Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior Review: "Jane"

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Who would notice if I went missing? If you took nothing else away from this week's episode, it likely made you ponder this very question.

I can safely say that Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior has found its stride. Granted, that stride seems dependent on "larger than life" cases; but, it is not the first show to do so and I am willing to go with it if the episodes stay as good as "Jane". 

Red Cell Leader

This week we got to see a softer side of Beth, her moment at the end where she let her guard down and told Cooper that she still didn’t have an emergency contact was very well done and made me like her character that much more. Even as brash as she is, it’s hard not to like her when she is not going off on someone. 

We also saw a new side to Cooper, that being a strong violent side as he nearly strangled the unsub while he was subduing him. Honestly, I was hoping the bastard would keep struggling so Cooper would strangle him. It is a credit to the writing and acting how much I was loathing the unsub by the end. 

Was anyone else confused as to why Gina and Beth gave different answers to Amy’s friend when she asked what unit they were from? Beth started to say Behavioral, and then Gina interrupted with missing persons. I was hoping Beth and Gina would have a short conversation to explain why they had different answers; but, apparently I will be adding that to the mysteries of life. 

This week’s unsub was nearly the team’s personal white whale as they could not nail down his behavior and ran into more dead ends than anyone they have chases so far. It almost felt a little anti-climactic when Cooper confronted him and gave the obligatory explanation of the man’s psyche. It would have almost been better to have just left him a conundrum and gone straight to the funeral of Jane.

And Jane, amazingly portrayed by Lisa Kay Jennings. Again, the writers showed some amazing writing fortitude when the episode ended with us not figuring out who she was. So many shows would have wrapped things up neatly and told us who she was and why she was at the club, and maybe why nobody was missing her (see my comment above about Cooper.) 

Kudos to the writers on that small bit of genius, this ending reminded me to value my friends, my wife, and talk to my siblings a bit more often as I can’t imagine how horrible it would be to go missing and nobody miss me for days or ever.  

To all the fans out there, take a moment and call a friend or family member and let them know you are okay. If not for yourself, do it for Jane. 

Jane Review

Editor Rating: 4.4 / 5.0
  • 4.4 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.5 / 5.0 (28 Votes)

Jim G. is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow him on Twitter.

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Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior Season 1 Episode 7 Quotes

See a little Garcia goes along way

Sam

Beth: I have been transferred between departments about 800 times; I still don't have an emergency contact.
Cooper: Put me down.
Beth: You're my boss, and I am not certain that anyone besides yourself would look for me.
Cooper: That may have been true before, but not now.