#aaron hotchner meta

[youbutstupid]

Ages of the Criminal Minds cast because PSA: life doesn’t stop at 40

Mandy Patinkin, 71. Thomas Gibson, 61

Lola Glaudini, 52. A.J. Cook, 45

Matthew Gray Gubler, 44. Kirsten Vangsness, 51

Shemar Moore, 54. Paget Brewster, 55

Joe Mantegna, 76. Meta Golding, 52

Rachel Nichols, 44. Jeanne Tripplehorn, 60

Jennifer Love Hewitt, 45. Aisha Tyler, 53

Adam Rodriguez, 49. Daniel Henney, 44

[threespacemonkeys]

Finished my rewatch of criminal minds and here’s my breakdown of the seasons:

Season 1-3: profiler and psychology cop show, interesting and new and I really liked it.

Season 4-7: kinda turned cop show basically, little boring at times but still good episodes. Too much focus on the murders. I skipped some scenes because just too gruesome.

Season 7-11: more profiling episode again, and few standout episodes with good villains that challenge the MCs. Started to like it again. Still skipped some gruesome stuff.

Seasons 12-13: the beginning of the end. Mainly a spy/political/terrorism show with episode long arc devoted to old villains who have big plans. Loved having more team focused episodes and intrigue but it’s a deviation from the normal format.

Season 14 and 15: greatest hits tour. Let’s go back over all our early episodes and have the villains come back! 🥱

Also who hacked AO3 for season 15:6? Date Night was totally a fanisode.

Personal opinion? Absolutely LOVE 1-3.

4-7 was still interesting because it was still new and interesting but I think they should have started the international arcs in season 7 with the loss/reveal of Emily/Doyle and finished them off with the believers arc and ended at season 10 or 11. I love Matt Simmons as an addition but the last few seasons changed the whole series in a huge direction. Maybe not bad but definitely very different from the beginning premise.

[reidobsessed]

Female Unsubs are so

[blackbird-brewster]

Weekly Criminal Minds poll. Reblog for more exposure, etc.

Send CM poll ideas

[maschotch]

I would love to hear your thoughts about Hotch and fire because I never really noticed it but when you point it out it does stand out as something he gets VERY affected by very quickly

its not the most obvious pattern, which is par for the course when it comes to anything relating to hotch’s past. but i think its sooo interesting that hotch seems to be on edge/more emotional when they deal with cases involving fire. in ashes and dust he seems particularly moved talking to the burn victim and insists on being the one to speak to her; in house on fire he averts his eyes from the burnt corpses and has a shorter temper; in devil’s night he’s antsy the whole case and makes brash decisions (like running into a burning building???)

its subtle changes, so subtle that im not entirely convinced im not just hallucinating it all, but it seems like there’s something there. especially during the final confrontation with the unsubs in each of those episodes: the steel-faced hotch is gone, and he seems incapable of hiding his fear. in devil’s night he has a hard time looking away from the unsub’s lighter; in house on fire he keeps glancing down at the spilled gasoline. if it was anyone else i wouldnt pay any mind, but hotch is known for staring down death (like with foyet). he’s.. uncharacteristically emotional

i feel like something must have happened. even gideon—who has better insight on hotch’s past than anyone—seems concerned when hotch volunteers to go to the burn ward or gets distracted looking at a child’s burnt shoe on the ground. the way hotch lingers on the picture of the mother with her son… something mustve happened in the past for him to take this so personally

im not sure what it is. again, we dont really know anything about hotch’s background (and what we do know is frequently contradicted a couple seasons later—like the way his father died) so its not like we have a lot to work with. simply because of his interaction with charlotte cutler, i think it might have something to do with his mom? we dont know anything about her outside other than her attending mary baldwin. there are just so many unknown variables and oddly intimate moments of connection he has with various abused-sons throughout the seasons

was he in a fire growing up? was his mother? maybe his mom was inside and he stood helpless on the outside, unable to save her? was it an arsonist? was it his father? or was it his mother herself—tired of her life and trying to tear it all down with her? was it all just a horrible accident? was it before or after his father’s death? was his mom dying the final push for hotch to stand up to his father?

there are just… so many questions. so many possibilities. but, whatever happened, hotch is definitely afraid of fire.

[dr-george-ordell]

This is like a 4am post but anyways, am I tripping or has little to no one thought of a Criminal Minds and Yellowjacket's crossover? Because our beloved BAU team has a private jet they always use for travel for cases, which is a perfect recipie for then to also crash into the Canadian wildernesses unintentionally. To top it all off JJ likely remember's the Yellowjackets' disappearance due to being fifteen and also being in a football team around that time. Tbh just imagining how especially Spencer, Aaron or JJ would cope in the Wilderness with no rigid rules or hierarchy would be genuinely interesting.

[vole-mon-amour]

6x18.

There is so much to unpack in here. First of all, imagine having a picture of your delighted boss as his contact pic on your phone. We all know they're friends, but Aaron is still their boss, the leader of the team. Unironically having such a picture on your phone & always being happy to see him speaks volumes. Having such close relationships at work is goals.

Second of all, the entire team recognizing that they are Emily's family. All of them (and David gesturing at himself at "She run to protect us", accepting his role in Emily's life without a blink of an eye. Yes, he's been working with Emily for years, but he joined the team after she was already there, and he still adopted her as a part of his own). However, Spencer (that barely has any close relationships (aside from Derek) and has troubles talking openly about his feelings) recognizing it makes it so much more special. Him straight up going, "This doesn't make any sense. We're her family. We can help." All of that after he opened up to her about his headaches. That kid really does trust her & recognizes her as a part of his people.

Third of all, they keep teaching me that if something wasn't said out loud, it doesn't mean it passed unnoticed. The way Rossi verbally explains about Emily's distancing, her secrets, just not being her usual self reminds me, once again, how good of a profiler he (and the team) is. That's why he went, "You know, you haven't been on vacation for a while. Think about it." He didn't want to invade her personal space and problems (because, if she was ready to talk about it, she would), but he did want to help. Most of the team going silent with her because that's how it works. Hotch asking her only once, "Are you okay?" after she was late for, like, third time in a week & leaving her alone after she dismissed him. It's how he treated Spencer after Hankel, too. It's how he recognizes his team's problems, but mostly chooses to stay out of their way because he believes in them and their ability to talk if they ever need to. That also makes me think of that time when Strauss wanted to fire Aaron, and Aaron went with a full speech on how actually good he understands every single one of them and how hard this job is, and how they all cope in a different manner.

It's only Derek that couldn't keep quiet during that month (and Spencer, at the very end) because he is that kind of person. Because if no one is going to try to do something about that, he will.

This plot-line with Emily & how her team reacts to her behavior is everything.

I usually don't mind spoilers, but I absolutely can agree that going in blindly has its perks with this show (and I don't want to know anything past where I am now). The way I cheered and sobbed like a fool after seeing her coming back. Aaron's little smile. Spencer starting smiling, too. Talking ahead, I couldn't believe she was talking, moving, and actually working with the team. I missed her so much. Seaver's lack of expression is understandable, but she couldn't replace neither JJ and/or Emily even if she wanted to. She can't possibly understand how much they mean to the team (and, frankly, the show and the fans). I am so excited and can't wait for the end of s6 when they both come back. <3

The way Derek was throwing a tantrum & David didn't take the bait even once. He was just a tired experienced old man that was so Done with this kid. I appreciate that about him. I appreciate him accepting people for who they are (and I'm mostly talking about Emily, 'cause he recognized that if she did something, it was for a reason, and a valuable one at that) & working with that.

I can't shut up about Aaron listening to Dave's opinions closely & you can't make me. The partnership is so strong with these two.

The humor in this show. <3

Once again, Derek throwing tantrums (tbh, i'd say he's being kind of a jerk here. Is she your friend or a stranger? It's understandable but I think she deserves a better credit.) David being "Emily is doing the best she can to stay alive, good for her!" And, most importantly, Aaron backing him up on that. "As illegal as it it, Doyle is ruthless & she should act like him."

The tears in Aaron's eyes & him being genuinely so worried for Emily. Characters that don't show any emotions but then something happens to their loved ones & they do >>>>>

These two exchanging pleasantries, too. "Emily said you were the best. I'm unimpressed. <…> If I'm the sociopath, I can't feel any empathy, correct?" — "You're not the sociopath. Doyle is. I though you were a better profiler." & him, finally, being impressed. Aaron rightfully earned his place in BAU and his role as a leader of the team.

The crossover I didn't expect to see, but I'm glad I got it.

[commack-to-bsu-pipeline]

this scene from s1e8 "natural born killers" lives in head rent free

how hard does Hotch have to work, in his mind, to not repeat the cycle of abuse with Jack? does he ever have anxiety over his relationship with his son?

does he catch himself raising his voice? does he ever have neutral moments as a parent where he reminds himself of his own father?

and how does the abuse from his father affect his relationship with Jared? is it why he's so parental, so protective of his younger brother?

[istandwithrussiaandpalestine30]

The earlier seasons of Criminal Minds were way better than the later seasons. I don't care for Luke and Tara. After Hotch left, the series should have ended.

[gen-is-gone]

Gen will you believe I have admired your meta and your Criminal Minds thoughts for a while but just beyond that, you are so so saati shaped just as you are. I love learning about Eighth Doctor Lore (thank you for reminding me of my Paul McGann love), I love that we have same shaped Aaron Hotchner thoughts and YBEB love and just…there’s such a lovely ease. I would absolutely trust you to hide me. Thank you for embracing me and for being you. Also I would love to offer you a hug and to talk fandom 🩷

💕❤️💕❤️💕 <3<3<3<3<3

You're wonderful Lil, I always thought of you as one of the Cool Older KidsTM and I love being friends with you. I'm so, so sorry you're struggling so much right now, and I wish I could do more than offer internet hugs. All I can say is that I hope things will get better and safer soon, for you and for all Jewish people.

[hotchnersome]

I like to think that S12 was supposed to focus on Hotch from psychological point of view. What do I have to back that up:

-for the first time ever Jack outwardly displayed his doubts about his father’s job. If the kid grows out of believing his dad to be a picture perfect superhero (and Hotch said himself that it would happen soon) that could mean he’s also ready to really get to know his father. If Hotch wanted to keep that close of a bond with a teenager, he would have had to come out about his PTSD, prove to his son that he is only human and that it’s okay. 

-Mr. Scratch. How. on. Earth. Did that man. Not lose it? Every other victim ended up with a shattered mind after their encounter with Lewis. How could the team not question his sanity after this? How could they trust him with a gun? We know that the whole Mr. Scratch arc got messed up since Hotch was no longer present in the show, but we still had S11, when he was just fine? Imagine knowing very well that your boss is comparmentalizing every bad thing that happens to him, how can you not question his position, where he’s coming from with his decisions? I really wished poeple would come at him like Morgan did in S5, because Hotch wasn’t dealing with his past, he just kept pushing himself and people allowed him to do that. It was leading to an eventual breakdown.

-the government questioning his morals in S11 finale. Finally! That was such an important and raw plot point for Hotch. What does this scene let us know: 1) people in higher ranks question Hotch as the Unit Chief, 2) he started dismissing procedures after loosing his ex-wife, 3) he covered up the fact that he had a dissociative episode in his psychological evaluation (does he not know that he’s risking other people’s lives with that behaviour? really dumb of him). And he gets called out on his BS! Look at him in these scenes, he’s uncomfortable, he’s nervous. He doesn’t like people digging in his mind or through his past (ofc), I count that as foreshadowing, I like to think this is where they were going with his story.

-I don’t know how else the writers would have executed the Prison Reid story. This man has Vatican on his speed dial, don’t tell me he wouldn’t go even greater lenghts to get Reid out of there. The only option I can really see: Hotch has a psychotic break and is dismissed from his Unit Chief position. Or maybe  him getting arrested, accused of crime and questioned makes the news and weakens his contacts. Either way, he would be no longer safe from not being profiled or simply judged by everyone. Imagine people viewing his stoic persona as his weakness, finally seeing it as a cover-up for a broken person he’s become...

All the way to his last episode I had that final shot from S10E21 (’’Mr. Scratch’’) stuck in my head. That close up. Gibson is a great actor, we didn’t need to get this close to Hotch to know there was fear in his eyes. That close up tells us: there will be insight to his character. And Hotch already knows in this very scene: he is going to be picked apart by people around him, and if he doesn’t let them in, he’s going to lose them. 

[agentxrossi]

I need a Hotch to play with so much.

Dave and Aaron’s relationship is so beautifully complex. Dave and Jason started the BAU, when Aaron got accepted to that awful bunker years later, I think he was a bit of a fan boy.

I say that because even in the pilot, you can see that moment ... he’s supposed to report on Gideon... something in him crumples.

Dave and Jason were legends. It was their blood and sweat, their alternatively ignoring or arguing against (watch Mindhunter) everything that the FBI threw at them to get the BAU going. They invented it.

And this is what Hotch got to join, worked to join, wanted to be a part of. Dave and Jason were his mentors.

And now he’s technically Dave’s boss. And we see from Dave’s episode one that Aaron has zero fear calling Dave out, because Aaron is good and he knows he’s good and by the rules he’s Dave’s boss, so he has to have that conversation.

We never see that again. We see some dances that involve it but they both know what they’re doing. Hotch is Dave’s boss, but Dave is Hotch’s mentor. It’s a uniquely bizarre relationship. ((See: Demonology)).

[jaspxr]

I love how basically in the first minutes of the pilot you can see how much Hotch changed the BAU, not only through the years, but while Gideon was on leave.

Hotch is sitting down with Morgan and Reid, going through all the possible theories, and Gideon is standing on his own, developing his own theories. You could argue that that's how he always was, but he at least tried to engage others to teach them something. Now, though, he just goes on his own, and proclaims they're ready to give the profile and Hotch is visibly annoyed. They all are. Because in the time Gideon was gone, they changed the way they were profiling, and it was working for them! Gideon later adapts to that, but you see how much different it was before when Rossi comes along and absolutely doesn't want to play by the new rules. Hotch developed his own style, dynamic with the team and it was so successful that nobody wanted to leave or rock the boat years after. Because they were so good when they were working together and Hotch recognized it and tapped into that potential.

I personally also love the way he reorganized things, because he could have easily just stepped into the Unit Chief role and start treating his colleagues as a superior would, yet he recognises that that wouldn't go over well, and, despite his ambition, chooses to start treating his team like a team of peers, only jumping in and going over their heads when absolutely necessary. He does it SO MUCH better once Gideon is gone*, but he chooses to do it this way because he cares about his colleagues and loves his job. And I love that.

*that's a whole another story

[qvid-pro-qvo]

jack enters high school and decides to do theater

it’s a decision motivated by a) his need for an art credit, and b) vague mentionings from his dad and the briefest memories of his mom smiling about it

he ends up loving it. it’s an outlet for a lot of things in his life he keeps close to the chest, and the day before his first show, aaron tells him all over again how him and haley met, how the pirates of penzance will always mean a little more when he has a script scribbled with haley’s handwriting

and when aaron goes to see him on stage, he cries. because there, with the lights shining on him, he looks like the spitting image of his mom, and he’s never felt prouder to be the father of jack hotchner, who in that moment has never felt closer to his mother

[blackbird-brewster]

CM Fanfiction on AO3

I'm a bit of a stats nerd, and I've been wanting to put this together for ages. The following are some statistics regarding Criminal Minds fanfiction of AO3. Do with this what you will, but if ever someone tries to tell me this fandom isn't misogynistic -- I will just point to this post.

I spent an abhorrent amount of time putting this together, hope it's interesting to other people. Please don't send me hate mail for my opinions.

Base Statistics

Total Fics Tagged Criminal Minds: 34,561

These stats were compiled by me on 20/06/23 via AO3's filtering system.

Note: These were taken at face value, meaning these numbers may not be exact. In order to get exact statistics, I'd have to stringently filter out things like mislabelled fics, spam, fics with multiple categories (to find pure slash, femslash fics), etc.

Tumblr will destroy the resolution of the graphs, just click to see full res :)

Fanfic statistics gathered from AO3, episode totals gathered from IMDB.

CM Fanfiction by Category

Most Popular Category: F/M (26.2%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic: 34,561

These totals weren't all that surprising, in a fandom that is largely obsessed with two men and no one else, I sort of expected this.

The only reason F/M has the largest amount of fics (vs M/M) is because 37% of all F/M fics are "Spencer/Reader". (More about pairings below)

If 'x reader' fics were excluded from the data, then the distribution would skew to: 34% M/M vs 24% F/M

Sorry, I just saw the 'other' category is the same colour as F/M on the graph. Other accounts for 2.3% of all fic categories

CM Fanfiction by Rating

Most Popular Rating: Teen and Up (30.3%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic: 34,561

I think it's interesting that the most popular ratings are Teen and General -- even though a huge portion of readers only read Mature/Explicit. There are absolutely incredible works that are rated Teen and General, and it's just a shame people don't read them as much as smut. That's probably the same in most fandoms though.

Top Relationships for Each Rating: General Audience: Spencer/Reader Teen and Up: Morgan/Reid Mature: Hotch/Reid Explicit: Hotch/Reid Not Rated: Spencer/Reader

It's no secret that this fandom worships Hotch and Reid above all other characters, but I think there's something to be said that a M/M ship dominates the Mature and Explicit ratings. Slash fic (M/M) has always been more popular than femslash (F/F) in pretty much any fandom, and the history of fetishization of mlm relationships in fanfiction (the fetishisation usually being written by cishet women, not talking about queer people writing queer fic) is always worth discussing.

CM Fanfiction - Top 10 Characters

Most Popular Character: Spencer Reid (19.9%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic:*indeterminate due to crossover (multiple characters per each fic)

No surprises here with the top three being the men who make up some of the most popular ships.

Notice how Jack Hotchner, a CHILD who was in 22 eps out of 300+ -- is featured in MORE fics than main characters (who were in multiple season) like: Luke, Matt, Tara.

CM Fanfiction - Top 10 (BAU) Characters

Most Popular Character: Spencer Reid (20.5%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic: *indeterminate due to crossover (multiple characters per each fic)

This one is filtered by BAU members only. Sorry, 'reader', this is about main characters only.

Notice how Gideon (45 total episodes, 2015 fics) and Elle (27 total episodes, 1371 fics) made the top 10 list even though characters who were on the show for YEARS missed out.

Main Characters not in the Top 10: (* denotes section chiefs. Bold denotes characters who appeared in more episodes than Gideon) *Erin Strauss (24 total episodes, 1361 fics) Alex Blake (48 episodes, 1190 fics) Tara Lewis (97 episodes, 1108 fics) Matt Simmons (49 episodes, 642 fics) Ashley Seaver (13 episodes, 279 fics) Kate Callihan (23 episodes, 247 fics) Jordan Todd (8 episodes, 130 fics) *Mateo Cruz (6 epsiodes, 88 fics) Stephan Walker (15 episodes, 66 fics)

All three men who didn't make the Top 10 are men of colour. Which is worth pointing out because the main reason Derek and Luke both made Top 10 is because they are popularly shipped with Reid. Outside of Morgan/Reid and Reid/Alvez -- I doubt they would have been tagged as much as they are.

Also worth nothing that Tara Lewis who appeared in 97 episodes, which makes her the EIGHTH highest billed character (above Luke, Gideon and Elle) -- doesn't even make the Top 10 most written about characters. She also happens to be the ONLY Woman of Colour on this list. Coincidence? Doubtful. She's also the ONLY canonically QUEER character -- and yet....even in the F/F tag she doesn't make top 5 (more about ships below)

CM Fanfiction - Top 10 Relationships

Most Popular Pairing: Reid/Reader (24.5%)

Most Popular Character Ship: Hotch/Reid (18%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic: 20,873 out of 34,561 (*includes fics with multiple pairings tagged)

This was WILD to me. I knew that 'Spencer x Reader' fics (I grouped ones tagged 'reader' and ones tagged 'you' together for this graph) were popular but I wasn't prepared for how skewed this data was. I don't have much to say about it anything involving Reid tbrh

Only three out of ten top relationships DO NOT involve Spencer Reid.

For people who don't know: using a slash ( / ) to denote a pairing means the pairing is romantic, using the ampersand (&) to denote a pairing generally indicates a non-romantic relationship.

Notice the ONLY F/F pairing that made Top 10 was JJ/Emily (with only 10%)

CM Fanfiction - Top 5 M/F Relationships

Most Popular Relationship: Spencer/Reader (52%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic: 9741 (72% of the total F/M fics on AO3)

Look, I don't know what to say about this. It speaks for itself. This show had an incredible ensemble cast who were all integral to the show's success -- yet, the only character anyone cares about in the fandom is the generic white dudes. Misogyny at it's best.

CM Fanfiction - Top 5 M/M Relationships

Most Popular Relationship: Hotch/Reid (45%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic: 7870 (75% of the total M/M fics on AO3)

Again, no comment about the most popular ships

I was, however, surprised that Hotch/Rossi made Top 5

CM Fanfiction - Top 5 F/F Relationships

Most Popular Relationship: JJ/Emily (71%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic: 2927 (65% of the total F/F fics on AO3)

For people who don't know: using a slash ( / ) to denote a pairing means the pairing is romantic, using the ampersand (&) to denote a pairing generally indicates a non-romantic relationship.

It's not surprising that JJ/Emily dominate the femslash category. They have always been the main femslash pair in this fandom. However, they only make up 49% of all F/F pairings!

I was surprised to see that 'x reader' fics took 2 out of 5 slots on this one. And I was especially surprised that Emily/Penelope made top 5. (I mean it's only 148 fics, but there they are)

Again, note how Tara Lewis (a canonically sapphic character) isn't a part of ANY of the top 5 pairings, even though she was in 98 episodes. That's a travesty imo. Tara/Emily trails at about the 7th most popular F/F ship with a mere 115 fics

In Conclusion...

Most of this was to be expected. This fandom has always praised the male characters while pushing the women aside, so the amount of works focusing on Reid and Hotch wasn't that surprising.

I think it's interesting how people tend to throw Jemily shippers under the bus (broad statement made via my 18 years in this fandom), because Femslash is by far the smallest portion of the shippers in the entire fandom. People just hate women

Do with this information what you will. This was mostly compiled because I've always been curious, and also I think it serves as an important archival tool for the fandom.

Please don't send me hate mail for my opinions.

Word Count & Additional Tags Information Below Cut

CM Fanfiction by Word Count

About 52% of all CM fics (34,561) are under 5,000 words

This was a really fun one to do, and was mostly included because I was curious. I think it'd be worth getting even more specific by trying to work out the average word count for all fics under 5,000 words.

Hey, if you're a marathon author with long works -- look at YOU!! You're a very small percentage in this fandom, and as someone who prefers long-form fic -- I am personally thanking you for your dedication.

CM Fanfiction - Top 10 Addition Tags

Most Popular Tag: Fluff (21.7%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic: *indeterminate due to crossover (multiple tags per each fic)

I honestly expected angst/whump/hurt/comfort to be first on this. I guess if you add up all the variations of those type of fics, they'd be top tag.

Obviously this one isn't ever going to be perfect, because tons of people either don't tag their fics, or they don't use the prescribed tags above. Still, I thought this was worth adding to the post.

For more stats please see my, [Tara Lewis Fic Stats Post]

[eldrai]

Exit Wounds was a great episode (Penelope going out to make sure the victim wasn't alone! The moment between her and Derek afterwards and then right at the end as well! Hotch not in a suit for once!) but there was one thing in particular which stood out to me as wasting potential.

Right from the moment they realise they're looking for a teenage boy, we can start to see similarities. A child in an abusive household, feeling left behind by his brother figure?

If we go off the birth dates stated on the wiki, Hotch is born in 1971 and Sean in 81. If we assume Hotch went to college as soon as he could, Sean would only be 8. Old enough to understand why he was leaving (and I'd like to point out that Josh left for college-related reasons too) but as any younger sibling might, he could feel abandoned.

Hotch mentions his father dying when he was in high school (you know, when he wasn't having a heart attack later in life whoops retcon), so let's say he was 17 or 18. Sean has just lost his father and very soon after, his brother.

And then there's the father. Though we have less concrete evidence from Hotch (and some of us grow up to catch them, from season 1) Owen's father is assumed to be and treated as abusive. And we get Hotch immediately becoming very angry at the father and reassuring the mother. Yes, he needs the information about Owen's hiding spots so it makes sense to get the husband to shut up but the shouting is not usually his first reaction to most people—it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine he's familiar with that situation, just not as any of the adults. Hotch says that it's hardly the first time the wife has had to wash blood out of their clothes which, whilst being an assumption anyone could feasibly make, seems to be an unnecessarily sharp one. More of a jab at the father than the mother.

So we have Hotch, and we have the unsub whose background he could at least partially identify with, and we have a place that only Hotch and Owen would know where Owen was: the boat.

And when they showed Hotch on the boat there, I thought we were going to get a conversation between just them. I thought we might get a little more insight, if only subtext, into Hotch's backstory or even just one of those times a team member worries about understanding the unsub too deeply. Given the other parallels in the episode, it seemed like it was building to some allusion to it.

And then there was pretty much everyone there, Owen gets shot, and... done. Owen's case is wrapped up and to me, at least, it felt underwhelming.

There was so much potential for a look at Hotch there. Growing up in a similar household (the only real difference being he and Sean are blood related) has obviously had an impact on him, but we only ever get throwaway references to it. And with Owen being the younger brother, the one left behind, and Hotch the eldest child who left—what is he thinking? Can he see parts of Sean in him? Does that bring up guilt over having to leave? Might that have an effect on how he interacts with his family?

We don't know, because the case is over and we're already on the next scene. Criminal Minds does its frustrating habit of thinking up something interesting and then... dropping it.

What are your thoughts about it? And what do you think of the possible parallels, could they just be coincidence? I found it all really interesting. I love the episode and it isn't bad by any means, but I feel like they could have done more.