/training she had to do. As for the profiling - I'm hoping they'll take a step back and realize that the show is called Criminal MINDS, not Criminal VIOLENCE. :-P
ReplyDeleteGreat first post Laura. I must admit, my interest in Criminal Minds waned a little last season - I had too much else to do/watch. One thing that I'd disagree with is 'not seeing the killer until late'. I watch quite a few procedurals and one thing I love about CM is that we see the face of the killer early - we don't know who he is though.
ReplyDeleteThanks @LauraLoo77, I'm glad spoilertv has found somebody to write for this wonderful show. I agree with your wishlist, especially I'd love to see more profiling and I also prefer episodes where the unsub is first seen in one of the last sequences. Concerning Blake: you're not the only one who really liked her and was upset when she left, but I'm also looking forward to Love's character.
ReplyDeleteBut as far as I'm informed, Lee and Coppola will guest star in two different episodes: Lee will make an appearance in 10x2 "Burn" and Coppola in 10x4 "The Itch" (correct me if I'm wrong ;) ).
I am looking forward to your future writing work.
Thank you very much, Bradley. To me, that's the only thing on here that is debateable for me. I enjoy both the suspense of having the identity hidden, or showing the identity early. I was just annoyed that that never did it at all this season.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, it's possible you are correct, but I cannot seem to find any definitive proof of what episode he's guest starring in. I'm not sure where I read that information! :-P
ReplyDeleteBut thank you nonetheless; I'm glad to know others enjoyed Blake.
I think it's good when they have it roughly half and half in a season.
ReplyDeleteWow, I totally want all of this too, I've been saying most of them for several seasons now!
ReplyDelete(*whispers* hello from Tumblr!) And yes! I hope some of these start to happen!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! That sounds great to me!
ReplyDeleteLove your first article Laura, big thumbs up. I feel so proud *wipes tear*
ReplyDeleteAmazing article, and I totally agree with everything you said. Only a few weeks ago I went back and watched the earlier seasons and those episodes were done really well...a little bit of shock/blood/violence but also, the team were profiling in more detail and it wasn't always about the killings like it is now. AND YES, about Hotch only being a team member and not just Hotch, but also Reid, Blake, Rossi and Blake. These characters only played supporting roles for the last few seasons while JJ and Morgan did all the action scenes/catching the UNSUB.
ReplyDeleteThis season I would love it if each team member had equal screen time and the BAU team were rotated around like the earlier seasons.
I'm so glad that someone else agrees with me about JJ. I do prefer her as press liason and ever since she become an agent she's been getting way too much screen time, Morgan as well.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm not all that bugged about seeing the unsub early, either-I get why people like that, it adds to the mystery. But I'm not overly focused on the cases a lot of the time with this show-at least, not in the "try and solve the case along with the team" sort of way. I'm more interested in the issues (moral, ethical, emotional, mental, etc.) that certain cases bring up, or any cases that connect to some personal issue one or more of the team members is dealing with. But to each their own.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with more focus on profiling and less on the gore/violence, though-obviously, given the criminals these guys deal with, that stuff will show up at some point, but yeah, I mention the show to people sometimes and they're not interested because of all the gore and violence, and I try and insist there's more to it than that...only to have them see an episode that happens to show all the reasons why they wouldn't be interested :p. Ah, well.
My big thing for Reid this season is to let him have some happier personal storylines. I'd be fine with showing him going to a meeting or two early on next season, to show that he's dealing with any possible cravings he might have after all the shooting and Blake leaving, since they were close friends (along with any lingering issues he may still be dealing with in regards to Maeve's death). But as the season progresses, I'd really like to have the show let him regain his emotional/mental/physical strength, and start looking forward to happier opportunities. There were a lot of mentions last season of him having considered the idea of a family of his own someday-I'm not saying he has to get a girlfriend this season, but if he went on even a date or two, or at least gave an indication he was ready to try finding love again, or something...that would be great. And if they could get Jane Lynch to show up, and he could have a good reunion with his mom, that'd be nice, too. Stuff like that. I want to see Reid finally getting a break and getting some good stuff coming his way.
And yes to the stuff with Hewitt being accepted. I'm really not in the mood to deal with nasty remarks about her looks or whatever in comment sections next season, so hopefully the fans will embrace her, and those that don't like her can find a mature way to express their dislike. I love and miss Emily, too, but the hatred some of the female cast members who aren't her get sometimes is a little ridiculous.
And with that tl;dr post, I will say hello to you, Laura! I look forward to your comments about next season-may it be a good one for us fans and for the cast!
Yes! There's so much about Morgan's background beyond the Buford stuff that would be good to explore-his undercover days, bringing back his expertise in bomb situations, his days as a cop in Chicago, even some further exploration of the good times he'd shared with his dad before he lost him. Stuff like that-I'd be all for storylines with those situations.
ReplyDeleteOoh, yeah, more "Minimal Loss"-esque episodes would be great. I love that episode.
ReplyDeleteGreat article! Agreed with what you wrote but mostly about Hotch, I want to know more about his family, about his childhood. We have known about everyone else but Hotch. I Definately want him back at being more than just a member of the team. CM is at its best when Hotch is in the middle of things. As for the new character, will give her a chance, so far what I have read about her sound interesting. Finally I want to learn about the unsub from the team working the case, from profiling the unsub NOT from seeing the unsub point of view and please do not show them 2 minutes into the episode! Suspence and mystery goes a long way!
ReplyDeleteWow. Thank you for your thoughts, Angela. It's good to see we are on the same page for most of these things. Can I get a heck yes to your hopes for Reid? I have heard rumours that Reid is going to get trauma this season/he might relapse and go back to dilaudid. I'm sincerely hoping he doesn't do that and he just gets SOME form of happiness this season.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I thought Season 8 was on par with the earlier seasons, but Season 9 was a bit too...much.
ReplyDeleteYes! Thank you for agreeing with me! :-) They hinted in Season 1 that Hotch might have been abused by his father; they mentioned it again (sort of) in Season 2, but since then, we have heard nothing! They cannot leave us hanging like this!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! Now that the Haley storyline is done with, that Hotch made his peace with what happened, it is time to deal with his backstory that was alluded in season 1 and 2.
ReplyDeleteI'd heard that, too. Yeah, while I could certainly understand him at least considering going back to the drugs given all he's been through the last year and a half (if Emily's "death" triggered his cravings, everything with Maeve, being shot in the neck, and losing another close friend would sure as hell do a number on him in that respect), that's why I prefer, if they do go that route, having him only consider it...but working hard to resist the urge at the same time. He's been strong enough to fight the cravings in the past, surely he can do it again here. Especially if the team is extra supportive, and looks out for him. So here's hoping.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, and thank you in return-glad to be in agreement on these topics, indeed! I like a lot of the other suggestions in your list as well. May at least some of them be realized this season, if not all.
Here's hoping! :D haha.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. He honestly has nothing that would get in his way right now, except maybe an unsub who was abused - and then the parallels can be drawn.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about screen time, but yeah. She was much more of a badass when she was dealing with the press. People love her action shots now - but when she dealt with families and the news...it was beautiful. Also, I can't tell you enough how much I miss hearing, "Agent Jareau, we spoke on the phone."
ReplyDeleteEven though she was only with us for two seasons, it was hard to say goodbye, but I'm glad they didn't kill her off. It broke my heart to say goodbye to Prentiss but like Prentiss, I'm hoping that she can still come back every once in a while to help out :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad they didn't have her die, too. I've liked every team member, past and present, and I'd hate for any of them to be permanently killed off. At least if they just leave, there's always a chance for them to come back, even as a guest.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't such a fan of the episode itself, but the overall "uncover-ness" of the episode would be cool to see done differently.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree, Angela. Every single character has shaped this show, in positive and negative ways. None of them deserve to die. (But if we're being honest here, Blake and Jeanne did not deserve that exit either.) And Emma, I hope to see more Prentiss too. I liked 200 because she didn't overshadow JJ and at the same time, she helped a lot with the case.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! I was just saying to myself how I forgot to mention Morgan's bomb squad experience and how we could use another bomber episode where we can hear the words, "I'm Derek Morgan, and I have bomb squad experience." :P
ReplyDeleteExactly! I'm hoping that both characters can come back in future seasons to help again. I like that the writers were able to bring Emily back in an organic way without her return overshadowing the entire episode. Blake was a good character, not as fleshed out as Prentiss since she wasn't with us as long but I think her connection to Reid could be used as an organic way for her to be brought back for a guest stint too.
ReplyDeleteThis season, I'd like some more back story on Derek - specifically his time with Chicago PD. Kinda hoping that his history in CPD as well as JLH's character's affinity for undercover work will give us some good episodes with these two - show us more of Derek's past as well as help us get to know JLH too.
Yeah, JJ is good with talking to families who are grieving for their loved ones (when she was press liason). I do miss seeing her at press conferences/on TV talking to the public about the unsub. But the show seems to focus more on the sick minds of the unsubs and the violent killings. Hope the show goes back to the earlier seasons, when I could watch an episode and have some hope for the victims that survive.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a fantastic idea! The writers should hire you ;)
ReplyDeleteI know I'll probably get boo'd here but I would like for them to have Rossi talk or deal a little ore with his relationship with Strauss. I feel like we got snipets, but how did they get together and does he still stay in touch with her kids. I actually hate that they killed her off.
ReplyDelete