This show is wearing out for me. I really wanted Mandy Patinkin to stay on. Granted, Joe Mantegna ain’t bad, but still…
But fuck me, Mitch Pileggi is a GREAT actor. His portrayal of the Road Warrior as an emasculated Willie Loman type was terrifying. It was horrific, but was also extremely human, and he made his character’s killing spree almost seem like the logical course of action.
That said, the tacked-on “look at us, we’re one big ol’ happy BAU family - aw, wook at the cute widdle baby” ending was pure cheese.
One thing that took me out of the episode – Pileggi’s wife works for the same company. Now, she has been dead for a few days before the events in the episode, so obviously she hadn’t been at work. However, that was explained by means of “She was recently promoted, so she took a few weeks off.”
Bwuh? “Promoted” means you’re taking on a new role and extra responsibilities. You’re generally working more, especially in the beginning when you’re learning the ropes of the new position. It’s not when you go on vacation.
That said, great episode. Pileggi’s character was sympathetic, tragic and believable. And yeah, the ending was cheesy, but I’m fine with the occasional slab of cheese.
I liked Patinkin, but I was growing a bit tired of his lonely, misunderstood genius shtick. I was fine with him leaving, and I’m happy to say that I no longer immediately think “Fat Tony” when I hear Mantegna talk.*
By the by…anyone else have a really hard time working up much sympathy for the first shooting victim?
*Hotchner: “It looks like we have three murder victims at the scene.”
Rossi: “What’s a moider?”
I really enjoyed this episode and thought Mitch Pileggi gave a great performance. However, it took me two viewings to really figure out the timeline. At first I thought it was strange that he had a shotgun in the car, but the second time through I figured it out.
//SPOILERS BELOW//
The Road Warrior leaves the house with a flower box and is heading for his wife’s promotion party when he gets cut off. He pulls out the shotgun and takes out the first victim, who in the world of movies and TV, kind of had it coming. Try a little common decency, bitch (Disclaimer: this is not acceptable in the real world.)
He gets off on the experience and is in a great mood when he shows up at the party. In fact, it looks like his wife is truly surprised at his mood. That evening, he surprises his wife again with a great performance, but he’s still haunted by what he did earlier that day. He gets up, modifies his shotgun, and kills his family. Everything having to do with his family after that, is all in his head.
One of the key things is this: the shotgun was in the flower box in the first place. I think he was heading to the promotion party intending to kill his wife and then either everybody else or himself.
Getting cut off by the real estate lady set him off and cost the lives of a few other drivers, but if it hadn’t happened, I think his daughters probably would have lived.
I agree though, that the group hug at the end felt a bit forced.