And that reminds me of some of the ick about Tamara. When Morgan tells her that she's helped him reconnect with his job, what the hell was he talking about? Could you have shown this less? I'm not sure if the leap to her giving him her dead brother's religious jewelry is supposed to be a flashing red neon sign of too much way too soon, or just an indication of how close they've been getting offscreen.

Either way, Garcia's right and it's totally inappropriate. I hope it doesn't mess up that case or his team leadership.

I don't have much sympathy for Haley.

Yep, to all of that. It was the sneaking out while he was away saving people that really did it; I could never like her after that. And every time he wants to see his kid, he has to practically beg her to get out of the way.

Apparently the writers had a timeline in mind for Hotch and then they cast the older Thomas Gibson and they never really ironed out the scripts. So the numbers don't add up right.

That makes sense, but it would be hard, at this point in the series, to believe a younger man playing Hotch. Gibson's about my age, and Hotch could easily be early 40's, so that's about right for his position and his experience.

we never see Haley react positively to all the good that Hotch does, ever. The man's a hero!

Exactly. In one episode he even said something like that, I'm a hero, but when I go home, I'm just a guy who's failing at being a husband and father.

I'm not sure if the leap to her giving him her dead brother's religious jewelry is supposed to be a flashing red neon sign of too much way too soon, or just an indication of how close they've been getting offscreen.

Both, maybe? The whole Tamara thing is confusing. It's happening too fast, it shouldn't be happening at all, and WTF? "Reconnect to his job"? Where did this even come from? I hope this gets explained, and done away with, pretty quickly. Rossi mentioned to Hotch that Morgan might not be so cheery about stepping down again, and I'm afraid the writers are setting up Tamara to mess up Morgan so he'll have to step down. This is exactly the sort of personal-life drama/screw-up that I hate, especially in my crime shows. The way they handled J.J./Louisiana-Lawman was perfect - it made sense, it had consequences (good ones, for a change), and it was mostly offscreen. That's how I like it. Get your romance out of my crime.

"Reconnect to his job"? Where did this even come from?

I was thinking that it was in the sense that he was seeing the victims as people, not just cases.

I think that it's interesting that they showed him going to the sister's house to tell her that they had found the eyes. He could have made a phone call and the plane could have left in the allotted hour, but he took the time to drive out there for 2 minutes of conversation. I wonder if this was supposed to make us feel better about him going to talk to Tamara previously, show that it was just how he rolled, not because she was special.

I was thinking that it was in the sense that he was seeing the victims as people

But wasn't that his problem? He got all distressed in the pig farm episode because he was too close to everything. I didn't see him pull back and objectify the cases after that.

I wonder if this was supposed to make us feel better about him going to talk to Tamara previously, show that it was just how he rolled, not because she was special.

But then he called Tamara for drinks, so he's still singling her out.

I wondered for a second if it was to show us a difference between his style and Hotch's, since he seemed to connect more with the sister than Hotch would have, but Hotch did go to a victim's family's house at the end of Ashes and Dust, and he gave that son his card, so it's not out of character for him.

I was thinking that it was in the sense that he was seeing the victims as people, not just cases.

I never noticed him not seeing the victims as people, but okay, yeah, it could be. That's good. And thus I wonder if taking the time to go to the sister's house was a reflection of his renewed victim-is-a-real-person sensibility. Garcia didn't seem to think that taking special interest in the victim's lives after the case was done was how Morgan usually rolls, though. He's in danger of losing objectivity, right at a point in his career when he needs to be ultra-professional.

But then he called Tamara for drinks, so he's still singling her out.

oh, definitely. He may now be aware that he's crossing the line, but when Garcia talked to him about it, he wasn't there yet.

when Garcia talked to him about it, he wasn't there yet

Not the first time, but she was, and it was blind of him not to see it. The second time, when he wasn't with the rest of the team because he was with her at the police station, things were starting to be off.

Doing coffee, with the implication of more time having been spent together? Accepting JEWELRY? Morgan, honey, you're so over the line that Garcia doesn't know what to say to you right now. Please get out of this gracefully. I don't want Hotch damaged and Morgan shamed all in the one season. I think he was dinged enough when Hotch told him he wouldn't recommend him for field office leadership. I want him to come out of team leadership with his rep intact.

Hotch told him he wouldn't recommend him for field office leadership

Okay, Hotch is (was, will be) team leader, but is he the field office leader? Or is that Strauss? I'm confused about everyone's rank. What's Reid's place in the hierarchy? And they often introduce each other as "Supervisory Special Agent" - if they're all Supervisors, who are they supervising? "This is SSA Somebody" sounds awkward, anyway, and who outside of the FBI would actually know what that meant?

Okay, Hotch is (was, will be) team leader, but is he the field office leader?

No, because they are based in DC, which is the main office. A field office would be an office anywhere else.

What's Reid's place in the hierarchy?

Reid's a apecial agent, but I think that they introduce him as Dr. Spencer Reid because he looks twelve.

And they often introduce each other as "Supervisory Special Agent" -

Only Hotch and Rossi are SSAs. Everybody else is just an special agent. I know that special agents are criminal investigators, but I don't know if "agent" is a specified rank (i.e. Garcia might be an agent, since she is technically not a criminal investigator, or she might just be a civilian employee)

I don't watch the show, so I don't know whether it matters, but "SSA" is also shorthand for "Senior Special Agent."