Retaliation (16 Dec. 2009)

Hotch is back at the helm of the BAU after turning down Strauss' offer of a full retirement package. He and Morgan have a heart to heart about Morgan's tenure as head of the unit. Meanwhile... See full summary »

Director:

Félix Enríquez Alcalá

Writers:

Jeff Davis (creator), Erica Messer

Stars:

Joe Mantegna, Paget Brewster, Shemar Moore

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Joe Mantegna	...	David Rossi
Paget Brewster	...	Emily Prentiss
Shemar Moore	...	Derek Morgan
Matthew Gray Gubler	...	Dr. Spencer Reid
A.J. Cook	...	Jennifer Jareau
Kirsten Vangsness	...	Penelope Garcia
Thomas Gibson	...	Aaron Hotchner
Lee Tergesen	...	Dale Shrader
Tim Guinee	...	Joe Muller
A Martinez	...	Bunting
Reamy Hall	...	Molly Muller
Jan Hoag	...	Betts
Leslie Stevens	...	Karen Otey
Angela Pierce	...	Connie Schrader
Jordan Van Vranken	...	Jenny Shrader

Storyline

Hotch is back at the helm of the BAU after turning down Strauss' offer of a full retirement package. He and Morgan have a heart to heart about Morgan's tenure as head of the unit. Meanwhile, while transporting a fugitive into custody in Lockport New York with a local police officer named Bunting, Prentiss is injured when the fugitive is assisted in a getaway by an unknown partner. That fugitive is Dale Shrader, who had just been paroled from prison, where he was serving time for a series of bank robberies in which the moneys stolen were never recovered. Since his release two days earlier, Shrader killed a junkie named Stacy Ryan who was the sister of someone Shrader served time with five years prior, and kidnapped his daughter Jenny as an act of revenge toward his ex-wife Connie. These two acts are seemingly a dichotomy in personality. During the getaway, Shrader killed Bunting. Prentiss did see the partner, but the BAU do not know who that partner is. They have to delve into ...

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Plot Keywords:

police officer | escape from custody | bank robbery | police officer killed | police officer strangulated | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 December 2009 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mark Gordon Company, The, CBS Television Studios, ABC Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 42 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Route 7 in New York is in the Eastern part of the state, while Lockport is on the other side of the state in Western New York. Route 7 never runs anywhere near Lockport.

User Reviews

Rise!

So, a Format Breaker? An episode that starts when the BAU have already caught the unsub? At least it distracts some of us from the utterly senseless return of Hotch to duty after Haley has barely been laid to rest. It's hard to suspend one's disbelief when a series does something as unrealistic as that. And Morgan just altruistically stepping down from the lead... It doesn't matter how good the case of the week actually is when a series has ventured into post-season-2-'24'-like fantasy land where anything can happen - you no longer buy the integrity of the series. It would not be a surprise if soon the BAU members other than Hotch started acting all like Jack Bauer - Prentiss already let her feelings take over at the end of the previous episode and in this episode she does it *again*...

Guest star Lee Tergesen is once again on form, re-affirming his versatility, but a cause for frustration is the complete absence of Nicholas Brendon and Josh Stewart, now that they are not needed because Haley's funeral is over. It's not that their characters serve any active purpose in the series at all in the first place - both are wheeled in only when the viewers (as far the show-runners think) need a reminder that Garcia and JJ have a life at home. And what happened to Morgan's involvement with Salli Richardson-Whitfield's character, Tamara Barnes? She was last seen five episodes ago.

The freshness of the Format Breaker soon wears off as the latter half of the episode actually returns to the Format: BAU uses their brains to catch the bad guy - for the second time (no longer an unsub), with the "twist" being that the apprehending goes wrong because of Prentiss. Will her actions be investigated by Strauss? The staple of police shows is an investigation into the justification and judgment capabilities of an officer who has shot someone, but in the BAU it seems that the FBI rather tolerates rogue behavior by their agents instead of having to waste taxpayers' money to train new ones. Bottom line: 5/10 - if this series does not start making sense soon, I'll consider it a guilty pleasure like '24' was after the good first season and the great second season. Rise! Before it is too late.