Mr. & Mrs. Anderson
- Episode aired Feb 19, 2014
- TV-14
- 41m
When the BAU investigates several murders in the Pittsburgh area, the team searches for a pair of UnSubs working as a team. Also, Garcia and Morgan share their Valentine's Day plans for thei... Read allWhen the BAU investigates several murders in the Pittsburgh area, the team searches for a pair of UnSubs working as a team. Also, Garcia and Morgan share their Valentine's Day plans for their respective significant others.When the BAU investigates several murders in the Pittsburgh area, the team searches for a pair of UnSubs working as a team. Also, Garcia and Morgan share their Valentine's Day plans for their respective significant others.
- Agent Eli West
- (as Jarvis George)
- James Cantor
- (as Morgan McClellan)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaA rare reference to a Canadian serial killer duo is made by Reid: Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.
- GoofsReid uses Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo as an example of a married killing couple. He says they 'raped, tortured and killed at least nineteen people' but this is incorrect - they killed only three people as a pair, although Bernardo is suspected of raping several others on his own. Reid also mispronounces Karla's last name, he says 'Homolko'.
- Quotes
[Spencer is plunging the toilet]
Jennifer Jareau: Come on, you got to put your back into it, Spence!
Dr. Spencer Reid: Where is Morgan when you need him?
- SoundtracksFeel Like Makin' Love
(uncredited)
Written by Paul Rodgers & Mick Ralphs
Performed and Produced by Bad Company,
with Ned Bellamy & Mary Mara singing along
"Mr and Mrs Anderson" left me cold on my previous two viewings, and re-watching it my initial feelings have barely changed. It is not as bad as "200" and "The Black Queen", while it lacked a lot of what made the show so great especially, when at its best, it at least did not make anywhere near as big a mistake of not feeling like 'Criminal Minds'. However, it was still a very dull, strange and predictable episode.
There are things that are done well. As ever "Mr and Mrs Anderson is stylishly and atmospherically and hauntingly scored. The acting from all the regulars is very good and make the most of material that doesn't do enough for their talents and somewhat beneath them. The best thing about "Mr and Mrs Anderson" is the titular couple themselves. Now these are interesting and very unsettlingly creepy and loathsome unsubs, their relationship strange but twisted. Ned Bellamy and Mary Mara do truly great jobs in the roles. Wendy Davis is no liability either as one of the episode's more sympathetic episodes.
Also liked Reid and Rossi's exchange regarding Judith not budging, while Judith's interrogation does evoke some tension and the climax even more so.
However, the titular unsubs are revealed too early and are shown too much. Consequently there is not enough of the BAU, their chemistry and even less of the little character moments that one looks out for while watching 'Criminal Minds'. Profiling is too sporadic, and what there is is shaky due to little team work. It also sees a rare case of Reid being incorrect when referencing a case that the case here resembles, especially the number of murders committed by the couple he references and the mispronunciation.
Just as problematic is the gross overuse of JJ, which may not have been a problem if she wasn't a pale shadow of her former self, instead she is now nowhere near as likable, and furthermore being out of character, bland and condescending. After such traumatic events, you'd expect her to be more worse for wear and troubled, but it was almost as if "200" didn't happen. Garcia has also been much more endearing, instead of a ray of sunshine she is childish and annoying and her subplot was sappy and added little (in fact all the personal stuff tried too hard to be cutesy and touching but so overdone that it makes one cringe). There is too little of more interesting characters like Reid and Rossi, what there is of them is good though, and once again Hotch is woefully under-utilised to the point of invisibility. Morgan and Reid's involvement at the end was great this said.
Despite the interesting unsubs, the case is far too dull and predictable, with slack pacing and a done to death concept ('Natural Born Killers'-esque) that is too over-familiar and with little variation. It also really lacks tension and suspense, only really coming to life once Judith is arrested and interrogated. Judith's reactions and such didn't make much sense at this point either.
Overall, there are worse episodes of the season and of 'Criminal Minds' in general, but this was very dull and bland where the balance of the storytelling and who and what to focus on is way off. 4/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jan 4, 2017
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime41 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD