We want to be able to look at people like Billy Flynn and see only the monster. And maybe there are some people in whom only the monster exists. But right at the beginning of "The Longest Night" we're given a glimpse of the desire at the heart of this killer, and it isn't some sick fantasy. Instead, it's a cry for a life that never was and never would be.
Tim Curry adeptly portrayed a very creepy Billy Flynn. Unfortunately, the girl playing Ellie Spicer upstaged him in creepiness though I suspect that wasn't the intent of the role. Also, it felt like the show spent way too much time trying to highlight the UnSub's creepiness rather than moving the story along.
The young actress playing Ellie Spicer? Well, she can cry on cue; other than that, I didn't find her even a little bit believable unless she was supposed to come across like an UnSub in the making.
I did enjoy the team moments of the show despite Morgan's atrocious behavior towards several of them, especially towards Garcia and Hotch. And watching JJ work her way through the bureaucratic nightmare to access the Emergency Broadcast System was bittersweet; they highlighted the importance and essential nature of her job several seasons too late. Yes, various members of the team would mention this from time to time. But we rarely actually saw it portrayed in the shows.
Which brings us to JJ's big moment in this episode--her broadcast to Flynn. I'm human. I thoroughly enjoyed the verbal ass-kicking she gave to Flynn. But at the same time I cringed at her blatant and highly public dismissal of the instructions Hotch gave her. Hotch told her what to say for a reason. To ignore it willfully like that put Ellie's life in danger. Yes, Flynn let Ellie go, but it could easily have ended differently. Hotch should have at the very least reprimanded her for her actions.
JJ's tirade brings up an important point, though; the very real consequences of our treatment of others.The "Prince of Darkness" only existed because of the abuse Billy Flynn sustained at the hands of his mother and her clients. That others have sustained the same level of abuse and not become sociopaths does not lessen the culpability of the abusers. If anything, it highlights the extraordinary strength and courage of those who manage not to continue the cycle of brutality and degradation.
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