elegantcomputerflower

[elegantcomputerflower]

But here’s the thing: this is not Serial Killer Voit. The whole point the show has been making with all the brain scans and medical and science scenes is that SK Voit was the way he was because his brain was not functioning correctly throughout his entire life. The attack and coma essentially kick-started portions of his brain that had never worked before making him a completely different person now. He’s the same body with the same memories, but his entire personality and sense of morality is of a different person.

Because Penelope has a deep sense of empathy, which has been shown in the past by empathizing with unsubs when learning about their abusive upbringings, I don’t find this interaction with her and Voit out of character.

The fact that she did start out with a bit of animosity, and then after spending time with him her attitude changed felt perfectly in character to me. She always looks for the best in people and situations, and after hearing the science and seeing the changes in him firsthand is on par with her character.

Remember when I said I was nervous about how the show was going to handle Penelope's empathy for Voit?

Welp...

We started out strong with the "Let's do a guilt trip speed round." That entire scene really works for me because Penelope is trying to figure out the best way to resolve the issue. She's providing empathy while not giving Voit any kind of pass for his behavior. She also recognizes that adding stress is not going to help find a solution.

It's also great to see Garcia's computer skills being put to work in this episode. It's been a while since she's done more than do a quick search for the team.

What I am struggling with is the scene of Voit and Penelope bonding. I know Penelope is a very empathetic person, but this is still the guy who murdered over 200 people, taught a bunch of other people how to murder, killed her ex's sister, and used her best friend as the subject of his deepfakes. Having her joke with him, "We're a regular Goofus and Gallant," felt tonally jarring considering all of the atrocities he's committed. Yes, she has empathy for him, but it would/should never outweigh the empathy she has for the people he hurt. The joke, while not unforgivable by any means, did feel like a step too far, and not very Penelope Garcia-like.

The season isn't over yet, and they handled this better than I anticipated, but we're walking on a thin line. I'm still concerned that Garcia is being used as a tool to gain sympathy for or to fix the morally grey/morally bad male characters, and won't get any meaningful growth of her own.

[elegantcomputerflower]

I get really sad when I stop and think about how season 15 ended and how Evolution could have started. Like why couldn’t they have just come back 3 years later with Luke and Penelope in an established relationship, be it married or living together. Then the show would have had a built in couple/home life they could have turned to to replace JJ and Will with Josh Stewart wanting off the series.

[elegantcomputerflower]

This was so cringy and made me mad, actually. I like Mendoza so I hate that they had to ruin the character this way.

Mendoza wanting to have a threesome with jj and Emily is the wildest most random thing this show has done