200 (Criminal Minds)

"200" is the fourteenth episode of the ninth season of the American police procedural crime drama television series Criminal Minds, and is the 200th episode overall, which aired on CBS on February 5, 2014.[1] The episode was written by Rick Dunkle and directed by Larry Teng.

"200"
Criminal Minds episode
JJ (A.J. Cook) with Hotch (Thomas Gibson) after being rescued by the BAU.
Episode no.Season 9
Episode 14
Directed byLarry Teng
Written byRick Dunkle
Featured music
Original air dateFebruary 5, 2014 (2014-02-05)
Running time42 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

At the time of its initial release, the episode was watched by 12.92 million viewers[2] and received mixed reviews but television critics praised A.J. Cook's performance.

Plot

After being abducted at the end of the previous episode, JJ (A. J. Cook) finds herself being held against her will with a bag over her head and a gag around her mouth. When her captors remove the bag from her head, she looks up and sees a face she recognizes. She begins to fight her restraints and gag with anger as he approaches her to drug her. In a flashback to the U.S. Operations Camp in Afghanistan in 2010, JJ meets with Section Chief Erin Strauss (Jayne Atkinson). Strauss gives JJ details about her secretive mission from the States’ Department to the Middle East. The task force is looking for Osama bin Laden. JJ then meets Mateo Cruz (Esai Morales) and Michael Hastings (Tahmoh Penikett). It's revealed that JJ was sent there to be the intermediary for female suspects. Her job is to crack them without the normal brutality saved for their male counterparts. Cruz then introduces her to Tivon Askari (Faran Tahir), her interpreter.

Back in the present day, the BAU receives word of her disappearance from Will Lamontagne Jr. (Josh Stewart), her husband, and information that she had worked with their new Section Chief Mateo Cruz in the past. JJ told Will that if anything seemed off or wrong that he was to go to Cruz. However neither he nor the team can find Cruz because Cruz has also gone missing. race against the clock and against forces trying to stop them from saving both JJ, and the Section Chief’s lives. The team tries to gather intel but is met with many obstacles along the way. Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) tries to use many of her skills to go through security clearances to find out the reason why they might have been taken. The team is split up and tries to gather more information. Rossi (Joe Mantegna) and Blake (Jeanne Tripplehorn) search through JJ's old office and find documents about her secret mission, code-named "Integrity".

With the help of Agent Anderson (Brian Appel), Garcia and Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) were able to acquire information in a secured location to what secret mission JJ had been assigned to during her absence in 2010 (season 6), when she was transferred to the Department of Defense. With the name of the project under their belt, Hotch (Thomas Gibson) goes to the Department of State to gather the necessary information on what the assignment was about. There he learns of her help in gathering information in the Middle East on the terrorist Osama bin Laden from Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs Rosemary Jackson (Debrah Farentino). Under Secretary Jackson also reveals that task force translator Tivon Askari is the perpetrator. She then tells Hotch that they were doing all they can to recover the Agents but fearing another government scandal, Under Secretary Jackson bans the BAU from the investigation, leading the BAU members to be rushed out of their current locations where they were gathering classified information.

Feeling out of options, the team are quickly rushed together to find a way to help JJ and Cruz, despite their specific instructions not to do so. Hotch tells Morgan (Shemar Moore) that they need reinforcements. Hotch then calls Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster), former BAU agent, now head of Interpol and asks her for help.

Prentiss, hearing that JJ had been kidnapped by terrorist Tivon Askari, is rushed directly onto her private jet to help out the BAU. Askari was using all the data he managed to obtain on their task force as a commodity to sell to whoever wished to hire him. A man for hire means no allegiance to anyone. Once his true agenda was revealed back in 2011; he immediately went underground to never be seen again. The first record they have of Askari's “signature” was JJ’s informant overseas and he’s been killing ever since. The BAU classified him as a serial killer with a pattern. Askari will do everything in his power to break his victim within the first 24 hours. If they somehow hold off and continue to fight him then he’s forced to move away from his usual pattern and turns to rape.

On the plane, Prentiss communicates with the BAU to find out that JJ is being tortured for information (along with Cruz), the information being the security codes for project “Integrity”. And they find out that Askari never got high clearance to access "Integrity", meaning that there was another person on the inside to go to bat for him. The team begin to think that person is Cruz. Which makes JJ is an even more dangerous position. The team discover that Hastings staged his own kidnapping to escape persecution. He escaped by setting off a roadside bomb. Hastings knew JJ was pregnant but didn’t care. All that mattered was he escaped. Due to the bombing, JJ miscarries and loses her baby.

Askari continues to torture and interrogate JJ and Cruz. Askari then tells Cruz he didn’t care then and that JJ was going to lose more than a baby this time. JJ then figures out who is behind all of this and demands that his boss show his face. That's when Hastings, perfectly healthy, comes out of hiding on request.

Back at the BAU, knowing that the information had to be acquired from a nearby area, but not being able to pinpoint the exact location, the team rushes out without Prentiss to search all locations for JJ and Cruz. Garcia and Kevin (Nicholas Brendon), waiting for a clue, have one pop up on Garcia's computer screen with the code word "Blackbird". Prentiss then arrives to the BAU and tells them that "Blackbird" is JJ. Garcia and Kevin are then apprehended for hacking into the system, but not before relaying the information on the location of their missing friend and co-worker. Prentiss then joins the team to help rescue JJ, who has been tortured through such forms as waterboarding, electrocution and attempted rape. The team splits up and takes out Hastings team.

Meanwhile, Prentiss and Hotch search for JJ and end up finding her just in time and kill Askari before he could kill JJ. JJ and Prentiss then go after Hastings after he manages to escape to the roof. JJ and Prentiss catch up with him fight him but during the fight, Hastings falls off the roof, killing him.

The team then reunite with JJ while Cruz is sent to the hospital to have his stab wound and other injuries treated. The team, along with Prentiss and Will, gather at a bar to celebrate and also to say farewell to Prentiss before she heads back to London.

Production

On September 30, 2013, it was announced that former cast member Paget Brewster would return for the 200th episode and reprise her role as Emily Prentiss.[3] On January 21, 2014, it was announced that Battlestar Galactica star Tahmoh Penikett had been cast in a key role as Michael Hastings.[4]

Speaking about the 200th episode, A.J. Cook revealed that the episode will delve in to JJ's time away from the BAU during Season 6

"We're going to use the serendipitous gift of Season 6 to explain with flashbacks what happened when she was working for the Pentagon and why she came back as a much tougher character. I've never had a chance to flex my acting muscles like this on the show!".[5]

Cook also revealed that she performed most of her own stunts during the episode - some of which Cook says she actually experienced so the show would look authentic. One of the stunts was being waterboarded.[6]

This is the first time since the pilot episode that the opening credits were not shown as more time was needed for the episode footage, so the credits were cut, and the stars names were listed during the first scene following the teaser.[7]

Reception

Ratings

The episode aired on CBS on February 5, 2014. Upon initial release, it was viewed by 12.92 million people and it also garnered a 2.8/7 Nielsen rating.[2] "200" was also the week's third most watched drama and ranked tenth on the list of most watched television programmes overall.[8] The episode also received 3.48 million more viewers in Live+7 ratings, bringing the viewer total to 16.39 million.[9]

Critical response

"200" was met with mixed reviews. The episode has received an average score of 7.1 out of 10 in IMDb.[10]

Gel Galang from the International Business Times gave the episode a positive review, calling it "an episode to remember" and said that it "does live up to its name and hype."[11] TV Fanatic gave the episode 4.8/5 stars, saying that "Expectations for this installment were high. And I can say for sure that it met them with flying colors" but criticized the show for condensing the story into one episode, "it seems this story could well have been stretched over a few more episodes."[12] Patty Gopez from TV Over Mind gave the episode a mixed review, saying that while the episode was emotional, it all "seemed fairly predictable."[13]

gollark: Yes. I know since you have test.
gollark: Ah. You do NOT have April Folly.
gollark: Meh, rounding errors.
gollark: Well in that case you would have more than 104.7 points.
gollark: The one for an attempted XSS attack?

References
  1. "Criminal Minds Episode Guide 2005 Season 9 - 200". TV Guide. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  2. Bibel, Sara (February 6, 2014). "Wednesday Final Ratings: 'Super Fun NIght' Adjusted Down". Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  3. "Scoop: Criminal Minds Brings Back Paget Brewster for 200th Episode". TV Line. 2013-09-30. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  4. "Criminal Minds Exclusive: BSG Vet Tahmoh Penikett Fills Key Role in Movie-Like Episode 200". TV Line. 2014-01-21. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  5. "Keck's Exclusives First Look: Criminal Minds Explores J.J.'s Gap Year - Today's News: Our Take". TV Guide. 2013-09-16. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  6. "'Criminal Minds' 200th episode: A.J. Cook was waterboarded (for real)". Screener. 2014-02-06. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  7. "Criminal Minds Season 9 Episode 14 200 - Trivia". TV.com. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  8. "TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony Tops Week 20 With Adults 18-49 and Total Viewers". TV by the Numbers. February 11, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  9. Kondolojy, Amanda (February 24, 2014). "Live+7 DVR Ratings: 'The Big Bang Theory' Has Biggest 18-49 Ratings Gain & Total Viewer Increase + 'Nashville' Tops Percentage Gain in Week 20". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  10. "200". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  11. "'Criminal Minds' Season 9 200th Episode Recap: JJ's Secret is Out, a Battle of Wits and Guns and a Happy Reunion". International Business Times. 2014-02-07. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  12. "Criminal Minds Review: Escape from the Abyss". TV Fanatic. 2014-02-06. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  13. "Criminal Minds 9.14 Review: "200"". TV Over Mind. 2014-02-06. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
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