User Reviews

I have lived in Seoul for almost 10 years now. This story line is pretty good and I can say that the cultural bits were spot on. The sets were atrocious and nothing they showed, except for the flashes when changing scenes, was even close to what Itaewon and Gangnam look like. Elementary schools don't even look like the cram school the two white teachers worked at. I honestly expect better from the set designers. Koreans don't even use dumpsters unless it is in the middle of a large apartment complex, let alone at a convenience store. They have designated spots to stack their trash bags on designated days. This is all info that could have easily been discovered.

It makes me wonder about the other episodes I have watched. How much research did they put into the locations? I hope it was more than 5 minutes of just sticking signs in different languages around.

Will admit to not being that impressed by the previous three Season 2 episodes of 'Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders'. They are admittedly infinitely better than every single one of the episodes from the whole of the overall dreadful first season, but repeats a vast majority of the mistakes from before and just as badly. At least though they had their moments, as two of the three had two of the show's more interesting unsubs for example. Already an improvement as only like one or two unsubs very late on in the first season made any kind of impression.

"Pretty Like Me" is sadly no improvement and is actually weaker than the previous three Season 2 episodes and on par with the least bad episodes of the first season and the worst of the original 'Criminal Minds'. Which sadly is not praise, far from it. It has its moments and is not indefensibly bad, but the premise in "Pretty Like Me" did sound quite interesting, if derivative, and sadly the episode doesn't do anywhere near enough with it.

It did start off with promise and the initial set up was quite neat and intriguing. Did like the unsub's modus operandi, which did disturb.

Alana De La Garza does her best with little.

Cannot say much positive about everything else sadly. The production values are still quite poor. It still looks choppy and there is nothing authentic about the setting as has been described in the previous review. The music could have been less in tone and placement and the direction lacks momentum and personality. Merely "getting the job done and going through the motions doing so" like. The team work lacks cohesion and there is too much of a disconnect, while the procedural work is underused and very ordinary. The dialogue is awkward and quite cheesy at times, and the story is dull, predictable and suspense-free. As well as sometimes not making sense. Pacing is a problem, going downhill after a promising start, too often dull and then the denouement was rushed and forced.

De La Garza aside, the acting is not great to put it lightly. Gary Sinise seems to know that the material is bad and just phones in, while Annie Funke irritates beyond belief. Nobody of the supporting acting stands out and a lot of it seems stiff. The unsub joins the long list of 'Beyond Borders' unsubs that make little impression and are neither menacing or interesting. Their motivations also could have been a lot more interesting and original and a lot less vague. A real shame as their modus operandi was quite intriguing.

In conclusion, pretty weak. 3/10