On tonight’s episode of Criminal Minds, the team travels to Oklahoma to investigate what appear to be copy-cat murders while Prentiss (Paget Brewster) worries about a big decision in her personal life.
A Big Step Forward
Prentiss tells the team about the house she wants to buy and expresses concern that she might be outbid. The others joke that Prentiss is afraid of the commitment that comes with owning a home and their suspicions are confirmed later in the episode. Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) calls the team while they are still on the plane to let Prentiss know that she got the house. Morgan’s (Shemar Moore) suggestion of wine is definitely called for, though more to forget the case they just handled than to calm Emily’s upset stomach.
Not What It Seems
After serial-killer Rod Garrett is executed, a woman is killed in the same manner Garrett used to kill his victims and the team believes it could be a copycat. During the investigation, the agents realize the current UnSub is cutting his victims’ hair, supposedly to make them resemble the women Garrett murdered.
The agents also learn that there were two attempts made on Garrett’s life while he was in prison, leading them to believe that the new UnSub needed Garrett out of the way and that these are not copycat killings. Once the agents notice a pattern in the locations of where the latest victims were killed, they realize Garrett’s wife, Helen, is the focus for the new UnSub. Helen was devoted to Garrett even after learning of his crimes so the UnSub needed to wait until Garrett was dead before he could make a move on Helen.
Because I Love You
The UnSub, who turns out to be the prison shuttle-driver, kidnaps Helen so he can give her a gift. The UnSub cut his victims’ hair so he could make a wig for Helen, who had scars from several surgeries. Dylan-the-UnSub tells Helen they were destined to find each other and everything he did was because he loves her. The agents arrive, Helen is saved and Dylan is arrested, but the story does not end there.
In the final moments of the episode, Helen visits Dylan-the-UnSub is prison and tells him she has now found her calling. I doubt that helping men find their purpose as killers can be considered a calling, but perhaps Helen’s mind was damaged after all of the surgeries she had to combat her brain tumor.
I have to say, I was not very impressed with this episode. There were some cute team moments, but the case did not interest me and the storyline with Prentiss buying a home seems a bit anti-climactic if she ends up leaving town at the end of the season. Though I suppose she could stay put even if she leaves the BAU.
Best Tweets About the Episode
Megan Cole
Contributing Writer
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
