Saturday

Don't buy into the low ratings and comments. I've been involved with Criminal Minds since the beginning, and am going to miss it terribly when this season ends.

This is an extraordinary episode because you get a glimpse of each character and their personal lives. We know things about each character as this series has progressed, but this episode shows each character and a slice of their life without having the stress of their job interfering. I always smile during each episode, but the smile is induced by a successful resolution of the story line.

The last scene (no spoiler here) was especially gratifying and was/is really needed when this show ends.

DO NOT buy in to the negative reviews. Get out of the box and enjoy this episode for how it is intended.

Changes of pace from the usual formula don't ususually bother me. Never have expected a show to be strict to any formula at any time. As long as any change of pace is done well and isn't done in too different a day, hopefully being interesting rather than cheesy. Was really hoping for an improvement when watching "Saturday" slowly working my way through Season 15, having been underwhelmed by the previous three episodes where the quality got worse with each episode.

Luckily, although the episode will and has divided fans, "Saturday" for me was a big improvement and not only the best Season 15 episode up to this early point (being the only above average one) but also one of the best episodes of the season, one of the few good ones even in my view. It is not perfect or one of the best episodes, but "Saturday" turned out to be a lot better than anticipated and is to me one of the few Season 15 episodes worth watching actually and a huge improvement over "Spectator Slowing". Being somebody who was overall rather disappointed in the season.

"Saturday" is not perfect and it is actually easy to see it is divisive. Would have liked to have seen more of the case, which was diverting enough with the standout scene being the very creepy opening but not focused upon enough.

Alexi's introduction was for my tastes too abrupt and doesn't add an awful lot. Also Simmons' subplot wasn't as interesting or as illuminating as the others and the writing in it is at times on the soapy side.

However, it was very interesting and refreshing to have a change of pace once in a while. People will, and do, feel that "Saturday" doesn't feel like a 'Criminal Minds' episode and feels like filler, but to me actually "Saturday" was a case of a change of pace done well, entertaining and affectionately. Loved what it did with the characters, who all shine in their own way and this is one of the few Season 15 episodes where all were nicely developed in a way that illuminated and almost as interesting as each other (only reservation is with Simmons).

Most of the subplots did work. The one that grabbed me the most and was the most emotionally investable was Reid's, closely followed by the humorous one of Prentiss which sees a different side to her. There are a lot of funny, thoughtful and heart-warming lines with some smile-worthy exchanges throughout. For example Rossi's line about conspiracy theorists, vintage Rossi, made me laugh out loud. It is a well made episode visually, with the music fitting well and all the lead performances are great.

Concluding, worth watching and for me, despite being a change of pace, it was one of the better episodes of a final season that didn't mostly do the show justice. 7/10

By Criminal Minds' standards, "Saturday" is a very laid back episode. There's multiple storylines with sub-units of the team and most of it is either heartwarming or funny.

The show doesn't take away from the mystery element however, and there's a very creepy stalker situation unfolding with Garcia at the helm. That being said, how the situation was resolved felt a little too convenient. But given that there were so many more casual team interactions, it flipped the script and brought a welcome change from all the drama and just poor writing of most of this season.

All in all, I liked that this episode detracted from the usual formula and I enjoyed it.

I loved this episode because it was a look at their normal life... which we all have... People who don't have anything good to say should just not say anything. I look forward to upcoming episodes to delight and scare us before ends!

Interesting idea. Some cool really funny jokes, unusual "case", some unrealistic stuff, but overall a very good episode for the last seasons. I don't understand some reiviews here.

It is finishing line, they want to create good ending with characters. It is logical. I mean, I personally think show became really overall bad (stories, plot, idea, messing with team etc) from season 10-11. I think they could be cancelled back then.

Ratings went down, but still a lot of people, incl. me, continued to watch it because they like characters, actors. It's main reason why they were on air for 14 years.

CBS gave them opportunity to do great farewell with 10 series. It is logical to create such episodes at the end of show. IMHO, they did a good experiment with this one.