Foundation Episode 18

“Foundation”

Season 7, Episode 18
by SmileyGidget

I loved this episode, eighteen episodes in and we finally see an episode with some decent Prentiss time, this had me very excited. Although I have spent the last two days in bed basically – sick with a Cold I did manage to watch the episode and thoroughly enjoy it for a change.

I actually really liked the beginning of this episode with the father getting out of the car and running around for a bit, I should totally do that when I get tired whilst driving! The beginning was good because for a change we didn’t see a murder right to start off with we just had that family and the kid show up, different way to start the episode. It was also interesting and different that we had the team skip the BAU Round Table Room briefing and we just went straight to being on the jet with the team and Garcia discussing the facts with them all. I liked how this episode changed it all up a bit!

Again with something different… A tie-less Hotch, yes Hotch was not wearing a TIE!!! This is not something we see very often, nice to have another little change thrown in there! Anywho, team discussing the boy that was found, that looks like he has been held for years and kept in terrible condition and that he has to have escaped his captor, we also learn that another boy has recently gone missing, Billy and they suspect the same UNSUB. We see the new boy who has been chained and his mouth duck taped and locked in what looks like a small cellar of some kind… and we are not shown who the UNSUB is, yay, I do like this episode for the differences it shows from all the other episodes, variety is good. The team is now on the road, woohoo Prentiss driving!! :) I have to comment that this scene when they are watching Sam in the police station and Prentiss is watching whilst driving I was so yelling at my screen “Eyes on road Prentiss” – Common sense, this show normally is pretty good with car scenes, unfortunately not that one… least there was no accident – Phew! ;)

Now we are with JJ and Morgan at the hospital as they go to see the boy who escaped, the Doctor explains that due to a severe case of CER (Conditioned Emotional Response) he hadn’t really had a chance to examine the boy and he also didn’t know his age but could only estimate maybe 16. They enter the boys room and see him crouched under a small table in the corner all the lights in the room are off and windows covered. I have to say that I actually kinda laughed at how Morgan pulled his shirt down to cover his gun and holster… like that’d hide it from the kid! Sorry, my brain went into smartass mode! :) Rossi and Prentiss as they go to see Sam at the nursery she works at, gotta say it… I just love Prentiss, you can really tell that Paget’s hair is growing too it’s longer every episode, I’m more of a short hair fan myself but I think Paget looks good with her hair any length! …Then we are back with Morgan and the boy and Morgan seems to get a little somewhere when he rolls a coin to the kid and the kid rolls it back, Woohoo progress! I like not knowing who the UNSUB is yet, its suspenseful and exciting! Also…. Prentiss looks frigging awesome in jeans, I love when we have the team in casuals, its different and a bit more relaxed!

Then we are back at the hospital and Morgan has gotten the kid out from under the table and they’re playing with the coin, JJ enters and says Garcia hasn’t found anything on who he is, an alarm goes off in the hospital and the kid freaks out and goes back under the table but Derek coaxes him back out. Okay, this next part kinda annoyed me, when JJ sat down and spoke to the kid in Spanish I was seriously like “That’s Prentiss’ thing!!!” Slightly annoyed… but that’s okay coz the next scene kinda made up for it… oh and in that hospital scene we find out that the kids name is Angel. Then awesome Prentiss scenes as she’s in an interrogation room with Sam. Back with Reid, Rossi and the Detective they mull over how Angel escaped and work out that the UNSUB must have known both boys and that Billy was a target, so now they need to find who would’ve known both boys… an idea, whoot! Back at the hospital Derek is teaching Angel how to do a little coin trick with his fingers, JJ is on the phone with Garcia and they have found out who Angel actually is.

Yay back with Prentiss in the interrogation room and she’s doing a cognitive interview with Sam and we see Sam as a young girl, her mother dying and she sees her father JB with a boy in chains, but Sam is in denial and can’t believe that her father would do those things. Hotch and Rossi suggest surveillance on the father, so next we are with Reid and someone as they stake out the fathers house… in a bright yellow van! :) Back at the hospital Derek and JJ enter the room just as Angel starts cutting into one of his wrists… Then in the interrogation room Prentiss is talking Sam into wearing a wire to her father’s place and down into the basement. Sam is in the house talking with her father whilst Em, Rossi and Reid are listening from the van outside the property… as Sam heads into the basement judging by the conversation in the van, I get the impression that Rossi thinks Em is a little too invested in JB being the UNSUB when the evidence really isn’t supporting it the way they’d hoped. Nothing comes of Sam’s adventures into the basement, but I did think it was kinda cute when her father called her peanut!

Back at the hospital Derek is speaking to Angel explaining the coin and Angel speaks for the first time asking about the story. Derek tries to get Angel to help them find the other boy and he tells Angel about his own history, with Carl Buford … JJ enters after listening from the doorway and she asks Angel if he recognises any men in photos but he doesn’t. Then we are back with Prentiss and Sam as Sam admits she feels like she failed her father for believing he could’ve hurt those boys. They continue to talk and we learn that her father would have mood swings and that he would give her random presents every now and again, she remembers her Dad gave her her dog Randy the time that Angel was taken and Angels Mum says he had a puppy on him the day he was taken… Looks like we got a confirmation on our UNSUB, woohoo, awesommmme team!! I love that we didn’t find out who the UNSUB actually was until nearing the end of the episode, very awesome stuff, it’s a great way to keep the suspense going in the episode when you don’t know, looooove it!! When JJ tells Derek who the suspect is Derek takes off from the hospital and Derek is realllllly pissed off, there is gonna be some ass kicking you can just tell!

Between the team and Sam they work out where JB has taken Billy and we see as JB throws Billy into a hole and then jumps into a machine and starts filling the hole with dirt, but the team arrives before too soon and Hotch gets Billy out as Morgan and Rossi chase after JB. Awesome Morgan tackle as he then starts punching the guy over and over til Rossi pulls him off and says it enough. These last few scenes of the episode have amazing emotions in them, from everyone involved… we have Billy reuniting with his parents, we have Sam seeing her Dad walk in in handcuffs etc… you can see the turmoil in her features, amazing! We have Angel seeing his mother for the first time in all those years and hugging her, then there is a real sweet little scene between Morgan and JJ.

Really liked the episode, as I said was great seeing some more Prentiss in there and it was her insistence with Sam that really helped them solve the case along with Morgan and Angel, was a great jointly team effort and a good episode… A magnificent episode and great to see that the FBI Consultant for Criminal Minds is able to write and work on such an amazing episode, well done to everyone involved, was a great episode! Look forward to seeing more episodes to this standard in the future, I hope!! :)