Blackwolf is my favourite local LEO, I think. The LA guy played by Ian Anthony Dale is second, and Gina Torres is third.

"The Tribe" has one of my favorite Reid scenes - When Reid can't help answering the questions Blackwolf (as teacher) is asking the class until Hotch has to say: Reid, is your name Samuel?

Rang so many bells.

I don't know. Maybe, it just seemed like Gideon was written as being awesome, someone that even other good profilers held their breath around, and Patinkin played him without a shred of humility. Even when he was angsting about his mistakes and people who died, he always seemed self-involved to me. Like, "This was a terrible tragedy! See how badly it's affected me?!" He was so sensitive and emotionally fragile, but at the same time came off like a total narcissist. Just found him a very unlikeable character.

Yeah, I can see that. I've been a bit "Bwuh?" already that Reid went from being able to pick an unsub's favoured style of playing Go (not just aggressor, but extreme aggressor, which is an aggressor who drinks Pepsi Max) from a single board position, to learning that he's apparently never beaten Gideon at chess. Because he doesn't think outside the box!

I will note, though, that I thought it was hilarious that Gideon picked the footpath killer, obviously enough for the killer to notice, and yet still decided that his best plan was to turn his back and walk out instead of pulling a gun on him.

Because he doesn't think outside the box!

He gets dinged with that in poker too, I think. Doesn't Emily beat him in S5?

He seems to have a few gaps in his skills. Like chop sticks.

Well, I have seen Uncanny Valley, and I will be back for more. Good Reid episode.

Sometimes the writers will have gaps in his skills/education for comic effect that don't make any sense, like in the episode with the "vampires" where Reid doesn't know what Twilight is. I think that it would have been funnier if he had read all of the books just because he's Reid, or maybe that he had some obscure knowledge about the book or the author, but no idea of the culture phenomenon.

I think in an episode I watched last week, Reid won a poker game on the plane at the beginning of a scene. I can't remember if anyone commented on it or not, but I think it had the feel of him winning often. And I watched most of Season 1 more or less at once, so I can't recall now which ep it was.

He's definitely something of a card sharp, and they've attributed it to his Vegas upbringing.

Right, yes, that was the talk.

I read the chess thing as more a comment on Gideon. Reid, it seems, is supposed to be good at chess (it's not a gap in his abilities), but Gideon is just that much better.