As said in a couple of my other 'Criminal Minds' Season 7 reviews, Season 7 of 'Criminal Minds' is very much a mixed bag, like most of the show from Season 6 onward (Seasons 6 and 9 being the most wildly variable seasons and the most underwhelming being Season 11).
There are great Season 7 episodes like "True Genius", "The Foundation", "Dorado Falls", "The Company" and "Self Fulfilling Prophecy", some good ones and a few in between mediocre and decent. Then there are lacking episodes like "I Love You Tommy Brown" and "There's No Place Like Home", and to a lesser extent "Closing Time". "Divining Rod" is another example, like "The Bittersweet Science", of being neither among the best or worst episodes of the season. If anything, it's an average episode that shines with the team but disappoints somewhat with the case.
Visually, the production values are without complaint. It's very well shot and lit and is overall stylish, gritty, classy and atmospheric. The music is moody in the haunting and melancholic sense and fits well, without either enhancing or distracting from it. The direction keeps the momentum going but lets the case breathe, there are some humorous (Rossi's line about the mail-man) and thought-provoking moments (what there is of the profiling) and a freaky moment with the wig/scalp reveal.
Really loved the bond between the team, which is like a family, and there are some delightful moments of character and interaction. Prentiss' subplot is humorous and relatable, though if one has prior knowledge as to how Season 7 ends how the subplot ends is a slight waste here. Rossi is also wonderfully sympathetic and sassy and has some of the episode's best lines.
The acting is very good from all the regulars and the support cast fare very well too, especially Lisa Darr as Helen.
However, while what there is of it is good and there is less conclusion-jumping, accuracy and over-convenience there could have been much more profiling, and more development of the old killer instead of rushing onto the present day plot almost straightaway. The case is a bit dull and routine in places, with a lack of tension and suspense apart from the odd freaky moment (like with the wig). The last scenes feel a little anti-climactic and confused.
While the team interaction delights, there is too little Morgan and Reid and what is done with JJ eventually gets rather self-congratulatory (kind of like an apology to AJ Cook and a way of making it up to her). The script has some nice moments with the team but is nothing special elsewhere.
Overall, average and a bit bland but hardly a terrible episode. 5/10 Bethany Cox
