Photo Credit: CBS
Back in the days when Jason Gideon (Mandy Patinkin) was a fixture on Criminal Minds, I remember an episode called “The Fox”. It centered around a man who would take families hostage, with the unsub stepping in and showing them what a “good father” should act like. Right now, I am feeling déjà vu, because tonight’s episode titled “Through the Looking Glass” has striking similarities.
This time, the unsub takes families hostage, but sets out to expose the evil nature of everyone in the family, not just the father like in “The Fox”. At the beginning of the episode, one family has been killed so far, with another family, the Acklins, already been taken hostage and thus, being set up as his next victims. One by one, the unsub forces each family member to reveal his darkest secrets. The mother, Debra Acklin, is a compulsive shopper who will lie, steal, cheat, and possibly hurt someone just to get more money to spend on shopping. The husband reveals he had an affair with their son’s tutor. The sister, Mackenzie, admits that she is a junkie and stole her mother’s prescription drugs. Basically, this is one, big dysfunctional family that is in need of fixing, or so the unsub believes.
One of the big differences between this episode and past ones is that it focused more on the Acklin family than the actual unsub. This is something that I actually liked, as it is something that is fresh and new for this series. While the BAU team does continue to profile the unsub, we find out very little about his past, and instead, the spotlight is on the family. With every new game that the unsub plays with them like they are some mice in a cage, they unravel a little bit more. Debra becomes so unhinged that she is willing to offer up the life of Mackenzie’s boyfriend for just a small amount of money. As Mackenzie is exposed for abusing prescription drugs, she blames her mother, who turns around and blames her and her father. The endgame for this unsub is to force the family to kill themselves, otherwise their youngest son would be killed. Yes, this guy is one twisted SOB.
As I mentioned before, I’ve watched this show from the beginning, and I can’t say that I count this episode was one of the best. In fact, it is somewhat weak. I realize that after so many seasons, it becomes harder to come up with fresh and 100% original storylines. But, this one resembled way too many past episodes, and so, as a result, it was somewhat boring at times.
On the upside, I did like the pairing of Blake (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and Reid (Matthew Gray-Gubler). I particularly liked how she didn’t think twice about giving her opinion that Reid has Asperger’s Syndrome, and it was equally surprising to see that Reid really didn’t mind what she said. For those who have not heard, the executive producers had said before the season began that Reid would be getting a love interest this year. We really don’t know who that may be yet, but I have a feeling it may be Blake. Yes, yes, she is older than Reid, but she also understands him, and they seem to get along great. Either way, I think Reid needs someone in his life, and if it is Blake and she makes him happy, I’m all for it.
Finally, the Beth and Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) twist made for a nice ending to the episode. I really like where the writers are going with this relationship, because in some ways, it addresses some of the issues Hotchner had in his marriage to Haley. Haley really didn’t understand his work and just wanted him home all of the time. Beth doesn’t require that, and in fact, is willing to work with him on a long-distance relationship while she takes a job in New York. Knowing what we know about Hotchner, this sounds like a relationship that just might work.
All in all, the central case in the episode was relatively weak. The storyline wasn’t original, and it just didn’t have that pull that past episodes have had. However, this was offset by some strong character and relationship development. With the direction they are going with the characters, if the storyline arcs can be improved, I think we have the basis for a fantastic season.
Criminal Minds airs on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST on CBS.
