Poor Hotch and Kate! Love how worried everyone on the team is about each other. Hated watching the CCTV of Hotch and Kate getting blown up - it looked scarily real. Kate rambling about cinema/movies. I never paid much attention to her when I watched it the first time around as I was too busy freaking out about the BAU team but now I know what's going to happen to her, I feel sorry for her. Morgan on the Subway train ... literally couldn't breathe ~intense~. I love that Morgan's gun has a torch on it ... but what I want to know is why they all don't have one? Oh Morgan and the bomb .. completely OTT but since they usually do realistic but gritty on this show, I can let them off this once. Prentiss/Cooper ... awwh. The thing that bugs me the most about this episode is what the hell happened to all the other terrorists? Clearly they couldn't be found but when they heard that their big, bad leader killed himself wouldn't they try to do something.
9 Reviews
The best Criminals episode so far
nicofreezer27 April 2021
Without a doubt the best so far. I was on the edge of my seat for the first time with this show. Even though the first 3 seasons were Very Solid TV , but This episode is a masterpiece of action /suspence.
10/10 when the average Criminals Mind ep is 8/10 (I still believe Agent Jason Gideon was the best character and its a shame the actor wanted to leave the show, but I start to become emotional with Agent Hotchner and Morgan, I also wait for Reid to re became the hero of this show)
10/10 when the average Criminals Mind ep is 8/10 (I still believe Agent Jason Gideon was the best character and its a shame the actor wanted to leave the show, but I start to become emotional with Agent Hotchner and Morgan, I also wait for Reid to re became the hero of this show)
A let-down after "Lo-Fi", but not a bad episode
TheLittleSongbird27 August 2016
"Lo-Fi" was a brilliant finale to Season 3, the season's most tense and boldest, and one of the season's best episodes along with "Elephant's Memory", one of the whole show's most poignant.
Season 3 isn't perfect, with the early episodes having to cope with troubled circumstances, especially the abrupt departure of Gideon/Mandy Patinkin and having to find a replacement quickly, but while there was some initial shakiness (such as the somewhat awkward introduction of Rossi) it did surprisingly well considering. To me though, it was a long way from a mediocre or forgettable season, "Elephant's Memory" and "Lo-Fi" were brilliant and "Children of the Dark", "Seven Seconds" and "True Night" had many great things.
"Mayhem" had a lot to live up to and had a tough act to follow. Cliff-hangers continuing into the next season, meaning starting with the finale of the previous season and continuing with the succeeding season, have had mixed execution on 'Criminal Minds'. "The Fisher King Part 2" was on the same level of "The Fisher King Part 1" and two of the show's best episodes, while "The Longest Night" (one of the better episodes from personal opinion of the hit-and-miss Season 6) was an improvement over "Our Darkest Hour".
Even if being superior or equal to "Lo-Fi" was not expected, and would have been a big ask, there was the expectation that it would be almost as good. Unfortunately it was nowhere near as good, being a quite good but flawed episode which was a let-down compared to the brilliance of "Lo-Fi".
There are good things here. Production values are stylish, gritty, dark and audacious, while the music fits very well and has atmosphere and melancholy. "Mayhem" does start off incredibly, and does have a good deal of tension (such as the carnage of the bomb, which is superbly chaotic and has urgency, and Morgan's subway scene) and was also moving, actually did care for what happened for Kate which was great for a short-lived character.
Intelligent, taut and smart writing always helps, and "Mayhem" does have that, and the direction has urgency and spaciousness. The acting is very good all round, actually did think that care and genuine emotion for such a horrible situation was incredibly obvious.
At the same time, "Mayhem", while not devoid of tension and suspense, does lack the mounting-tension-up-to-terrifying-heights and bold risks of "Lo-Fi". Too much of it feels unresolved, some subplots don't feel as complete as they could have been, only showing what happened to only a few unsubs/terrorists and neglecting the others felt like a cop-out and the ending could have been better rounded off. "Lo-Fi" had no pacing issues at all, but "Mayhem" felt somewhat rushed and like a longer length might have helped.
On the whole, not a bad episode, just not to the same level as "Lo-Fi". 7/10 Bethany Cox
Season 3 isn't perfect, with the early episodes having to cope with troubled circumstances, especially the abrupt departure of Gideon/Mandy Patinkin and having to find a replacement quickly, but while there was some initial shakiness (such as the somewhat awkward introduction of Rossi) it did surprisingly well considering. To me though, it was a long way from a mediocre or forgettable season, "Elephant's Memory" and "Lo-Fi" were brilliant and "Children of the Dark", "Seven Seconds" and "True Night" had many great things.
"Mayhem" had a lot to live up to and had a tough act to follow. Cliff-hangers continuing into the next season, meaning starting with the finale of the previous season and continuing with the succeeding season, have had mixed execution on 'Criminal Minds'. "The Fisher King Part 2" was on the same level of "The Fisher King Part 1" and two of the show's best episodes, while "The Longest Night" (one of the better episodes from personal opinion of the hit-and-miss Season 6) was an improvement over "Our Darkest Hour".
Even if being superior or equal to "Lo-Fi" was not expected, and would have been a big ask, there was the expectation that it would be almost as good. Unfortunately it was nowhere near as good, being a quite good but flawed episode which was a let-down compared to the brilliance of "Lo-Fi".
There are good things here. Production values are stylish, gritty, dark and audacious, while the music fits very well and has atmosphere and melancholy. "Mayhem" does start off incredibly, and does have a good deal of tension (such as the carnage of the bomb, which is superbly chaotic and has urgency, and Morgan's subway scene) and was also moving, actually did care for what happened for Kate which was great for a short-lived character.
Intelligent, taut and smart writing always helps, and "Mayhem" does have that, and the direction has urgency and spaciousness. The acting is very good all round, actually did think that care and genuine emotion for such a horrible situation was incredibly obvious.
At the same time, "Mayhem", while not devoid of tension and suspense, does lack the mounting-tension-up-to-terrifying-heights and bold risks of "Lo-Fi". Too much of it feels unresolved, some subplots don't feel as complete as they could have been, only showing what happened to only a few unsubs/terrorists and neglecting the others felt like a cop-out and the ending could have been better rounded off. "Lo-Fi" had no pacing issues at all, but "Mayhem" felt somewhat rushed and like a longer length might have helped.
On the whole, not a bad episode, just not to the same level as "Lo-Fi". 7/10 Bethany Cox
Read the ttapola
jesper-114 February 2013
The fact of the matter is that they didn't air episode 66 on Danish television but skipped directly to episode 92. Not a week apart but two episodes aired directly after each other 66 followed by 92. This also happened in re-runs.
I was actually thinking that the ending of 65 was a producer trick like they did in Dynasty. Season ending is "Somebody get's killed" and in production line they start renegotiating contracts.
So I read ttapola's review (the only one) to find out what happened to the characters in my favorite series as I would expect somebody was missing 26 episodes later. Looks like I'm not missing anything in episode 66. Thanks ttapola - don't blame the messenger people...
I was actually thinking that the ending of 65 was a producer trick like they did in Dynasty. Season ending is "Somebody get's killed" and in production line they start renegotiating contracts.
So I read ttapola's review (the only one) to find out what happened to the characters in my favorite series as I would expect somebody was missing 26 episodes later. Looks like I'm not missing anything in episode 66. Thanks ttapola - don't blame the messenger people...
Fantastic build up, but disappointing ending
organicoreo12 January 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Following after the first part of this case, the season finale "Lo-fi" was a fantastic build up that left me on the edge of my seat. It was full of tension and each reveal was done at a good pace through the episode. "Mayhem" had big shoes to fill and I unfortunately did not feel that it lived up to the tension that its first part worked so well to create.
For what was done well, I feel that Kate was a nicely written character that we feel sympathetic to, despite only knowing her for two episodes. The slow realization from Hotch that the ambulances weren't coming, as a result of their calls based on the profile, was fantastic and very much instills a sense of dread and tension. Up this point, it is clear that our unsubs are clever and meticulous, which always makes for a better case to watch solved.
However, therein lies the problem for me. The end of the episode didn't seem to wrap up any loose ends, especially considering that this was the work of a terrorist group with several more members we know of who haven't yet been caught. At least a few lines of dialogue addressing what would be done would be preferred, possibly even a set-up in the future for these unsubs to make a return would be an option. For a group this clever, determined, and well organized, it's hard to believe that they simply just stopped after their attempt at bombing was stopped. There was no reveal about who the secret service was protecting as well as the fact that it was a person and not a place that was the target served to be sadly unconvincing and an unsatisfying ending.
Once again, as Garcia had said, why is it always Derek? Although admirable, the ending where Derek saves the day, and somehow manages to escape an explosion unscathed was a bit of a letdown. After a carefully crafted start, the ending felt rushed and not quite as smartly done as the set up had been.
Overall, this was not a terrible episode at all. It continues to be a classic for me personally, but due to how well done the previous season finale had been, it definitely left something to be desired here.
For what was done well, I feel that Kate was a nicely written character that we feel sympathetic to, despite only knowing her for two episodes. The slow realization from Hotch that the ambulances weren't coming, as a result of their calls based on the profile, was fantastic and very much instills a sense of dread and tension. Up this point, it is clear that our unsubs are clever and meticulous, which always makes for a better case to watch solved.
However, therein lies the problem for me. The end of the episode didn't seem to wrap up any loose ends, especially considering that this was the work of a terrorist group with several more members we know of who haven't yet been caught. At least a few lines of dialogue addressing what would be done would be preferred, possibly even a set-up in the future for these unsubs to make a return would be an option. For a group this clever, determined, and well organized, it's hard to believe that they simply just stopped after their attempt at bombing was stopped. There was no reveal about who the secret service was protecting as well as the fact that it was a person and not a place that was the target served to be sadly unconvincing and an unsatisfying ending.
Once again, as Garcia had said, why is it always Derek? Although admirable, the ending where Derek saves the day, and somehow manages to escape an explosion unscathed was a bit of a letdown. After a carefully crafted start, the ending felt rushed and not quite as smartly done as the set up had been.
Overall, this was not a terrible episode at all. It continues to be a classic for me personally, but due to how well done the previous season finale had been, it definitely left something to be desired here.
Made account, just to review this ep.
kim-zimmermann24 May 2014
Warning: Spoilers
*** Contains spoilers ***
I absolutely detest the ending of this absolute magnificent episode, here are the reasons why I absolutely hate this episode, why it doesn't make any logical sense (what so ever):
1. It doesn't really end: There are still 14 members in this highly organized "terrorist group".
The FBI or the service service has absolutely NO guaranties that they will not hit another target.
No matter what, they are still criminal and should at all cost be brought in for justice, no one
is safe until they are caught. The fact that they have managed to bring in the most deadliest
bomb maker of all time, really proves in effect that this group is highly capable of getting
the resources they need. 2. It's VERY and ABSOLUTELY important that they know who the primary target was for the
terrorist group. When backtracking this individuals actions, they can learn **** about why
and what that makes the terrorist group "tick". This high target individual, for all we now, is
still living under severe threat of being murdered. 3. Why the **** did the FBI group allow the bomb maker to commit suicide!? It is as simple as
Yelling: "Making shot - Left shoulder", where another person picks this up and
Yells: "Making shot - Right shoulder". This would by all means have neutralized the individuals
capability of slicing his throat. This bomb maker can be brought into interrogation, he, most
likely, holds a lot of information for this group, heck, he might have been the "master mind"
behind all this... 4. No clear information is being given, only vague estimates and hints. The viewer is left with
more questions, than answers. This just **** me off as a viewer. Especially after having
tortured the viewer with a almost "unhuman" cliffhanger at the end of season 3. We as
consumers deserves "closure"... to say the least.
They could have easily made a part 3 for this epic, grandeur "film". It really stands out, brings a fresh breeze to the rather quite dull recycling they've made so far (besides the rather nice character development).
I absolutely detest the ending of this absolute magnificent episode, here are the reasons why I absolutely hate this episode, why it doesn't make any logical sense (what so ever):
1. It doesn't really end: There are still 14 members in this highly organized "terrorist group".
The FBI or the service service has absolutely NO guaranties that they will not hit another target.
No matter what, they are still criminal and should at all cost be brought in for justice, no one
is safe until they are caught. The fact that they have managed to bring in the most deadliest
bomb maker of all time, really proves in effect that this group is highly capable of getting
the resources they need. 2. It's VERY and ABSOLUTELY important that they know who the primary target was for the
terrorist group. When backtracking this individuals actions, they can learn **** about why
and what that makes the terrorist group "tick". This high target individual, for all we now, is
still living under severe threat of being murdered. 3. Why the **** did the FBI group allow the bomb maker to commit suicide!? It is as simple as
Yelling: "Making shot - Left shoulder", where another person picks this up and
Yells: "Making shot - Right shoulder". This would by all means have neutralized the individuals
capability of slicing his throat. This bomb maker can be brought into interrogation, he, most
likely, holds a lot of information for this group, heck, he might have been the "master mind"
behind all this... 4. No clear information is being given, only vague estimates and hints. The viewer is left with
more questions, than answers. This just **** me off as a viewer. Especially after having
tortured the viewer with a almost "unhuman" cliffhanger at the end of season 3. We as
consumers deserves "closure"... to say the least.
They could have easily made a part 3 for this epic, grandeur "film". It really stands out, brings a fresh breeze to the rather quite dull recycling they've made so far (besides the rather nice character development).
Spectacularly mediocre conclusion to last season's cliffhanger
ttapola30 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
It took *ten* months for the second part to air in Finland after the awesome finale to largely otherwise forgettable season 3. You see, the time-slot Crimanal Minds airs was first given to something I can't even remember and then to FlashForward for the remainder of those ten months. As the promo showing Hotch standing in shock near his car after its explosion started to air, fears of this one being another "The Fisher King: Part II" started to rear their ugly head. Who the frak green-lights a promo that shows who did *not* die, thus spoiling part of the episode? In the "Previously, in Criminal Minds" recap montage, we get, among the main plot progressions of the previous episode, part of the scene where Prentiss profiles Cooper, which, although necessary for those who missed the first part, also ruins a part of "Mayhem" for those who saw "Lo-Fi", where Cooper was wounded. It doesn't take decades' worth of watching TV to guess that this signposts that Cooper will pull through and Prentiss will visit him in the hospital.
The episode proper begins with the scene from the promo. Hotch is singed and suffering from hearing difficulties. A passer-by who identifies himself as Sam tries to help him help Kate, who has been thrown farther away and is seriously injured. Gosh, she might even die! One problem - it's hard to care about a character who was *introduced* only in the previous episode! Were it Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss (Oh no! Not Brown Eyes!) or even Hotch himself, we might care. Since Kate is half British, it's only appropriate to say that we couldn't give a toss whether she lives or dies.
Actual mayhem ensues as evacuation takes place and the first response teams are ordered to stay a safe distance away from Kate since Rossi's team thinks the terrorists are carrying out numerous bombings and will then use secondary attacks against the first response team because that's what they clearly were planning in the previous episode. Before any additional strikes are carried out, Garcia suddenly looses communications to the rest of the team. Nice surprise, which ups the tension.
Then comes the mistake. Garcia gets to watch surveillance footage of the explosion that took Hotch and Kate down. In "Lo-Fi" and the recap, we see the explosion with *no one* behind the car, making us assume that whoever's car it was, they were already inside. However, Garcia sees footage from a reverse angle that shows that Hotch was right beside the rear of the car and Kate was *directly behind the car* when it exploded. Oops! Continuity error! Deduct one point from the total rating.
Cleverly, Garcia reviews the footage *before* the explosion and finds footage of the placing of the bomb. Another footage handily reveals that the bomber started lurking about, waiting for the moment to remotely trigger the explosion. Morgan arrives and rushes to the aid of Hotch despite the protests of the man in charge. And just at *that* moment Garcia sees from the footage that after the explosion, the bomber walked towards Hotch, which means that he is Sam. That's two convenient coincides. And for some inexplicable reason, Garcia then manages to re-establish connections to Morgan! How? Obviously the terrorists somehow cut the connections on purpose. All this means Hotch doesn't have to make a Jack Bauer Decision: to help the victim (contrast Audrey with Kate) or chase the bad guy? Not that it matters either way. A paramedic with an overriding savior instinct (unlike his co-worker) arrives with an ambulance to take Kate to the hospital and the bomber commits suicide in the subway after giving his Obligatory Fanatic Martyr Speech. Sheesh, this episode is sliding downhill at an alarming rate.
When no other bombs go up, the paramedic's co-worker never shows up, and Rossi's team fails to connect the dots even though most clever viewers already have, the episode starts to look more and more like a new "The Fisher King: Part II".
Hotch takes the missing paramedic's place and drives the ambulance, but Secret Service is blocking his way. Cue a clichéd "Please let us in" speech and the stone-hearted Secret Service guy makes an exception. Not likely to happen in real life. Clever viewers have already deduced that someone of political importance must be in the hospital and therefore the actual target of the terrorists. Meanwhile, Rossi uses the magical Enhance Button trope (look it up) to zoom in on the footage of the bomber, revealing he used a cell phone to trigger the bomb at a precise moment, with the intent of only injuring Kate and Hotch. And finally the cleverest minds of FBI realize what's going on. A textbook predictable finale ensues, where there are no heroic sacrifices or anything other that would redeem this episode. Yes, there is the clichéd "He got out before it exploded" reveal. Yawn.
So, yet another episode that does not live up to the hair-raising tension of its superior predecessor. And there are more niggles. The subplot of FBI considering to replace Kate with Morgan is left unresolved, with Hotch saying to Morgan that the job is his, if he wants it, but we never hear Morgan neither accept nor reject the job (although the latter *seems* more likely since Morgan has stated he does not want it). JJ's relationship doesn't even get a mention after it was brought to the fore in the previous episode. Worst of all, nobody seems to care that even though it has been established that there are *many* members in this terrorist cell, only three have been found. Ah, there just wasn't enough running time... My vote is 4/10.
The episode proper begins with the scene from the promo. Hotch is singed and suffering from hearing difficulties. A passer-by who identifies himself as Sam tries to help him help Kate, who has been thrown farther away and is seriously injured. Gosh, she might even die! One problem - it's hard to care about a character who was *introduced* only in the previous episode! Were it Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss (Oh no! Not Brown Eyes!) or even Hotch himself, we might care. Since Kate is half British, it's only appropriate to say that we couldn't give a toss whether she lives or dies.
Actual mayhem ensues as evacuation takes place and the first response teams are ordered to stay a safe distance away from Kate since Rossi's team thinks the terrorists are carrying out numerous bombings and will then use secondary attacks against the first response team because that's what they clearly were planning in the previous episode. Before any additional strikes are carried out, Garcia suddenly looses communications to the rest of the team. Nice surprise, which ups the tension.
Then comes the mistake. Garcia gets to watch surveillance footage of the explosion that took Hotch and Kate down. In "Lo-Fi" and the recap, we see the explosion with *no one* behind the car, making us assume that whoever's car it was, they were already inside. However, Garcia sees footage from a reverse angle that shows that Hotch was right beside the rear of the car and Kate was *directly behind the car* when it exploded. Oops! Continuity error! Deduct one point from the total rating.
Cleverly, Garcia reviews the footage *before* the explosion and finds footage of the placing of the bomb. Another footage handily reveals that the bomber started lurking about, waiting for the moment to remotely trigger the explosion. Morgan arrives and rushes to the aid of Hotch despite the protests of the man in charge. And just at *that* moment Garcia sees from the footage that after the explosion, the bomber walked towards Hotch, which means that he is Sam. That's two convenient coincides. And for some inexplicable reason, Garcia then manages to re-establish connections to Morgan! How? Obviously the terrorists somehow cut the connections on purpose. All this means Hotch doesn't have to make a Jack Bauer Decision: to help the victim (contrast Audrey with Kate) or chase the bad guy? Not that it matters either way. A paramedic with an overriding savior instinct (unlike his co-worker) arrives with an ambulance to take Kate to the hospital and the bomber commits suicide in the subway after giving his Obligatory Fanatic Martyr Speech. Sheesh, this episode is sliding downhill at an alarming rate.
When no other bombs go up, the paramedic's co-worker never shows up, and Rossi's team fails to connect the dots even though most clever viewers already have, the episode starts to look more and more like a new "The Fisher King: Part II".
Hotch takes the missing paramedic's place and drives the ambulance, but Secret Service is blocking his way. Cue a clichéd "Please let us in" speech and the stone-hearted Secret Service guy makes an exception. Not likely to happen in real life. Clever viewers have already deduced that someone of political importance must be in the hospital and therefore the actual target of the terrorists. Meanwhile, Rossi uses the magical Enhance Button trope (look it up) to zoom in on the footage of the bomber, revealing he used a cell phone to trigger the bomb at a precise moment, with the intent of only injuring Kate and Hotch. And finally the cleverest minds of FBI realize what's going on. A textbook predictable finale ensues, where there are no heroic sacrifices or anything other that would redeem this episode. Yes, there is the clichéd "He got out before it exploded" reveal. Yawn.
So, yet another episode that does not live up to the hair-raising tension of its superior predecessor. And there are more niggles. The subplot of FBI considering to replace Kate with Morgan is left unresolved, with Hotch saying to Morgan that the job is his, if he wants it, but we never hear Morgan neither accept nor reject the job (although the latter *seems* more likely since Morgan has stated he does not want it). JJ's relationship doesn't even get a mention after it was brought to the fore in the previous episode. Worst of all, nobody seems to care that even though it has been established that there are *many* members in this terrorist cell, only three have been found. Ah, there just wasn't enough running time... My vote is 4/10.
Where have I seen this before?
grizzledgeezer20 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The raison d'etre of this review is to poke fun at the ludicrous ending. You have been warned.
If you watched movie serials, you've seen the cheap and shoddy ways the writers save the heros. It's obvious they can't survive the dynamite explosion or chariot crash at the end of one episode, but at the beginning of he next, they've rolled out of the way just in time - or the scene is restaged altogether, so they're not actually at the scene of the disaster.
That's what happens here. The bomb in the ambulance goes off (in multiple explosions to convince us It could destroy a hospital) -- and there's no way the hero could have survived. But a minute later he's okay, aving managed to get out in time (without our seeing it, and run well outside the blast radius. Uh-huh.
If you watched movie serials, you've seen the cheap and shoddy ways the writers save the heros. It's obvious they can't survive the dynamite explosion or chariot crash at the end of one episode, but at the beginning of he next, they've rolled out of the way just in time - or the scene is restaged altogether, so they're not actually at the scene of the disaster.
That's what happens here. The bomb in the ambulance goes off (in multiple explosions to convince us It could destroy a hospital) -- and there's no way the hero could have survived. But a minute later he's okay, aving managed to get out in time (without our seeing it, and run well outside the blast radius. Uh-huh.
too many holes at the end
mloessel30 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Criminal Minds has a formula and follows it not matter how things end. In this one they discover a terrorist cell with a specific objective. That objective is not clearly stated (sort of) until the end of the movie. Unfortunately there are too many loopholes that are left unresolved. Boo hoo!
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