Sometimes a frat party can get out of hand. Someone might drink too much, something bad might happen, and the police might be called. Tonight’s Criminal Minds episode, “What Happens in Mecklinburg…” is about just that, as the UnSub is determined to make sure the end of that what happened at a frat party doesn’t stay at the frat party.
Meanwhile, we’ve seen what this job can do to the team’s relationships. It’s not easy to be involved with one of these profilers, as the job takes them all over the country at a moment’s notice, and that can be rough for those who aren’t part of the BAU. This week, Morgan has to make a decision about his relationship, and who better for him to get advice from than JJ?
This Little Piggy Went to the Market…
Last week’s episode, “Blood Relations,” was another classic “let’s scare you with gruesome images and a creepy story,” also known as a Matthew Gray Gubler-directed hour, and after that, we’re back to a “normal” Criminal Minds episode with “What Happens in Mecklinburg…” That said, it opens up in a pretty freaky way, with two girls getting attacked by a person in a pig mask (add pig-related items to that list of “things that will never be the same after this show”) in a parking lot, but only Christy is taken.
Christy (a college sophomore) is the third abduction, and the UnSub hangs her with her hands tied over her head and duct tape across her mouth in a basement, just like the other two victims, Michael and Trevor (a college senior). Michael is older and the first, making him the odd one out and the most significant. The UnSub had plenty of time to take Christy’s friend as well, meaning that Christy was a target. They find a tentative connection between Trevor and Michael; Michael played football at the same college (Mecklinburg State) where Trevor goes. It’s when they dig into Trevor’s life that they get the first piece of the puzzle. He was the president of the college’s Beta Sigma Delta frat, and the frat was strangely into pigs, holding a party each year to celebrate. Last year, James took a drunken leap off the roof, and the chapter was shut down after his death. Does the UnSub have a hit list?
Meanwhile, the UnSub attacks Trevor with a poker. After the UnSub watches a video on a phone and Trevor says he told the person everything, the UnSub pours water into his mouth. Or rather, not water, considering his reaction. Two guys in the woods find Trevor, and JJ and Morgan learn he was badly tortured, forced to drink hydrochloric acid and sodomized with a foreign object. I’ve seen enough of these shows to know why. As the profilers put together what they’ve learned, including that the UnSub uses a taser to take the victims, they realize they’re most likely looking at a female UnSub, and they’re right about her looking to punish those she sees responsible. They’re wrong that this has anything to do with James’ death.
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What Else Happened That Night
James’ death wasn’t the only horrific event of that last pig party. The UnSub, who is one of the women in the video she watched, visits the other in a long-term care center, where she’s hooked up to machines. After taking a moment, Sheila signs the form to turn off the machine before going to stalk and capture her next victim. Once she has him in the basement, she tells him she wants to know everything he did that night.
Reid talks to Trevor’s roommate, Marcus, who gives them a pretty big clue, though I am surprised he’s able to remember as much as he does, no matter what technique Reid uses, considering he says he was wasted. Christy showed up at the party with Lauryn, and after Marcus saw Trevor talking to two upperclassmen wearing pig masks (which they shouldn’t have been since the masks were for pledges), the three went with Lauryn down to the basement. It’s time to look into Lauryn for answers, but after that, it’s easy to guess what happened.
Once Garcia gives the team the rundown on the family, it’s easy to see why Sheila is doing this. Their mother died of cancer seven years ago, and her and Lauryn’s medical bills bankrupted Sheila. There’s nothing in the news about what happened to Lauryn, so her sister is determined to get answers from those who hurt her.
Michael’s friend, Dr. Calder, was the one who treated Lauryn in the ER, and while his original report included sexual assault and bruises on her neck, once he talked to his friend and found out one of the football players was involved, he wrote up a second report that called the sex “rough” and “consensual” so the guy wouldn’t get kicked off the team. The ringleader of the trio forced Lauryn to drink a bottle of vodka after so she wouldn’t remember, leading to alcohol poisoning, and they left her on her front lawn.
The Person the UnSub Really Blames Is…
By the time the BAU tracks down Sheila and her victims in an abandoned building near the frat house, she has already killed Michael, but they stop her from doing the same to Christy. She may say she blames her for bringing her to the party, but Morgan knows she blames herself for letting her sister go that night. She found her on the front lawn when she got home the next day, but she’s not responsible. She surrenders, and both she and the frat boy she had taken are brought out in cuffs.
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Will Morgan Push Past “SDU” Time?
It’s a relaxed morning after for Morgan and Savannah after a great dinner and even better dessert until his phone beeps and he tells her he’s heading to Memphis for a case. That means cancelling yet again on meeting her parents, but when he launches into the whole “you deserve better” speech, she knows he’s trying to make her break up with him, and she’s not standing for it. Savannah is exactly the kind of woman I expect to see with Morgan for this reason alone. He needs someone to call him out when he’s being stupid, and she just does that, reminding him that relationships take work. If he wants to break up, that’s on him, but she’s not making it easy for him.
JJ also gives him a wakeup call with some tough love on the jet on the way home. He’s so predictable that it’s gotten a nickname: “SDU” – “She Doesn’t Understand” – time. “You either want a relationship, or you don’t. And if you don’t, accept the fact that you might be alone. Forever.” She admits that it’s hard for her and Will, but, echoing what Savannah told him earlier, it takes work.
In the end, Morgan shows up at Savannah’s with a speech that’s short, sweet, to the point and aww-worthy: “I will do whatever it takes to be with you. I am in love with you.” That’s what he needed to say and what she needed to hear, and with that, they’re off to pick up her parents. As much as I love them together, I can’t help but worry about their future. It’s not going to be easy just because they exchanged words of love, but hopefully they can make it work. These agents deserve some sort of happiness to come home to after what they see every day at work.
Criminal Minds airs Wednesdays at 9pm on CBS.
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(Image 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.
