Criminal Minds has set the stage for the season 11 finale with episode 21, “Devil’s Backbone,” another case of that dreaded “To Be Continued…” When clothing belonging to two missing boys is sent to a serial killer in prison, the BAU must try to get answers out of her. However, that’s easier said than done with Antonia, and instead, the team is left wondering why this happened now — and what could still be coming, given her final message to Hotch.
Here are the key moments from “Devil’s Backbone” to keep in mind before the next episode.
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The Initial “What If Antonia’s Orchestrating Everything from Behind Bars” Question
If she can do that, who’s to say she’s not behind something else as well?
The BAU Put Antonia Away
Antonia’s Attempts to Get in the Team’s Heads
It begins with her rules — only one in at a time. What better way to (try to) maintain control than to be able to focus on one agent at a time? As Reid comments, she’s treating them in the opposite way they’re used to being treated because she wants to throw them off balance.
Her “All work and no play makes Agent Hotchner a dull boy” note is an indicator of her need to be in control and feel important.
She tells JJ she should be the head of the BAU but isn’t because the world sees her first as a young, attractive woman.
She talks to Reid about his grief and how the others aren’t as affected by Morgan’s departure because they didn’t lose a protector like he did.
She tells Tara she’s like her and no one really knows them.
Tara’s Apt Description of Serial Killers Like Antonia Practically Screams the Threat Isn’t Over
“Of all the serial killer types, the ones I find the most dangerous are the hyper-intelligent ones that get off more on the mind games than the killing. They’re like vampires, ready to suck your soul dry and file your information away for a rainy day,” she says. As soon as Antonia began asking the profilers personal questions, I knew that would come back to haunt them.
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What Happened to Antonia’s Baby?
Maybe this is nothing. Maybe she just doesn’t know. But there has to be a reason that Hotch detailed her past — got pregnant at 15, and her father forced her to have the baby at home and killed her boyfriend — and then she said she couldn’t tell him what happened to the baby, right?
“There’s a storm coming, Agent Hotchner. And you’re about to be swept away.”
– Antonia to Hotch as a “reward for being so clever”
Criminal Minds season 11 airs Wednesdays at 9pm on CBS.
(Images courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
If it’s on TV — especially if it’s a procedural or superhero show — chances are Meredith watches it. She has a love for all things fiction, starting from a young age with ER and The X-Files on the small screen and the Nancy Drew books. Arrow kicked off the Arrowverse and her true passion for all things heroes. She’s enjoyed getting into the minds of serial killers since Criminal Minds, so it should be no surprise that her latest obsession is Prodigal Son.
