Criminal Minds (TV Series) Somebody's Watching (2006) User Reviews

Sees a more interesting side to Reid

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 7 October 2016]

Not that he wasn't interesting already, having been the best thing for example about "Derailed", just that quite a lot of the best moments of the episodes before "Somebody's Watching" belonged to Gideon and Garcia.

"Somebody's Watching" sees Reid as much more than the geeky young doctor spouting facts or a smart-ass, not that he ever was the latter but this episode develops him very well and it was lovely to see a more romantic side to him. Matthew Gray Gubler as always does a splendid job, as did Amber Heard as his love interest. Their scene in the pool was one of the highlights of "Somebody's Watching" and both sweet and sensual.

This said, their scenes do not compromise the screen time and chemistry of the rest of the team, the characters carry the episode really well with well-established personalities and their dynamic delights enormously. Still am indifferent to Elle, who has always been cold and egotistical to me. The profiling was good, though there could have been more of it.

Regarding the case, it is engrossing and suspenseful with a shocking twist that one doesn't see coming. The opening scene is a bit clunky, and the whole stalking subplot after such great build up could have been better wrapped up, didn't seem believable enough to me. Script is tight and thought-provoking, while as ever the production values are high in quality as is the haunting music score and acting, leading and supporting alike.

All in all, very good episode that just falls short of being great.

Reid has always been one of my favourite characters on 'Criminal Minds', and one of the show's most interesting and best developed, but this saw an even more intriguing and different side to him compared to before and it was appreciated. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Miscast

[starrydancechick · 7/10 · 20 October 2022]

They should have cast Winnick as "Lila", and Heard as "Mags". Winnick brought more depth and range for the 90secs she is on camera than Heard, as a guest star, did during the entire episodr. When "Lila" mentions she was trained at Julliard I laughed so hard I thought I'd die. Gubler shines, per usual, as Reid and the writers gave us a chance to get to see a very sweet side of him, despite the fact that they wrote Lila's personality to be "blond, barely wears clothes."If you're gonna spend that much time with a character let us get to know them at least. It's a little rough when people start rooting for the bad guy, because you've made the victim so very unlikable.

Someone's Watching, a timely episode.

[veracitymode · 8/10 · 5 July 2006]

I thought the episode"Someone's Watching" was well done for it's subject. The humor line delivered by actor Ian Anthony Dale was well placed and I was truly tickled, thinking about my own friends who are 'highly intelligent' but don't have a lick of common sense. My friends make me laugh all the time as I try to figure out what in the world they are talking about! I can identify with Dale's character(and that is not saying that we are dumb). The character's of the 'team'(the cast) are specially trained to do the job of profiling killers. I look for the humor in shows like this in the plot, to relieve the tension and among the cast characters. It's what makes the show worth watching, to see depth and puts a 'real life' human take for us the viewers to identify with.

Dr. Reid Fan's Get Some Lipservice.......

[katzinoire · 18 January 2012]

........as does the good doctor himself. I usually don't go for formulatic episodes-but it's *SPENCER*! It's nice to see the sexy (but still naive) actress in a "someone to watch over me/The Bodyguard" scenario.

To start they made Lila Likable. She likes Reid, she enjoys the fact he's smart and feels close to him even before he's assigned as her protector.

I forgive the cliché storyline for the fact that Reid gets some one on one time with the viewers.

Favorite Moments -Reid innocently asking Morgan about relationships and Morgan's hackles going up asking if Reid views him as a "dog" because of the revolving door that leads to Morgan's bed -Elle exposing the Paparazzi's film to spare Reid the embarrassment of having pictures of him kissing the victim and him dripping wet seeking assistance -Reid and Lila's good byes-although everyone from her publicist to Reid's team seems to want to rush them along -the priceless moment of Jason Gideon being hit on by an amorous bi-sexual (she claims to be a lesbian but being attracted to Gideon) and him slinking away in embarrassment This isn't your "Frank" or "Reaper" episode, just a simple story about Reid contained in one episode, leaving open some potential for a future with a pretty woman.

Maybe I just love Reid but this episode is good

[lottiemarshalllm · 8/10 · 30 July 2020]

Disclaimer:I am no expert reviewer, I just need a show to binge watch and I'm going to Write a review for every episode I watch.

I would like to preface this with I am a little bit biased because I do love Dr. Reid's character and this is the first episode in the series to really allow him to show a more vulnerable and emotional side rather than just as pure intelligence.

Besides just spencers actions in this episode I thought this episode was particularly thrilling but not all that suspenseful as I made my own predictions of who the stalker may be and they turned out correct.

But just because this episode was slightly more predictable (to me at least) doesn't mean that the writing wasn't great and the characters well-established.

I saw another review were mention that the episode is really great except for the fact that the ending was so anti-climatic but I think it just goes to show how Reid as a character would much rather handle any situation without violence and or put himself in danger in order to protect somebody else.

I really enjoyed the stalker plot-line and the focus of Spencer's character. Yet I will it admit that ever other lead on the show took a back seat in this episode making it slightly less exciting, but personally the trade off was worth it for a deep connection between Reid and Lila making the final "fight" scene more impactful.

Maybe not a masterpiece but definitely one of my favorite episodes so far

Amber Heard and Katheryn Winnick Shone Together In An Interesting Tale Involving Obsession and Murder. Who Knew!?

[dani_fz · 8/10 · 29 August 2022]

I've seen some few episodes of this series in the past so I'm hardly a fan or an expert of it (nor of most crime/police procedural dramas). However, I think that even fans of the series would agree that this episode wasn't particularly remarkable in the context of the rest of the series. The narrative format is typical as so was the plot, the cinematography, the sound, and the performances by the main characters. As such, there's not much to say about the backbone of the episode except that it was just OK. Moreover, the racial and gender inequalities and negative stereotypes in the series as a whole are also reflected in this episode.

That said, it's the guest performers in this episode that, if anything or anyone, make it memorable. Most notable is Amber Heard who plays Lila Archer, a Hollywood actress that's being stalked by a mysterious killer with an erotomanic obsession over her. It's clear from Heard's parts in the episode that the writers and director were aiming for a Bimbo trope in Lila Archer that would serve to primarily sexually spice up the episode. While Heard plays this intended role well, one notices, from how Lila engages with Spencer in some scenes of them together, that Heard never allows Lila to be intimidated by Spencer's genius-level smartness - at least not visibly or audibly so. Indeed, even as the contrast between Lila's and Spencer's intelligence is written into the script to emphasize the Bimbo trope in Lila most times when the two characters interact, Heard gives Lila reactions to Spencer's intelligence - unimpressed, even "bored" with it, etc - that suggest to the viewer that there's a depth to Lila's intelligence than the writers and director were willing to show or that should have been willing to show. In this way, Heard, as is similarly evidenced in several of her performances in other movies/series where she plays heavily sexualized characters, fights against the reduction of Lila Archer to a mere sexual object, a Bimbo, for the entertainment of male viewers by giving her, within the limits of her powers, more agency and depth.

Also of note in Heard's performance is that her portrayal of a Lila that Spencer turns out to be particularly attracted to is as cute as it is heartwarming. One can't help but imagine, while watching the two together in several scenes (e.g. Lila's home scene, the pool scene, and the goodbye scene), how the two would be together. They'd definitely be an odd couple but the chemistry between them suggests that they'd fit each other as well as Lea and Shaun fit each other in the American version of the TV series The Good Doctor. By the time I was finishing watching this episode, I definitely wished that the two had gotten a relationship arc of their own. If they had, I'd definitely be watching more of the series from this episode onward right now. Sad that they didn't.

Another notable guest performer is Katheryn Winnick. Although she'd been in the industry for much longer than Heard had been by the shooting date of this episode, she got a relatively minor role compared to Heard's in the episode. Nevertheless, and without giving away spoilers, she does an amazing job portraying a caring but mentally disturbed friend and co-worker to Lila Archer named Maggie Lowe. I have to say though, I would never have thought that Heard and Winnick ever acted together until I came across this episode. And the two both shone through their parts. My only wish is that they could have been given more screen time together.

All in all, I'd have given this episode a 4 for its unremarkableness but the presence of Amber Heard and her magnificent performance raise this to a 7. Winnick's presence and performance raise this further to an 8. I strongly recommend this episode to any fans of Amber Heard or Kathryn Winnick and to fans of the series or crime procedural dramas generally. Even if you're not a fan of Amber's specifically, if you're interested in studying her work from the early years of her career, I recommend this one to you too. Beyond these audiences, few others would find much to enjoy in this episode.

The Nerd & The Bimbo

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 27 January 2007]

The 12-year-old-looking Dr. Reid (Matthew Gubler) is out in Hollywood with Gideon on a guest-speaking assignment. While there, he is introduced to a pretty soap opera TV actress. While on the way back to the airport, a crime takes place and the local cop asks Gideon and Spencer if they have time to look at the scene, since it's "on the way."

They discover this is the third crime with the same MO. They are asked to stay and investigate, so they do, and fly in the supporting cast. Then, an agent comes in to tell police about a threatening note his client received: the actress "Lila Archer" (Amber Heard) Dr. Reid met, and is obviously smitten with, which is understandable for this poor nerd.

Anyway, two actresses and a producer have been killed, so the BAU goes after the murderer with the usual deductive profiling. They quickly label the guy as a "Type 4 assassin with a stalker mentality" and the object of his desire is obviously this "Lila" chick. The three people murdered all stood in the way of her career advancement.

This winds up to be both a very stupid but very suspenseful episode. Stupid in that the brainiac Spencer gets involved with this bimbo actress, and some of the dialog between the two was stupid. However, it was suspenseful regarding the surprise killer.

One could only guess here...

[mecong-378-292701 · 2/10 · 19 September 2021]

How Johnny Depp fell for Amber, probably the same way she eats Dr. Reid alive here in the pool. Her acting skills are as low as usual though, a really boring character. The highlight being, when she follows Reid into a room, knowing there is a killer on the loose in the house, looking for her. She looks like she is walking into a shoe shop really.

1 extra star for Gubler, who does his job ok, and for Wynnick.

A strange and frankly uninteresting outlier.

[samenich · 4/10 · 14 July 2020]

This was a storyline I really didn't need to see from this show. I'd been strangely enjoying it up until this point.

The stalker concept had already been tackled more effectively, so all this has to offer is a love story... for Dr Reed. It's incredibly dull, and if I didn't like Dr Reed I would've skipped it. Luckily, the actor does a fairly good job at handling the pretty poor script.

The twist villain had very little impact, but the twist of her being in Lila's house was kind of fun, although at that point I was grasping for anything remotely exciting. All the acting from the guest appearances is really poor, and Lila is a really boring character.

I have no idea why this one is so highly rated. I'm enjoying the show thus far, but you can skip this one.

Who Wrote This Dreck?

[clintstevens · 2/10 · 13 April 2018]

I had never seen Criminal Minds until it was offered on Netflix, and since I had watched all the NCIS episodes I decided to make this series my latest binge watch. I almost quit after this episode. It was amateurish and beyond belief, reminding me of something one would see on 'The Love Boat'. What FBI agent (especially a genius like Reid) would end up in a pool swapping spit with a Hollywood bimbo he was supposed to be protecting? I decided to write the episode off and continue binge watching the subsequent episodes. I'm on Season 4 and happily there have been no more dumb plot lines... as of yet.

Standard fare

[moysant · 5/10 · 15 November 2006]

People in show biz are getting knocked off, and it becomes clear very quickly that they are connected to a young starlet in some way. Reid is given the task to bodyguard the actress, who turns out to be a bit of a predator herself, making for some monkey business in the pool.

An OK episode, although there are some clunky scenes particularly the first scene in the art gallery when Gideon acts a little strangely - I didn't quite get the point. May be he just didn't like LA, I couldn't tell. But by the end it becomes a bit of a yawn. And I got confused with so many young blonde actresses - they couldn't have thrown in a few brunettes or redheads so I could keep straight who was who?