Apparently, Morgan was dumb enough to try to be in a betting pool with Reid. According to Reid, it took Morgan three rounds to notice he was being hustled. In retaliation, when Morgan gave out contact information to the press for the case, he gave Reid's name and cell number, which prompted Reid's phone to ring like mad and him to flip out like a mammal.

While I don't mind the pranking, I can't imagine that Morgan would have actually given out Reid's number as retaliation while they're in the midst of a case like that. I'm with Kathy in that this one felt like you had two writers working on the main storylines-- one for the case and one for the personal stuff and then they tried to stitch the two together. Especially awkward was Emily asking Hotch about Jack because she "had a feeling." It would've been one thing if he'd been reading the progress report the teacher gave Hotch at the beginning of the ep and she noticed it, but the way she just bopped over, plopped herself in front of him and asked, "How's Jack?" prompted a little bit of whiplash for me.

When Reid and JJ were going through the first victim's crime scene, Reid asked her who were her tormentors in high school. She claimed not to remember them, and that's when Reid asked if she was a Mean Girl ("Valedictorian, soccer scholarship, corn fed but a size six--you were a Mean Girl!"). She denied it, but then said something about how she probably wouldn't have talked much to guys like him. He claimed that his social status improved after he started winning basketball games. She was shocked that he played basketball, and he clarified that he coached the team (figured out the opposition's shooting statistics and strategies). She figured out that's why Morgan kicked him out of the gambling pool, and he admitted that he'd been hustling Morgan. That's why Morgan was involved with the phone calls he was getting--he and Rossi were conducting a press briefing, and Morgan gave out his name and number as a contact, which were in actuality Reid's.

Oops, x-post!

I would liked the scene about Jack better if there had been some sort of clue from Hotch, like Prentiss noticed because he always checks his phone a lot when he's worried about Jack.

Thanks, All!

And yes, the character interactions are seeming kinda...forced of late.

She denied it, but then said something about how she probably wouldn't have talked much to guys like him.

Actually, I thought she said something to the effect that she talked to everyone, "even guys like you," which I thought was very out of character for J.J. to say. Which reiterates the point that things seemed just a bit off in this ep. (Although I do love when Reid's Vegas background pops up.)

Yes! it's the interactions that are off. The pranking with contact info in the middle of a case? Really Not Done. And Reid's not the person you want talking to the press ... or most people. And, unless Reid's still pissed off about JJ not letting him know that Emily was still alive, his comments to her were ... off. I know in the past they'd been fairly close - she was the only one to call him "Spencer".

Actually, she calls him "Spence." He's called "Spencer" by his classmates and family, and he had Lila call him Spencer, too.

Oh, gee, I really do watch this show waaaaay too much.

Actually, I thought she said something to the effect that she talked to everyone, "even guys like you," which I thought was very out of character for J.J. to say.

Right, and right again! That was really weird for her.

(Although I do love when Reid's Vegas background pops up.)

Yeah, they've given him the most detailed background, probably because it's such a rich canvas for the writers--Vegas childhood apparently leads to card sharking and magician skills, even if he wasn't a genius.

However, the rather heavy-handed team stuff seemed shoehorned into the ep, although I liked each of the elements on its own. They're still trying to find the right groove, which is sad from a show that's in its seventh season, and just shows how much of an upheaval firing AJ and Paget was last season, and then losing Ed Bernero due to all the screwing around by TPTB at the network.

I think it has been broken too much to be put back together for me. Which is sad. I loved the team, I loved their interactions. But they broke them too far and they don't seem to have the behind the scenes talent to put them back together convincingly enough for me.

This season's been disapponting so far, but I plan to stick with it until either they get their act(s) together, or I just burn out on them.