Wrap Up (April 2017)

April has kind of been an up and down in which I have hardly been productive yet still kind of feel good. It's complicated I guess. By the way, I kind of feel like a tacky kitschy YouTuber by going back to monthly favorites but that's how the "I-Need-More-#relatable-Content" cookie crumbles.

+Television

Documentary Now: Season 2

I didn't have much to say (don't you fucking dare talk to me about 13 Reasons Why. It's a shitshow. It's stupid. I don't want to talk about it further. I feel drained.) about television this month aside from Documentary Now Season 2 coming to Netflix. Though I'd have to say season one was my personal favorite, this installment had its moments. For anyone new to watching Doc Now, you have to start with s2 episode three, a parody of Swimming in Cambodia, in which Bill Hader literally just talks about having to move from one apartment to another for twenty one minutes. It's such a ridiculous and surreal ordeal, the two main components for the best DN "documentaries". On the topic of this show, I've watched "The Eye Doesn't Lie" at least four times this month and I'd highly rec it to literally anyone, it's up there with the best episodes of anything I've seen. Very general but extremely worthwhile.

+Music

Harry Styles

I have way too much to say about this and will most likely write an entire essay (expect that on WC soon) because I could spill my heart out on this one. I'd like to start off by saying "Sign of the Times" is the power ballad 2017 needed desperately. I'm fully aware that I'm incredibly bias since I practically live up Harry Styles' ass but I truly stand by it; his lyrics are simple and slightly Bowie-eque, it provides everything a mainstream power ballad needs in having easily singable moments with a swift change in tempo, and he is just such a gorgeous man. Also can we talk about how he really looked like a Father John Misty type on SNL? And his female drummer/keyboardist? Hands down the wildest and most impressive rebranding I've seen in a minute.

actual (slight problematic but not really) love of my life.

All Day: Speeding

Ok so since I want to say for about a year now (??) I've been lowkey in love with this white Australian rapper (you may know him from that weird interlude in "for him" where he goes, "I'm about to bring emo back if you leave my home, I'd Panic! At The Disco and you'd rather watch a tv show... if not you should be familiar with it because it's the cringiest musical endeavor and I live for it). Like I can't even say he's all that objectively good but something about his persona really gets me hype so I've just kind of gotten accustomed to running with it (love can be blind as well deaf). Anyways, his new album is actually a pretty decent bop (I found it really good for when I'm writing because I can tune it out at points). Along with that, his latest photoshoots and videos are admittedly interesting and reflect back well onto his style. Am I in love with the Australian Eminem? Will boys with hair longer than mine wearing thrifted sweaters eventually ruin my life? Who knows.

April Playlist

I've curated about twenty songs that kind of sums up the funk I've been in the past thirty days. Sort of depressing sort of surreal.
 Sidenote: one of my favorite songs on here is Regina Spektor's (I've been getting quite back into her obviously) "Man of a Thousand Faces"- the line, "Smiles at the moon like he knows her" just really sticks out to me for some reason.
Anyways, if you're interested, my emo set of songs is located here.

+Food 

BAOHAUS

This cult, slight Instagram trap, fast food restaurant has won my heart for the month. I don't have much to say on the topic because food is food but I'd really encourage you to check it out since it's fairly cheap (for NYC) and actually decent unlike most other "trendy" places in the city (I'm looking @ u By Chloe). 

Also relevant to this topic, Trader Joe's coffee mochi  is really fucking good. I ate an entire package of them last week. Really fucking good. Also vegan. 

+Books 

Just Kids: Patti Smith 

Yet another thing I have far too much to say on. For the abridged version, after reading this autobiography of essentially Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe's love story, as cliche as it sounds, my perspective has shifted. At least in the way I view Robert and my own approaches towards art. It's just one of those books that stay with you long after you're done reading. I can't recommend this enough- even to someone uninterested or unfamiliar with both. 

(also on the topic, I've been trying to pull a Rosie and read at least 16 books a month. A bit of a reach but I'm really going for it- let's see how this goes.)

+Misc. Links

Soko: I'm At Peace When I'm in Danger
I've been getting really back to my middle school roots of my obsession with Soko. For starters, I just find this such a calming video to watch but also she's so beautifully spoken and the editing done, skipping conversation through conversation, just ties together every little unique bit of this woman.

Healing Crystals To Cope With Depression
Really simple and straightforward article on how to harness healing powers of crystals (pretty obvious that I've been getting into that lately). I just appreciate how easy to read and "user-friendly" the writing is- would totally rec Energy Muse for anyone starting to get into mindfulness and crystals.

Finding Your Soulmate By Finding Yourself
I think I watched this when I was maybe in my freshman year but on a binge watch of Stylelikeu (which I could write an entire article about- think modern, more casual tedtalks- they're incredible) I discovered this gem yet again. Amy Van Doran first off is such a force to be reckoned with like I genuinely find her to be the coolest, but also her points on what finding love entails and just listening to her talk about her childhood is fascinating.

WHY IM A LONER 
Whenever Hitomi Mochizuki speaks gold comes out. The entirety of these twenty two minutes are so raw and conversational, I'm so drawn to the way Hitomi records herself. I can't recommend watching the full video enough.

why you should read more (a lot more)
As if I haven't plugged her enough, Rosie Leizrowice is a writer I'm constantly mesmerized by. Every single one of her blog posts are easy and straightforward reads that somehow also pack these huge messages.

Hope May brings you everything and more,

Annie 

current favorite music & tv & things (+update)

Wow it's been awhile since I've done one of these so my advice is to keep expectations low because I'm no good at this.

♥The Sex Pistols+ Sid and Nancy
I got into the Sex Pistols when I was around thirteen and since then developed an infatuation with Sid and Nancy's relationship which is horribly tacky because I hate it when people romanticize them (spoiler alert: Sid ends up killing Nancy- unless your "goals" are to be stabbed inside of a hotel room, please stop posting on your twitter about them). It's not the actual relationship that gets me so interested it's Deborah Spungen's (Nancy's mom) book, And I Don't Want to Live This Life, that is extremely gorgeous and twisted and endlessly fascinating to me because before reading this, Nancy was incredibly 2 dimensional and almost stock character-eque to me whereas seeing things from a mother's point of view really brings life for Nancy and makes you feel for her on a different level. Back to the topic of the Sex Pistols, I found Never Mind the Bollocks in my dad's CD collection and it's all I've been listening to lately. 

♥Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos 
Though my main genre in music is punk and pop punk, I have been in love with this indie band. They're constantly using strange percussions and the lyrics are so weird and wonderful- I also did a cover of "Broadribble is Burning" (nice going Ann, covering their biggest hit)



♥30 Rock + Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Over February, I got really into old episodes of Saturday Night Live and rekindled my love for Tina Fey since reading Bossy Pants and had a sudden need to watch her show. Long story short, I want to be Jenna Maroney when I grow up. Once that was finished within the span of a good three weeks, I moved onto her co-written show, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt which is about a woman's life in New York City after being rescued from the bunker she was held captive in for fifteen years. It has Jenna and  D'Fwan from 30 Rock and the catchy theme song is enough to watch it. I finished this one within two days and have a mixture of pride and shame for it. 

♥Love Sick: A Smoldering Look at Love, Lust, and Marriage 
I picked this book up at Housing Works in SoHo originally as a birthday gift for Fee who I was seeing later that night but that didn't work out too well since I fell in love with it. The artwork is so retro and unique. Needless to say, this book didn't get to Fiona. 

*That other part of the post where I talk about myself*

I put this little tidbit in because it isn't How Fitting if there isn't a part where I share pictures of myself to prove I'm cute and have friends, right? 

On March 22, me and my emo squad had a vigil for our lord and saviors, My Chemical Romance. At this point, I'm not even being ironic and that worries me slightly (it was all fun and games until I developed an me group). Anyways, we got fries at the diner and cried to Gerard Way's voice and Harper gave me bangs so I look like a proper scene queen. 

(left to right) Harper, Jules, Sam, Madison (my super duper cool girlfriend), and Frank Iero?

We then had a birthday celebration for Jules and my girlfriend, Madison, last Saturday and watched Panic! At The Disco music videos on her TV and went to the park and bought energy drinks (I know- I hate myself) and sat on top of bridges and Sam and I kept saying "dare me to jump off this Jersey bridge" and when you begin quoting Pierce The Veil conversationally, something is really wrong. 

Jules, a piece of shit, Sam, Madison, Harper

I'm sorry I'm complete trash and can't wait to talk about my emo phase (it's not a phase mom) when I'm older. 

Let's Talk "Hannibal"

*This post contains spoilers!

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 I'm not usually the type of person to get into horror/thriller genre of television (this is coming from a person who had to turn off "Vampires Suck" because she got too scared) but over the past few weeks "Hannibal" has become one of my favorite shows. Before I go into everything that makes this modern day recreation of the famous cannibal perfect, I think it's necessary to describe the plot. "Hannibal" follows teacher, Will Graham, as he is recruited into the FBI as a profiler by chief Jack Crawford due to the combination of mental disorders he has that enables him to see through the perspective of an unsub. Though in the beginning Will seems to be emotionally stable, he is haunted by hallucinations and nightmares from the crimes he has worked on and also because of his empathy disorder so Jack enlists the help of psychiatrist, Hannibal Lector, to support Will. As the show progresses, not only does Will change drastically, so does the relationship between the two leading characters.

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   To start off, the show is beautifully put together and all the sets have the same continuous feel and creepy/dark vibe. Everything put into this NBC program is gorgeous in it's own way, including the crime scenes. Unlike a lot of other crime shows dealing with the BAU, (for example: "Criminal Minds") this one has the same set up of one repetitive killer (The Chesapeake Ripper aka Hannibal Lector-though no one knows) and Hannibal is always creative and artful within his murders making messages out of his victims including my favorites such as the angels (above) and the human tree (below).

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   Talking about the people in the show,Will is easily my favorite character and no it isn't because Hugh Dancy is one of the most adorable people to exist but for the reason that he is actually an extraordinarily well written character. There is so much to this man's personality from his love for dogs to the way he can walk into a crime scene and immediately tell you exactly how someone was murdered that makes him interesting. You can easily see that Will is pretty on edge with his job in the first season since he tends to not trust himself since he has a past of breaking down and not being able to handle such heavy and graphic images inside his mind. I also appreciate NBC loads for not making Will Graham out to be sexy or the hot one of the show and instead focus on the actual traits and personality of this man.

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   Oh and don't get me started on Hannibal Lector. For starters, Mads Mikkelson couldn't be better at providing the creepy aura the Chesapeake Ripper has. The way Hannibal talks and and interacts with others is A+ and I can almost feel how uncomfortable most characters are around him. The character is also extremely well thought out and I would like to give a big thumbs up to the writers of "Hannibal" for not making the ripper too overdone and typical horror movie villain. Doctor Lector seems like the kind of guy who could very easily kill someone (and consume them) yet you would never guess it was him.

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   Moving onto talking about season two (the most recent one), I don't think I could ever describe how fantastic an actor Hugh Dancy is. For those of you who haven't seen the show, Will is convicted of murdering multiple women and sent to a hospital for the criminally insane. During his stay, he is visited by psychiatrist Alana Bloom and former coworker, Beverly Katz, as he tries to prove that he is in fact, innocent. There is obviously quite a lot of pressure put on him which leads Will to go insane having extensive hallucinations as he recovers memories of Hannibal encouraging seizures on him. To be honest, I don't think I have ever seen someone capture insanity that well. From the way Will's body movement changes to his tone of voice, Dancy captures everything to create a large turning point in Will Graham's life. Not once was it overdone or cheesy and I can't appreciate that enough. 

   For anyone unsure about watching "Hannibal", let me tell you it is not nearly as disturbing as NBC makes it out to be and most of the horror is psychological (which I love). I will have to warn you they're are many bloody and gory scenes, but it is all made up of people who are already dead and when Will goes through a walk through of the crime, nothing is extremely violent. I am mainly afraid of anything with supernatural beings in it (which is weird since "Supernatural" is my favorite show) which "Hannibal" has none if you don't count a really non scary stag man that follows Will around in his head. I'm also going to remind everyone that I can be terrified from things such as previews for Lifetime movies so trust me when I tell you something really isn't that scary!

 

My Favorite Shows

    I consider myself to be much more of an internet person than I will be a TV lover but I do have a fairly long list of shows that I enjoy and usually just watch on my laptop (this is in no particular order).

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Supernatural

   This horror drama has been my favorite show since last Summer and I continue to love it (and be rather protective over it) even as their ninth season came to a close with an ending I don't particularly agree with. "Supernatural" follows brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, as they hunt down demons, angels, and about everything else supernatural (hence the title). Over the seasons, not only does Dean's voice get deeper and Sam's hair becomes a flowing mane but there is actually some really rad character development between the relationship the siblings have and how they act towards each other. Though their latest season was pretty iffy, the series is just so interesting and I just can't put into words how much I love this show and how excited I am for season ten. 

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Criminal Minds

    OK I realize how tacky and stupid yet another crime show where everyone is attractive must sound but I can assure you it is so much more (OK maybe it isn't but we're not going to go into that). "Criminal Minds" is set in Quantico, Virginia at the behavioral analysis unit with the ever so interesting team of profilers. The show for some reason fascinates me and I was hooked by the first episode. The characters are also so well written and they could all seriously sit in a room for an hour, talking about paperclips and they would somehow find a way to make the entire conversation seem like something great. There's also Matthew Gray Gubler and I think that's enough reason to watch the show.

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White Collar

    Though I have spent more time than I should watching this, I think I am at the point where I am really questioning wether or not it's  actually a decent show or if I just really like Matt Bomer. "White Collar" is about famous painting forger, Neal Caffrey, and how he has been released from prison by agent Peter Burke (who's the one who put him in there in the first place) to help him solve white collar crimes- meaning paintings being stolen. I don't think I have to explain to you the lack of action. Though the plot is pretty flimsy and I'd consider this more of a guilty pleasure, the acting is A+ and you will no doubt fall in love with Neal Caffrey.

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Hannibal

    About a week ago, I began watching this NBC horror crime show  after I'd caught myself up with "Criminal Minds" (it's not coming back until September) and I'm already in love. I am a very easily scared person so I was rather surprised when I began to love the show so much. To be honest, I don't believe "Hannibal" is nearly as scary as NBC makes it out to be. I am a person who is pretty fine with the whole blood and "scary" crime type thing (I thank "Criminal Minds" for that) so the graphic recreations of the murders that Will goes through don't disturb me at all and you know this show can't be even a bit scary if I say that I am fine with watching it. "Hannibal" follows Will Grahm, a profiler (as you can tell I'm big on shows about the BAU) who over the years, has become more and more disturbed by the crimes he has had to go through and the way he can get into a murder's mind has been driving him crazy so he is sent to a psychiatrist who just so happens to be Will's biggest case, The Ripper (a killer who rips out his victim's organs to consume them). Otherwise known as Hannibal Lector. Throughout the show, Hannibal plays countless mind games with Will to get him farther and farther away from being right about his case and it is actually a pretty frustrating show to watch since the killer is right in front of him. Everything in it is so well written and thrilling and I'd recommend this 100% for anyone into crime television. 

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Daria

   Most of the shows I watch are pretty intense so it's nice to watch a simple cartoon like "Daria". I am not usually the type of person who really laughs out loud at anything yet this former MTV show has got me to the point of tears. The characters in "Daria" all have their own unique personalities and the form of comedy is so original.

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Sherlock
    I have quite a thing for crime shows and "Sherlock" is no doubt the most unique one I have watched. Just like the original novels, the show takes place in England and follows Sherlock Holmes and John Watson as they solve mysteries together but the way BBC put a twist on it is A+. Everything is in modern times and unlike the books, Sherlock and John live together on Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes reminds me in a way of the less annoying and british Sheldon Cooper with how brilliant he is yet lacks social skills whereas John is left to be the Leonard (I may or may not have had a "Big Bang Theory" phase last year) and him, along with the audience, make fun of how clueless Sherlock can be. Needless to say, this BBC show is witty, thrilling, and on my top five list of favorite shows.

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Workaholics
    Though this Comedy Central show isn't the most well written thing I watch, it is pretty damn funny. "Workaholics" follows three telemarketers and the strange and hilarious things they get up to after work. It's overall extremely well acted and one of my favorite things to watch whenever I'm not feeling of really needing to pay my full attention to something.

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Flight Of The Concords
     One of my favorite things ever are mockumentaries and when my best friend, Vivi, showed me this HBO comedy, it was instant love. "Flight Of The Concords" is all about a rather unconventional band from New Zealand and how they come to America to build an audience though fail pretty badly, getting a gig here and there at a libraries and other strange venues. The entire series is very "Spinal Tap"-eque, extremely creative, and hilarious.

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Freaks and Geeks
    This 90s teen comedy is one of my all time favorites and continues to be timeless. "Freaks and Geeks" follows Lindsay and her experience through high school as she begins to grow out of her friend group and begins hanging out with the "freaks" of the school. Throughout the eighteen episodes, Lindsay is opened up to a world of drugs, drinking, and just getting to be more free than she was before with her unforgettable group of new friends made up of James Franko as Danny Desario, Ken Miller played by Seth Rogan, Nick Andopolis portrayed by Jason Segal, and my personal favorite, Busy Phillips as Kim Kelly. There is also the side plot of the geeks led by Lindsay's younger brother, Sam, and his two friends, Neal and Bill as they figure out girls, face being bullied, and get into Neal's dad's affair. Though there are only eighteen episodes the series is one of the best shows I have ever seen and I'd recommend it to anyone.

"Criminal Minds" Season 9 Finale

*Warning: This post does contain many spoilers to "Angels" and "Demons"

    Over the past couple months, I have become rather addicted to CBS crime show, "Criminal Minds" and about a month (give or take) before the two part season finale for season nine aired, there were already rumors spreading of my favorite character, Spencer Reid, dying. The worst part about this was the amount of evidence to back the rumor up. At the time, only Joe Mantegna (Agent David Rossi), Thomas Gibson (Agent Aaron Hotchner), AJ Cook (Agent Jennifer Jareu), and  Kristen Vangsness (Penelope Garcia) were confirmed to have signed their contracts with CBS for the tenth season leaving Shemar Moore (Agent Derek Morgan), Jeanne Tripplehorn (Dr. Alex Blake), and Matthew Gray Gubler (Dr. Spencer Reid) out of the definite return.

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   Then came the promo. "Criminal Minds" is well known for their dramatic previews and season nine was no exception except this time, they threatened that two agents will "go down" and then showed images of Spencer falling backwards and Morgan on a floor, bleeding. Needless to say, the entire fandom was freaking out now. About a week later, part one ,"Angels", aired and I don't think I have ever felt so scared by something. The case the episode focuses on is pretty average for the show- prostitutes are getting killed with weird marks on their backs (haven't we seen that one a million times?) there's also this extremely enthusiastic cop who I believed for a good half of the episode was the unsub but then they turn it around and the deputy is revealed to have committed the crime but has been trying to frame the preacher (who has had a history with violence) all along. The team then ends up at a Mexican restaurant where there are reported sightings of the preacher who they know isn't guilty but need to take him in for questioning. Things then go awry as he begins to shoot all the law enforcers outside believing they are there to arrest him and as he is just about to hit Blake, Spencer dives in front of her and takes the bullet himself. There is a cry of "Reid!" and he's being dragged aside by Morgan who then gets shot in the arm and collapses. Part one ends with Spencer and Morgan in questionable condition and a "to be continued".  After the credits though, they did show the promo for part two, "Demons" which looked equally as terrifying for Reid as they showed the killer walk into the hospital he is in and him screaming,
"Garica! He's got a gun!" and Penelope holding what looks like, Spencer's gun. The one thing I did find a little strange though was the wording. Instead of using "leave forever", they had to put in "You won't believe which agent will say goodbye forever." I mean that's a pretty awkward choice of words that gives off the meaning that this agent will not be killed but voluntarily depart from the BAU. This lead me to believe that it would be Spencer quitting his job. I mean this man is the only agent who is constantly getting hurt to the point where about nothing good works out for him. His job has led him to get kidnapped and addicted to drugs, have his first and only girlfriend killed, and not be able to see his single, schizophrenic, mom. He has much more reason to leave than Morgan or Blake (the only issue she had was the occasional fight with her husband over traveling so much).

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    "Demons" begins with Spencer being rushed off to the hospital with Derek in the ambulance reassuring him. A few minutes later, we see that he is in recovery (I let out a sigh of relief at this point but not for long). We take the focus off of Reid for a bit and delve more into the possibility of the unsub being at the crime scene when the shots were fired for the bullets that hit Morgan weren't the same as what shot Spencer. The team looks farther into the possibility and soon discover it was the deputy all along and while he isn't looking, Derek snaps a picture of him and sends it to Garcia who immediately confirms that he is at the nurse's desk and runs to Spencer's room to shut the door.

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   Once they are "safe" a nurse hooks Reid up to an IV with medicine he is allergic to and then realize this "nurse" has a gun where Garcia grabs Spencer's gun and saves his life for the second time. It then continues onto an adorable scene where he has to convince her that what she did was right and that she saved the day. Skipping over an entire side plot about Dinah (the head of the prostitute ring) and her son, the team makes it back alive and everything seems perfectly fine up until we figure out the who agent is saying "goodbye forever" which turns out to sadly be Alex Blake.
    As much as I hate admitting it, I'm pretty happy Blake is the one to be leaving. I'm not saying this from a Prentiss fangirl point of view but the fact that the show wouldn't be the same if Morgan or Reid left. Don't get me wrong, Alex had a very nicely written backstory and I looked forward to the cute conversation she had with Spencer but she didn't have much personality or character and I would no doubt be more heartbroken if anyone else left.
   All in all, this season finale has caused me probably more stress than it should have and I am over the moon that my baby, Spencer Reid, and Morgan (I love him and would seriously miss the conversation with Garcia if he left) came out alive. I think that now since "Supernatural" and "Criminal Minds" (the only two shows I have been watching) won't be back for a couple months, I should spend this time watching "Arrested Development" because Michael Cera.

My Favorite Episodes Of "Criminal Minds"

With the release of part one of the season nine finale last Wednesday and part two coming out tonight, I figured it was appropriate to list my favorite episodes of "Criminal Minds"!

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Revelations
   Episode fifteen in season one follows Spencer as he is kidnapped inside of an unsub's house. I am huge fan of whenever the unsub is religious and perverts religion in their reasons to commit their crimes so I naturally loved how Tobias Hankel used "God's will" as his reasoning to kill his victims. Also, I became extremely interested in Tobias's multiple personality disorder and how different he not only became in his voice but body language and how he speaks whenever he turns into one of his different personas. I realize how unpopular this opinion is especially within the gubloid fandom but the future of the show would not be nearly as well done if this episode hadn't happened. After being kidnapped, Reid has some very obvious changes in personality and even in "Angels" (the latest episode) he hesitates on the word, "torture". In addition, Spencer would not have developed as well as a character without his addiction to dilaudid (a drug Tobias gave him) and the dreams he had while he was knocked out gave the audience a look into Spencer's past and his family (which becomes important later on). Overall, the entire episode was extraordinarily well done and definitely my favorite one.

Seven Seconds 
    This is episode was much less violent (I don't think there is any violence in this one to be honest) and therefore a lot different what "Criminal Minds" has done before. Though it wasn't nearly as well written as others, the case for some reason made me insanely interested. "Seven Seconds" is all about a little girl who has gone missing in a mall and the team has to work against the clock to find her. As they do so, they uncover secrets within the family leading up a seriously unexpected plot twist in the end. To add onto all this, the scene where Spencer talks to the victim's cousin about girls is pretty cute.

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Mosely Lane
    I was pretty nervous to watch this one for I have heard it was one of the scariest episodes and if I haven't said it enough, I get scared by about everything. I would have skipped it but I ended up watching it for the sole purpose that Matthew Gray Gubler had directed this one (he is known for directing all the freaky ones) and from the articles online, the plot didn't seem that terrifying. The team flies in to investigate and missing girl and soon make the assumption that the abductors could be the same ones who kidnapped a cop's son eight years ago. To be honest, it wasn't very scary at all (and you know it has to be pretty basic since I'm saying it) and has a very Hansel and Gretel feel with the whole crematorium and parents. There's also a bonus with fetus Evan Peters being a victim.

The Performer
    I have such a level of appreciation for this one. Season five episode seven follows the case of several murders with the victims having "The Liar" written in blood on their arms. The BAU arrests a popular goth singer who goes by the stage name, Dante but by the end of the episode, you realize that it was his manager committing these murders to promote his latest album. Everything in "The Performer" has a humorous edge to it and is unique from any other case in "Criminal Minds".

All That Remains
   One of my favorite kind of cases are ones with seemingly perfectly normal families. "All That Remains" is all about a case to find two girls who are missing after a single dad calls the police two days after their "abduction". Secrets about the daughters and father unravel as the throughout episode and it all ends up with a giant (and unexpected) plot twist involving who really committed this crime.

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Zugzwang 
    The twelfth episode of season eight is probably one of the most famous episodes of "Criminal Minds" and definitely on my list of favorites. As if I don't mention it enough, I have an extremely strong love for Spencer and when his girlfriend is suspected to have been kidnapped by her stalker, I was instantly interested. Though the way everything plays out is A+, my favorite part about about this episode is that it shows you a whole new side of Reid. You really see the passion he has for this woman and the end is heartbreaking.

The Wheels On The Bus
    This is one most definitely goes on the list of weird cases the BAU has solved (we are not even going to go into "The Lesson") in which two brothers are re creating a video game using real life high school students who they kidnapped from a bus. The victims aren't very memorable (when are they ever?) though it was a serious bonus to see Devon Werkheiser (Ned's Declassified) as one of the main students. What made me fall in love with the episode though was the brothers. The unsub's back stories always fascinate me but the story of two brothers who were addicted to video games to the point of actually reenacting one amazed me.

Heathridge Manor
    Yet another Matthew Gray Gubler directed episode! Though I have heard this one is also pretty freaky, I went for watching it anyways and was instantly hooked on the unsub's obsession with the devil (as I have said before, I love when religion is involved) and though James isn't very interesting, his sister, Lara was the real focus. She is obviously trying to live a normal life under her controlling older brother and you see her patience begin to run out as you get farther and farther through the episode. What made it so memorable though was the last scene. Just when you think Lara will finally have the average teenager life she has been hoping for after James is locked up, a man of some sorts knocks on her door and tells her that it is her turn to carry on the devil's beliefs but as the camera focuses on another shot, no one is there.

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Somebody's Watching
    Wow yet another Spencer Reid focused episode! What a surprise! The actual case in this one is pretty basic (a television star is being stalked) but the moments between the victim, Lila, and Spencer are adorable as she tries to flirt with awkward Reid. I especially love the famous pool scene in which she kisses him (it was MGG's first on screen kiss).

Things You Must See- End Of The Year Edition

Music
With the year of 2013 almost coming to an end, there were some amazing albums that came out this year (that I have not talked about yet) such as Bring Me The Horizon's Sempiternal, Paramore's self titled album, Kate Nash's Girl Talk, and Alex Day's Epigrams and Interludes which are all extremely amazing albums that I would seriously suggest.
Movies
There were an insane amount of great short films released this year! My two favorites would have to be Charlie McDonnell's "The Tea Chronicles" and Bertie Gilbert's "Stray Dog" which were both so extremely weird and wonderful. In addition, Charlie will be releasing his second film, "Offline" which from what he has described, is a disaster film about when the Internet shuts down. Knowing Charlie (and from seeing the trailer), there will be a whole lot of comedy involved! Another one of my favorite movies that was released last month would have to be "This Is A Wasteland", a documentary that follows the crazy tour of Pierce The Veil.
Television
At this year's Vidcon, Hannah Hart, Grace Helbig, and Mamrie Hart announced that the trio were filming a web series titled "Camp Takota". The show has been rumored to be released this month on YouTube! Knowing these three girls, "Camp Takota" will be filled with comedy and great acting.
Happy December!
-Ann