Not as bad as has been said on the 'Criminal Minds' message boards (where almost everything about it is almost universally loathed), but the disappointment is understandable and it is a feeling that this reviewer also shares.
Season 11 in general has been one of 'Criminal Minds' weaker seasons, and not only is "Derek" one of the weakest episodes from that season but it is also very much a lesser episode of the whole show. There are good points but also a number of large flaws.
"Derek" looks great, very stylish and there is a stark, dark and eerie atmosphere in the visuals that one really wishes was matched in the writing and storytelling. The music is haunting and hypnotic as ever, while Thomas Gibson does an impressive job directing, this is nowhere near one of his best episodes overall but it is one of the more strikingly directed ones.
Generally, "Derek" is acted well. The team who thankfully while still underused are not given as much as a back-seat or as dumbed down or out of character as they were in "200", to me and many others one of the low-points of 'Criminal Minds'. The regular team do dependably great, while the child actors Tyree Brown and Amarr Wooten in the hallucinatory sequences almost steal the show under the adults, Brown in particular is wonderful.
As for Shemar Moore, he and the character of Derek Morgan have gotten a lot of hate as of late, some of it understandable and some of it over-the-top and bordering on unnecessarily rude. Morgan admittedly is not one of the most interesting characters in the show, though there have been noble attempts in the past and in the past two seasons to develop him, but Moore does bring a good deal of intensity to the tough guy aspects of the character. Here Morgan is more vulnerable, and while there are some forced and trying-too-hard moments Moore does nobly bringing a different side to Morgan and actually looks as if he's suffering.
There are two exceptions to the acting though. Savannah is not yet a character this reviewer has entirely warmed to, being a character that not much is learnt about and while not as annoying or as cold as Elle, as dull (so far) as Aisha or as out of place as Kate (examples of female characters who have not worked), but so far she is too much of the clichéd obligatory love interest with not much to her development-wise and personality, and Rochelle Aytes' acting doesn't make me feel any different. Danny Glover was an interesting casting choice as Morgan's father and could have worked, but seems rather bored and uninterested and plays his role too expressionlessly, going-through-the-motions-like and deadpan, it may have been the intent but to me it seemed more like bad acting.
While not as bad as "200" in this regard, seeing as there seemed to be a little more investigation and more of the team, it didn't feel like 'Criminal Minds'. Basically a standard kidnapping story, with little tension, urgency or momentum, seemed both over-the-top and dumbed down, had too many unresolved questions (especially never making it clear why Morgan was targeted and who wanted to get at him so badly, it is resolved two episodes later but even then it felt too late and felt it should have been explained in this episode) which made the story convoluted, implausible and incomplete, seemed almost too graphic and gratuitously violent for 'Criminal Minds' and the hallucinatory sequences varied in effectiveness, sometimes powerful, sometimes dull and more like padding (though never quite as over-the-top or ridiculous as those in "Route 66" for example).
The writing lacks the usual tightness, tautness in tension, darkness and suspense, while the pace badly plods in place and the ending is somewhat too soap-opera-ish.
Overall, a disappointing but not that awful episode that could have been much better, and doesn't do much for Morgan's character. 5/10 Bethany Cox
12 out of 42 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
