As a fan of 'Criminal Minds', Season 8 has been a mixed bag while not as variable as Seasons 6 and 9 or as underwhelming as 11.
There are good episodes such as "All That Remains", "God Complex", "The Good Earth" and "The Lesson", and also some disappointing ones like "Magnificent Light", "Through the Looking Glass", "The Wheels on the Bus" and "The Replicator" (potentially good story arc, and a quite effective one for most of the season, that fizzles out badly which was a shame), not to mention a mostly decent "Zugzwang" before frustrating with its slap-in-the-face ending.
"Perennials" is nowhere near classic 'Criminal Minds', but it's not one of the worst episodes, it's not even one of the worst episodes of Season 8. It is, this said, one of Season 8's blandest episodes and ends up being average, being neither an episode that excited or frustrated me, instead leaving me indifferent.
Certainly there are good things, have yet to see a 'Criminal Minds' episode with no redeeming qualities, even the worst episodes. Have nothing to complain about with the production values, 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.
Intriguing ideas in "Perennials" too, particularly the connecting the birthdays and death days on to one another and the whole idea with the reincarnation. The team dynamic and little character moments that are such a huge part of the show's charm is mostly lacking but it has its moments, the standouts being the conversation between Reid and Blake about Reid's cancelled date at the beginning and then the nicely played if short Morgan and Garcia scene at the end. The cast do a good job with what they have, although the bland and sloppy writing is really beneath them.
Sadly, the case is bland. It does have a tendency to drag, has some over-explanatory repetitive moments that add to little and feel like padding, has a very long-winded explanation of what the unsub was up to and has very little tension and suspense. The profiling is badly lacking to the point of non-existence, there is far too much abrupt conclusion jumping and the too convenient over-reliance on Garcia giving them the answers from her computer. Plus it does take far too long for them to figure it all out.
Blake is at this point not a character that one can easily warm to, she is rather cold and dull, only really coming to life in her chemistry with Reid. Her dialogue is pretty bad here too, the dialogue in the scene with the medical examiner is weird and not in a good way. The unsub is not creepy or interesting enough to be memorable and is shown too much and too early.
On the whole, there is worse in the season and the show in general than "Perennials" but rather bland. 5/10 Bethany Cox
There are good episodes such as "All That Remains", "God Complex", "The Good Earth" and "The Lesson", and also some disappointing ones like "Magnificent Light", "Through the Looking Glass", "The Wheels on the Bus" and "The Replicator" (potentially good story arc, and a quite effective one for most of the season, that fizzles out badly which was a shame), not to mention a mostly decent "Zugzwang" before frustrating with its slap-in-the-face ending.
"Perennials" is nowhere near classic 'Criminal Minds', but it's not one of the worst episodes, it's not even one of the worst episodes of Season 8. It is, this said, one of Season 8's blandest episodes and ends up being average, being neither an episode that excited or frustrated me, instead leaving me indifferent.
Certainly there are good things, have yet to see a 'Criminal Minds' episode with no redeeming qualities, even the worst episodes. Have nothing to complain about with the production values, 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.
Intriguing ideas in "Perennials" too, particularly the connecting the birthdays and death days on to one another and the whole idea with the reincarnation. The team dynamic and little character moments that are such a huge part of the show's charm is mostly lacking but it has its moments, the standouts being the conversation between Reid and Blake about Reid's cancelled date at the beginning and then the nicely played if short Morgan and Garcia scene at the end. The cast do a good job with what they have, although the bland and sloppy writing is really beneath them.
Sadly, the case is bland. It does have a tendency to drag, has some over-explanatory repetitive moments that add to little and feel like padding, has a very long-winded explanation of what the unsub was up to and has very little tension and suspense. The profiling is badly lacking to the point of non-existence, there is far too much abrupt conclusion jumping and the too convenient over-reliance on Garcia giving them the answers from her computer. Plus it does take far too long for them to figure it all out.
Blake is at this point not a character that one can easily warm to, she is rather cold and dull, only really coming to life in her chemistry with Reid. Her dialogue is pretty bad here too, the dialogue in the scene with the medical examiner is weird and not in a good way. The unsub is not creepy or interesting enough to be memorable and is shown too much and too early.
On the whole, there is worse in the season and the show in general than "Perennials" but rather bland. 5/10 Bethany Cox
