Criminal Minds Review: Miasma (Season 13 Episode 14)

It’s bad news all around as the past comes back to haunt Emily and the team on Criminal Minds Season 13 Episode 14, “Miasma.”

A coldly bureaucratic boss type nearly always spells bad news on TV shows, and this is no exception. Our team is under threat from someone who, for now, is a complete villain. While it’s certainly not the first this has happened, it still sets your teeth on edge.

*Insert Rage GIF Here*

One thing about characters like Barnes, at least as she’s been written so far: they are despicable to the point of being one-dimensional, smirking figures to rally around in hate. This is a character who could just be doing her job, tough as it is. Instead, she goads, smirks, uses tragedy to her advantage, and lectures on that which she doesn’t fully understand.

For comparison, I refer you to Erin Strauss, who is known for ruffling feathers but also eventually becoming a sympathetic acquaintance of the BAU. Her death, possibly the first of a somewhat major character, still stings, and not only because of its effect on Rossi.

We don’t get that here. Thus far, there is nothing to like about the latest enemy (aside from her being very well-played by Kim Rhodes,) and that can be seen as somewhat lazy writing. Still, it says something that as Barnes pushes Emily’s buttons, we feel it on a personal level.

This Team is a Family

The positive side of having someone to hate is that it gives the fierce love that the members of the BAU have for each other a time to shine. Each member is willing to put themselves on the line for everyone else, even the relative newcomers.

There is considerable fear in the fandom now about who may or may not leave the show, but, again, we’ve seen this before. When under threat, the BAU comes together, and even when sacrifices are offered, the attempts to break them apart fall short. Setting aside a few deaths and the sexist actions of CBS in season six, most character departures have come from personal choices, and not the demands of others.

Also, however I feel about how Barnes is written, Emily’s take down of her is fantastic, and I’m good and ready for this wannabe director to get some comeuppance in March.

Meanwhile, In New Orleans

The downside to something like this is that it makes it extremely difficult to actually care about the routine of crime solving. The case is interesting enough, and yet I remember very little about it.

A couple of things to enjoy: a victim who fights back and does so well (even if driving while drugged is a very bad idea,) and a climactic take down in which the unsub is both deeply unsettling and very sympathetic. Oh, and that outfit is a Look.

The bad news now is that we have to wait a month for Olympics and other events to interrupt our usual viewing. The good news is that what’s coming looks pretty darn great. It’s been a while since I’ve really been excited for upcoming episodes of the show (15 second promos haven’t helped,) but this? Bring it on.

What did you think of this episode of Criminal Minds? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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Criminal Minds airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on CBS.

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