This episode certainly confirms that Gideon has something similar to the killer. He does many things in threes like listening to the screwed up voice tip they got, there were the three pawns when he beat Reid in the end (again) and he also told Reid to stay three steps ahead doing his job and playing chess. I'm sure there are many other things in CM episodes that have Gideon and three in it. .This certainly wasn't an accident the producers had a point of showing this which was to show everyone Gideon may have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Also in the end of Compulsion when Gideon says checkmate just before that he kind of had a flash back of what his next 3 chess moves were going to be. .......
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juliantalber527 February 2015
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TheLittleSongbird12 September 2016"Extreme Aggressor" was a great start to 'Criminal Minds', and indicated a show with fantastic potential if the high standard was maintained. Which it was, as 'Criminal Minds' was a big personal favourite before becoming hit and miss from Season 6 onwards.
One was really hoping that "Compulsion" was every bit as good, and it was, even surpassing "Extreme Aggressor" which was a fine achievement for a second episode. While not quite one of the best episodes of Season 1 like "The Fox", "Riding the Lightning" and "The Fisher King Part 1", "Compulsion" is an absolutely enthralling episode. Honestly wasn't expecting an episode so good so early on in the show's history.
Flaws are barely any. If there was anything that could have been better, it is that "The Foothpath Killer" subplot could have fitted slightly better and may have fared better as a whole episode on its own perhaps, due to it not being quite as interesting as the main plot. This said, that is not too big a quibble actually, because the episode does provide a good conclusion to that story, being intriguing and suspenseful.
However, "Compulsion" is made with much style and class, also with atmospheric darkness and grittiness. The music is haunting too, fits very well and while not quite enhancing the action going on in the story it never distracts either. The writing is tightly structured with plenty of tense and suspenseful moments as well as being very intelligently thought-provoking.
The story has twists and turns, with little clues that are not obvious or don't reveal too much too early, great use of psychology, profiling, tension and suspense. The revelation of the unsub was completely unexpected and will definitely have one floored, one of the show's most shocking reveals along with "North Mammon" and especially "The Boogeyman". Plus the OCD was handled well, carefully while still having impact, and wasn't rammed down people's throats or felt heavy-handed. The subplots with the chess and the stutter are as good as the main plot, and contrary to what has been said it is agreed that the whole stuff with the stutter is resolved, just with subtlety.
BAU are very strongly realised, especially Gideon and Reid, and the team dynamic is beautifully balanced and interesting. Morgan's sympathetic and more personable side is a far cry from his later tough guy image, and is more preferable actually and while Elle has never been a favourite of mine (and that's putting it politely) she isn't a problem here. The acting is very good, Mandy Patinkin in particular playing Gideon with command and complexity.
All in all, absolutely enthralling and such a great follow-up from a great, promising first episode. 9/10 Bethany Cox -
Iron_Lion_Zion22 February 2011In this second episode of Criminal Minds we open where we left off. Protagonist Jason Gideon is being held at gun point by a stuttering killer he has been seeking, yet came about through, in his words, "dumb luck".
As it is a flashback, the team are challenged to discover the reasoning as to why people stutter, as Gideon says his knowledge of this allowed him to get free. The answer to this IS revealed at the end, despite what the previous reviewer would strangely have you believe.
The episode continues meanwhile, with the team tracking down an arsonist in a college. It becomes clear that they must think outside the box in order to figure out the case, as the killer does not follow the precedent profile of an arsonist.
The idea of thinking outside the box is a key theme of the entire series, and it is made sure that viewers are aware of this with frequent referrals to it in this episode, (including Dr Reid attempting to defeat Gideon at a game of chess.) As we know from ccthemovieman-1's review, religion plays a part in this episode. However i'm sure not everyone is as inanely incompetent as he/she, as to think that every plot where religion is seen as a cause of crime is "prejudice" against religion.
Thankfully the team in Criminal Minds aren't so disillusioned with society, and acknowledge, after the clues present themselves, that religion could be pivotal in cracking the case.
You will surely be gripped to Criminal Minds after watching this second instalment, and will hopefully be very interested in learning more about the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) themselves. -
lottiemarshalllm29 July 2020Disclaimer:I am no expert reviewer, I just need a show to binge watch and I'm going to Write a review for every episode I watch.
This was a great second episode as it explored the characters more and gave a very interesting and suspenseful plot to the audience.
I personally really Like that it establishes that the show will deal with more than just murderers and rapists and also goes after arsonist. I really liked that it was a female who committed arson as I thought that was really big and good plot twist.
One of my favorite parts about this episode was that you really got to see it how smart the team is. Two examples of this is when Reid figures out that the arsonist has an obsession with the number three and that's connected to all of the fires and another is when Gideon realizes there's about to be another fire and pulls all the fire alarms because the water is turned off.
The only thing that I didn't love about this episode was it's Portrayal of obsessive compulsive disorder. I know the agents make it very clear that it is a very extreme case but I do think it's interesting to choice to give a killer arsonist one of the most common anxiety disorders. But overall I thought it was really well done and I can look past it to give it an eight out of 10 -
lmarsden-2990915 July 2021It is rare that the second episode of a new tv series can be as good if not better than the pilot episode, but I think that this was an example of one of the few tv shows to do this.
'Compulsion' is on of the best episodes of season 1 for sure. It combined some great details about profiling and a wonderful story line that had you on the edge of your seat. It also balanced out the darker themes with some light humour and you can learn new details about the characters.
In conclusion, 'Compulsion' is an amazing for only the second episode of a new show. The acting was very good and the episode was extremely well written. -
faerie_dust198517 January 2021Although the episode was entertaining this was not an accurate depiction of what it is like to have ocd
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Ok this episode is good I do like this episode the thing I don't get is why have a cliff hanger last episode but not go after him very confused on that we focus on someone else which I think is better with the hole fire and stuff interesting story she believes in all the bad stuff what is going on with the hole fire stuff at first it did not make sense but it made sense when Reid figured everything out good episode all round.
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alf1149313 May 2021So the overall episode was very clear and understood however I do have one problem with it. There's a scene where they are explain the three main tells of something I can remember now and one of them is animal cruelty which I do not condone on any measure, (that's the one star less than what the episode could have got). My one question is what the hell is sound of the animal its coming from. Cuz it's hard so hard to tell what was in the tweezers let alone what the sound was of the animal that was being tortured.
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Prismark1010 April 2017The end of the first episode saw Jason Gideon encountering Lukas Haas, a gas station attendant. Haas plays the Footpath Killer, a serial killer with a stutter. Gideon talked about him at the beginning of the first episode in Quantico.
At the start of the second episode, Haas holds Gideon at gunpoint. I thought this could be great, but it is a story told in flashback. The main story is about an arsonist in a college campus and the lesson for this week is, if you want to be as good as Gideon, then think outside the box.
I would rather had witnessed more of Haas's story than more back-draft. -
This picks up where the end of the pilot show ended, with Gideon stopping at a rural gas station/convenience store in Virginia where he instantly recognizes a perfect profile of a killer that he mentioned in a speech. (The guy will be driving a truck, have a menial job, talk with a stutter, etc.) Gideon sees the whole profile right here with this guy. The clerk sees the gun on Gideon and as our leader walks away the man comes out with a shotgun aimed at him.
This is the "Footpath Killer," and Gideon just happened stumble across on him on this day. "Sometimes it's just dumb luck that captures these guys," he explains to his co-workers in a fast-forward retrospect scene (so at least we know he got out of this jam as this killer held him captive with that shotgun.)
The key question in this capture and story seems to be "Why does a person (the killer) stutter?" That question, BTW, is never answered.
Oddly, after that six-minute opening, the episode is all about catching a serial arsonist who is a college student setting fires which are killing people at Bradford College in Arizona. The ending of the episode then finished with this very short "story."
Anyway, as viewers we learn all about arsonists, such as who they usually are, their personalities, likely history and why they do what they do. Very interesting material and a dramatic show.
Unfortunately, the episode then turns so typical of secular Hollywood when they get their prejudices in against "religion" making the arsonist into God-believer-freak and an OCD case, to boot. Bizarre. That, and another plug for homosexuality. This kid tells Gideon he dumped his girlfriend. "What's her name," asks Gideon. "Brian," he says. "Well, that's a good reason (and he's sincere.) "My girlfriend said it's a sin." (Gideon smirks) It's at that point, of course, that the Bible-quoter must be the arsonist-killer....and sure enough! The left-wing entertainment business just cannot stop putting their agendas into our faces, ruining good crime shows with their hateful prejudices. -
nebohr17 November 2021There is a 4.2% chance of monkeyface Gideon showing any human emotion this episode.
Having the gasoline magically leap up on the first student, covering him from head to toe doesn't make sense.
Having the second student fan the fire instead of smothering it was also nonsense.
Gideon waits until the very last moment before telling the team: no badges. Try not to look official.
Using a road flare to light flammable liquids doesn't make sense.
Gideon, with his vast knowledge, should know that to successfully fight a fire attacking the base of the fire is the preferred method. Spraying at random is a waste of chemical.
The team knows where the Karen phone call originated but there is no effort to collect fingerprints.
The original film that Reid is so interested in shows the doorknob is out of frame at 05:57 so Reid couldn't possibly know is was turned three times.
It would take crazy strong fingernails to pry open elevator doors. -
TOT_EchoofGlory26 May 2020The episode is clearly moving faster and the case is getting more complicated. Reid is smart, but sometimes he gets stuck with a lot of knowledge. Gideon told Reid not rely on precedent, so he could find a novel insight.