Criminal Minds 12x16 "Assistance is Futile" Review

SPOILERS

“Assistance is Futile” was an okay episode, continuing the storyline with Reid in the prison - I'm guessing every episode will have a small cameo - as well as showing the team having to track down an unsub with the help of his mother who suspects he is the person behind the kidnappings and injuries.

The opening scene with Reid and JJ was so sweet. I'm glad they showed him interacting with his friends instead of just letting it occur behind the scenes between episodes. I also didn't realize his mother didn't know where he was, but it makes sense that they would not tell her. The whole scene while they were eating was a little unclear as to what went on. It was carried over from the previous episode, talking about the hierarchies and the like in prisons. Whatever Reid said or did, it led to him getting jumped at the end of the episode. I guess this will continue next week.

JJ visits Reid in prison.

The unsub was definitely creepy but I'm glad they brought in the story with his mother. Usually they have to rely on research in order to track down who the person is and where they are probably hiding, but with this one, some of this research was already done. I liked the way they integrated the mother into the story, the way they slowly kept peeling back the layers into the past, finding things wrong with her son in the past and how it lends itself to informing the present, until they figure out where he is and what he is going to do. The selfie with him in the background was the creepiest part of the episode for me.

There was a part of me that was expecting it to not even be her son that was the unsub, and then they have to go find two guys. It would have been interesting and might have created a two-parter, not that Criminal Minds does two-parters very often. I think the title is referring to the fact that even though the mother helped them find him, and before the episode wanted to help him by giving him ecstasy, he ended up backed into a corner and taking his own life (also, did anyone else think of Star Trek?).

I enjoyed the scene with JJ and Rossi at the end. Any scenes that contribute to the fact that this team is such a family are always heartwarming. And what a cliffhanger! Obviously Reid is not going to die (he might get hurt but he won't die). But we still have to wait for a week for the resolution.

7/10