Yes, I like polls! (I think the statistics are interesting) So shall we try it again with tonight's episode?

How very exciting....I have to work tonight, NO PEEKING!! But I'm excited, should be great! :ph43r:
:canada:

HOLY F**KING HELL!!!

I cannot believe that ended that way!

The Special Agent in Charge firing Hotch and then blackmailing Prentiss to destroy the team!? What the f**k?!


I mean, I know the mundane explanation for Hotch's firing probably has to do with Tom wanting to spend more time with his family, but still...

SPOILERS!!!

Wow! I made a pretty good guess there! (and I guessed correctly on who Gideon's girlfriend was too Jentzer!) It's a little scary! Or maybe it's just because......I LOVE THS SHOW! :D

That was a GREAT episode! I definitely need to watch it again soon because there was a lot of information in the dialog I think I might have missed.

It was interesting and exciting and suspenseful.....I loved it! I thought it was very interesting how they approached it - talking to Hotch and his telling the story. I liked how they brought all the "troubles" they've had into the story. And the ending with Prentiss was completely unexpected! That should give us something to think about all summer!

I think my thoughts are too scattered at the moment to comment on specifics. I need to watch it again.

Is he leaving the show? I haven't heard rumors that any of the actors were leaving. (I really hope that's not true!)

I need to give some serious thought into that lady. If she's Hotch's superior why would she need Prentiss to help get him fired? Would she not have the authority to do that? And and whole deal with coming to Prentiss......very interesting! <_<

I haven't heard anything about Tom leaving the cast...maybe it's just a false alarm, like Mark Harmon leaving NCIS. (Which I hear may still actually happen, BTW...but that's for the "Other Shows forum.)

Does who have the authority to do what, ILtS? Fire Hotch? If she's the SAiC, like I think she is, then yes. SAiCs are like general managers, they do what they please.

~)~

I was so livid that I forgot to tell you what my dad said:

Special Agent Dad: Now you're going to be hopping up and down and saying, "Next season, hurry up! Next season, hurry up!"

Assistant Director WindDance: No, because next season's not going to start with me personally wiping the smirk off that b***h's face!

~)~

I only chose "good" in the poll, because I didn't like the ending!

**Spoilers**

:lol: :lol: :lol: That is wonderfully said. Nice!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:


This was extremely amazing. :o It was the first episode I've seen in a long time where everyone in the team was doing what they do best. :D Hotch was leading the team like he should, telling JJ to take pictures of the scene. Also, his communication with Gideon, and having Garcia go to help him out. B) I really like what and how Prentiss was doing until the end. That was amazingly crappy. :angry: The lady got her the job and now is trying to make her get rid of Hotch. :angry: :angry: :angry: I know she will too, because she likes her job too much. Now everyone will have a good reason to not like Prentiss. I liked how JJ told Spence that no matter what, they weren't gonna split up. Great!!! :lol: JJ also handled that gun really well. Also, she seemed very serious and almost angry with Jane. Gideon was doing what he absolutely does best, pure out profiling. Morgan and Reid also did what they did best and for the first time since "Revelations" Reid seemed happy. Garcia also helped a lot.

Well, the Prentiss thing will lead to billions of conversations this summer. :D What a great episode!!!

Yes, that is who I meant. That's the part I didn't really understand. If she wanted to fire him why wouldn't she just do it? Why would she have to blackmail Prentiss into helping her get him fired?

Yeah! Something to talk about on the Prentiss Fan Club site! (Like the way I subtly threw in that bit of advertising?) :rolleyes: Prentissfanclub

I should note here that it sounded to me as if Hotch is already fired and that the sole purpose of blackmailing Prentiss was to bring down the rest of the team--or at least to bring them under SAiC No-Name's thumb.

Okay...well we can't really have the team disbanded or anything because that would be the end of the show. So......

I don't know....I need to give this one some thought! But then, we have all summer to ponder this one don't we? :)

Blackmail the rest of the team?
This is where they could be bringing back the Reid drug story line thing.

It could bring back the Reid storyline....Gideon having a nervous breakdown in the beginning and now with his girlfriend murdered, concern that he will be okay. Who knows how this will go with Emily. Even Morgan and J.J. they could drag into it. Garcia's the only one who hasn't had a "problem"

I got the impression that this woman was only after Hotch not really interested in taking down the whole team. She said they were a mess but she seemed to be blaming Hotch for it.

Oh my my, I really don't have time today to jump into this conversation, work is seriously interfering with my love for this show.....oh well not much you can do when you are stuck inside an airplane......HOWEVER.......watched "the finale" early early this morning, 1/2 asleep, etc,etc, and I loved it!!

CriminalMindsFan said....and I agree 100%

Two thumbs up!! :o

HOWEVER, what I didn't need,was another reason NOT to like that new girl. Please remove me from ALL mailing lists, fan club alerts and anything else...................please pretty please PRENTISS don't go to the dark side, do not become a rat, stay true to your new found friends, please please please :(

***AND SAD NOTE TO JEMMAX***
You will soon learn to dislike Prentss, your man Thomas had a tough go of it last night!! :(

HAPPY NOTE TO JENTZER! :)

Elle got a mention last night. Not an overly happy reason for bringing her up but I do believe that is the first time they have actually made a reference to her by name since she left.

OK, rewatched the episode and I have to say that my (2) absolute favorite parts were when 1) Hotch named off all the things about the SAiC and then when he interupted her with "How do I know that you favor your son, it's because I'm good at my job." :P :P That was amazingly wonderful, like a final smack in the face. :D And I also liked 2) when Hotch named all of the the things about the team. FREAKIN' MAGICAL!!!. Just him saying all those things pumped me up. Ok, enough ranting for now. :D

Yeah, nice. :D :D :D

Yeah, you weren't on the Prentiss bandwagon before and now your definitely not. :D And also, your right, Jemma will be devestated when they see the finale over there in like 2 months or something. I wish the networks would kinda get on the same page so they could see at the same time we do.

I don't believe Section Chief Strauss actually fired Hotch. He proved that he was a superior agent and a force to be reckoned with. I think she realized he would fight a dismissal and would make her look bad in the process, so she backed off.

Her comment to Prentiss was that it's time for "Hotchner's career to end," not that it had ended.

Personally, I think Strauss has just awakened the proverbial sleeping tiger. And while she may think Prentiss will assist her, my suspicion is that Prentiss will eventually reveal her worth by helping Hotch scratch the ol' biddy's eyes out. :D

I agree! I don't know how they are going to do it but I think Prentiss will be loyal and find a way to keep her job and help Hotch in the process. Maybe they'll all be one big happy family again. Awwwwww! :)

Same here! For one thing, CONTINUITY RULES! :D Also, I liked how all of these things could be acknowledged yet not take center stage.

For example, Hotch said something about Reid's issues. We're still left wondering "Did he or didn't he take the Dilaudid?" though it's obvious that whatever the choice, Gideon and Hotch are aware of it and dealing with it. Yet that storyline has never been the main focus of an episode other than the original. It's always remained on the periphery, and I like it that way. It maintains interest in the subplot without allowing it to monopolize the episode, and at the same time it allows for character development. Simply put, it's good storytelling. Color me happy. :)

~sigh~ I could talk about this all night, but I've got to get back to grading. Only one more week until summer break!

So what are you grading? Me, I have been grading research papers, my favorite thing to grade :P :P

*headdesk*

I just realized that SAic No-Name B**ch is "Erin Strauss". I looked at the girlfriend poll again and saw the pic and realized that's who it was.

And to think, I voted her to be Gideon's girlfriend!

Essay tests over Macbeth, book reports, and short stories.

~sigh~ I wish I had Reid's speed reading ability.

I am a pretty fast reader. The kids used to laugh when I read their rough drafts when I had the first conference on their research papers. They would ask if I was really reading it, and I said yes. After a few I would start out telling them that YES I was really reading their papers and YES I could really read that fast.

What always slowed me down was all the notes I had to write on the final drafts.

I sympathize with you grading short stories. If your kids are like mine, then you probably have a few great gems by kids who could someday be professional writers and a whole lot of mediocre stories. I would laugh at some of the conflicts they would come up with. And they would tend to overdo the dialog, slowing down what little suspsense was in the story. But I was really more lenient on those than on the literary analyses and reseach papers they did. It's kind of hard to be too critical of creative works that kids have more personal investment in.

Sorry for the OT, but it has been pretty slow the last few days so I didn't think you would mind.

I voted "Good" Only my fav episodes could get an ""Excellent" :P

Anyway, I think it´s not a question of authority: a superior can´t fire a subordinate for no reason at all, so that women wants a reason. And she needs Emily to get it cause Emily is part of the team and it would be discreet and nobody would suspect. I disagree about Emily helping her, thought.
(Yeah, the team has got some troubles this season - Elle, Reid, Morgan- but I don´t think that these troubles are a good enough pretext to fire Hotch. And I noticed the metion about Reid´s issues too. I liked it because now I hope writters will give us an answer on the subject)

Who was Gideon´s girlfriend? I didn´t remember her from another ep...

Not true. If the employment is considered "at will" (as I think most are), the employer can fire you whenever they please, just like you can quit whenever you please.

I've heard of people being fired just because they're pregnant. I've also heard of people getting fired for their religious beliefs (like if they're a Witch).

So yes, in the right situation, someone could fire someone else if they "just felt like it".

I´m sorry, I didn´t know it was like that in EEUU. In Spain, "Government employees" ( I mean anybody who works on the public sector: police, state-owned companies, education, health system, etc) can´t be fired without a reason, and a very good one. On the private sector they can do it, but it´s "unfair dissmisal" so they have to pay an indemnity ( if the worker ask to be re-employed, it´s a judge who decides)

Well, in that case I suppose that women doesn´t want people to know she has personal reasons to get Hotch fire. I don´t think that it makes a good impression =S

It'll still make her look really bad if she fires him without just cause, plus cause a lot of disruptions and probably put the whole team against her, causing her more trouble than it's worth. Especially if she cares even a little bit about politics and climbing the ladder further than she already is (and she seems like a very ambitious lady).
She indicates a lot about control over the team, which means she thinks that by replacing one key member she thinks everyone follows (Hotch) with someone that's more of a lapdog to her, she'll have the control over the team she wants. It's better to do that kind of move all stealthy-ninja like with justification than just outright, because maybe the team would even think it was for the best if she did it right.

So do we think her real motive is just what's best for the BAU or is there some ulterior motive there? (like she thinks Hotch is standing in her way or has done something that made her look bad) I don't think Emily will go along with it but I'm curious...... <_<

Actually, it isn't. :) Certainly there are some small businesses that believe they can fire employees without proving just cause (though under certain circumstances they may face legal action), but workers who are unionized and those who are employed by the government are protected by a host of federal statutes that prohibit unwarranted terminations.

Before a superior can fire a subordinate, he/she must show documented evidence that the subordinate has engaged in some type of behavior that justifies termination. For example, if a police officer were suspected of taking bribes, there would have to be documented proof such as video of the transactions or bank deposits before Internal Affairs could recommend that the officer be fired. The officer might be suspended or placed on paid leave if under suspicion, but without irrefutable evidence of wrongdoing, the officer's job is secure.

Additionally, if a subordinate believes he/she has been fired without just cause, he/she can file a grievance against the superior or employer. The end result could be a lawsuit, and if the judge finds that the subordinate was unjustly terminated, the superior/employer may have to pay a substantial amount and/or rehire the employee. That's why the three most important words for any employer who is considering firing an employee are document, document, document (used as a verb here, not a noun ;) ).

Laws to protect workers' rights were created to keep people like Strauss from doing the very thing she'd like to do to Hotch. That's why she's decided to play dirty.

I really want to see her get her just desserts...preferably all over her face. :D

screech.............. :huh:

I guess cause it's TV land they can do whatever they wish, since they are "the feds", perhaps she can reassign agent hotchner to the identity theft unit of the antarctica branch......I think she has the power "to bury him" if she chooses.....again its the feds, so he has always been warned about playing politics.

Prentiss grew up in a powerful political environment, she knows /and has seen first hand, how to play the game......but will she??? To me it is clear she was hand picked for this role of "rat", hence the faulty paper work. (i'm calling her this until further notice by the way)

I believe JJ and Hotch are true advisaries of Erin Strauss. But realistically the team has had a wild, fairly reckless time together...which I love by the way!

(i was going to list "reckless" events here, but my list got way to long..lol)

erin strauss she should talk lol...can't hold down a job..lol
(fbi, ctu, back to the fbi..lol)

either or **side note** can't say I'm really excited to see yet another one of my shows go down that political "witch hunt"/destory "the team"/political agenda crap season finale 2007
(the unit/ncis/criminal minds...what did you throw all "possible endings" into a hat and all come up with the same ending :ph43r:

and news flash, after careful consideration, reflection and amatuer profiling........I don't believe prentiss (aka the rat) will turn on her team!!

its one thing to hand pick your rat (view "the departed"), but its another to change their core to accomplish it.....I, Jentzer, do believe that ms emily prentiss will ......in the words of the late great ms Tammy Wynette......."stand by her man", (and her team) :ph43r:

i doubt prentiss will do it...she's been working so hard to get onto the good side of the team. Getting Hotch fired would just shoot her all the way to the other end again.

Oops! I'm sorry! I got into a hurry and forgot to include the other half of what I had intended to say. Let me see if I can clear things up.

Nonunionized workers are also protected from termination in many cases. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits termination based upon race, religion (yes, Wiccans are protected), gender, etc. Pregnancies are covered under the ADA, although termination is permitted in certain circumstances. You're absolutely right when you say it's perfectly legal for many employers to fire their employees at will, but they can't fire them for just any reason. Well, not unless they like lawsuits. :)

Anyway, to bring this back to Hotch's (who, as an employee for the federal government and possibly a member of the AFGE, is protected seven ways to Sunday)...

I find it unlikely that Strauss will achieve her goal with any true measure of success. Sure, she has documentation on the BAU agents and their various issues, but her focus seems to be Hotch, and from what I heard and saw in that ep, she doesn't have enough to justify firing him. That's why she wants Emily's help. Don't let us down, Prentiss!

It'll be interesting to see how all of this plays out and its effects upon the various team members. It'll also be interesting to see what happens to Strauss in the end. (insert wicked laughter)

Woo, Bren! Are you a lawyer, or have you just been fired too many times? :lol: ;)

:D No, but law was my second choice. I chose teaching instead; my hope is to help kids before they need a lawyer. :)

I still have an interest in law, though, so I try to keep up on things (I'm the same way about medical issues). Oh, and I read, read, read! Plus I have a friend who's a lawyer, as well a friend at the helm of a large corporation and a sister who was a human resources manager before becoming a coder for a military hospital. Yep, lots of information at my fingertips.

Unfortunately, it makes watching television difficult at times, because many television shows have a tendency to ignore the law or apply it selectively. Had Strauss told Hotch he was fired, I would have been very disappointed in the writers. Without documented evidence proving that Hotch was unable to do his job, was engaged in illegal activity, had compromised himself in some way, etc., Strauss would have been in serious trouble. Her decision to back down and try to get Hotch from the inside is evil and creepy, but it's much more likely.

Hmm. I've noticed that when I type "Hotch," I frequently capitalize the first three letters and have to retype. HOT...I wonder what Freud would say about that? ;)

:lol: pretty funny!

Didn't Hotch (I didn't try to capitalize those first three letters...hmm <_< ) make a remark like that in one of the episodes?

Way too smart for me!

On a completely different subject.....wouldn't it have been interesting to see Reid's reaction if one of the people Frank had gone after was Lila? (from Somebody's watching)

Maybe... but I have to say that it wouldn´t have been interesting for me :P I liked that ep but Lila is not a character that I especially would love to see return.
Actually, I think Reid could have been more affected by Rebecca´s death than he has; after all, she was one of "his" victims, like Lila or Nathan ( I prefer considering him as a victim to as a future unsub)

Thanks for the explanation, Bren ;)
PD. Freud would have said you´re a perver even if you would type "candy" :D

I originally voted 'good' but only because I wanted to see Gideon bring Frank down. Otherwise, fantastic! I really enjoyed seeing more into Gideon's personal side. He chose a horrific and important job but what a price to pay.

That ending: I wonder what we are going to see next season? More secrets are going to tear the team apart. That was a great scene with Hotch dissecting Strauss (is that her name?) in her office. Loved it.

I hope Prentiss doesn't go along with her. She has grown on me since her character mentioned she likes Kurt Vonnegut. :)

One thing I would love to see next season is Reid opening up to Gideon about his demons. B)

Yes! I don't mind that they give the characters problems and things to deal with - it's interesting and helps the character grow but, I really like it when they help each other deal with their problems too which they did a lot of in season one but not very much in season two and that really bothered me. I like it when Reid goes to Gideon or Morgan for advice. I hate that with this whole drug thing everyone seemed to know there was a problem but they weren't realing trying to deal with it.

I know what you mean. I was hoping to see the characters deal with the issue, but I was left with the impression that it was handled "off screen." We got a few vague references but not much else.

Maybe TPTB were afraid it would distract viewers from the cases, and I suppose there's some truth to that, but <bren stamps foot> darn it, I wanted to SEE things get worked out!

I'm Closure Girl, and I feel cheated. :angry:

:lol: me too!!!

Now I'm just hoping there was a reason for that (the way they left us in the finale) I hope they eventually answer all our questions - I will be disappointed if it just all goes away and we're left wondering forever. But I still think they could have at least solved things for Reid and not had to drag that over to the next season to answer it...that one bugs me the most.