It's a tactical arrest plan. I'd like you to write it up for this case.

You want me to write up how we apprehend these unsubs without risking the lives of the children.

Hotch, I've led dozens of tactical assaults. You've never made me write up one of these before.

That's because I always do it for you after each case.

You know what? I'm sorry Strauss is coming down on you.

Really? I disagree. Look, I understand that you're under the gun. But I gotta say it. I'm really not all that surprised. I've watched you walk away from a bunch of cops gunning down unsubs in D.C., you walked in unprotected to a hostage situation in Louisville. Of course the Bureau's worried about you. Man, *I'm* worried about you. But just because you're the one who's under the magnifying glass, that doesn't mean I can't do my job.

Morgan, there's a big part of your job that I do for you, because I don't need you worried about paperwork and politics. I need you in the field and focused in catching the next unsub. But I can't do that anymore. I don't have to justify my orders to you, and you do have to follow them.

I've always followed your orders, when they made sense.

Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore, and Paget Brewster in Cradle to Grave (2009)

Joe Mantegna

Paget Brewster

Shemar Moore

Breen Frazier

Oanh Ly

The team hunts a suspect who impregnates young women and has them give birth before murdering them.

Rob Spera

Cradle to Grave

The first very good episode of Season 5

Season 5 actually got off to a good start with &quot;Nameless, Faceless&quot;, though the Reaper scenes were more memorable than the main case and unsub themselves. &quot;Haunted&quot; and &quot;Reckoner&quot; were decent and fared better on re-watch, but &quot;Hopeless&quot; to me is the second worst episode of the season after &quot;The Fight&quot;, being gratuitously violent and being too much of the unsub show.

&quot;Cradle to Grave&quot; was the season&apos;s first very good episode, if not quite top 5 of it. There is not much to fault here. For my liking though, the main unsub could have been a little more developed than the character that one naturally hates and the motives slightly clearer. Garcia&apos;s having Morgan&apos;s child/my Prince joke was inappropriate and felt very misplaced compared to everything else.

However, &quot;Cradle to Grave&quot; is stylishly, classily and atmospherically made as ever, and the music has the right amount of haunting mood and melancholy. The direction is solid, while the script is well balanced and thoughtful, with the ability to shock and move.

The story is one of the season&apos;s creepiest (often being genuinely scary but not gratuitously so) and most tragic, with a twist at the end that shocks the viewer and is likely to induce tears. It&apos;s also told with tension, suspense and a number of twists and turns that give the episode an increasing darkness. The team is well-balanced and the dynamic adorably close knit and tight. Loved seeing more of Reid (having been injured in the season premiere) and JJ (the compassionate and sympathetic JJ rather than what she became after returning), the conflicting emotions of Morgan and the chemistry between him and Hotch. The acting is very good from all.

In summary, very well done and superior to the previous four episodes. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Season 5 actually got off to a good start with "Nameless, Faceless", though the Reaper scenes were more memorable than the main case and unsub themselves. "Haunted" and "Reckoner" were decent and fared better on re-watch, but "Hopeless" to me is the second worst episode of the season after "The Fight", being gratuitously violent and being too much of the unsub show.

"Cradle to Grave" was the season's first very good episode, if not quite top 5 of it. There is not much to fault here. For my liking though, the main unsub could have been a little more developed than the character that one naturally hates and the motives slightly clearer. Garcia's having Morgan's child/my Prince joke was inappropriate and felt very misplaced compared to everything else.

However, "Cradle to Grave" is stylishly, classily and atmospherically made as ever, and the music has the right amount of haunting mood and melancholy. The direction is solid, while the script is well balanced and thoughtful, with the ability to shock and move.

The story is one of the season's creepiest (often being genuinely scary but not gratuitously so) and most tragic, with a twist at the end that shocks the viewer and is likely to induce tears. It's also told with tension, suspense and a number of twists and turns that give the episode an increasing darkness. The team is well-balanced and the dynamic adorably close knit and tight. Loved seeing more of Reid (having been injured in the season premiere) and JJ (the compassionate and sympathetic JJ rather than what she became after returning), the conflicting emotions of Morgan and the chemistry between him and Hotch. The acting is very good from all.

In summary, very well done and superior to the previous four episodes. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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