Criminal Minds Review: Hamelin (Season 14 Episode 12)

On Criminal Minds Season 14 Episode 12, “Hamelin,” an unsub’s very eerie way of kidnapping isn’t at all the most disturbing thing we see.

You know that feeling when you’re watching a nice episode of a long-running show and a woman who is supposed to be “already dead” calmly looks around at the other characters before going limp?

Well, now you do. There’s a fair bit of plot before we get to that point, though, and it’s only slightly less weird.

First, the title “Hamelin” comes from the story of the Pied Piper. As we are none-too-cheerfully reminded, the children in that story (or at least some versions of it) wind up drowned.

That does not happen here, thankfully. Still, our unsub, another we are meant to sympathize with, and one who supposedly cares for the kids he takes in, keeps them freezing, injured, and terrified.

I do feel for the man losing a son to suicide in the wake of terrible rumors, but his actions represent an angle I’ve never been able to relate to: targeting innocents to get revenge on someone else.

If we truly want to believe this man only wants to harm the parents who have done him wrong, we should see him show that. Instead, he leaves his young victims to die as he takes his own life.

Many shows have criminals target loved ones instead of wrong-doers themselves. I’m sure it even happens in real life. The thing is, when the man doesn’t care that those kids have their whole lives in front of them, I just can’t sorry for him at all.

As for how the kidnappings take place, I admit to not knowing the science. It may indeed be possible that kids can be hypnotized to escape their homes and follow a man to his van—but is it practical? What is he trying to show?

(Also, a man who cares for children would not lure one from her bed in such a way that she walks off a second-story ledge while under his spell. Just sayin’.)

However creepy that parseltongue-like whispering is, it doesn’t come close to that scene where a woman, fatally injured and covered in blood like Carrie, calmly keeps making dinner as the BAU arrives.

I do realize that this horror is amplified by editing. We’re seeing a woman in shock, and when Reid comes in and comments that she is dead just before that’s clear, it’s him seeing her take her last breath.

All the same, its one of the most strange, bewildering, and disturbing scenes we’ve ever gotten on the show—and I’m counting everything that went down in the season 13 finale. It’s also a pretty good nail the coffin of the killer’s empathy.

In the midst of the rest of the team’s handling of all this, JJ stays back to give her mom a place to live during a minor household emergency.

These are scenes that we’ve unknowingly been waiting to see since JJ uncovered the depths of the reasons her older sister killed herself as a teenager. They’re poignant, emotional, and a long time coming.

They are also another example of important personal drama that gets unfairly downplayed in the context of its episode. It’s hard to really appreciate this when that near-zombie moment lingers in our minds.

Eventually, JJ gets some really sweet moments with both her mom and Reid, who acts a supportive friend. It’s a promise of resolution I’d like to see play out more.

I just wish there was more to it. After everything else, it would be a better option than brain bleach—or even Garcia’s office-fumigation option.

 

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

Reviewer Rating:

User Rating:

 

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

Follow @telltaletv_https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

26 Fantastic Sci-fi, Fantasy, and Horror TV Shows from 2018