Criminal Minds 7×12 — “Unknown Subject”: This episode was okay — much better than some of the recent ones, so it gets a pass from me. I liked that viewers weren’t clued in to the unsub from the opening frame and there was a question about the Piano Man’s identity all the way until the very end. The “mystery” has been missing from far too many episodes in the past few seasons, so I liked getting that element back.

Still, the episode wasn’t perfect. My main problem with it goes to the way Bartholomew was “tied” up with the piano wire. It didn’t look like he was very secure at all, and I’m pretty sure he could have made his escape at any time. That he calmly hung around after Regina shot him is something I’ll never understand.

Ooh, an allusion to Emily’s rape. Have we ever gotten the full story on that? I don’t think so, but I might have missed it. If it hasn’t been revealed, it’s definitely time!

Castle 4×13 — “An Embarrassment of Bitches”: Sigh, yet another “wasted” episode as far as movement on the Castle/Beckett relationship front. There was really only one moment that was clearly designed to appeal to fans of these two, and that was of course the hand holding/caressing thing in Beckett’s apartment. But for some reason I found that scene incredibly awkward; not romantic or sexually charged in any way. Maybe it was Beckett’s “WTF” expression or the fact that something like that would NEVER happen IRL… I don’t know; it just didn’t work.

After last year’s finale, the show’s creator pretty much stated that he intended to drag the “I Love You” confrontation out as long as possible. Looks like he’s making good on his word. Still, this is getting rather ridiculous!!

The Good Wife 3×13 –”Bitcoin for Dummies:” Ugh, the Bitcoin case was soooo boring! I think the biggest reason for my lack of interest was that I didn’t connect with the Jason Biggs character at all, and the case didn’t lead to any significant interaction among the LG lawyers. I didn’t care about the stupid geek convention, either. That felt like such a waste!

At least the Will/State’s Attorney face-off is finally going somewhere. I REFUSE to believe that Kalinda handed over an intact file in order to save Alicia. She is just as loyal to Will (if not more so), which means she either purged the thing first or planted a misleading document. There is NO WAY she would trample on Will’s trust like that. I can’t wait to see Dana fall into that trap.

Criminal Minds 7×11 — “True Genius”: The case wasn’t that interesting to me (a Zodiac copycat…yawn), but I did like all the Reid angst. He’s not usually one of my favorite characters; however, I do find him extremely interesting when his flaws are highlighted. I thought it was natural for him to wonder if the FBI was the best use of his talents, especially after meeting a fellow genius who runs a $100 million company. Even non-geniuses wonder “what if” when milestone birthdays come around, so, yeah… good to see that recognized in this ep.

Modern Family 3×12 — “Little Bo Bleep”: I liked this episode — but mostly because of the Claire storyline, not because of the much-hyped Lily-says-a-bad-word stuff. Viewers have always pegged Claire as the unlikable one out of the cast, and I think this was the writers’ way of addressing that issue. It was handled extremely well, IMO. I was laughing so hard during the debate scene that I sprayed Diet Coke all over one of the wooden tables in my living room! Every little thing that Claire did earned a buzz, horn, or comment from her family, which was hilarious!

The Lily and Stella stuff was okay, but for me this episode was all about Claire (and autotune Phil, going viral).

Castle 4×12 — “Dial M for Mayor”: What is up with all this conspiracy stuff? Castle’s meetings with that guy in the underground garage reminded me of Mulder’s clandestine meetings with Mr. X on The X-Files. The problem is, Castle is supposed to be a lighthearted dramedy, not a serious procedural featuring supercriminals with deep, dark motives. I really dislike that whole angle, as well as the Johanna Beckett murder mystery.

As for the Castle/Beckett moments that I so look forward to in every episode — well, they were few and far between here. There was that one moment when Beckett immediately suspected something was wrong with Castle just from the way he came into the precinct in the morning, and another time when she called him “Rick.” Then there was that huddle with Ryan and Esposito where the three of them pondered what a guilty mayor would mean for Castle’s future as part of the team. But that was all, and it simply wasn’t enough.

The ending scene with Rick and the mayor gave me some hope, though. It was Boston Legal-ish in the way they sat there in armchairs with their scotches, talking about the events of the day. All that was missing was a pair of cigars from one of Denny Crane’s humidors for the full Boston effect! Anyway, the fact that the mayor is “stuck” as mayor and can’t rise any higher means that Castle will have as much time with Beckett as he needs. Now…let’s just hope the writers don’t use up every second of that time by dragging the romance out interminably!

The Good Wife 3×12 –”Alienation of Affection:” This was a thoroughly enjoyable episode! Usually even in the episodes I like there is at least one storyline that rubs me the wrong way (focus on the SA’s office, Wendy Scott Carr, the Florrick children, etc.), but this was excellent from beginning to end. I loved Elsbeth’s play on WSC… it was totally time for that woman to have some of the smugness removed from her tone for a change. Also, I’m really looking forward to their matchup in court, if it comes to that. Those two are from completely opposite ends of the spectrum, which should make their wrangling even more interesting.

Aww, look at Cary redeeming himself during the deposition. He really grew on me when he was working with Alicia, but I couldn’t stand him last year. Now I see him on the path towards goodness again (hopefully). I like liking Cary!

Kalinda and Alicia had a few good scenes. I guess I can understand that they’re not immediate BFF’s again (despite how much I would like that to happen), but at least there’s considerably less frost in their interactions together. When the rider was miraculously discovered, there was a fleeting moment when I thought Kalinda had forged the document and planted it somewhere to get Alicia off the $44 million hook. I mean, was it just me or did she (Kalinda) look guilty about something when Alicia was examining the document?

Anyway, lots of good stuff in this ep! Can’t wait for the next one!

NCIS 9×13– “A Desperate Man”: This one was just okay. I was barely paying attention by the time CI-Ray was pegged as the suspect, so I don’t know what the hell that was all about. Did he just make an honest mistake or did he seriously go rogue and kill that woman in cold blood? Clearly I need to pay more attention to critical info like that!

Annnd, just when I thought I was aboard the Tony-Ziva ship after last week, I’m right back off again. This time their interaction was way too heavy-handed, and in Tony’s case, a bit desperate. Please tell me he wasn’t supposed to be the “desperate man” of the title! I like when they banter and bicker and have fun, not when Tony sighs and has a hangdog expression all day while thinking of Ziva potentially getting married to Ray!

Modern Family 3×12 — “Egg Drop”: I found very little to like about this episode. Maybe I was just in a bad mood or something, but I just didn’t laugh at all. All the jokes and situations seemed so…familiar. It’s like all of the families have been in these exact positions before, so there was nothing new to see or explore. I’m kinda sad to think that MF is becoming a show I watch out of habit rather than out of genuine like….