And this is saying a lot. Most of Season 11 has been disappointing, being average at best and poor at worst with only three or four episodes being good ("The Job", "The Witness", "Beautiful Disaster"- am aware that this is a controversial opinion- and especially "Entropy").
"Entropy" is by far the best of the season, and the only one to be close to a masterpiece. Would even go far to say that it's one of the best episodes of the latter seasons along with "Mr Scratch" and "Nelson's Sparrow" and one of the best of the whole show.
My only small criticism is Cat being outwitted a bit too easily and outwitted somewhat, but to me this was easy to overlook because the ending was still intense and moving (her line about her remembering Reid's name and he not remembering hers chills the blood and makes one feel so sorry for Reid) and because the rest of the episode was so brilliant.
Usually Lewis is an underwhelming character and Aisha Tyler's acting impresses even less, but Lewis is much more at ease and pretty bad-ass and Tyler gives quite easily her best performance of the season, at least to me.
What was immediately fantastic was the story. Loved that it was centred around Reid, who is one of the show's most interesting characters and whose absence during the hiatus was immediately noticeable and instantly deeply felt and the episodes that the hiatus concerned suffered heavily as a result amongst many other things. But it also doesn't neglect the rest of the BAU or what makes 'Criminal Minds' so good in the first place, which so much of Season 11 lost or forgot about.
There is tension, suspense excitement, emotional impact, humour, twists and turns, chess-like manoeuvring and ingenious verbal sparring galore, the writing and storytelling really is some of the finest in a long time. The chemistry between Reid and Cat is truly a joy, the episode provides a truly satisfying conclusion to the Dirty Dozen story arc, Reid is developed absolutely beautifully here and the sight of Garcia drunk is priceless.
As ever, "Entropy" is incredibly well-made, hauntingly scored, tightly directed, majestically paced (one of few of the season to be rushed or dull) and as said the writing is the best of 'Criminal Minds' in years. The acting is the best it's been in a while too. Matthew Gray Gubler is phenomenal, and playing one of the more memorable supporting characters of Season 11 (cool, calculating, confident, deceptively charming and subtly chilling) Aubrey Plaza matches him brilliantly.
In conclusion, Season 11 has never been better, and along with "Mr Scratch" and "Nelson's Sparrow" it's one of the best latter season episodes. 10/10 Bethany Cox
"Entropy" is by far the best of the season, and the only one to be close to a masterpiece. Would even go far to say that it's one of the best episodes of the latter seasons along with "Mr Scratch" and "Nelson's Sparrow" and one of the best of the whole show.
My only small criticism is Cat being outwitted a bit too easily and outwitted somewhat, but to me this was easy to overlook because the ending was still intense and moving (her line about her remembering Reid's name and he not remembering hers chills the blood and makes one feel so sorry for Reid) and because the rest of the episode was so brilliant.
Usually Lewis is an underwhelming character and Aisha Tyler's acting impresses even less, but Lewis is much more at ease and pretty bad-ass and Tyler gives quite easily her best performance of the season, at least to me.
What was immediately fantastic was the story. Loved that it was centred around Reid, who is one of the show's most interesting characters and whose absence during the hiatus was immediately noticeable and instantly deeply felt and the episodes that the hiatus concerned suffered heavily as a result amongst many other things. But it also doesn't neglect the rest of the BAU or what makes 'Criminal Minds' so good in the first place, which so much of Season 11 lost or forgot about.
There is tension, suspense excitement, emotional impact, humour, twists and turns, chess-like manoeuvring and ingenious verbal sparring galore, the writing and storytelling really is some of the finest in a long time. The chemistry between Reid and Cat is truly a joy, the episode provides a truly satisfying conclusion to the Dirty Dozen story arc, Reid is developed absolutely beautifully here and the sight of Garcia drunk is priceless.
As ever, "Entropy" is incredibly well-made, hauntingly scored, tightly directed, majestically paced (one of few of the season to be rushed or dull) and as said the writing is the best of 'Criminal Minds' in years. The acting is the best it's been in a while too. Matthew Gray Gubler is phenomenal, and playing one of the more memorable supporting characters of Season 11 (cool, calculating, confident, deceptively charming and subtly chilling) Aubrey Plaza matches him brilliantly.
In conclusion, Season 11 has never been better, and along with "Mr Scratch" and "Nelson's Sparrow" it's one of the best latter season episodes. 10/10 Bethany Cox