Not So Much
I’m not sure about “Demonology.” I want to like it - I’m the kind of person that really liked Stigmata and other things of that genre. I should have liked this one, but honestly, I am not liking it even after seeing it again. First, I think the story is a bit convoluted. It’s very possible I was distracted because I was working on other things at the time, but a priest killing people who all went to a church in Spain where the priest, who was a friend of his, died or maybe was murdered seems like a weird flow of events. Why would this priest kill them? Did he think they killed the priest? If someone out there knows that I’m an idiot and would explain it to me, I’d be grateful. Honestly. I really would. I don’t get the connection here.
Another thing: when John, Emily’s old friend, meets the priest in his house (he’s come to do an exorcism), John says in Italian, “I am stronger than you.” There are hints throughout that these men may be possessed, especially with John. Not that I have a problem with a plot like this, but Criminal Minds is usually so rooted in this world, so to speak. That and Emily’s nosebleed at the end seemed like a kind of cliche way to add a little mystery to the show. That works in some movies or shows, but I feel like it didn’t really with this one.
One more thing: The last thing, I promise. Emily. I can understand feeling guilty about what happened to her friend, Matthew. But she kind of went about it in a self-centered way, saying he died for her and her abortion caused him to turn to drugs. Guilt is one thing but assigning so much importance to yourself is another thing altogether. I feel like Emily went beyond guilt into ridiculousness about this. That sounds a bit harsh to me as I wrote it, but I didn’t really feel her grief so much as her self-importance. Is it only me?
What did I like about “Demonology”? I thought it was funny and interesting that they gave their profile to a group of priests. Other than that, not my favorite. What did you guys think?
July 9th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
As always, I loved it
July 10th, 2009 at 3:10 am
After reading this post, I went back and kind of watched the episode again.
First, I really liked how Emily went to Hotch first thing after having learned of Matthew’s death, and Hotch was sympathetic but not overtly so, and told her he wanted to help. I thought it was very typical Hotch - supportive in action not just words.
I suppose I could understand why Emily was making the case all about her. After all, according to her, Matthew only started having all these issues and problems after her abortion. I could see how she would blame herself for causing all that. I didn’t even really have any issues with her keeping that as a secret from the rest of the team. Just because they were helping her doesn’t mean she had to share everything with them. That’s okay. What I had a problem with was her attitude toward the widow of the third victim, and her subsequent attitude toward Morgan and Aaron. It was out of line for her to scold the widow like that. And like Morgan said, Hotch didn’t reprimand her after the complaint when he had every right to do so. And the nosebleed in the end - I have no clue what that meant.
As for other character-centric episodes, I like “Zoe’s Reprise” and “Omnivore” much better. I think you commented on “Zoe’s Reprise” how it wasn’t all about Rossi, but about Zoe. I agree. Same goes for “Omnivore”. And in both episodes, I loved the scenes with Hotch and Rossi together, they are just very tuned into each other’s frequency and seem to know instinctively when the other needs help, without being over the top obvious about it. I love that about them so much.
I’m starting to think maybe it has to do with the actors and the way they personally handle these character-centric episodes, because I also did not like the ones with Reid too much (where he was suspecting his father of murder). Maybe “Zoe’s Reprise” and “Omnivore” would have turned out to be the same if not for Thomas and Joe. Just a theory.
July 10th, 2009 at 8:51 am
I liked this episode a lot better the 2nd time. What most impressed me was that the nature of the case and Emily’s connection made her lose her famous compartmentalization. She was pure emotion in this, and more human than she’d ever want to appear in front of her colleagues. I have a number of nits to pick with the ep, but I needed to see Emily lose it. It helped me empathize with her and understand her a bit more.
March 25th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
I know this was written a long time ago, but I have been trying to catch up on Criminal Minds and have been watching it on the Internet and just finished watching Demonology, and was trying to find out the significance of the nose bleed at the end, which led me to this blog, BUT I just wanted to point out that where you said “But she kind of went about it in a self-centered way, saying he died for her and her abortion caused him to turn to drugs.” It wasn’t saying that it was all about her, the point was that the way the priest reacted to her getting an abortion was an affirmation of what he was already questioning. So it was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” so to speak. Anyways if you ever figured out the significance of the nose bleed, I’d be interested to know.