There was no bias against 'Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders', being a fan of detective/mystery/procedural show and considering the original 'Criminal Minds' one of her most watched shows. Was disappointed in the first spin off 'Suspect Behaviour' but 'Beyond Borders' did have potential to be better and Gary Sinise has been good in other things. Sadly it managed to be even worse, at least 'Suspect Behaviour' wasn't offensive or talked down to you.
Despite heavily disliking the previous three episodes, though actually "Harvested" was the least bad of the three, "Whispering Death" had a great idea for a story, the best idea of the show up to this point, and had real potential for being the best episode of Season 1 and 'Criminal Minds Beyond Borders' so far. That was not the case, it may not reach offensive levels that the very first episode "The Harmful One" did and may not shoehorn in for questionable reasons much better characters and waste them (i.e. Rossi and Garcia) but the same problems that plagued the previous episodes are all here too.
"Whispering Death's" least bad component yet again is Alana De La Garza, the only one who tries but that she has very little to work with works against her. The most memorable part of her role here is that cringe-worthy "don't be mad" exchange with Mae, as ever with a really bad attitude.
Have always hated Mae's condescension and here she has a sarcasm that comes over as truly disrespectful and makes anybody that disliked her quite intensely in the first place (like me) dislike her even more. The only person she treats halfway decently here is Russ, who is also very annoying and like a male imitation of Garcia, but with absolutely none of what made her a high point in the early seasons of 'Criminal Minds'. Gary Sinise is sleepwalking again.
Really didn't care for any of the characters, people will find the stereotypes and culture portrayal objectionable and the chemistry between the team isn't there. Same with any little character moments and how they work in solving the case isn't delved into enough. The perpetrator has no menace or with anything that makes one feel sorry or anything for them, they are just vanilla pretty much and used poorly which kills what little suspense there was.
The writing is nothing but pure awkwardness and preachiness while the story has no suspense, little intrigue and can be implausible. Complete with a dull and anti-climactic ending. The visuals again are choppy and obvious and the music is overbearing and could have done with being used less, it is also at odds with everything. One never really feels like they are in the setting, so much the lack of authenticity.
In summary, a waste of time. 1/10
Despite heavily disliking the previous three episodes, though actually "Harvested" was the least bad of the three, "Whispering Death" had a great idea for a story, the best idea of the show up to this point, and had real potential for being the best episode of Season 1 and 'Criminal Minds Beyond Borders' so far. That was not the case, it may not reach offensive levels that the very first episode "The Harmful One" did and may not shoehorn in for questionable reasons much better characters and waste them (i.e. Rossi and Garcia) but the same problems that plagued the previous episodes are all here too.
"Whispering Death's" least bad component yet again is Alana De La Garza, the only one who tries but that she has very little to work with works against her. The most memorable part of her role here is that cringe-worthy "don't be mad" exchange with Mae, as ever with a really bad attitude.
Have always hated Mae's condescension and here she has a sarcasm that comes over as truly disrespectful and makes anybody that disliked her quite intensely in the first place (like me) dislike her even more. The only person she treats halfway decently here is Russ, who is also very annoying and like a male imitation of Garcia, but with absolutely none of what made her a high point in the early seasons of 'Criminal Minds'. Gary Sinise is sleepwalking again.
Really didn't care for any of the characters, people will find the stereotypes and culture portrayal objectionable and the chemistry between the team isn't there. Same with any little character moments and how they work in solving the case isn't delved into enough. The perpetrator has no menace or with anything that makes one feel sorry or anything for them, they are just vanilla pretty much and used poorly which kills what little suspense there was.
The writing is nothing but pure awkwardness and preachiness while the story has no suspense, little intrigue and can be implausible. Complete with a dull and anti-climactic ending. The visuals again are choppy and obvious and the music is overbearing and could have done with being used less, it is also at odds with everything. One never really feels like they are in the setting, so much the lack of authenticity.
In summary, a waste of time. 1/10
