#cm 12x13

[wikiangela]

wait that's the end of the episode?? I can't watch the next one rn I'm busy 😭 (but maybe just one more 😶)

"Spencer" was such a good episode, and Spencer is just always going through it, can this man ever catch a break 😭 I can't wait till it's all resolved and omg, as heartbreaking as it is, I'm loving this storyline fr

[hvnnibalecter]

here we go prison!reid arc.

[bondwithme-murderstyle]

cm 12x13 just ruins me my sweet baby so high 🥲

[lilliesthings]

Ask game! For the blorbo (Spencer Reid) and 22 (Ik you already answered this, I just want to see more HCs 👀👀) 19, 18, 12 and 13 :3

Oh hello there ❤️

12. What's the funniest or craziest AU idea you've ever come up with?

I have posted this somewhere down there before and it's an idea based on the famous "the neighbor's cat got my cat pregnant and I woke up to this" but it's Morgan and Luke as neighbors and Clooney getting Roxy pregnant so Luke wakes up to Derek putting a child support basket at his door.

13. What's a character or ship you haven't written/drawn yet but would like to some day?

Characters : Either Jason Gideon or Rebecca Wilson.

Ship : Reid and Stephen Gideon lmao

18. Type Reid's name and tell us what the autocomplete suggests as the next word

Reid visibly tenses.

(I sure hope he does!)

19. What's your favourite thing about CM (the people in it, not the media you're all enjoying together)?

Granted, I'm mostly lurking on ao3 these days which is not a social media. But I really admire everyone's creativity and what they can come up with! which inspires me everyday and I'm so grateful to everyone who reached out to me and for all the kind words I've been receiving in this fandom while being passionate about our blorbos. I don't really know how to reach out other than leaving a comment on a fic/drawing art for a fic or leaving tags in a post but I hope to do more of that!

22. Give us a headcanon for Reid

For the episode 12x13 "Spencer". You know how he's wearing this outfit that's very un-Spencer-y ("none of this sounds like him. He was wearing jeans?") ? My hc is that he stole an outfit from Luke's Go Bag. Hear me out : jeans, boots, flannel are a very S12 Luke outfit.

[starry-bite]

the way emily's morality is the central thing that makes her feel okay about the work she does and the world she lives in and having her north star (no pun intended) disrupted in this way this season is so singularly destabilizing and devastating to her.

she feels very chaotic lawful to me. y'know, that meme alignment that's like "i have a strict moral code but no one can figure out wtf it is". like, obviously we have a sense of the strict moral code she's created for herself, but looking at it from the outside, considering emily's actions over the years, it appears that she's done TONS of morally grey stuff, everything from lying to put civilians at ease (ex: 4x24) to using excessive force with unsubs/witnesses who push her buttons (ex: 3x05, 5x10) to deleting evidence that would incriminate reid (ex: 12x13, etc). but she can justify all of that under the heading of 'the greater good'.

'the greater good' is so emily's white whale to me.

her deathgrip on morality also feels so connected to the codes she'd have to keep in order to mentally endure the kind of long-term undercover work she did with jtf-12. obviously applies to the doyle situation, the internal rules she'd have to follow, the safety rails she'd have to create, in order to protect herself from the chaos and corruption surrounding her every day, particularly when she was in such intimate contact with all that mess. how do you justify giving crazy ballistics to terrorists knowing they'll be used to inflict maximum harm? you tap into that sense of 'the greater good' and bide your time to win not just this battle, but the war. and in that kind of practical and moral isolation, the only steadying force you can rely on must be internal, must be the self. keeping in mind also that doyle was jtf-12's last mission, and that team had been working together on similar assignments for at least a few years. that's enough time to craft a very particular paradigm that allows you to survive those situations with your sense of self still somewhat intact while always questioning 'was it worth it?' 'do i still know where the line is?' 'am i still good?' as emily does constantly throughout both cm classic and evolution.

besides her work, a strict and self-contained moral code is so correct for emily personally. not to always be on the 'you can take the girl out of the catholic church' soapbox but like. you can take the girl out of the catholic church. i could honestly write a whole other essay on emily essentially replacing faith with duty, on treating her work as a mission of faith (there's that greater good again), on the facets of emily "angel of justice" prentiss. shan't go ham with that now but i will say, take a girl betrayed by her strictly moral and structured faith, a girl who never felt at home in a family life that was similarly governed by social standing and artifice, and i give you rebellious, goth, contrarian, 'you can't tell me i'm bad, only i can tell me i'm bad' prentiss who strains against all those external impositions of morality while creating her own set of rules she imposes so heavily upon herself complete with self-judgement and self-punishment the catholic church wishes it could pull off.

anyways.

this scene--this whole season tbh--exploring emily's moral erosion and the way it unravels her like nothing else feels so in step with all her philosophical and moral questioning in the early seasons of cm. in those years, she's always the one asking 'how different are we?' 'could any of us become monsters?' etc, likely prompted by all the horrors she's witnessed at close range (and participated in to some extent), all under the moral shield of furthering 'the greater good'.

i love that we're getting to see her wrestle with that really openly again, and it makes me wonder if this moral rock bottom could prompt her to question the entire system. her conversation with jade in 17x10 about buying all the bullshit feels like it could be a fascinating opening gambit of emily pushing back on the soul-crushing, morality-blurring politics of her role as section chief and of the fbi itself in the coming seasons. she's always been a pain in bureaucracy's ass, and i think it would be fun to see how hard she can go in that direction. we see a glimmer of it in her conversation with director madison and the way she does something a little morally questionable (borderline blackmailing her Boss) in order to handle an awful situation with empathy and humanity (letting jade see mila and reuniting pete with his parents). it's so quintessentially emily and reads to me like the beginning of a real return to herself, a stabilization of her own moral core rather than the one imposed by the bureau or any other external forces. and i wonder if this reaffirmation of self could be the beginning of recovering that familiar, long-lost drive she saw in bailey and the beginning of forgiving herself.

Criminal Minds Evolution 17x05 - Conspiracy vs Theory

"Ever since I was arrested, I have sold out every value I've held dear. And when you do that, it gets harder and harder to tell the difference between a 'conspiracy' and a conspiracy theory."

[ropoto]

PENELOPE GARCIA & SPENCER REID HUGGING

[sapphicprentiss]

Jennifer Jareau in 12x13 Spencer

taglist: @bitchhans @lovelyy-moonlight @proselys @jareausjj @eveljerome @blownawcy @mmmmmkay77 @paulitalblond @catgirlspence @hotch-girl @falling-forever-in-a-hole @kalexdanversfan @anlin2058 @charleyspiderman

[dungeons-are-too-cold]

Season 12 Episode 13: "Spencer"

Can I just say, Season 12 episode 13 "Spencer" makes me so incredibly upset and I wish I could go back and fix it personally.

Like okay, it's not like a bad episode. It's well written, the suspense is there, it's interesting no doubt.

However

This. Is. Not. Spencer.

Like, I'm honestly kind of pissed as to how this whole thing has started playing out. I recognize that there was a need to make sure Matthew could step away from the show and work on personal projects but the way that they handled so much of Reid's absences makes me just sick to my stomach honestly.

It might be the fact that I consumed the 12 years worth of content up to this point in a relatively short time span, (its been about a month of me watching the show, trying to finish it up to season 12 before it leaves Netflix) but I feel like I know these characters better than I know myself. I have carefully watched the last 12 seasons, I've seen them react to some scary shit and get through fucking awful things in their personal lives. Not a single thing about Spencer would lead him into something this legally precarious.

there is so much that I do understand, like his reliance and trust in experimental medicine (he is a man of science, *cough cough* three PhDs), and his extreme desire to logically fix things and have an answer for everything because that's how he functions and has always functioned. That part about his situation I get, especially when it comes to taking care of his mom, something he has been doing since his dad left. He is fiercely protective of the people that he loves.

However, Dr. Spencer Reid is not an idiot. He would have done his research about what was in those vials. He would have made sure that nothing in the medicine was illegal stateside. He would have known better.

Spencer has made it his business to know everything about everything. It's not even necessarily intentional all of the time, due to the whole memory thing, but knowing everything gives him a sense of control. I know this because I am the exact same way. The security comes from not being able to be surprised, because surprises are always bad, especially in his line of work (and especially considering how this turned out). Consider season 11 episode 11, "Entropy", when Spencer first meets Cat Adams. The whole plot of that episode is based around the fact that Cat prepared for every possible scenario, but Spencer prepared beyond that. He thought of every single detail, he knew for a fact that he could take her down no matter what happened, and he was even able to do so when the plans changed and they had to save all of the people from the bomb on the city gas line. People's lives were on the line, Spencer prepared, and Spencer won.

I can hear the arguments now against this point. "Well Spencer had his team with him then, and he didn't in Mexico," and "Well when his mother is involved, he's to close to think that logically about it," but to those I say politely shut the fuck up. To me, these are both faulty arguments and let me tell you why.

First let's tackle the team argument. Yes his team was there day-of to help take Cat down, but Spencer had to do a lot of preparation before they even sent him into that room with her. As you may recall, the entire plan itself was Spencer's idea. He suggested going undercover. he knew that if cover was blown, she would be more likely to negotiate with a peer. He led the entire conversation with very minimal input from his team who were in his ears the whole time. Spencer masterfully negotiated through that situation because he planned. He considered every possible scenario that could have happened, he made predictions, and he prepared accordingly. That is the work of a genius, which he is, not just in abstract intellect but in social prowess and essentially psychological warfare. This is a man who thinks things through.

Through the entirety of the drug acquisition process over the last few months, Reid was not thinking things through. It's very clear to any viewer that Spencer was clouded and reckless which is entirely unlike himself. Even in the most desperate and delicate of situations, he has never hesitated or failed to read every case file, scour every possible corner of a case, and recognize something that no one else could see because of it. Reid would not have just accepted that the medicine was fine. He would have at least wanted to know the fucking ingredients, examine the validity of this drug he would be giving his mother. Even in his most desperate state to help his mom, he wouldn't have been this stupid about it. He couldn't afford to be that stupid about it, because it was his own mother after all.

Which brings me to the next argument, that he wasn't thinking straight because it had to do with his sick mother. I call bullshit on that too because who in their right mind would give their mother experimental medicine if they had no idea what was in it, especially Dr. Spencer "I am going to attempt to play every single possible combination of chess moves ever" Reid. He is nothing if not thorough. Under no circumstance could anyone every convince me that Reid would not have inquired about the ingredients before he was in a fucking jail cell drugged out of his mind in Mexico and only at the prompt of drug testing by Mexican police.

Granted, I am on the first episode of this arc, so maybe they handle some of this. Only time will tell. However, I do not believe that they will be able to convince me that this is normal or expected behavior from Spencer. There is no way to explain this happening other than meta writing reasons of Matthew needing to be able to step away, which feels really irresponsible story wise. There are so many better ways to have handled the absences and this is truly my least favorite of the infinite possibilities of excuses they could have used.

I will probably reblog this and build my opinion as I watch more, but let me tell y'all I am upsettti spaghetti about this and it makes my stomach hurt.

[damnhotmsimmons]

So this got very long

looking back apparently there hasn't been any actual or specific mention on any repercussions regarding Matt going off on his own and confronting the horsemen. In fact, the only time the events of said episode is ever brought up in s13-15 was in 14x03, and it was about Kristy attending therapy sessions regarding her ptsd and the effects it has on the kids, especially David, but no mention of what happened to Matt after 13x19.

13x19 ended with Matt comforting Kristy, and we never see him interact with the team at the end of the episode. We know that Matt kept in touch with the team and gave them updates regarding Kristy's well-being. But nothing else beyond that. CM has a track record of ignoring trauma and only bringing them up for one episode when it's necessary and benefits them and having the main characters do questionable things and getting a slap on the wrist or less severe consequences. Sadly we can only imply certain things happening offscreen. And unlike Luke in 14x06, Emily was most likely sympathetic to Matt's situation and knows that Kristy needs him more and whatever the two need to discuss will happen at another time.

Since Matt was relatively new at the time. (s13 was his first season as a main cast member), it wouldn't put past Emily to give Matt a warning and to not do this again, which can only explain why he wasn't suspended or demoted

Kinda wished they touched up on this and Matt's career being on the line as a result of saving his wife would've been an interesting storyline but sadly, the writers never gave the newer characters post Rossi a chance, which includes Matt. We can only mourned the lost potential

A lot of Matt's actions in this episode can chalk up to sympathy points, him saving his wife and emotional duress, so while his actions were reckless, his reasons where semi justified, not to disimilar to (*cough*evolution!Garcia*cough*). There's also the fact that if you rewatch 13x19 and the chokehold scene, by the time hrt agents came in, Matt already let go of Josh, so it's unclear if anyone else saw what happened besides Kristy. There's also the possibility that Kristy vouched for Matt should Matt's actions be ever brought up to Emily or anyone, especially if self defense. Not to mention that even though Matt took it too far with the chokehold, Matt was also able to prevent Josh Martin from destroying the whole floor from being blown up, saving everyone else in the building, so it's likely Matt would have brought up that Martin had a detonator and he did what he can to prevent Martin from using it

I'm a Matt fan, though I wished this part was touched up upon more, along with the other instances whenever the character goes through some sort of trauma and or deals with the repercussions of their actions. I think realistically, he most likely would've been off the field for some time and have mandatory therapy sessions, which is something Matt would accept as killing Josh Martin could lead to more severe consequences moreso compared to what Luke got, and he ends up being suspended or even arrested and disgraced

A part of me expects more from Emily, seeing as she just got her job as Unit Chief back after the Barnes ordeal and 13x19 is one of the first cases since her reinstatement as Unit Chief, so she can't afford to make anymore passes and excuses like with the audit being deleted in 12x13. So it's jarring that it wasn't till 14x06 where she decided that she can't make anymore excuses and be lenient. Then again, in Matt's case, a loved one was in danger and god forbid Kristy ends up like Haley or Maeve or Will

Likewise, this seems like another case of questionable writing decisions

idk if this helps explains what you're looking for

@the-invisible-queer, @catvampire, @marvelfanlife, I know you're among the very few cm blogs who post a lot of cm content relating to Matt and I am curious about your personal takes on this topic, even if they're different from mine

Was there a voiced/ cannon explicit consequence to Matt going in guns ablaze during the Kristy bank heist ep?

@damnhotmsimmons @tenaciousarcadeexpert

[mxyficlds]

jennifer jareau in 12x13 “spencer”

[wikiangela]

omg Simmons is here!!! 😍😍🥵🥵

I need to get to beyond borders fr haha

[delicatejareau]

jennifer jareau 12x13 icons

please like/rb if using + credit @starrylang or @delicate jareau on tumblr

[marvelfanlife]

Also if we take into consideration that s2 of cmbb takes place at the same time as s12 of cm this means that he and Emily had to have known each other before the events of 12x13 and cmbb 2x10 which Emily made a guest appearance in. This means Emily knew and trust Matt well enough to have him be involved as a fail safe in the Scratch investigation so it’s very possible they knew each other well before Emily left the BAU at the end of s7.

Thinking about how it’s canon that Matt Simmons has met Kate Callahan and Stephen Walker, except they never had any interactions onscreen. In Beyond Borders (10x19), Matt was in Barbados with the IRT and some of the members of the BAU while Kate stayed behind and in Spencer (12x13), he and Clara were in Mexico helping Emily, Rossi and Luke get Reid out of prison while Stephen and the rest of the team stayed in Quantico

[captainchilly]

None of this sounds like him.

[reidsaurora]

forgot to tell everyone one but!!!

I just finished 12x13 👀

spoilers below the cut btw

i can't decide whether i hate this arc or Diana's Alzheimer's arc more 😭

like??? is this for character development or??? what purpose do these arcs have??? i do not understand <3

anyway yeah, i'm watching the next episode now and i am so happy to have my old Spence back. seeing him dr*gged like that was so upsetting, i'm glad he's back to his quiet, shy self again :)

[sassycassi]

underrated criminal minds friendships- (3/?)

》spencer reid & matt simmons《