Garcia is one of my fav characters but the whole black queen act was just silly. Paulo Costanzo played his role well, such an under used actor, he'd have been a good recurring character. Garcia and Morgan were always great characters but it was already shown that Morgan first met garcia and called her "Gomez" not knowing who she was but they rewrote it just to make this black queen badass.. pretty weak episode but not the worst, it is only memorable because of Paulo Costanzo and because of the sexual harassment parts of the episode. I liked the small moments of humour and relationships and it's a shame the show didn't have more of this.
5 Reviews
The second worst episode of Season 9 and one of the worst of the show
TheLittleSongbird5 September 2016
Despite being quite negative lately towards 'Criminal Minds' it is not because of disliking the show. In fact, when it was in its prime 'Criminal Minds' was a huge favourite, and although it has gone vastly downhill there is still just about enough to warrant me still tuning in.
"The Black Queen" really isn't an example of 'Criminal Minds' at its best. In fact, from personal opinion, it is one of the show's worst episodes and of the Season 9 episodes only "200" was worse. A few things redeem it. It is very well made as always, very stylish and classy as ever and very nicely shot, the music is a nice mix of atmosphere and melancholy and the performances despite underwhelming material are still good.
On the other hand, there is a lot that didn't work about "The Black Queen". May be criticised for being nit-picky, for not accepting change and hating it when things done differently. The last two cannot be further from the truth, the problem is when doing something differently is done badly. That is the case with "The Black Queen". Garcia's story could have been really interesting and could have seen some great development, but it does take up far too much of the episode and is heavy in continuity gaffes and contradictions which strongly suggests that the writers have completely forgotten about the earlier seasons.
As a result of this the rest of the team take a complete back-seat, so much so that you barely see them at all and they are all forgettable at best, with the sole exception of seeing a more heroic Reid. The case also feels like an after-thought and feels very disjointed with Garcia's story and a case of too many ideas tossed in with not enough development. The unsubs are well-performed but not very interesting, the second unsub suffers from being a rather too convenient and thrown in Deux Ex Machina so poor Jeffrey Coombes has very little to do.
Garcia has been more likable too in earlier seasons, this was at a point where she did become annoying and like a caricature. The problem is not to do with Kirsten Vangsness, who is very good actually, but the writing. The sexual harassment talk just felt out of place within the story and the Morgan and Garcia banter was in serious need at this point of the show of a toning down and being used far less because it was unrealistically over-familiar, almost creepy, and sometimes cringe-worthy.
In conclusion, not as bad as "200" but almost on the same level. 3/10 Bethany Cox
"The Black Queen" really isn't an example of 'Criminal Minds' at its best. In fact, from personal opinion, it is one of the show's worst episodes and of the Season 9 episodes only "200" was worse. A few things redeem it. It is very well made as always, very stylish and classy as ever and very nicely shot, the music is a nice mix of atmosphere and melancholy and the performances despite underwhelming material are still good.
On the other hand, there is a lot that didn't work about "The Black Queen". May be criticised for being nit-picky, for not accepting change and hating it when things done differently. The last two cannot be further from the truth, the problem is when doing something differently is done badly. That is the case with "The Black Queen". Garcia's story could have been really interesting and could have seen some great development, but it does take up far too much of the episode and is heavy in continuity gaffes and contradictions which strongly suggests that the writers have completely forgotten about the earlier seasons.
As a result of this the rest of the team take a complete back-seat, so much so that you barely see them at all and they are all forgettable at best, with the sole exception of seeing a more heroic Reid. The case also feels like an after-thought and feels very disjointed with Garcia's story and a case of too many ideas tossed in with not enough development. The unsubs are well-performed but not very interesting, the second unsub suffers from being a rather too convenient and thrown in Deux Ex Machina so poor Jeffrey Coombes has very little to do.
Garcia has been more likable too in earlier seasons, this was at a point where she did become annoying and like a caricature. The problem is not to do with Kirsten Vangsness, who is very good actually, but the writing. The sexual harassment talk just felt out of place within the story and the Morgan and Garcia banter was in serious need at this point of the show of a toning down and being used far less because it was unrealistically over-familiar, almost creepy, and sometimes cringe-worthy.
In conclusion, not as bad as "200" but almost on the same level. 3/10 Bethany Cox
Garcia cannot carry a show
vn_larsen119 August 2021
Only one tidbit was correct
minch-9468925 March 2021
The only thing they remembered from earlier seasons was that Hotch, made a comment that Garcia wrote her resume on pink stationary. That is the only good thing they did get right. I am sorry, the episode seemed too hokey. There was so much they could of done t9 make this a better episode, including making it a 2 parter.
The worst episode
azmogroupon18 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Poor story with unrealistic features. I think sometimes the authors and creators forget that some audience know a lot more about computer programming than Garcia pretends to. Garcia is the poorest character in the whole series and as a result this episode became the worst one because it highlighted all the made-up and unrealistic things about Garcia. The story was very childish just like Garcia. The whole thing looked like a childish game between Garcia and her ex.
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