"In Name and Blood" had difficult circumstances around it, with Mandy Patinkin's abrupt departure, team members debating their future and potential career moves, a different director and a different character replacing Gideon at last minutes.
By all means it is not perfect, but considering the circumstances this is a very good job. Gideon's departure, like Patinkin's, was abrupt and it did hurt the team dynamic (but with the circumstances it was inevitable, and it was actually still a worthy send-off at the time, though an even more effective one was done in "Nelson's Sparrow") and at this particular point Edward Allen Bernero's writing showed more experience than his direction.
Haley Hotcher is also very unlikable in this episode (understand the frustration, but was there really the need to be so nasty?) and Erin Strauss really doesn't fit in yet and her chemistry with the rest of the BAU never gels and almost non-existent in places, also didn't warm to her at times almost dictatorial leadership either.
However, there are some delightful character moments, especially Reid's reading of Gideon's letter left for him in one of the most poignant scenes of the show, Garcia's priceless "talk dirty to me" line without realising that Strauss was on the other end of the line which was one of the show's funniest moments and Hotch warning Garcia that the computer glitches mustn't happen again.
"In Name and Blood" is well made and well-scored, with some nice tight writing that balances humour, pathos, intelligent case profiling and tense mystery effectively. The story itself is solidly paced, and while not an exceptional, quite gut-wrenching, affecting or creepy episode (pretty ordinary) there is still a good amount of tension and suspense, the murders are suitably disturbing and the unsub and his son are nicely written characters.
The acting is very good from all the regulars, especially from those who have the standout character moments (so Kirsten Vangsness, Thomas Gibson and Matthew Gray Gubler), apart from a bland and cold Jayne Atkinson which is a lot to do with how Strauss is written. Eddie Cibrian is effective as Joe.
Overall, not bad at all, in fact surprisingly good. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox