Criminal Minds 12x15 "Alpha Male" Review

SPOILERS

I wonder if this is how the rest of the season is going to go: the team is off finding an unsub and meanwhile Reid’s doing his thing in prison. I’m okay with that because I never like those episodes when characters just disappear for weeks on end, but also I feel like because we need to keep Reid's story going, the other stories, the ones with the unsubs, are a little less developed and more surface level motivation. What I did appreciate with this episode was how the title and the two stories were linked thematically.

“Alpha Male” shows Reid as he transitions to life in prison and the team looking for an unsub who is throwing acid at attractive young people. The seemingly random targets turned out to be substitutes for people the unsub is angry with for their sexual success. The team narrows down who it could be and reads through a manifesto that explains where his next attack will be (all I was thinking was how fast Reid could have read through those 120 pages). Reid is approached by the “white guy gang” in the prison (note that he was purposely moved for some reason from protective custody to general population) and when he refuses to join them he is nearly attacked. He is rescued by a fellow ex-FBI fed, named Calvin Shaw, who is in prison for killing his informant. It seems that Reid has found a friend, someone who sort of knows what he is going through, who likes to read and play chess. So at least it won’t be so bad for him in the end.

Reid's new friend, Calvin Shaw.

When the team first suggested there could be multiple unsubs or it could be a woman, I was hoping for that angle. It was like they wanted to make the story more interesting, but instead went with a white, glasses wearing, socially awkward, twenty-something male, with a case of narcissism and meninism, the same unsub in probably 85% of the cases. That’s part of the reason I am rating this episode a little lower than usual. I’m not sure how I could have improved this storyline, but I felt like there were ways to play it out differently.

Thematically, the episode was pretty consistent. The title is “Alpha Male”. This idea is found in Reid’s story through the whole idea of there being a hierarchy in prison, gangs and leaders and tribute and submission. It is clear Calvin Shaw is an Alpha, deserving of respect, and Reid is lower than a Beta. The rest of the episode is heavy with this idea; the men featured on the “man-o-sphere” website were called “Alpha Males” and male superiority was praised, being tough and manly and overpowering women. It’s a topical theme, but again, I feel like it could have played out differently.

I’m looking forward to seeing what is going to happen to Reid next. At least he’s in a better situation than the last episode.

7/10