Criminal Minds Season 11 Episode 19 Review: Tribute

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Emily Prentiss is back!

She's got a boyfriend named Mark, and she hasn't been getting much sleep in the last two years. (Those two facts aren't necessarily related.)

On Criminal Minds Season 11 Episode 19, Prentiss called on Hotch and the BAU to help her hunt down a murderer who's been mimicking the great serial killers of history.

While working as an FBI liaison with Interpol, she almost caught the Unsub two years ago, only to fail. In the process, the Unsub murdered one of her fellow agents but left Prentiss alive.

The team finally cornered him in a school dorm, and Prentiss shot him dead.

You had to appreciate the fact that, while the team often tries to talk down the Unsub, especially when he has a hostage, there was no such effort made this time around.

As soon as Prentiss got his attention, and then told him to check out the police cars outside, it was a sure bet that she only wanted to get him distracted from his hostage long enough for her to shoot.

There were a few subtleties in this case, which at first seemed like inconsistencies.

Why, for example, did the Unsub cover one of the bullets in saliva before inserting it into his gun?

And why would he give a young kid a bullet while on the bus ride?

These things only had relevance in light of the fact that he was a thrill-seeker. He got his jollies from taking chances. 

The saliva on the bullet was a way of putting him in danger of having the police discover his DNA.

And giving another bullet to the kid put him in danger of the boy's mother finding out, and calling the police.

It's too bad the two year old case had to be resolved in the one episode, only because it was good to see Prentiss again.

Now that Derek Morgan's gone, maybe there's an Emily-shaped vacuum that she can now fill.

I have to say though – her impression of Morgan needs a bit of work. The voice is all wrong.

Prentiss: Yo baby girl. Watch you think you're doing in my office? You know better than to mess with my stuff. I don't mess with your stuff.
Garcia: You're here...here...here with me? I didn't think you were going to be here. I thought you were going to go right home.

All in all, it was a fun episode. Though the best part had to be that scene at the end, when the gang was all together in the restaurant. We can't get enough of that kind of team dynamic.

Morgan was conspicuous by his absence.

Final thoughts:

  • When Prentiss asked Garcia about "Sergio," and they talked about him not being old (though he has a few grey whiskers), I thought there was a new love interest in the picture. Turns out Sergio is Garcia's cat.
  • Reid's famous eidetic memory often serves as a useful tool to move the story along. We saw that with his recall of serial killers for the last 150 years. It's fun to watch him process stuff like this.
  • Watching JJ play the part of the victim in Prentiss' dream was very disturbing. It was a good choice on the part of the writer: you can't watch that and not be affected.
  • Join us again in two weeks, when we review Criminal Minds Season 11 Episode 20, entitled "Inner Beauty." There's a reunion in that one, between Rossi and the ex-wife who kept his daughter Joy a secret from him all these years.
  • Remember: you can always catch up on missed episodes when you watch Criminal Minds online.

Now it's over to you: what are your thoughts on this first post-Morgan episode? Would you be excited to see Prentiss come back full-time? Let us know in the comments below!

Tribute Review

Editor Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 5.0 / 5.0 (47 Votes)

Douglas Wolfe was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He retired in 2016. Follow him on Twitter

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Criminal Minds Season 11 Episode 19 Quotes

Prentiss: Yo baby girl. Watch you think you're doing in my office? You know better than to mess with my stuff. I don't mess with your stuff.
Garcia: You're here...here...here with me? I didn't think you were going to be here. I thought you were going to go right home.

Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light - Helen Keller.

Garcia