Well, I figure it might be time for me to express some more cogent reactions before I go off to edit my paper like I should be doing.

First of all: honestly, it never occurred to me that all four of them covering the door was bad, because I had the distinct impression that there were other agents in the house. On rewatch, it's clear that that impression was actually quite wrong ("Danny, work me up a security profile for a four-man team"), so I would nit that... why didn't they make use of some other agents? Then you get the four-characters-pointing-gun-at-little-girl image, and the six is covered, but, honestly, the whole thing fails to bother me really, so that's that.

My biggest... wrong feeling... about this ep is the idea that Roger is destined to be a killer. I understand that Rachel profiles it out of him, and the pre-filer certainly agrees ("You wanna know how you'll do it?" right before he bags him is the key line to show he thinks Roger's a killer, not just a child molestor). But the pre-filer is a fucked up serial killer, not really the most trusted of sources despite his excellent investigatory skills, and Rebecca is... well, Rebecca has issues with child molestors. Still, the fact is, her abductor never killed her. He kept her for 18 months, probably molested her regularly, completely screwed her up, but he never killed her: so if Roger is like him, why does she assume he'll kill?

Me? I saw no evidence. Pedophilic porn is disturbing, but there are plenty of pedophiles out there who, beyond providing monetary support of the disgusting pedo porn industry, will never actually hurt anybody directly. Now, I admit that Roger, with his hotel-stalking and candid picture-taking, especially combined with the severe self-hating, was a prime suspect for possible future molestations. But he might have gotten himself under control (probably with help - is there a pedophiles anonymous?) even without the pre-filer pointing out his problem to the FBI. Now, of course, he's got a file, and if anything happens to a little girl he'll be an immediate suspect, which will probably deter him from action. Whatsmore, I don't see anything that implies he'd kill the girls - most molestors don't. They rely on the kids to maintain the secrecy, which, sadly, they often do.

Tim's explanation, of course, helps explain this. The pre-filer isn't actually convinced Roger's a killer... yet. He chose him because he thought Rachel would assume so, an assumption that seems to be true, and he could play mind games with his legal counterpart, as he sees her.

The one thing I do wonder about, though: I assume those "young'uns" magazines are a) actually pornographic and b) actually contain lewd pictures of underage girls, not eighteen-year-olds picked for their young looks. In that case, Roger's arrestable just for that, and at the very least can get registered as a known case in files everywhere, not just in the FBI.

Hmm. A lot of that sounded critical. It's not meant to be: I absolutely adored this episode, on the whole. It was definitely my favorite episode so far. The killer did a great Kevin Spacey from Se7en interpretation, which works great since that's about the scariest serial killer portrayal I can name off the top of my head, especially in this I-kill-because-I'm-avenging-or-protecting vein. The character of Rebecca is really starting to develop into something interesting to me: her damage is so incredibly fascinating to watch develop. I also really, really liked Web in this ep, possibly because he wasn't as prevalent and over-the-top as previous episodes, but still gave off that vibe of terrifying competence. The camera shots of him were great, and I loved the music at that point.

I also liked seeing more Danny and Mel. I like Mel. And Danny, for the first time, didn't bother me in this episode, because he just seemed more like a team member and less like a knucklehead. I also liked that we're toning down Paul some: the first eps really drove home the basic ideas of Rachel=fucked up, (continued...)

( continues...) Paul=good guy protector, Web=amoral genius boss guy, to the detriment, a bit, of subtlety in all of their characters, and the true loss of Danny/Mel development. This one felt more balanced, and I liked that.

I also definitely would like to see this killer again, from the safe side of a jail cell, despite the inevitable Hannibal comparisons.

Okay, I really can't write more now. I've wasted an hour thinking about this, and have real homework to do.

ETA: Allyson, I actually really like your Popgurls piece. Sure it's defensive, but that's okay: you have that right. What's more, I like the melodrama. It fits.

I don't see anything that implies he'd kill the girls - most molestors don't

You seem convinced that the other guys would have killed. Is that so? Why are they definite killers and this guy not?

I don't know about Roger turning into a killer or not, but wasn't it pretty well established that the other men were well on their way to killing? The Janitor had a death closet and drawings of women with their throats cut; one man was placed in graves he had dug, and the pre-filer's conversation with the guy in the car included statements on killing.

ETA: Allyson, I actually really like your Popgurls piece. Sure it's defensive, but that's okay: you have that right. What's more, I like the melodrama. It fits.

Allyson, I liked it, too. It addressed some wonderings I'd been having, and explained to me why the show grabs you. It's good. And by far not at all a "Hey why are you saying mean things about my show?"-type piece, which I find impressive as I am among the most readily defensive of fans, and totally incapable of not just coming up with, "Well yeah, but YOU'RE STUPID!" when people critique something I truly love.

...also, I LOVED the bit with Danny and the kid, and I totally adore Katie Finneran. Every time she said or mouthed, "That's mine," I giggled. She's like if Scully were funnier, and I love her.

"Well yeah, but YOU'RE STUPID!"

If you play it backwards, that's EXACTLY what it says, along with, "Eat at Denny's."

The Janitor had a death closet and drawings of women with their throats cut; one man was placed in graves he had dug, and the pre-filer's conversation with the guy in the car included statements on killing.

I'd say that not only could any of these guys not followed through on it, but the first guy was comfortably in fantasy with props stage, and the guy in the car even further away.

I think Roger was the most arrestable of the bunch, honestly, although grave guy was well on the way.

The pre-filer, interestingly, was just being a proactive Web (who's willing to be executioner himself). But his "flaw" (which I agree with) was deciding where the irrevocable line was. And if he knew that the guy in the car would get up the gumption to kill someone, then I assume his knowledge is just as sound for the pedophile -- doesn't matter how many other pedophiles kill. This one, apparently, was going to.

It does open up a question about how that changes the prefiler if he were executing people who wouldn't kill. ETA: I wrote that before ita's comment.

Anyway, I re-watched the last two eps with BF last night. He liked them. And they both stood up to re-watch: little moments I missed before, like the repeated use of the word "control" in last week's ep.

Having rewatched, I actually disagree that the way the potential killers were all mentioned as "serial killers" was so out of bounds as to be unrealistic. I don't know about you guys, but certainly some things at work I have expertise in I speak generally and incorrectly about in order to be more efficient. I might call a set of documents "motions" even though CLEARLY there's a pleading in there. (Kidding, kidding. I barely know the difference.)

Actually, ita, I'm not sure I don't agree. In fact, I probably agree, I just thought it through more with Roger because he was the one we got the most evidence of.

I do think the janitor guy was much closer to the murder stage than Roger: they are both, as you say, in the "fantasy" stage but I doubt Roger's fantasies involve their throats being slit. Or, rather, their heads in plastic bags. He's a sexual fantasizer, and I'd say he's probably about as close to molesting as the janitor was to killing, maybe. Still, a different line. Unless janitor had a manifesto we're not aware of.

Son of Sam in the car, not so sure about. There is no doubt that, just like Roger, he easily has the potential of pulling himself out of his cycle in a moment of reverie. But, again, his porn was snuff porn. That directly involves killing, specifically.

I certainly don't think that any of them are arrestable really, though janitor may be commitable, and car guy has the snuff porn. I just think that the evidence of Roger points more towards possible future child molestor much more than possible future killer. Which seems to go against pre-filer's M.O.

In succintness: certainly none of the pre-filer's victims deserved death (yet). But what evidence there is points that, ASSUMING they all go through with their patterns, car guy, ak-47 guy, janitor guy, and dug-graves guy are all going to kill. Roger, it seems to me, is going to rape kids. Depraved and disturbing, yes, but outside the pre-filer's pattern, and never fully explained in the ep. Explained by Tim, though: he picked him to screw with Rebecca. I just wish that we didn't come off, in that final scene with him looking at the girls, with the feeling that Rebecca was convinced he was still going to kill.

I'd say that not only could any of these guys not followed through on it, but the first guy was comfortably in fantasy with props stage, and the guy in the car even further away.

Which is where I agree with infuriating!paul.

A lot of us here own weapons and porn and may have, on occassion, expressed violent fantasies about our bosses, or the POTUS.

Which, you know, is normal.

Owning the kiddie porn is illegal, and he should be prosecuted for that, but aside from taking pics, he's never acted on his fantasy. I assume there are a great many more people who fantasize about children, or rape, or the family dog, who never act upon that impulse.

He may have kept that impulse a pure fantasy, using the porn, but never actually acting out the fantasy.