To me, both "The Fisher King" episodes are prime examples of 'Criminal Minds' at its best. "The Fisher King Part I" was without a doubt one of the best season finales of the show, so "The Fisher King Part II" had a lot to live up to.
And live up to it it does, and brilliantly. Like "The Fisher King Part I" was a cracker and one of the best season finales, "The Fisher King Part II" starts Season 2 with an explosive bang and is one of the best first episodes of any the show's eleven seasons. Where it does improve on its previous episode, though overall they're about equal despite the huge difference in rating, is that the beginning is tighter paced and gets to the point straight away with no filler.
Rest of the review is with warning going to be similarly worded to the review for the first part but the strengths are the same in both episodes and so brilliantly done. As always with 'Criminal Minds', "The Fisher King Part I" looks great. Stylish, atmospheric and never cheap-looking, as well as beautifully and cleverly shot. The music is suitably haunting and hypnotic, while never being over-the-top, melodramatic, intrusive or ill-fitting. What a perfect choice of song too, really adds to the impact. As with the best of 'Criminal Minds', the writing is incredibly thought-provoking, structurally tight, smart and achieves a perfect balance of moods.
It's tautly paced, strongly directed and the tension and suspense keeps piling until it rises to fever pitch. The climax is phenomenally tense and explosive, and the ending scene with Reid and his mother is poignant and bittersweet. The characters again are really well-written and distinct in personality, with great development in particular with Reid. We know much more about the unsub here, and is played slightly more chillingly, and he was chilling already, but movingly.
The unsub sure is unforgettable, one you really detest but also feel a pang of sympathy for once his back story and why he's committed his crimes is revealed. Again the acting is very good all round, hard to pick a standout but Matthew Gray Gubler does out of the regulars and Charles Haid in support.
All in all, Season 2 starts with a bang with a brilliant conclusion to a contender for the show's best two-parter. 10/10 Bethany Cox
