Criminal Minds (TV Series) Valhalla (2011) User Reviews

The Art of Redemption

[ttapola · 8/10 · 29 December 2011]

I have to praise this episode. Over the past seasons, I've been very *critical* of Criminal Minds because of its un-evenness. There are gems, but there are also turkeys. This applies to almost every series ever made (The Wire being *one* notable exception). However, continuity and believability seem to be of a lesser and lesser concern for the show-runners of Criminal Minds as time goes by. But this latest mini-arc that centers on Prentiss goes a long way to redeem Criminal Minds' credibility and has already almost made me forget the mess that was The Reaper arc. Almost.

Though we are not yet at the climax, this episode stands out because it is a Format Breaker. Yes, there is a killer of the week, but it's not an isolated case and the way it connects to the big picture is handled really well. Criminal Minds has rarely been this captivating, their opponent so compelling. We get new information and twists at a steady feed, plus genuine shocks, the biggest of which is pretty hard to see coming. From script to the final product, all is great. There is even a firefight that is reminiscent of Michael Mann's classic Heat, and, unlike in most other cases that recall Heat, this firefight does not come across as a botched homage or imitation.

So why not more than an 8/10? Well, the story hasn't climaxed yet and there really is nothing *exceptional* here, "only" solid craftsmanship. Also, the whole "the Secret Past of Emily Prentiss" idea is still Retconning, no matter how well done. And master storytellers do not resort to Retconning - they plan everything *in advance*. Yes, in American TV this sadly often leads to potential left unrealized as shows planned to run 3 to 5 years are canceled after Season 1 (see Invasion, FlashForward, The Event, etc.)... but *the fact* remains. That being said, one cannot wait for the climax episode.

Solid episode, if mostly build-up for what was about to follow

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 12 January 2017]

Season 6 is one of the lesser, and most wildly variable, seasons of 'Criminal Minds'. There are no exceptional episodes as such, but there are some good (a few very good) episodes, some average and a few mediocre at best.

"Valhalla" is neither among the best ("Remembrance of Things Past", "Into the Woods", "Hanley Waters" and "The Longest Night", all four a mix of the creepy and the poignant) or among the weakest ("Today I Do", 25 to Life" and especially "The Thirteenth Step", the last example not feeling like 'Criminal Minds, "Today I Do" like an inferior carbon copy of 'Misery' and "25 to Life" could have been good if it hadn't fallen apart so badly in the second half).

Ranking it with the other episodes, "Valhalla" is around high middle. It has very little wrong actually, and is very solid stuff, it just lacks the extra something that make the best 'Criminal Minds' episodes so good.

One of the biggest problems with "Valhalla" is Seaver. Have always considered her a dead-weight and a failure of a character by 'Criminal Minds' standards and in general, and "Valhalla" does absolutely nothing to change my mind. As well as being bland, an awkward fit in the team due to vast inexperience and lack of chemistry, annoying and prone to making dumb assumptions and asking even dumber questions, Seaver has nothing to do here and her presence is just pointless. Rachel Nicholls' acting limitations come through loud and clear too.

The opening sequence is not for the faint hearted either and may go over the heads of many on first viewing, it did with me and only when the team are talking about it was it made clearer. The profiling is nice with less conclusion jumping and over-reliance on the all-too-convenient "magic" computer, but there also could have been more of it, an issue with Season 6 in general actually.

However, as always "Valhalla" is great, looking stylish and atmospheric. The music is suitably moody, and the direction has the right mix of the alert and the sensitive. The script is nicely written and taut enough, especially in the scenes with the team and the character moments.

When it comes to the story, it does feel like build-up to what happens in the succeeding episode but it sets what's to follow nicely and there is a tension and sadness to it all. The character moments are more interesting than the case, which is still tightly plotted and with nice twists and turns, but what was truly great about "Valhalla" was the team's touching chemistry. Especially in the secret keeping between Prentiss and Reid, which makes the heart melt, the elevator scene with Prentiss and Rossi, that agreed is a fond reminder of previous scenes between them in previous episodes, and the parts between Prentiss and Morgan where one really sees how caring Morgan is towards Prentiss.

All the cast do a great job, Paget Brewster being particularly splendid in a performance that brings tears to the eyes. Matthew Gray Gubler, Joe Mantegna and Shemar Moore are also great in their standout scenes with her, one really feels Reid's tenderness and Morgan's compassion. Timothy V Murphy cuts an ominous presence, both in scenes he's in and in ones where he is talked about.

(Contrary to an online review read that inexplicably criticised his accent, his Irish accent is spot on considering that Murphy is actually Irish. Plus I have two friends from Ireland and the way they speak accent-wise is identical to Murphy's, much more authentic than the accents used when the Irish are stereotyped in especially cartoons, which some may mistake as the real thing. Very irrelevant to be talked about here, but just wanted to clear this up before anybody is misled.)

All in all, mostly build up for what was about to follow, but very solid episode on the whole that is worth seeing for especially the little character moments. With more profiling, a clearer opening sequence and Seaver preferably being written out completely it would have been even better. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Paget Brewster Like A Boss!

[jodysimon-66722 · 10/10 · 22 September 2022]

From her first Appearance through the End of Season 15, Paget Brewster showed how Insanely Talented she is On Every Level.

She brings an Intelligence & Depth to Emily Prentiss that makes you feel a full Spectrum of Emotions. Criminal Minds never Shines Brighter than When Paget Valerie Brewster is Present. She's got it ALL! She's Beautiful, Intelligent, Caring, Talented, Humorous & Relatable and She Brings ALL That & More to Emily Prentiss & Every Role She Blesses with Her Presence. Every Episode that is Emily Centric is Amazing & Worthy of Praise. Of course as a Huge Fan of Paget Brewster there Might Be a Little Biased in My Opinion, but I stand by it, Always.

Paget Brewster Shines

[simon9387 · 10/10 · 14 January 2020]

I love episodes that are centered around Emily Prentiss!

Some great team friendships

[LoveIsAStateOfMind · 10/10 · 29 December 2015]

Wow, they are really dragging out this whole Prentiss-leaving thing aren't they? I thought they would devote two episode max to it but we're getting something like a five-episode arc. That's a good thing because Paget/Prentiss deserves the attention. Over the last few episodes, I haven't been particularly sucked into it (even if I loved the multiple scenes with Prentiss and her cat) but this episode had me holding my breath for half of it. Although whether I actually like it or not will come down to what happens in the finale episode, this episode did at least keep me interested which is more than can be said for most episodes this season.

For a start I kept wishing throughout the whole thing that Prentiss would tell her team what was going on and I thought when they worked out what the tattoo on the dead guy was then she would come clean. And again when they mentioned Ian Doyle, I thought she would spill the beans ..... and finally when she saw her friend shot through the head, I thought for sure she would tell Morgan what was going on. Alas!

Now I am eager to find out the whole Ian Doyle / Prentiss thing and what was the necklace she flushed down the toilet? Is that guy who was meant to be protecting her actually a double agent? Kudos to the writers, they are giving Prentiss an epic farewell, I suppose.

However, ADORABLE PRENTISS/GARCIA, PRENTISS/REID and PRENTISS/MORGAN SCENES <3 <3 <3 <3 plus a Prentiss/Rossi scene in the elevator which echoed back to various Prentiss/Rossi moments in the past. No Hotch/Prentiss though?

Prentiss: Does anyone know? Reid: You. Prentiss: I won't tell anyone Reid: I know. They'll just worry, you know, not that you're not going to worry but they'll just make me feel like a baby, you know. Prentiss: I do. Reid: What about you? Prentiss: I'm good. Reid: You've been picking your fingernails again. Prentiss: Yeah. Reid: You only do that when you're stressed. Prentiss: It's just a bad habit.

The way Prentiss looks at him throughout this whole scene made me MELT. It's like she really truly loves him (in a platonic way) and she's so sad that a) she can't tell him what's going on and b) if she does it will put him in danger. I've never really warmed to Reid as much as other people but there was something about this scene that made me all gooey. He was just so .... innocent. The fact that he told Prentiss what was going on with him and not anyone else? It was just all really touching <3.

Prentiss: I know what the world can do to a girl who only sees beauty in it, like you. Somehow you always make me smile and I don't think I've ever thanked you for that.

Oh Prentiss/Garcia <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3. It's always been Garcia/JJ more than anything so I didn't really have any high hopes for a sweet Garcia/Prentiss farewell scene but I am so glad that we got one! When Prentiss was being sharp and hasty with her earlier on, it broke my heart (obviously though it was in-character and you can't exactly blame Prentiss when she's got so much on her mind!) but to have it balanced out Prentiss saying that really beautiful thing.

Morgan: I tell you what does matter that you can trust me Emily, with anything. I am serious, no matter how awful you think it is, I promise you you're not alone. I just wish you'd believe that. Prentiss: I do.

Morgan/Prentiss <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3. I love how they built up to this as well: in the previous episodes, Morgan asked her whether she was okay and kept giving her worried looks. They work together the most so it's only natural that he noticed more than anyone else that she wasn't herself. And in the previous episode, she told him not to profile her but he did anyway because he cares, even though he knew it would make her mad. I thought it was a bit ironic that he said she didn't trust anybody though. Hasn't the same thing been said about him in previous seasons?! Anyway, I LOVED that scene. He called her Emily and was really sweet and even though you could tell she was mad that he profiled her and torn between confiding in him or not, they still managed to have a laugh. Then after when he came to her when she was throwing up and finally at the very end when he was still worrying about her <3 <3 <3.

And then when Prentiss was looking at everyone with tears in her eyes? I think I started to cry too.

Deary me, I am going to be a nervous wreck throughout the whole of the next episode. It's episodes like this with those special inter-team moments that makes me realise how much I love this show, how I want it to carry on being as awesome as it used to be, and it makes me mad when it doesn't live up to expectations because quite frankly, I hold it to a higher standard than other shows.

And finally, Seaver is still contributing absolutely nothing to the team and her presence is still unexplained. I might be able to let the writers off for this episode since it was all about Prentiss and there was no time to explore anything else (even Hotch and Rossi didn't get much screen time) but meh. I feel a trend. Now obviously when Prentiss is gone and Seaver is the only girl on the team in the field, they are going to have to stop ignoring her existence ....

Love this episode.

[superliberalgirl · 10/10 · 18 July 2021]

It's in my top five post-Gideon episodes of the show.

I also love Prentiss, and this climax to the little mini arc that focuses on her and her past is so satisfying to watch of you get to the end. It has a kind of epic feel with great direction, editing, and a cinematic score, and I get chills at the beginning of the final scene and the biggest smile at the very end, every single time I catch it in syndication.

As to the biggest gripe I see in the other reviews, I am usually the first to point out badly-written and irrational or inconsistent character behavior (I did my wordy best to eviscerate Walker, for example) but in this case I really believe they did a pretty good job setting up her precarious situation and the mental state, actions and motivations that arose from from it. Her choices aren't the ones us normal folk might make, but for someone in her position and training they do seem within the realm of not just the possible, but given the unrealistic, almost fantasy-level parameters these characters have operated in since the very beginning of the show, even likely.

The details surrounding the end I love so much IS a very unlikely one, but I forgive it not only because it's full of intrigue and surprise, but because I am well aware that *this is a show, not real life*. So much in this particular show is and always has been outright absurd (the FBI doesn't run the way this show depicts, and it would never let any of these people do any of the drama-inducing things they do, etc.) so of course you have to suspend disbelief to get through a lot of it, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. That's part of the fantastic journey we all live out watching just about anything that has been edited (aka, not a live stream of real life).

If you want a well-crafted episode with lots of heart, intrigue, and a few satisfying twists and turns, then this episode has you covered.

Personal taste

[Jackbv123 · 2/10 · 27 September 2019]

On principle, I hate this type of episode, but a few details enhance that feeling. What I hate is the combination of omnipotent criminal plus secret conspiracy which is probably inside our own government.

In this episode, Emily is what I consider almost criminal in her withholding information from the team. At this point, it makes no sense. But worse, she is withholding it from her "family". *** SPOILER FOR LATER EPISODES ^^^ When she comes back everyone will be mad at her and Hotch and JJ for keeping a certain thing secret. What they ought to be mad at is strictly Emily for how long she hid her connection to Doyle. I am angry in large part because of her betrayal. ***END SPOILER***

Seaver receives a lot of space in reviews on this site. There is good reason, but I hesitate to blame Nichols. No actor can shine the way Seaver is written. I trace it back to the same thinking the marginalized Elle for her entire run the first year, then somewhat marginalized JJ in the early days. But with Seaver, the marginalization is extreme. It is an absolute farce. We ask what is her character there for? There is never really a good explanation for Seaver being there. It seems that the most likely answer is that she is a pretty blonde possibly replacing JJ for a time. If so, that's just bad.

In fairness, if I ignore my pet peeves, the story is good, as is the acting, and there is plenty of suspense.

Unfortunately, this episode has no conclusion and the final words are "to be continued".

Makes no sense whatsoever

[svanisvani94 · 1/10 · 28 May 2021]

Everything that happens happens because Emily withholds vital information from the team. The motivations for keeping the situation secret were unclear in previous episodes but they still left the space for speculation, while in this episode her motivations make no sense. What's the benefit of not telling the team necessary information whike they're already working the case, that's straight up criminal offense in my book.