(facially she actually reminded me a bit of Elle)

Action-wise she did too. Which is probably why I feel so icky.

Because while strong female agents would be yay, women who do stupid things and then need to be rescued by the mens is less yay.

If it was Garcia, sure. She's not a field agent. But show me someone who is supposed to run the course, be strong and be a survivor and then she's whoopsie trapped by a bad guy she specifically should have been able to at least feel unsure about? Not loving it. At least they made her young so that's a little handwave.

Eh.

I need to find out who wrote this ep of CM and smack them straight upside the head.

None other than Mr. Bernero himself.

How does a recruit who runs the obstacle course in her spare time and got a concussion in hand to hand combat not be able to handle an unsub that she knows is dangerous?

I get that, but then the more I thought about it the more I came to understand her actual reaction. Her badassery has only been in training, and I'm surmising she's never faced a real-life situation. When she finally is in a life-and-death situation, it's not just your standard "I'm an FBI Agent and I don't feel like dying today" response; it's compounded by her personal history and the reason why she went to the unsub's house in the first place. Emotion overrode her training, and the only way that's acceptable is because she's still a recruit. (Of course, that opens up a whole other can of worms as to why a recruit is with the BAU.) So yes, I can understand why she didn't do what she's been trained to do. Doesn't mean I like it.

Yeah, the idea that a recruit needs to be rescued--I'd rather that, than she be some actual Mary Sue with awesome powers. I don't think she was Mary Sue at all. She had a special and tormented past, but she didn't twig onto what was happening all that super fast, she wasn't a closet ninja. She was reasonably flawed.

None other than Mr. Bernero himself.

Bah.

I want Simon to smack him around some.

Oh, and dear God if they go down the route of Reid crushing on her, I may really have to smack a bitch, my shipping tendencies notwithstanding.

Weevil and Keith Mars on Bones!

Speaking of Reid, I loved the part where he is reciting the litany of physical areas he had trouble with during training and that they had to actually make an exception for him HA!

(Of course, that opens up a whole other can of worms as to why a recruit is with the BAU.)

Bingbingbing! This is my main issue with her character. They've at least tried to keep somewhat with FBI reality when it comes to most of the main characters' length of service before they finally got promoted to the BAU, although Reid was an exception (and I was equally glad when he mentioned just how much of an exception he was this week; I'd always suspected that Gideon cashed in a lot of favors to get him past the various FBI requirements). But, if they make her a part of the BAU right out of the academy, that's really going outside the show's fundamental parameters.

They've at least tried to keep somewhat with FBI reality when it comes to most of the main characters' length of service before they finally got promoted to the BAU, although Reid was an exception (and I was equally glad when he mentioned just how much of an exception he was this week; I'd always suspected that Gideon cashed in a lot of favors to get him past the various FBI requirements).

This pinged me. I can see a waiver of *some* of the requirements, but basically waiving *all* of the physical ones strains even the bounds of credulity. There's no way Reid should have ever been allowed in the field if he didn't even have a minimum proficiency in the physical aspects of the job. We all know now that Reid is a closet badass who takes (and makes) the headshot and doesn't back down from any life or death confrontation, but then, who would have known? I wouldn't have wanted him on my team or trusted him to have my back. Reid learned through on the job experience, which tells me he could have passed at least some of the academy requirements.

I know CM canon is flexible and often contradicts itself (c.f. Hotch and his amazing education and work history, not to mention his changing age), but do we know how long after the academy Reid joined the BAU?

One special flower per show I can handle, but two is too much. This is not Reid-bashing; I love the character and I think he's often the one holding the seams together by sheer force of will when everyone and everything else is falling apart.

Soooo... one episode does not a character make. I'll reserve final judgment on Ashley Seaver until I see what else the writers do with her.

edited to correct character name

Check out AJ Cook's twitter (@ajcookofficial) for a snarky response to the latest development.

Can anyone c&p for the non-twitterers?

How does a recruit who runs the obstacle course in her spare time and got a concussion in hand to hand combat not be able to handle an unsub that she knows is dangerous?

She's athletic, sure. But basically an admin at the start. That much didn't bother me. But it was stupid, and took her a long time to twig to what was going on.

If she actually joins the BAU (and after Hotch's way over the top "this doesn't mean you're joining the BAU" schtick @@) I will be displeased.

But man, I do love her hair.

Posted on Dec. 4th via AJ's twitter account:

Anyone know if they're doing THE EXPENDABLES the sequel? I'm apparently PERFECT for that.

(and after Hotch's way over the top "this doesn't mean you're joining the BAU" schtick @@)

SSA Aaron Hotchner is such a stickler for the rules and regulations, except when he's not.