User Reviews

This was a pretty abominable episode alright. Joint worse of Season 2 along with "Obey". While saying previously that that was the worst episode of Season 2, it is a very hard choice between that and this on reflection. That was grossly culturally insensitive (so was this but not as much) and condescending, but at the same time that episode, as well as being just as preachy, didn't have as many annoying characters and didn't portray the police force in the way "Abominable" does.

As said, on reflection it is a hard choice saying which is worse between the two episodes. On conclusion, to me they are equally awful for similar reasons. Season 2 on the whole was actually a marginal improvement over Season 1, but "Obey" and "Abominable" were on par with the worst of the first season. Not a good position to be in at all by any stretch of the imagination, and an easily avoidable one, and it was like the show had gone backwards, which the second half of Season 2 on the whole actually did so.

Cannot add much to what has already been said about the episode's portrayal of Nepal. It was not a surprise that it would be an inaccurate portrayal of it, as 'Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders' was well known for its gross inaccuracies of the cultures explored, but it was a bit of a shock even for this show for it to be so grossly insensitive and even insultingly patronising. If that is coming over as nit-picking that is not intentional, but this is a common problem for the show that should have been addressed by now (only about three episodes of twenty six didn't have this problem) but never really was and has always stuck out like the sorest of thumbs. None of the characters feel real and come over as insensitive caricatures.

It manages to not even look good as an episode. There is never a sense of being there and none of it feels authentic, any stock footage being typically awkwardly inserted. "Abominable" does not look good on a visual level. He way it's shot and edited is incredibly choppy, with it being incredibly obvious when stock footage is used, and completely lacks atmosphere or a sense of mood, either being overly-bright or drab. The music is also annoying, it is too loud and too constant with not a sign of a break and with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, it also does not fit at all (a lot of it is misplaced actually) as well as cheap and out of date.

Even worse is the writing. Writing that condescends to the viewer and filled to the brim with cheese, convolution and awkwardness. The story on top of not being particularly original is both dull and convoluted, with it down to being quite thin and then never really properly explaining. It never rings true, both the case and the team's involvement. Complete lack of tension or suspense in action-oriented parts. There is no chemistry at all within the team with no great little character moments (one of 'Criminal Minds' greatest strengths), and the mystery elements (that 'Criminal Minds' did with profiling and psychologically delving into the unsub's mind, excelling so brilliantly at it as well) are severely under-utilised and underdeveloped to the point of non-existence. And yeah, portraying Nepal's police force as incompetent is not going to go down well, and hasn't, or the preachy writing of the pathologist.

None of the characters are interesting or compelling, and have absolutely nothing worth relating to or liking. With the unsub, it is very familiar territory with nothing new and the unsub is also very vanilla, with none of the menace, feel-bad-for factor or development. None of the acting is great, do like Gary Sinise in other things but he rarely looked as though he was trying that much in this show.

Summing up, awful. 1/10.

This episode was horrible. A woman gets killed on a yoga trip to Nepal. The local police chalk it up to a Yeti, and claim that Yetis have been killing people up in the hills for centuries. The idea that an official national law enforcement agency would make such a statement regarding a murder they investigated is just awful writing.

The Nepal Police act like they are hysterical about catching a Yeti. The Nepal Police seemed to ignore everything that the FBI pointed out. That depiction of the Nepal Police seemed very unfair. Hard to believe that the Nepal Police are just forcing the blame on a mythical Yeti regardless of the evidence.

The special effects were good. This is a pretty gory episode. Unfortunately, it is ruined by the liberal preaching of the forensic pathologist doctor. Before anyone knows who or what is doing the killing, the doctor is speculating and whining about the killer being the victim too. Instead of exploring the criminal story, the episode becomes about liberal politics of how the criminal justice system deals with damaged people who become serial killers, cannibals, terrorists, etc.

This show is often very condescending to the culture of other nations. The local police are often depicted as either completely ignorant tools, or malicious, and corrupt. It would be a better show if the foreign police departments were depicted as professionals also.