#ncis season 15

[sasha-whos-askin-racket]

THEY LET REEVES SAY WANKER ON NCIS??? WHAT RATING IS THIS SHOW.

[liar-or-lawyer]

[lyricalnerd]

Good morning I'm still thinking about NCIS

That was a really good episode

I might rewatch it today

But yeah, here we go again lmao

[blogger360ncislarules]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: NCIS: Los Angeles Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Characters: Hetty Lange, Shay Mosely Additional Tags: Fictober 2023, season 10, Post 10x01, Angst, Arguing, Badass Hetty Summary:

A post Season 10 premiere scene between Hetty and Mosely that I wish we had gotten to see.

@fictober-event

[kingdomrosey]

I want a friendship where my best friend will make an entire plan just so I can get revenge on the man who murdered my wife

[thebeast-dennis-etcetera]

Masterlist (Ongoing)

NCIS -Leroy Jethro Gibbs

There For You: You’re held captive for days before being rescued. Gibbs is left to help you through it.

Caught: You’re Gibbs’ wife and an NCIS agent and see your underage son at a bar while out on a sting operation.

Dream Fever: You have a dirty dream about Gibbs and try to play it cool.

Tipsy and Turned On Part 1 , Part 2: You attend an NCIS Ceremony and get a little too tipsy around your boss.

Gibbs Knows Best: Gibbs is over for a dinner date when your daughter gets into a car accident.

So Many Questions Part 1, Part 2, Part 3: You’re pulled in for questioning by NCIS and are quickly surprised to see your ex-boyfriend as your interrogator.

Back in Your Arms: Anon Request, Gibbs coming home from being kidnapped in Season 15

Man, Myth, Legend: Anon Request, Based on Heartland Season 6, you travel with Tony and Gibbs to his hometown.

Coming to the Rescue: Yours and Gibbs’ daughter calls you from a party asking to be picked up.

An Unlikely Pair: Anon Request, You bring home a kitten that doesn’t quite like Gibbs. When you return from vacation, the cat becomes Gibbs’ shadow and best friend.

Sick in Love: Gibbs comes home early from a case that takes him overseas when he hears his baby boy is sick.

Dance with Me: You ask Gibbs to be your date to a friend’s wedding.

Safe and Sound: Anon Request, You have a toddler with Gibbs and he is hurt on a case and your toddler is happy to see him home.

Let Me Help: Taking care of a sick Gibbs.

Girls Night: Anon Request, You host girls night and Gibbs comes home earlier than expected.

The Odds: Anon Request, You’re Gibbs’ girlfriend but the team has yet to meet you. You’re waiting for Gibbs in a coffee shop when DiNozzi flirts with you.

The One: Hours away from your wedding, you visit Gibbs, needing to ask him a question that’s been on your mind for years.

Little Things: Anon Request, You’re doing your nails when Gibbs comes up from the basement and is surprised to see you awake.

Moments Like These: Anon Request, You visit Jackson with baby and Gibbs.

Love at First Sight: Anon Request, Gibbs brings baby toddler to meet your newborn baby in hospital.

Death of Me: Anon Request, Gibbs is being treated in a hospital and is very high and whenever you try to show affection, he tells you off because he’s in a relationship.

Eye Opener: After a nasty argument between your son and Gibbs, he runs away.

Remember Me: Anon Requests, Following Season 3 Finale, Gibbs loses his memory of you and your pregnancy.

Training Part 1 | Part 2 Part 3 Enemies to Lovers type. You and Gibbs never got along, and luckily you never really had to work with each other…until now.

Karma: You go undercover with DiNozzo as his wife, and Gibbs, your boyfriend has no choice but to watch from the sidelines.

Baby Thoughts: You never really thought about having children with your boyfriend, until a situation brings it up.

Calls Abroad: Anon Request, Gibbs is away on a mission and he wants to talk with the kids on a video call.

Always There: Gibbs has a panic attack, hearing old military footage.

Protective Custody: Anon Request, There’s a threat on your life and Gibbs has his agents come to pick you up while teaching a soccer lesson.

Alibi: Anon Request, The team questions you about your whereabouts on the night of a murder, not knowing you were with their boss.

Honey-Do: Anon Request, Timeline based on S18, you accidentally end up finishing all the tasks on Gibbs’ to-do list.

Afraid: You’ve reached your breaking point and end it with Gibbs.

A Visit: Anon Request, Gibbs comes home to find you in the middle of a workout.

Criminal Minds -Aaron Hotchner

Drunk and Disoriented: You interrupt Aaron’s day to tell him that you might have…been arrested.

Exercise: Aaron wants to get up early for a morning meeting before work but you have other plans.

Interference: Part 1 Part 2 You run to your FBI neighbor when you and your boyfriend get into a fight.

Home Invasion: You’re at home by yourself when someone breaks in.

Family Friend: Jack Hotchner is arrested for underage drinking and the first person he calls to bail him out, is you.

Boo: You end up taking Jack and your daughter trick or treating while Aaron is stuck at work.

[found--family]

i dont want to hear any complaints about a shortage of content bc of the strikes when theres 15 seasons of Supernatural to consume thats 327 episodes at 45minutes each of Dean Jackles Winchester and 12 seasons of Gayngel Castiel in the longest running tv fantasy series and one of the most meta-rich shows ever created from 2005 to 2020 the likes of which we will never see again with Destiel awarded best onscreen chemistry before it was canon and most popular ship on ao3 with over 100k fics plus a prequel series and hopes for a reboot and while we're talking you can also check out their other recent projects including award-winning Roadfood and The Boys and Big Sky and Gotham Knights and you might even enjoy over 400 vintage episodes of young jackles on Days Of Our Lives circa 1997 to 2000 and various other guest and spot and main appearances for Jensen and Misha on shows like Dark Angel and Dawson's Creek and Smallville and NCIS and 24 and Charmed and ER and Monk and Timeless and the masterpieces that are TSA America and The Plight of Clownana and movies like My Bloody Valentine and Devour and Ten Inch Hero and Stonehenge Apocalypse and Finding Home and Moving Alan and of course voicework of animated Batman and podcast Bridgewater and if thats still not enough you have 17 years (and counting) of convention footage and countless other projects the rest of the spn cast have appeared in so dont worry there is no shortage of content

[entrop-y]

**click for better quality!**

BY THE NUMBERS: CRIMINAL MINDS

a brief analysis of ratings, complacency, and the future of the police procedural

THE TRENDS

looking at general trends across the seasons 1-15, airing in Criminal Minds initial 2005-2020 run, the trends in ratings*, while not drastic, do reflect a decline in quality as the seasons progressed.

In the earlier seasons, most episodes were generally well received, with 2-4 “stand out” episodes—typically multi part episodes or season finales—per season. Notably, the stand out episodes often strayed from the constraints of the procedural format that structures the majority of episodes of Criminal Minds.

As the seasons progress, the majority of episodes in a season are mediocre in the eyes of the audience, with a few episodes being received quite poorly (ratings below 7.0). This is especially obvious in seasons 10-14. When thinking about the future of Criminal Minds: Evolution, it’s important (and fun!) to think about what was successful and unsuccessful in the shows original run.

WHY THIS IS

After season 5, but unequivocally after season 7, there was a noticeable decline in the quality of the writing, directing, and cinematography of Criminal Minds. The episodes felt increasingly fantastical—with storylines like evil twins, prince charming, and reid’s prison arc—making it difficult for audiences to suspend their disbelief. The early seasons focused on the profiling aspect of Criminal Minds, setting apart from other network police procedurals at the time. Criminal Minds felt smart and engaging, playing on real life cases and giving the viewer an insight into the unsub’s mind and the science* of profiling. In its infancy, the show did not rely on the gratuitous violence or drawn out take down scenes of the later seasons to keep viewers attention. Instead, Criminal Minds assumes its viewer is smart, immersing them in the word of profiling and building suspense by revealing the unsub to the viewer as the BAU identifies them.

As the show lost the elements that set it apart from similarly successful procedurals like NCIS or Law and Order, the episodes felt stale and unoriginal. This departure from its earlier premises created a bit of an identity crisis in the type of show Criminal Minds was.

There was also a notable decline in the direction and cinematography of the show. While the early seasons were admittedly rife with continuity errors and now dated editing, it was creative and ultimately, showed a degree of care and forethought that became lost in the later seasons. The yellow-grey color grading and uninteresting shots make the show less enjoyable. They are the opposite of inventive. The creativity and trials of the early seasons somewhere diminished, being replaced with an over reliance on the procedural format, becoming very formulaic.

This is particularly evident in season 10, which has generally low ratings and unmemorable episode, aside from “Mr. Scratch” dir. Matthew Grey Gubler. “Mr. Scratch” was so wildly different from all of the episodes of season ten, with writing and direction reminiscent of a full length horror film, it performed significantly better than the other episodes in its season. It demonstrated that criminal minds could still balance a fantastical premise with a genuinely terrifying unsub. Like earlier seasons, it also did not spell out the entire story for the audience from the beginning, instead highlighting Hotch as an unreliable narrator who under the influence of Scratch’s deliriant cannot decipher what is real.

FAN SERVICE, FINALES, AND THE FUTURE

As ratings slipped in seasons 13-15, the writers tried everything to keep audience’s attention. This included bringing back old unsubs (Lucky Strikes, Date Night) and the fan service disaster that was “Truth or Dare”. “Truth or Dare” reflected Criminal Minds’ inability to even make the interpersonal relationships between team members feel natural and realistic. The team bonding scenes became more frequent, but they felt unnatural in comparison to similar scenes (for example the bar scene in “The Big Game”).

The finale was an unsatisfying yet long overdue end to the Everett Lynch storyline, with the teams actions being overshadowed by Reid’s umpteenth near death experience—a sequence that for the first time since like season 4, was terribly impacted by the lack of Mandy Patinkin—making the entire episode feel disjointed.

The bad finale left especially pre covid viewers of Criminal Minds apprehensive at the prospect of a reboot/revival. It awkwardly fell somewhere in between being another soulless money-grab hollywood reboot devoid of its original spark, and an overdue “revival” more akin to a pause in filming because of the pandemic. Audiences also had to navigate “the paramount+ of it all”, which was more accurately a reflection of the lack of faith cbs executives had in this project. It being exclusive to their own streaming service made it perfectly low stakes.

Nevertheless, Criminal Minds: Evolution, was a success among audiences. The freedom of a limited series, as opposed to a procedural, meant the show got to be more experimental in its direction, which was refreshing. It was renewed quickly, and despite its flaws, seems to signify the possibility of a positive reception and legacy of the show.

NOTES:

*throughout this post, “ratings” refers only to the rating of an episode as listed on IMDb, not taking into account viewership and any other metrics CBS used to determine audience reception

**the phrase “the science of profiling” is used only for simplicity and to align with the language of the show; criminal profiling is pseudoscientific and should not hold any weight in the criminal justice system.

END

I hope you all enjoyed this analysis, it got a little out of hand but also did not even scratch the surface of what I could say about Criminal Minds from a media studies point of view. I would love to hear any and all thoughts people have, even if you disagree with me!!

[ncisla-source]

Daniela Ruah as Kensi Blye NCIS: LOS ANGELES (2009 - 2023) Season 14, Episode 15: The Other Shoe

[ncisfranchise-source]

NCIS: Origins introduced Gibbs’ rules in Episode 3 of the show, and though the show is still very far from the man who lives by these rules, the rules are an integral part of who Gibbs is and who he will become. But what are Gibbs’ rules?

Over the course of NCIS, Leroy Jethro Gibbs introduced his team to his list of rules. We never had a complete list, and by the time Gibbs left NCIS in Season 19, it seemed like we would never get a complete one. This was just one of those mysteries that was always set to remain a mystery. Except NCIS: Origins now introduced the rules and gave us two new ones, in one fell swoop. So, with the return of the rules, we figured we’d put together a list of the Gibbs rules we have actually gotten so far.

So, without further ado, here’s an (incomplete) list of Gibbs’ rules. And yes, there are two number ones! Don’t blame us, blame Gibbs.

Rule #1: Never let suspects sit together.

Rule #1: Never screw over your partner.

Rule #2: Always wear gloves at a crime scene.

Rule #3: Never believe what you are told. Double-check.

Other Rule #3: Never be unreachable.

Rule #4: The best way to keep a secret is to keep it to yourself. The second best is to tell one other person — if you must. There is no third best.

Rule #5: You don’t waste good.

Rule #6: Never say you’re sorry.

Rule #7: Always be specific when you lie.

Rule #8: Never take anything for granted.

Rule #9: Never go anywhere without a knife.

Rule #10: Never get involved personally on a case.

Rule #11: When the job is done, walk away.

Rule #12: Never date a coworker.

Rule #13: Never involve lawyers.

Rule #14: Bend the line, don’t break it.

Rule #15: Always work as a team.

Rule #16: If someone thinks he has the upper hand, break it.

Rule #18: It’s better to seek forgiveness than ask permission.

Rule #20: Always look under.

Rule #21: No man is ever above or below the law

Rule #22: Never, ever bother Gibbs in interrogation.

Rule #23: Never mess with a Marine’s coffee if you want to live.

Rule #27: Two ways to follow someone. The first way, they never notice you. The second way, is they only notice you.

Rule #28: When you need help, ask.

Rule #29: Lean to obey before you command.

Rule #35: Always watch the watchers.

Rule #36: If it feels like you’re being played, you probably are.

Rule #38: Your case, you’re lead.

Rule #39: There is no such thing as a coincidence.

Rule #40: If it seems like someone’s out to get you, they are.

Rule #42: Never accept an apology from somebody who just sucker-punched you.

Rule #44: First things first, hide the women and children.

Rule #45: Left a mess I gotta clean up.

Rule #51: Sometimes you’re wrong.

Rule #62: Always give people space when they get off an elevator.

Rule #69: Never trust a woman who doesn’t trust her man.

Rule #91: When you decide to walk away, never look back.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Saturday, November 2

BUFFY: Now, this guy shows up two days ago, right? Right around the same time my bestest new little sister makes the scene. GILES: You think he and Faith are connected? BUFFY: Giles, there are two things that I don't believe in: coincidence and leprechauns. GILES: Well, Buffy, it's entirely possible that they both arrived here by chance simultaneously. BUFFY: Okay, but I was right about the leprechauns, right?

~~BtVS 3x03 “Faith, Hope, & Trick”~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Beware of Boys (Spike, Dawn, PG-13) by veronyxk84

An embarrassing run (Fred Burkle, ensemble, T) by Bl4ckHunter

Come and Get Me (Spike/Fred, E) by Kittenwritings

Nocturne (Buffy/Angel, E) by missfiggy

Fuzzy Feelings (Buffy/Angel, G) by fatalfae

[Chaptered Fiction]

Potential Friend: Season Two, Chapter 2/22 (Jesse, ensemble, Amy/Jesse, canon relationships, T) by srmcd1

[Ukrainian language] Forward to Time Past//Вперед у час минулий, Chapter 63/67 (Buffy/Spike, E) translation by Uraniya

Dawn Rising, Chapter 69/? (Ensemble, LotR xover, T) by Luna_delCielo

Back to the Beginning, Chapter 3/? (Angel/Cordelia, G) by imaginationofadreamer

The Slayer Chronicles: Shadows of the Hellmouth, Chapter 9/9 (Xander/OC, ensemble, not rated) by Ellen2054

Whoa! Not What I Expected! 2, Chapter 2/3 (Xander, NCIS + The Sentinel xover, G) by danu40k

Buffy s7 Missing Scenes, Chapter 3/? (Ensemble, T) by Oliver (TaruUchiha)

Soul Mate Magic, Chapter 16/20 (Giles/OC, M) by Emma_M_Black

Death's Champions, Chapter 32/? (Faith, HP xover, M) by Khatix

You're a Beautiful Person, Chapter 2/? (Willow/Tara, M) by firagasauce

The Night We Met, Chapter 4/? (Spike/OC, M) by TheSadPoet

Time to Heal (5) (Buffy/Spike, not rated) by spuffybaby

Retribution, Chapter 13 (Buffy/Spike, T) by Polarchica516

Giving In, Chapter 6 (Giles/Willow, M) by toboeokami

An Accidental Executioner in Sunnydale, Chapter 29 (Xander, ensemble, M) by schumacherjennifer39

Truth and Consequences, Chapter 28 (Buffy/Spike, R) by JamesMFan

Slayer's Soulmate, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by vampirische liebe

Little Light, Chapter 15 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Melme1325

Rebehold the Stars (Love from the Other Side of the Apocalypse), Chapter 19 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Asokatanos

Incarnate, Chapter 20 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Sigyn

Breaking the Code, Chapter 6 (Buffy, Dawn, Star Wars xover, FR7) by Buffyworldbuilder

Indecent Proposal, Chapter 26 (Buffy/William/Xander, E) by harrisxander2

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: Reciprocity Spike has bad day (Spike, worksafe) by isevery0nehereverystoned

Artwork: [Drawing of Spike] (worksafe) by isevery0nehereverystoned

Gifset: buffy & giles per episode - Revelations (3.07) (worksafe) by buffygiles

Artwork: here is a spike screencap redraw . my favorite look-his 70’s era (worksafe) by blue-star-charmer-art

Gifset: Every Tara look: S5E02 Real Me (worksafe) by lovebvffys

Gifset: Cordelia Chase + Outfits (Season 1) (worksafe) by clarkgriffon

Artwork: The Master from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season One (worksafe) by nightheartcomics

Artwork: Buffy the Vampire Slayer S1 Ep1 “Welcome to the Hellmouth” (Buffy, worksafe) by nightheartcomics

Artwork: Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer S2 Ep17 “Passion” (worksafe) by nightheartcomics

Gifset: Chemtrails Over the Country Club - Lana Del Rey (Buffy/Spike, worksafe) by theveryunlikelywonderland

Gifset: Buffy Meme: [4/10 Scenes] 5x22 The Gift (worksafe) by lovebvffys

Collage: Collage #222 (Buffy, Giles, worksafe) by thedecadentraven

Gifset: HalloweenHex 2024 - day 5 * a prophecy (btvs x 4.10) (Buffy, worksafe) by witchesnet

Fanvid: Back to Life (Buffy/Spike, R) by EverythingElse

Crafts: [Fan-made Scythe from an old re-design] (worksafe) by MoonSpider

Artwork: Grounded (Buffy/Angel, G) by MamaBewear

[Reviews & Recaps]

Angel 2x1 & 2x2 REACTION | "Judgement" & "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" by The Horror Bandwagon

Rewatching after many years! by theSunandtheMoon23

PODCAST: His Twin Rod (S5E3) by It Stakes Two

[Recs & In Search Of]

ISO: [Good fanfics to read - multifandom and BtVS/Bangel] requested by murdercrowsblog

Rec: Fuzzy Feelings by fatalfae (Buffy/Angel, G) recced by iwillrememberyoumarathon

[Fandom Discussions]

Anyone else just want a buffy the vampire slayer and angel investigations prequel series where it’s just about the fanged four by captaincake13

Rewatching season 1 of Angel and I forgot how charming Angel found Wesley by thequeenofsastiel

this right here, this episode [Lover's Walk], this is the funniest relationship that has ever existed in btvs To Me anyway by tenderjock

spike is like a cat leaving dead things on buffy’s doorstep and buffy is a dog person by uss-genderprise

i think s7 is the worst by a significant margin but it’s still a season of buffy! so the worst of a brilliant amazing life changing thing is still pretty damn awesome by bidet-of-evil

Not sure how unpopular a take this is but I really like Principal Snyder. He is genuinely one of my favorite minor characters on the show by coraniaid

The Real Hero of "Gone" - Doris Kroeger by Nikkolas

Episode battle : Wild at Heart vs Into the Woods by Stoney

Would you have liked to have seen Darla become a hero? by GlitterViking1

Andy Hallet/Lorne appreciation post by moses616

Have you ever had a dream involving BtVS? by InterestingCloud369

What is an episode that you like that fans seem to dislike by Scaredcat26

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

CONVENTION: James Marsters & Juliet Landau to Attend Hellmouth Con in Los Angeles, CA 14-15 June 2025 via dontkillspike

CONVENTION: James Marsters to Attend FAN EXPO New Orleans 10-12 January via dontkillspike

CONVENTION: James Marsters' Adelaide Supanova Expo schedule via dontkillspike

PUBLICATION: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Amber Benson Tackles Series Trivia for Tubi by bleedingcool.com

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Join the editor team :)

[liar-or-lawyer]

[lorelaiislatte]

Do you think there's a chance a streaming service will pick ncis:h? I've signed the petition but do we dare to hope? I'm tired of this happening all the time. I just dont understand. It was doing fine in ratings and it's a part of a franchise that keeps getting more spin offs? How that makes sense? Do you know the ratings compared with the others ncis shows? Sorry im asking you but im not from usa and i have no idea how american netwoks work. So sad rn.

okay SO i am also not from the us but have done this dance before sooooo:

1) from what i’ve heard, they were planning to move either another ncis show (i think sydney?) or another cbs show to paramount plus - which they now are no longer doing. in theory yes, this opens up the possibility for ncishi to move over there; in practice, i’m not holding my breath, as typically that negotiation would happen before a cancellation announcement

2) how does it make sense? the honest answer is that it doesn’t. like, it really doesn’t. it’s been holding steady at sixth of 14 cbs shows in the ratings (which is a brilliant number, ensures it’s profitable, and is also impressive for a procedural that’s still relatively new). it’s been beating a LOT of other crime procedurals in viewership and viewer retention, and reviewers have been singing its praises. i think this is why it feels so much as if it’s because they just view this show as less valuable (socially and economically) than their usual white guy cop shows; it’s very difficult to argue that your profitable, successful show is too expensive when you’re flying cast and crews across - or, potentially, internationally to - australia, to continue a less-highly-rated show with no issue.

3) as far as ratings go - ncis hawai’i episodes were pulling in as many as 10 million viewers last year (s2 e10 came in with 10.5 mil, as per variety telecast viewership reports) which has it going toe to toe with the core ncis (seems to pull approx. 8-10mil per episode, via hollywood reporter). for the 18-49 demographic across us series, ncis hawaii is ranking at #13 of #21 as per tvseriesfinale.com - this is significantly above ncis sydney (renewed, #15), and elsbeth (#19, renewed), two other cbs shows, one of which in particular is incredibly expensive. crucially, ncishi has actually increased its viewership, which is VERY difficult to do on a year to year basis. its up by 4.18% among 18 to 49 year olds - for comparison the core NCIS is down 0.83% and fbi international - a competing show - is down by 3.73%. bear in mind that even a single percentage point represents hundreds of thousands of viewers.

i also want to point out that ranking at #13 isn’t strictly representative of viewer numbers, it’s about percentage of viewers that are within that core age bracket. the neighbourhood is ranking at #6, but only pulling in 4.8 million viewers - ncishi is at #13, and pulling in 5.2 million. ncishi pulls in over half a million more viewers than four shows ranked above it in that chart.

so essentially - it doesn’t make sense. from any perspective. it doesn’t make sense from a business perspective (ncis sydney is more expensive to produce and brings in approx. 200k less viewers than ncishi, and ncishi crew had already agreed to a shortened, budget-restrained final season), it doesn’t make sense for a ratings perspective (it continues to outperform many of cbs’ own shows, including ones that have been renewed), it doesn’t make sense from a social perspective (people are loving it, even outside of our fandom spaces).

objectively, it’s a really, really bad move by cbs. i also thought being part of a franchise would be a kind of safety net - fool me once, i guess. all the evidence suggests that they just don’t care enough about ncishi, especially when they’ve got their bullshit white guy ncis origins show, a young sheldon spinoff (?? who asked?) and a plethora of other cookie-cutter shows they can just keep going with. and we can make a pretty educated guess as to why, when the main things that set ncishi apart from the other ncis shows are its diversity and character dynamics

(edit: it was pointed out that people aren’t being flown to sydney from the us, which is true, and bad phrasing on my part - but many are flown across australia at seemingly similar costs to mainland us/hawai’i flights, and i believe not all of the leads are based in australia either, so i’ve updated that bit for clarity. apologies!)

[reiderwriter]

Hello!!If you were part of the writers on criminal minds,what would you have done differently when it came to the romantic relationships of it all and whats your opinion on some of the ships?Which would you erase and which are your favorites?I'm willing to read as much details and analysis you are willing to give on this lmao😂I loved the analysis on Reids sexual evolution season by season and am really curious on what you think on the ships like Reid and JJ,Reid Lila,Reid and Maeve,Reid and Elle😂Personally I would have created a diffrent character as a love interest for him all together.

This is practically an essay so I'm just going to apologise in advance of this. I'm not going to say I'd change much because the end product we got is my favorite show for a reason but yes, here is me talking about all the romantic relationships I can think of in CM and my opinions on them!

(Spoilers for season 1-15 of CM, CME, and season 8 of NCIS - yeah that's how long this post is).

Reid Ships

I think Reid ships are the ones most people have issues with in Criminal Minds so I'm going to start here with personal headcanons and my personal highlights. It's going to become clear that my biggest pet peeve in CM is when the writers want to give the characters a love interest and then just gender-bend their personalities, so let's start with Maeve and Spencer.

I've already talked at length in other posts about how I think the Maeve/ Zugzwang plotline wasn't my favorite. It was some amazing acting from MGG and Beth Reisgraf, but personally, I think it suffered from "serialized cop drama" plot line status. This show airs week after week with another case to solve in 45 minutes and they don't have the time or the format to pause through moments that in a standard drama would be very impactful.

To go on a slight tangent, that is partially why the relationships between the main cast are usually the only ones developed very well over extended arcs (I'll return to this when I talk about Jeid).

So, when you're trying to have an emotionally resonant moment, and you only have a handful of cold opens and one full episode to do it, you're going to have to make the characters motivations, personalities and back stories mesh in a way that makes you think: "holy shit they're perfect together."

Maeve and Spencer aren't that. I hate to use this term, but Maeve is like a manic pixie dream girl for Spencer? She's written as if she's too good to be true, which is why we're supposed to feel so sad when she dies. But they also tried to make her a complex character and didn't have the time to really do it, which is why we're given a back story that makes no fucking sense (as Spencer's DOCTOR no less) and some hints that she probably doesn't feel the same way as Spencer does for her (fiancé she never told him about etc.)

When Spencer's character starts evolving in later seasons to being more than just a genius, but a genius with trauma, they pull a similar stunt with Cat Adams/ Max

The show runner Erica Messer did mention that the Maeve plotline was always designed to be a three act plot: she's introduced, Spencer is in love with her, she dies. But, in my opinion, we didn't get enough of an introduction to her for me to feel really all that bad about it? They banked a lot on the audiences attachment to Reid, so when you feel bad about Maeve's death it's all about Reid - why do bad things keep happening to HIM, I wonder how HE will get through it - when she is the one who was just murdered. Those kind of dynamics always kind of throw me in romantic relationships.

I'm going to be clear, I do not ship Cat Adams and Reid either and I have pretty much no opinion on Max other than that if she were real I'd probably avoid her (teachers who hate teaching and blame the kids are weird! And I'm a teacher so I can say that I think lol).

Cat Adams is girl-Reid if he had a villain arc. She's 100% again there to push Reid's character development, and she's used as an action rather than a character. Max is the same. In season 15, with the entire team at a crossroads, they have to allow Reid two outs: one villain arc where he gives into his lust for Cat Adams, and one happy ending where he gets to start something with someone who is totally normal and a way out of the BAU the way Savannah was for Morgan. But it can't be as easy for Reid, and that's why we're left with the Cat/Max dilemma because he is really attracted to Cat, despite the fact that she was threatening to end the lives of members of Max's family.

By the end of the show, Reid had been actively on the team the most out of all the cast members (bar Penelope, but she wasn't out on cases first hand, so there's not as much emotional baggage there for her). He can't have an easy exit, so I kind of view this "love triangle" bullshit as a metaphor for Spencer choosing a normal life vs a continuation with the BAU.

Which is why I think that if CME continues, I think we're unlikely to see or hear from Max, because that means he's picked the BAU.

Okay now, not to sound like a broken record but, Jeid:

Before Truth or Dare, there is one single suggestion of Jeid being a possibility and it's a suggestion, from Gideon of all people, in season 1. It is CRAZY to me that after thirteen seasons they just decided to develop that one plotline again because jesus CHRIST.

My main problem with Jeid is that, actually, I think it had a lot of potential. Like I said, serialized dramas only have time to develop relationships between their main cast members, which is why we end up with a pseudo-found-family vibe no matter who happens to be on the team at any given point. A lot of similar dramas go down the route of coworker/ team mate relationships (think Ziva and DiNozzo in NCIS or Mulder and Scully in The X Files).

There was absolutely the potential for an opposites attract relationship with Jeid, but I think the minute they abandoned that after that small dialogue we got something WAY FUCKING BETTER. Their friendship is entirely underrated, Spencer regularly babysits her kid, she comforts him after Emily "dies," enough for them to have arguments about it after the fact. Your honor they are SIBLINGS. That is UNCLE SPENCER. Not your future step-dad.

When they decided to commit to JJ and Will, they should've stuck to it, and as a big fan of the Season 7 finale + Hit and Run it is very shitty seeing them trying to retcon both of these characters amazing developments and growth over 14 seasons and have them regress to shit tier versions of their Season 1 selves.

"But Kacie, there must be some Spencer relationships you like," I hear you ask. And there ARE:

Lila Archer is a great foil for Spencer. She has a happy, glamorous life until their paths cross, and then we can assume from dialogue in season 6 that she continues having a pretty fucking glamorous life after everything goes down. I don't think Spencer works best with characters that are traumatised or overly smart the way he is, because he needs something to return to after the cases that switch off that part of him, to help him forget the horrifying shit he sees on the job.

So Lila Archer was kind of a great love interest.

Another one that I'm so annoyed they didn't explore more is Austin. She's the bartender in the Season 4 Episode "52 Pickup" that is charmed by Spencer's card tricks. She is never mentioned again, but they had a great chemistry, she was quick on her feet and managed to spot the unsub first, and she was a really great foil for Spencer as well; it was a street smarts/ book smarts kind of dynamic. If they'd carried that character forward and had her reappear a few times, it could've been a great romantic plot.

I will just quickly note that the reason we most likely didn't see many romantic plots for Reid was because Matthew Gray Gubler didn't like the idea of giving him a romantic plotline, stating that there were so many more interesting things to do with the character - and he's right!

I'm a fanfiction writer, and the allure of characters like Spencer Reid is they are mostly romantic clean slates - you can write whatever you want for them within reason without having to disregard canon relationships. This is why similarly, Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Venom, and young "Marauders" fanfictions are pretty popular here imo too - canon compliance isn't disregarded, the reader is just written in. So I don't think I'd change a thing for Spencer to be honest (apart from maybe not kill Maeve off and give her the actual villain arc, but I say that so regularly I'm beginning to sound like a broken record).

Also I'll just quickly mention Elle because you mentioned her - outside of fanfiction there are literally zero hints (imo) of a thing between Elle and Reid lmao there's more of a case to be made for Elle and Morgan, but for some reason, writers and fans alike don't like committing to giving Morgan more than simply platonic connections. THEY SHOULD!! THE MAN IS SEXY AS HELL!!!!!!! GIVE ME A MORGAN WHO IS REGULARLY FUCKING!

Hotchner Ships

Speaking of characters that have a long time where they are single! Aaron Hotchner is another fandom favorite to write self-insert fanfiction for, because of the gap between Haley Hotchner's death in 100, and the introduction of Beth in season 7.

In general, I like the way Hotch's relationships play out on screen. Let's start with Haley:

You can tell that the writers really enjoyed the dynamic between work Hotch and home Hotch, because they played on it so much across the four first seasons. The very first time he is introduced he's in his bedroom picking out baby names with his childhood sweetheart, so any further scenes of him being more stern or serious are always in contrast with that introduction. It's a cold open to his character that immediately let's you know that there is more going on in his world than just the BAU, and he is the only member of the season one team that has that.

Then, they really LOVE taking that shit away from him. I'm not going to go into detail here about how fucking wack the time line is for Criminal Minds, but it is stupid and that's important here because:

I think Haley's reasons for divorcing Hotch are stupid.

She says that she married a man who was a prosecutor, not a man that was an FBI Profiler but realistically by the time of their divorce, he'd been in the BAU like 10 years. They rely more on the audiences sense of time (we're two years in, so they've all been on the team two years etc) to push this character motivation off. And for a while it makes sense that they were separated, until the events of 100. But also: in sickness and in health, for better and for worse, you literally signed up for whatever the FUCK happened, that's what a marriage vow IS.

Now I'm a sucker for the angst of 100,but would it not have felt 10x more emotionally disgusting if Hotch and Haley were talking about reuniting? If they had never celebrated in the first place, and had just finished working through their marital issues when Foyet comes back into their lives and Haley has to be whisked away again? Yes. Yes it would.

There's an episode in season 9 that really pisses me off, and it's the one that Hotch passes out from an old tear in his Foyet stab wounds and he goes into surgery and talks with Haley and Foyet in heaven while watching the rest of his life after the events of 100 on a cinema screen. It's cliché and also has no pay-off because it doesn't change the way he views his relationships after that, and it's not like he's at a crossroads at that point, so it means nothing to the audience except as a remembrance of an issue and an episode so far in the past that it feels like flogging a dead horse. They do this twice, btw, and this is the more successful use of this plot (the first time they do it to Elle in Season 1/2 during the events of The Wicker King - she talks to the father we didn't even know was dead, who died decades ago in an unrelated time. Not to keep bringing NCIS up, but I think the only time I've seen it done well is whenever Gibbs kept seeing Mike Franks in the diner scenes). They do not out enough effort into these plots to achieve the emotional resonance they are aiming for in my personal opinion.

I'm not entirely sure, but I think this could've been the beginning of the era where Gibson was having a lot of issues with the cast, because it just felt like they didn't want to use him in the on-location shoots for a while lmao. Anyway, all that to say, Haley should've stayed dead, and not come back as a stupid phantom.

After the dust has settled on Haley and Hotchner though, we get Hotchner and Beth:

This is going to be a short note, because I actually really like the relationship between these two characters. They have the very slow cold-open build up that Maeve and Spencer get, but there's a lot more and a lot less to Beth's character that makes the dynamic between them really enjoyable to watch.

We're once again treated to the out-of-work Hotchner that had been missing since Season 4 (his in between scenes with Jack are cute but there's always the tragedy hanging over them). Beth is running a marathon in honor of her dad, Hotch is doing something similar for the FBI Triathalon, they train together the tension builds, they start dating. Now obviously it wasn't the purpose or aim of this character introduction to build to tragedy, and I think they just genuinely wanted to show a happy Hotchner again, but its still a valid criticism of the weird voyeuristic Maeve build-up that they literally succeeded a more sympathetic and audience engaging late minor-recurring-character EARLIER THAN THE MAEVE ARC.

I'll shut up now, but yeah, I like Hotch and Beth.

Penelope Ships

This post is getting ridiculously long, so much so that I'm even contemplating adding a fucking word count, but let's continue and dive in to my next issue.

Penelope's romantic life is used as a punch-line for the first 11 seasons and I HATE it.

There is no easy short to say this, but I despise Kevin. He is stupid, and a joke, and I hate him and I am SO HAPPY that she dumped him. They made her really pathetic about him for a few episodes, and then he kept fucking coming back too which was even worse.

Kevin is literally male Garcia but with all the worst attributes. He's clingy, and needy, and he may be smart but in a very "incel" way. In my opinion, Kevin is less a fully fledged character and more a joke line/ convenient plot point for when they need more tech analyst work. The best moment in the Kevin/Penelope arc is during the The Gathering, where she really lays into him and tells him off for being jealous of her ukelele instructor AFTER THEY'D BROKEN UP.

Penelope deserved so much better than what they gave her romantically in these seasons. First, her date tried to kill her, her boyfriend was a joke, etc. She never gets the serious romantic plotline that her other teammates do (Hotch/Haley, Spencer/Maeve, Derek/Savannah, JJ/Will, Emily/being a big old lesbian etc). Penelope is really great levity for the rest of the cast because she is happy and she is positive and she is unapologetic in her positivity. It's annoying that they don't let her be more than that in the romantic relationships they give he during these seasons.

Then Luke Alvez is introduced and there is some hope! Galvez truther's please, rise they are so adorable.

Anyone involved in the writing of CME - what the hell was that? Now I haven't seen it myself, to be completely fair, but I know enough to ask the question - really what the HELL was that?

Tl;dr Penelope's sexuality and romantic relationships should not be used as punchlines.

The Aversion to Homosexuality

This is just a general note, but the writers originally did plan to have Emily Prentiss be gay - amazing, great, it's a completely different time now, please let her have a gay awakening soon. It was obviously scrapped early in, but there's a lot of subtext that can be interpreted in that way.

They did commit with Tara, and she gets a gf in CME, so I want to see some Temily in the future if we do get more CM seasons.

So just so you know, everytime I mention Emily flirting with someone in my fic, assume it's a woman if you aren't already, lmao.

(They did also talk about making Reid bisexual as well, which would've also been great, but again, I don't think we're ever getting any more romantic plotlines from Reid).

Other Characters

Here's just a rating and short mention for all the other character couples I can think of in Criminal Minds, because this is already thesis length lmao:

Morgan + Savannah - 8.5/10, no notes, really just the gender bent love interest but done right.

Alex Blake + Husband - 7/10, solid couple, very much enjoyed when they started bringing in the people in established relationships again lmao.

Kate Callahan + Husband - 5/10, same as above but I wasn't as attached to her character rip.

Matt + Kirsty - 10/10 really no notes, I too would be called a breeder if I managed to lock that man down, damn.

Rossi + His 3 Ex-Wives - Make total sense for his character, very enjoyable to me, love that he has a nice moment with most of them again throughout the series, not going to rate it lol.

Rossi + Strauss - 3.5/10 - Last ditch attempt to make Strauss a sympathetic character, but I felt more attached to her growth after being called out by Derek rather than the effect that her death had on Rossi.

Gideon + the friend of his who is murdered by that Frank guy at the end of season 2 - stupid, worst way to go out, made no sense for the character, but I know Mandy Patinkin wanted OUT and honestly, anything for you Inigo Montoya.

Why I think Criminal Minds is Better Without Romance

Generally, I really do agree with Matthew Gray Gubler when he said that there were more interesting things to explore with these characters than their romantic attachments. It does frustrate me to no end that they focused on some of them more than others, and that post Henry, most of JJ's big moments are tied to motherhood and being a mother/ wife, but that change in her character is still amazing and leads her to a lot of growth (not mentioning Truth or Dare again, sorry it doesn't exist at this point in the post)(also I didn't have much time to mention Will and JJ, but I do love them).

Their best moments are the ones we get of them together as a team, saving people and putting away murderers for life, it's a perfect Found Family!!!

Also, no more romance = Spencer Reid can be mine. In conclusion, I am delusional. Thank you for reading this far.

[lgbtpopcult]

February WLW entertainment rundown

Movies

Drive Away Dolls, February 23, 2024

Bottoms comes to Amazon Prime February 1

TV

Vigil: Season Two, February 15 on Peacock

NCIS: Hawaii Season 3 (CBS): February 12

The second best hospital in the galaxy, February 23, 2024 on Amazon Prime

Video Games, books, music etc

DC COMICS · RELEASES FEB 6TH, 2024

Poison Ivy #19

You Had me At Merlot, February 13, 2024

[ncisladaily]

EXCLUSIVE: NCIS: LA may be over but star Daniela Ruah is keeping a toe in the NCIS universe.

The actress who played Kensi Blye on the spinoff that wrapped its 14-season run last May is directing two episodes in the NCIS universe. She’s helming an episode of NCIS this month that’ll air in March, followed by an episode of NCIS: Hawai’i in February that’ll run in April.

“Kensi was born as a character on NCIS, 15 years ago, so now to be able to step onto that set again, as a director, with that incredible cast and crew, is an absolute honor,” she tells Deadline. “So many familiar faces and people I love and they’ve welcomed me with open arms. It’s like coming home.”

Ruah made her directorial debut on NCIS: Los Angeles during season 12.

NCIS: LA ended on May 21, 2023 with Ruah’s character discovering that she and Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) were going to have a baby. Callen (Chris O’Donnell) also married his lady love Anna (Bar Paly) in an impromptu city hall wedding.

NCIS: LA is tied as the fifth longest-running CBS primetime scripted series ever, only behind Gunsmoke, Lassie, CSI and Criminal Minds. The latter two have since been revived, which bodes well for the future of NCIS: Los Angeles.