Crimnal Minds

I've been watching Criminal Minds lately. It's horrific story after horrific story about how depraved human beings can be; some episodes are based on actual serial killers and some are dreamed up in the minds of people who are actually being paid to think like sociopaths might.

As a writer, I am both enthralled and repulsed by the relationship the show's writers have to the material. On the one hand, I am not an ex-CIA agent with a tragic past that drove me to murder-for-hire, but I have no problem delving into the mind of Sidrah Samuels deeply enough to write her character convincingly. On the other hand, while I don't share her history, I do share some of her propensity for dark thoughts and wallowing, and a nagging voice in my head begs the question of whether, under the exact same pressures that Sid faces, I would not react as she does. So I have to wonder how idle these clearly-elaborate thoughts of sadistic torture really are in the minds of these writers. Purely a creative outlet? Where is that line? Where is my line?  I wonder a lot of things, and this is on my list.

I have so many squirrels...

The point of this post was simply to comment that I find the drama in the episode I am currently watching unrelatable and obnoxious. ***SERIOUS SPOILERS AHEAD*** In S07E01, 'It Takes A Village', the BAU team learns that Emily Prentiss did not actually die last season, as they had all been led to believe. Her death was faked in order to save her life, and she was given a fake identity and whisked off to France. Of course, the show being what it is, eventually she is the only person who can solve a case (particularly, the very case that had her whisked off to Paris in the first place), and the bombshell lands on the team just before she walks in the room. Are they elated? Do they run to embrace her? Do they sigh with wonder and burst into relieved-but-incredulous-and-highly-confused tears? No. No they do not. They stare. And then they give a collective cold shoulder to her and to the two people who knew she was alive but protected her identity (to save her life, you recall).

What. The. Hell? Pardon my French, but I am seriously annoyed. Let me tell you, if I found out that my brother's death was an elaborate hoax designed and carried out by my wayward sibling himself with no other goal besides the wreaking of emotional trauma on his family, I would still be overjoyed to find out that he was actually not gone from this earth. I would run to him and throw my arms around him, and cry and jump for joy. Maybe later I would cuss him out and possibly punch him in the mouth for being such a jerk, but then I would get on with making up for lost time and consider it a privilege to have become so acutely aware of the regrets I would have at his death and then miraculously having the opportunity to rectify those regrets.

This show is making me angry tonight.  Instead of pondering what it is about this show that makes it easier to miss my brother (I can't really explain it, other than the fact that he was not dissected by a psycopath, so there is something to be grateful for in the manner of his death, awful as it is), instead I will simply press stop.  I will go to bed.  And maybe I will write those writers a letter:

"Dear Writers,

Your premise is flawed. Please redo this episode the right way. I look forward to the corrections.

Sincerely,

A Perfectly Reasonable Fan

P.S. Please get Reid a girlfriend. She could be a super-genius, also; that would be interesting.

P.P.S. You really don't need to show the gore. No, really; it's getting out of hand."

I think that's all I have to say tonight.

<3