We see a red-headed woman who seems deep in thought. “Monica, is there something you wanted to say?” Garcia asks. The woman replies that she believes that time wears you down. She explains that a few weeks ago she walked past the bakery that “we” used to go to and she saw a little girl in hot pink. She begins to cry and says she is sorry. Garcia tells her not to be sorry and another member of the group says that s why they are all here. Garcia wraps up the session. Monica puts her tea cup on the table – this must have some significance seeing as they focused on it – and heads for the door. Garcia follows Monica out of the room and asks what is going on. Monica tells her that yesterday was the anniversary of “Hope’s” disappearance. Garcia is sorry and asks if Monica wants to grab a late dinner and talk. “No,” Monica says, and leaves.

Garcia walks away and Monica walks to her car. She picks up a letter that says, “Dear Mommy, please don’t tell the police. If he finds out I’m writing you he’ll kill me.” There is a knock on Monica’s car window. She looks up, and the person outside the car holds up a missing picture and says, “I see you got one of these too.” Monica looks on her windshield and races out of the car. “What?” she says. “That’s Hope! Who put this here?” The man who knocked on her window (same man that told her “that is why we are all here” during the meeting) tells her that he saw a man and a woman putting them on cars. Monica starts running around the parking lot, and he runs after her. As they are running around the parking lot, the man is telling Monica that the people he saw were leaving when he came out but they couldn’t have gotten too far. “Let’s take my car,” he suggests. They jump in and off they speed.

Now Garcia is leaving and notices that Monica’s car is still in the parking lot, and that her bag is in it.

Monica and Mr. Window Knocker are driving around. She keeps pointing out couples and asking if they are the ones he saw. He tells her that he thinks that they missed them. She snaps that she needs to find them. He looks at her sideways and says, “I can’t imagine how hard yesterday was for you.” She freezes – “What?” He tells her that since she got the letter she’s probably read it a hundred times. She turns, looks at him and asks, “How do you know about the letter?” “Cause I’m the one who took Hope,” he replies. The music becomes eerie, and we head to the opening titles.

Garcia speaks the opening quote: “Hope is faith holding out its hands in the dark.” – George Iles.

A police officer tells Garcia they can’t treat this as a missing person’s case. She shouts that clearly something happened to Monica. Morgan flashes his credentials and says he will take it from here. Morgan tells Garcia that he believes her feeling but she needs her to keep her head in the game. She agrees. Morgan asks if there is any chance that Monica left with someone. Garcia says no and tells him that yesterday was the anniversary of her daughter’s abduction. He looks at her and asks how long she has known her. Five years she says. Morgan asks if her daughter’s abductor has been caught, and Garcia tells him that the case went cold. Morgan asks if Garcia has any idea the effect that anniversaries have on people. Garcia says Monica would never kill herself – she is a survivor. Morgan looks in Monica’s car; he notes that the keys are still in the ignition and she left her purse behind. He reaches in and picks up the letter, and tells Garcia that it’s signed by someone named Hope. Garcia tells Morgan that Hope is Monica’s daughter.

The kidnapper’s truck screeches to a halt in a gas station bay. Monica asks, “What do you mean you took Hope?” He tells her that it’s important that she understands how it all began. They both get out of the truck. She follows him, asking why they are there. She pleads with him that if he just tells her where Hope is she won’t call the police. He tells her that if she does call the police, it will guarantee that she will never see Hope again!

He asks Monica if she recognizes the place they are in. She replies that they used to stop for gas here on the way home. He tells her this is the first place he met Hope. He shows Monica a candy bar and says, “You wouldn’t buy this for her. Do you remember how upset she was?” He tells her that he believes her exact words were: “What part of no do you not understand? Go put it back.” “I didn’t want her to ruin her dinner,” Monica tells him. Then he reminisces about Hope not wanting to take candy from a stranger (him) and how in that moment he made the choice that he had to have her. He tells Monica that she can walk out the door right now or she can go with him. He walks to the magazine stand and she rushes to the truck. He follows and off they go.

Cut to Garcia with Hotch in the briefing room. He explains the case to the rest of the team who has now joined. Hotch speaks about Hope’s abduction and tells them that they are now looking for her mother. Spencer interjects with a fact about how some unsubs reach out to family members of their abductees. Rossi asks how they think the abductions may be related. Morgan says that it was the anniversary of Hope’s abduction and that he found a letter. Rossi mentions that they cannot rule out suicide and Garcia insists Monica would never do that. Prentiss asks if Hope’s father is in the picture and Garcia says he died in a car accident right before Hope was born.

Reid announces that there is no postmark on the letter, meaning it was hand-delivered and Hotch asks him to do a full linguistics analysis on the letter to determine authenticity. He points out that there is a butterfly next to Hope’s name and thinks it means something. Morgan says there was no sign of a struggle. Prentiss asks what if the unsub approached Monica with Hope, and Rossi says that would get Monica to go willingly.

The kidnapper and Monica are now sitting outside of a house. Monica asks why he brought her there, and he tells her it’s so she can see where their life began. He tells Monica that he remembers Hope running around for hours like a young butterfly. A man approaches the truck. The kidnapper reminds Monica that they all have choices. She rolls the window down and the man says, “I thought that was you. Is everything alright?” She tells him that she was just driving by, and the kidnapper drives away.

Prentiss and Rossi pull up to a house. They discuss that it is rare for a parent of kidnap victims to leave the house the child lived in when he/she went missing. Rossi explains it was only because of resources. Monica rented an apartment close to the home. The lights are on timers and there is a key under the mat “in case Hope ever comes home”. They the idea back and forth that the abductor had access to Monica here, but he waited to abduct her in public, the same way that he took her daughter.

Reid tells Hotch that the letter found in Monica’s car shows no evidence of female writership and that it lacks emotional attachment. Hotch asks if the unsub wrote it, and Reid says he believes so because the language doesn’t match that of a 15-year old that has been held in captivity for the last seven years. (This is where I asked myself just what language would a 15-year old that has been held in captivity for the last seven years use?)

Garcia tells them she has a hit on someone resembling Monica in a gas station. Reid and Hotch go to Garcia to watch the video; Hotch notes that Hope is not with them, and Reid observes that they look like they are having a conversation. They watch a little longer and Reid points out that the unsub is shielding himself from the cameras and protecting his identity. They watch Monica leave and muse that the unsub has complete control over her. Reid comments that there are plenty of service stations between the gas station and the community centre, but the one they went to must mean something to the both of them. Hotch concludes that this is where it all began.

The unsub and Monica walk into a house. Monica tells him that she passes by this street everyday and can’t believe that he has had Hope here this whole time. Inside the house, Monica sees pictures of Hope and moves toward them. The unsub locks the door from the inside. Monica wants to see Hope, but the unsub stalls. “Come with me,” he says.

Over at the BAU offices, Morgan tells the team that the owner of Monica’s old house has reported seeing her. They ask if the unsub was with her? Yes, but the owner didn’t get a good description of him or the car. Apparently someone dropped a letter there for Monica a week ago and he called her to come pick it up. Ever since then she’s been parked outside the house. Reid thinks the unsub is giving Monica to Hope as a reward for good (fully compliant) behaviour, while Rossi feels the unsub is “getting off” on the fact he successfully abducted a mother and daughter.

JJ discloses some details about Monica’s statement after Hope’s abduction. Monica bought gas at the service station hours before Hope went missing, so it’s not a coincidence that the unsub took her there and to the old house. Hotch comments that the unsub is taking Monica through all the steps of the abduction, and Rossi still thinks that the unsub’s plan all along was to have both mother and daughter. JJ asks if they think the unsub is sexually diverse, as abductors usually want either a woman or a child but it’s very rare for them to go back and forth between the two. Rossi mentions that the unsub has stalked Monica – he knew about the key under the mat – so why did he wait seven years to abduct her? Spencer thinks the butterfly on the note was a sign of his maturation. He tells the team that maybe the unsub prefers women but in some situations, he would take a child. Hotch says that Monica is not a preference, but rather a specific target.

Now the unsub has locked Monica in a room.

Rossi says that the unsub went after HOPE’S mother, and Hotch fills us in … this probably means that Hope is dead and the unsub has taken Monica because she reminds him of Hope. The team looks around at one another – they seem stumped! Garcia comes in with a banker’s box and announces that this is all that the PD had on Hope’s abduction.

Monica is trying to get out of the room. The unsub opens the door and says, “Rise and shine.” Monica speeds out of the room after him. She sits in a chair that is bolted to the floor and has chains on the arms. She sees the name Hope carved into the table, traces the letters with her fingers, and begins to cry. The unsub enters the room and asks her how she slept. She replies that she didn’t. He points to the chains and tells Monica that Hope grew out of them when she was 12 and he didn’t use them on her much after that. He goes to the fridge and gives Monica the rundown on what he has to offer. Monica asks, “She’s not here, is she?” He rubs the back of his head which we can tell is a sign of annoyance, and asks why would he bring her to his home if Hope wasn’t there. Monica asks him to prove it … she wants to see Hope. He gets a video camera down and tells her to look. She sees Hope and begins to cry.

Morgan and Reid are pinning down where the unsub lives, and find that there are other cases that could be attributed to the unsub … one was six months before Hope’s abduction. A little girl thought a man was taking pictures of her. Three weeks later, she thought he was peeking in her window, and after that her house was burglarized. The only thing that was missing was her clothing. They deduce that this was the unsub’s lead-in to build his confidence to abduct Hope. Prentiss comes in with a letter that was found on the bike of the little girl who was playing with Hope the night she was abducted. Reid points out that there is a butterfly on it. Rossi reads a line from the letter: “Without you, she wouldn’t have been set free. This is a token of my appreciation.”

Now Monica and the unsub are heading upstairs. They enter a room, and Monica recognizes it from the video. “She was here,” she says. She cries and asks where he is hiding Hope. He tells her that Hope wrote to her so many times. He begins reading a letter. Monica gets up and attacks him, screaming for him to go to hell. He fights her off and explains to her that this is just her way of dealing with her guilt. He tells her that Hope was angry at first, too. He asks if Monica wants to know how he got Hope to calm down … he played games with her. He lets her go says he’ll give her a head start in a game of hide and seek. He begins to count.

JJ and Prentiss are now approaching a school bus. They speak to a girl named Heather. They explain to her that they need to speak to her about Hope. That they have reason to believe that the same man that took her took her mother last night. Prentiss tells Heather that she has already told police that she saw a man watching she and Hope play that day. Heather says she wishes she could help but has to get to class. She is visibly shaken. Prentiss tells her that the reason she has put streaks in her hair is because it is a constant reminder of how much she and Hope look alike. Heather begins to cry! Prentiss tells her that she knows that Heater constantly asks herself why he took Hope instead of you. JJ asks that if there is something that she knows that she tell them. Heather admits that it was not the first time she had seen him. She had seen him a week earlier in the park. He didn’t say anything to them. They move to the day that Hope was taken. She explains that they were playing Hide and go seek in front of Hope’s house. She had just finished counting and she turned around he was standing there smiling at her. He had a jar of butterflies. He asked if he could play with them she said yes. Why has she not told anyone? Because it was her fault she says. She is the one that told him that he could play with them.

Garcia is looking at pictures of Monica and Hope. She feels that the team is not doing enough to find them. Morgan tells her to stop and calm down just as JJ tells them they are ready for the profile. The BAU has concluded that:

• Seven years ago, they believed the unsub was a preferential child molester; now they believe his preference has evolved into an erotomanic obsession with Hope, so much so that in her absence, his attentions are now focused on Hope’s mother.
• When Hope went missing, there was another potential victim of the same age with the same physical characteristics as Hope, and she was even more accessible. This tells us that Hope became his idealized target.
• Despite the high risk, the unsub abducted Monica in public which shows she is pivotal to his fantasy.
• There’s a possibility that until recently, the unsub kept Hope alive, which explains why he didn’t hunt again for all these years.
• It was Hope’s death that triggered the change in his MO.

One of the other officers asks, “If the same guy has her, how long is she really going to last?” The team again exchanges those looks. Garcia stands up and tells them that she knows Monica and that she is a fighter. Garcia says that Monica will not give up, so neither should they.

Back at the unsub’s house, he continues the search for Monica , who is still hiding. He hears her running upstairs. She is going up another level and he shouts for her not to go in there. She opens a door and he appears behind her. There is a bed and Monica slowly walks toward it. There is an outline of a body under a sheet. She pulls the sheet back and there is the remains of a body. She falls to the ground and begins to cry. The unsub enters the room and says that he didn’t want her to find out like this, he is sorry and can explain. He tells her that he loved Hope, too. Monica cries. He tells her again that he loved her. He says that Monica could not know how long he searched. He was about to give up and then there Hope was. He knew from the moment he saw her that she would be a beautiful woman, like a cocooned butterfly waiting to emerge. Monica says that he had Hope chained like an animal. He tells her that she doesn’t understand what happened. It wasn’t his fault. Monica screams, “You murdered my baby!” and he shouts back, “She killed herself!”

Hotch, JJ and Morgan are discussing the day of the anniversary being the day that Monica is most vulnerable. The unsub would know this. He comes armed with info about Hope and she lets her guard down. She decides to go to the meeting where she can share her feelings with people who understand. JJ wants to know how the unsub knew that after this particular meeting she would be raw. What if he knew because he had heard the story before?

JJ wants to interview Garcia, and Garcia is worried about violating the privacy of the people in her support group. JJ promises she won’t ever speak of what she hears, and has Garcia remember what happened. We see Garcia back in the group hall, and JJ asks if Monica is there. Garcia answers yes, Monica is talking. JJ asks Garcia to look around the room and notice if anyone is reacting to Monica? Garcia says no, that everyone is listening. JJ wants to know what happened after Monica finished sharing? Garcia tells JJ that Monica was trying not to cry and someone started to say something but then Garcia ended the meeting. JJ needs to know who spoke. Garcia tells her that it was a guy who lost his wife. He was sitting behind Monica, and he rubbed Monica’s shoulder, trying to comfort her. JJ asks what happened at the end of the night. Garcia remembers watching that same guy take the tea bag out of Monica’s tea cup. (See, I told you it was important!) Garcia says, “It’s Bill!”

The unsub wants to explain to Monica what happened, but she doesn’t want to hear it. He goes on anyway. At night, he could always hear Hope walking around in her room. This one night she was pacing back and forth – and then she stopped. He came up to check on her and the door was locked. When he tried to open it, there was blood everywhere. He tried to stop the bleeding but t was too late. Wait a minute … Monica has heard this before. He told the story in group but said it was his wife. He was talking about Hope. He lost her. He tells Monica that she didn’t know his connection to Hope. Monica remembers that she cried for him, for his loss.

Back at the BAU, JJ tells Prentiss that a William Rogers joined the support group two months ago and Garcia is still looking for an address. He has a prior for an attempted kidnapping of a 14-year old. They realize that the reason he has held Hope all this time was because he was waiting for her to reach a more desirable age. He used the story that his pregnant wife committed suicide, and the team realizes that Hope could not bear the thought of bringing his child into the world and killed herself. Since that was not part of his plan, it turned his world upside down. Prentiss asks why he would want to take Monica and not just start all over again with another young girl. Rossi speculates it’s because Monica can give him what he lost … another Hope! He didn’t take Monica to remind him of Hope; he took her to recreate Hope.

Monica is now sitting in a bedroom. Bill comes in and says he wants to make peace with her. He reminds her that she shared with the group that she was thinking of having another baby. He tells her that all the things that she missed out on with Hope, she will get to experience with this new baby that they are going to create. She tries to run and he grabs her. We see in the mirror that he has her pinned to the bed.

Garcia has found Bill’s addresses and she is heading out with the team. We see Monica dressing and Bill comes in to tell her that he has made her favourite tea. He says that Hope would want them to move forward with their lives. Monica stands up and says, “Do you think so?” She throws the hot tea in his face and locks him in the room, which he breaks out of and chases her. Hotch and Prentiss break into one of the addresses. It’s clear. Garcia is on the phone with Bill. He puts Monica on the phone, and she tells Garcia that “she’s dead.” Bill hangs up on Garcia, but invites her into the house. She decides to go in, and JJ goes with her. Garcia sees Bill and Monica. He is holding Monica at gun point. Garcia speaks to him and tells him that Monica needs time to understand what he did. Garcia asks him to tell Monica why this is happening. He tells her that Hope was pregnant. Morgan and Reid come into the room. Bill puts the gun down and steps away from Monica. Monica picks up the gun and shoots Bill.

We are back in group with Garcia, who delivers this monologue: “We are each on our own journey. Each of us are on our very own adventure encountering all kinds of challenges and the choices we make on that adventure and the choices we make on that adventure will shape us as we go. Those choices will stretch us and test and push us to our limit and our adventure will make us stronger than we ever knew we could be.”

Cut to Monica releasing some butterflies, and one stays behind. She and Garcia cry a little. Then the butterfly leaves.

Garcia speaks again. “There’s a quote by my favorite author Joseph Campbell and it goes like this: Find a place inside where there’s joy and the joy will bring out the pain.”

This is the first episode since Season Three’s two-part story “Lucky” and “Penelope” that we have actually focused so much on Garcia. Last year with her split role on Suspect Behavior she was sort of in the background although she took over from JJ as the team liaison. I am glad to see her back in the spotlight. She is not only the glue that holds the team together but the comedy relief in most instances. She is a one-of-a-kind character (well, except for Abby on NCIS) and it’s nice to see someone who is a little goofy, a little off from the mainstream, be so happy and so comfortable with who she is.

Next week we have a break for American Thanksgiving. I wish all of my American friends a safe and happy holiday with their loved ones. Then we come back on December 7th, (HOLY MOLY it’s December in two weeks, I better get shopping) with Episode 9 called “The Self Fulfilling Prophecy” – where the BAU investigates the real reasons behind an apparent mass suicide of a small group of young men at a military academy. Meanwhile, Hotchner and Morgan are at odds with one other when a team member could be in jeopardy.

Cut to JJ shutting Henry’s door and telling Will she finally got him down. Her phone beeps. The text says: “Hotch wants everyone in two missing kids found dead.” Will comments, “I thought you had a few days off?” He is obviously irritated. They argue – I guess JJ’s return to the BAU is not sitting well with her marriage. They agree that her job is hard on all of them. She tells him that she would stay home if there was someone to cover her shifts. He reminds her that she worked normal hours and had weekends off when she was at the Pentagon, and she reminds him she wasn’t helping anyone there. “What if it was Henry?” she asks. Will tells her she should go.

Now we are at the BAU offices. Rossi knocks on Hotch’s door and then enters. He is back because he gets antsy when he is gone too long. He thanks Hotch for the team’s donation to ALS, and tells Hotch he is OK. Rossi says he finds it funny that they were divorced 20 years and he never missed her as much as he does right now.

Garcia enters. She tells the team that bodies of two unidentified Caucasian boys were found near Wichita, Kansas (all I can think about is Glenn Campbell singing “Wichita Lineman” at this point). Prentiss adds that the boys, who were between the ages of 15 and 17, were each found mangled in the aftermath of a tornado. The ME (Medical Examiner) has determined that the COD (Cause of Death) was BFT (Blunt Force Trauma) before the storms hit. Morgan tells us that the death blow was almost in the same spot on each victim. JJ asks about the missing limbs. Prentiss responds that on vic(tim) number one, the right leg was taken off, and on vic #2 both arms were severed. Apparently the ME can’t determine if that was because of the tornado or the unsub. Rossi mentions that if the severed limbs are the work of the unsub, he has a hell of a sadistic streak and Morgan adds that the tornado would clear the area and allow the unsub the privacy to do his thing. Reid speculates that he may be using the storm as a position modality. Rossi suggests it might be a forensic countermeasure. Hotch is concerned by the brief period between kills. It’s only been a week between kills. The unsub is moving fast and the BAU needs to move even faster! Hotch asks Garcia to get him ID’s on all the victims. Hotch tells the team they leave in 30, and Garcia tells them to pack for foul weather.

Now the unsub is driving his camper and the radio buzzes: “The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning.” The unsub is excited. He shouts to the back of the camper that he found one and says, “You owe me $5 and you better pay up this time.” We watch him drive down the highway while the thunder crashes and lightning flashes … cut to intro.

OMG! A page and already and I’m only 5 minutes in. This is gonna be good!

The team is on the BAU jet. Hotch gives the opening quote: “When a man is sound of body and serene of mind, there is no such thing as bad weather. Every day has its beauty and storms which whip the blood do but make it pump more vigorously.” – George Gissing.

They discuss tornadoes until Garcia shows up on the screen and tells them that the local PD has ID’d their victims. The first one is Jason Merit, a 16-year old runaway. Next, Eric Janelle, a 15-year old foster kid who took off three weeks ago. Both kids have records for possession and prostitution. They muse about why the unsub may be keeping the body parts. Garcia leaves abruptly because her “machines don’t say gross things.” The plane shakes. Hotch holds tight to the arm of his chair, Spencer puts his seat belt on and Rossi crosses himself. Reid tells Rossi not to worry about turbulence but to worry about micro bursts – If one hits the plane at the right altitude it could BOOM pulverize. Rossi looks at JJ and begs her to make Reid stop!

In a newscast from the affected area, apparently the storm was an F2 on the Fujita scale. (This sent me looking for what the heck a Fujita scale is. Apparently it measures the intensity of a tornado based on the damage it causes to man-made structures. There are six levels: F0 having wind speeds of 54-116 km/h and a 10-50 meter width, considered light damage; F5 having wind speeds of 261-318 km/h and an 1100 meter width considered incredible damage. Right about now, I LOVE TORONTO! No hurricanes, few if any tornadoes, no tsunamis … just snow!)

Morgan thinks this guy gets off on chasing storms, and that a friend of his in college said it is the closest you can get to the true power of God. Prentiss tells us he is impulsive and young, a loner with nothing to lose. Morgan thinks they should be looking at actual storm chasers. Local PD tells them that storm chasers work with the university. Prentiss asks if Morgan thinks this guy is educated, and Morgan says well he knows enough about the weather…

We move to the police station where JJ is with a woman who is crying. This is the mother of one of the victims, Jason. JJ asks when the woman last saw her son, and she says it was the day he ran away, a little over a year ago. Jason had hugged his mom as he always did before he went to school. Hotch is speaking to a kid, whom we deduce is the other victim’s foster brother. The boy and Eric were ‘tight’. The last time he saw Eric was three weeks before when he said he was running to the store and never came back. JJ and Hotch confer on their findings. Each victim had a strong protective instinct and was looking out for someone besides themselves. Boys like that are hard to fool. JJ wonders if the unsub used to be one of “them”. Hotch then says there is a major system heading into the area that night, and the unsub is going to try to grab another boy soon!

We see the camper pull up to a tent site where five boys are sitting around listening to music. The unsub gets out, walks over asks them where he can get some beer. One boy tells him on Main, and the unsub asks where Main is. The boy says it’s four blocks that way, and the unsub asks if any of them wanna party – he’s got some weed. He approaches one of the smaller boys and an older one steps forward, and tells the unsub it’ll be $100. They bargain, and the boy leaves with the unsub.

Rossi is in the morgue with the ME, who is making conversation. He shows Rossi the bodies of the victims. It seems the vics were full of alcohol and Dextromethorphan – COUGH SYRUP! The ME says this is a quick high for street kids. The missing limbs were chopped off with a dull ax, and only minutes after death. They were tied up antemortem; the unsub held them before he killed them. It is inconclusive whether there was sexual assault or not.

So he:

• Gets them drunk and high
• Restrains them
• Kills them
• Chops off their limbs as souvenir
• Then dumps the body and lets the storm clean up the mess

Why the souvenir?

Back in the camper, the weather service is reporting another storm. The unsub is trying to get the boy into the box. The kid is a fighter. The unsub says, “Don’t worry boy, I’ll never forget you.” He opens a freezer and holds the hand of a body and says, “Double or nothing, I find us another one. What, you’re scared to lose again? Alright then, gentlemen’s bet. That’s my boy.” He is shaking the hand now.

Another body, same as the last, except this time, the torso is missing. The vic is Gary Dyson. However, there was no twister … thunderstorms and a warning, but no twister. He’s escalating, and it’s only been four days. The weather is making him do it. Reid tells us that the unsub is not a fetish killer because he is not taking the same parts. If we look at the missing pieces so far, it makes a body. Hotch realizes that the unsub is not taking bodies apart – he is making one!

The profile: a white male in his mid to late 20′s; he is mobile and travels great distances to follow the storms so he is either in a truck or a van; he may live in the vehicle and it’s probably beat up. JJ’s phone rings … she apologizes and hits ignore. Reid tells us that Jeffery Dahmer believed that if he created sex zombies they would not resist his advances. When his test subjects died, he kept their body parts as souvenirs. We are now flashing between the profile scene and a scene of the unsub putting ice in the freezer. Storing body parts is not easy – he is going to need lots of ice or salt to preserve them. He has to be paying for it and his gas too. He doesn’t have the social skills to hold a job for too long so he is most likely a day labourer. JJ then gets a text that reads “CALL ME ASAP 911”. JJ tells us that they think he is using the weather as a forensic countermeasure to destroy evidence. They think he may be some kind of symphorophiliac, which Prentiss describes as someone who is aroused by disaster. JJ excuses herself. The weather is arousing him and he hunts street kids, so he is most likely from a similar background and uneducated.

JJ is on the phone, and we see her ask, “Since when is a seizure fine?” Will is on the other end of the line, and tells her that Henry’s doctor says it’s normal for kids his age. They bicker back and forth, and she tells Will she is coming home. Hotch asks her what is wrong, and she explains. Reid rambles a bit to Hotch and then gets to his point – he knows where the unsub got his start. He explains that the only body parts the unsub has not taken are the left leg and the head. He asks Garcia to look for grave robberies in Tornado Alley in the last five years. No grave robberies or funeral home robberies fit the bill. Reid tells her to look specifically for thefts involving left legs. She gasps and tells him that he scares her, and finds that there was a left leg stolen a year ago but it was from a 47-year old father of two who died of leukemia. It doesn’t fit the unsub’s signature or his MO. He used this leg to develop his MO, but it doesn’t explain what or who he is building, and whatever it is he won’t stop until he finds the perfect head. As Garcia would say, Ewwww.

The unsub is at a roadside store getting more ice. He comes out and sees two boys standing in a phone booth. He has a moment. I think he has found his head. He tries to get the boys into his camper, but the older one won’t have any of it. The boys run down the street, and the camper pulls up along side them. Out comes the unsub and he asks how to get to the interstate. The older boy gives him directions, then we see the crow-bar.

JJ is one the phone, and learns she can’t get a flight home because of the weather. The rest of the team is off to the university to speak to storm chasers when they see a family with Hotch. There has been another abduction. The younger brother says a young white guy in an RV attacked him with a crow-bar in the rain. The unsub has changed his victim selection – this kid was a straight A student and football star who went to church. Also, the unsub left a witness, which means he is losing touch with reality. JJ, Morgan and Reid come to the conclusion that the unsub is trying to recreate someone he loved. Morgan tells us that love is an emotion that makes us go to extremes. Reid thinks it’s someone he loved and lost. “WAIT,” JJ says. “You said he was with his big brother, didn’t you?” she asks the little boy across the room.

Morgan calls Garcia. He needs to find out all teenage male vics of tornadoes in the last 10 years with younger brothers who survived. The survivor would have a criminal record. There are two, but 22-year old Travis James stands out. He has no home address or vehicle. Garcia sends a photo to them, and it matches the sketch of the description the kid gave.

We move back to the unsub, who is talking to his newest abduction. He is telling the kid to stop fighting that they are going to be brothers … just the two of them against the world.

Garcia tells the team that Travis lost his big brother Tucker and mother in a tornado in Oklahoma. Then the power goes out. Garcia tells them that just before the tornado touched down, Travis and five other boys testified against a man named Roscoe Gulch, who was a pedophile that lived in the same trailer park as Travis. Apparently Tucker had confronted him a number of times, protecting his little brother. Right after Gulch was acquitted, Tucker went to Gulch’s trailer. Travis said it was like his brother went crazy. Tucker heard sirens and looked out the window, then yelled for Travis to get out. Gulch got up and hit Tucker with a pot. Travis hid in a drainage pipe while Gulch and Tucker got stuck in the trailer and swallowed up by a tornado. When Travis came out there was nothing left. Garcia tells Hotch that Tucker was 22 when he died, and he was found in pieces. They talk about where Travis will take the boy he is holding. Reid says that it’s like Frankenstein – Travis isn’t just trying to put his brother back together, he is trying to bring him back from the dead. If tornadoes have the power to take lives they should also have the power to restore it.

Travis is trying to put the boy in the box. The boy struggles and hits Travis who picks up the crowbar and swings it, hitting the boy in the knee.

Garcia is speaking to Hotch as they zoom down the road in their SUV with sirens screaming. She has found the trigger. A year ago, a tornado ripped through a cemetery near Tulsa, and one of the graves that was disturbed was Tucker James. So Travis’ brother was killed by a tornado and then his memorial was destroyed by one, and Travis is using both to build a memorial of his own. Now that he has that boy’s head, his delusion will completely take over. Rossi tells Garcia to listen to the storm chasers so they know where the storms are.

Travis is talking to the boy as if it was Tucker. Reminiscing. He asks if the boy remembers. He looks at the boy’s neck, and the boy head butts Travis in the face. Travis grabs him and shows him the body in the freezer. Travis is listening to the weather again. He starts to “go”.

The team has no internet, and Garcia is going to guide them into the storm. There are two of the types of storms they are looking for, so they are splitting up. Cut to Travis smiling and drumming the steering wheel. Garcia tells them one of the storm chasers has told her he has seen the RV. Garcia guides them.

Travis has laid the boy out on the ground. He goes back in the RV to open the freezer. The boy is fighting with his restraints. Travis is carrying “the body” out. He goes and gets the ax, and tells the boy to stay still.

Morgan’s team gets to them in time. Morgan asks Travis to let the boy go. They tell him the boy’s name is Shawn and he has a little brother. They call him by name. “Travis, Tucker would not want this,” Reid says. They all look up. The tornado is close. Travis puts the weapon down and frees Shawn. He picks up the body. Morgan, JJ, Shawn and the local PD go into a storm shelter, but not before watching Travis and the body get sucked up into the storm.

JJ speaks the closing quote: “Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn so we see ourselves as we really are.” -Arthur Golden.

JJ is on the phone. She tells Will that the weather will break tomorrow and she should be home some time in the afternoon. She will call and let him know. Will asks if they at least caught the guy , and JJ tells him yes, sort of, it’s kind of weird. She had a really long day and she is really sorry about everything. Will is, too. Henry is still awake and said he won’t go to sleep until he gets story time. Will gives Henry the phone; JJ says hi, and tells him she is coming home tomorrow. She reads him a bedtime story over the phone. Henry says, “Goodnight Mommy,” and gentle music takes us to the credits.

Next week, we can look forward to “Hope” … the BAU investigates when a friend of Garcia goes missing in her survivors’ support group. Hmm … looks like they are giving each character an episode this year instead of focusing on one character the entire season. I haven’t decided if I like it this way.

Oh, I have been reading some spoiler sites, and I am not going to give you any spoilers here, but it looks like Reid’s story is supposed to get juicy and I cannot wait!

Be safe, and see you next week!

We start out with a father and son fishing on a dock. They argue, and we see the father punch the son in the mouth, then whip him with a belt across an already scarred back. It’s hard to believe that someone would do this to their child but I guess it really does happen. Makes me shudder. The father proceeds to try drowning the child and then buries him alive.

Shift to present day. Morning. There is a kid – Nick – camping. His friend calls him on a walkie-talkie to tell him they are watching the police resurrect bodies out of the lake. The friend in the canoe watches as someone sneaks up on the camping kid and hits him over the head with a log.

Over at the BAU, JJ and Prentiss are watching Hotch read. Spencer tells us that Hotch has been reading the same page for 16 minutes – that means there is something wrong. Prentiss asks Rossi how things went with Caroline, and they discuss if he is OK. Hotch tells them they have to get started, and Garcia fills them in on their latest case, with three victims drowning in a lake. They proceed to discuss the case.

Now Nick is being forced underwater. We flash back to the kid and father on the dock. They are still arguing. Now the unsub is sitting by the lake with a dead Nick.

Rossi gives us the opening quote: “To die is poignantly bitter, but the idea of having to die without having lived is unbearable.” – Erich Fromm.

Garcia tells us that Nick has been found – in another lake, and not weighed down. The team arrives at the dump site and discusses why the unsub has changed his MO (modus operandi) and his place of disposal. Maybe he is too weak, and this is why he has chosen a smaller victim and didn’t weigh him down.

The action moves to some bikini clad girls tying up a boat and running to get life vests. The unsub siphons the gas from their boats. At this time, the team is speaking to Nick’s friend who witnessed Nick’s abduction, and find out the witness is Nick’s brother. Rossi assures him that it isn’t his fault. He cannot remember much except that the unsub is in his late 20s, methodical and social.

Bikini girls are now out on jet skis, and the unsub is watching as one of them runs out of gas. Her friends keep going and leave her behind. She jumps into the water.

In the morgue, Prentiss and Reid find out that all of the victims were drowned – except one who was asphyxiated before being submerged. He is the biggest. Maybe he had to be subdued before going into the water. Broken ribs on each victim show severe chest compression but no signs of external trauma … what? Prentiss asks if he performed CPR on the victims. The medical examiner tells her yes, and that he was successful. CRAZY dude we have here!

Bikini girl is back on shore with her out-of-gas jet ski. The unsub is there to help her and give her a lift. She wants to stay with the Jet Ski, but the unsub convinces her to come with him. Morgan thinks we have a sadist on our hands. Rossi’s phone rings.

Now, the unsub is performing CPR on bikini girl. He is screaming at her to wake up, and is flashing back to his father doing the same to him. Back at the unsub’ s home, we see him taking a pill bottle out of an extreme bunch of bottles and popping several pills. Ohhh! He is sick! The team was right – this explains the smaller than normal victim.

They have found bikini girl’s body and note that she lasted longer in the fight than Nick did. The unsub’s level of rage is showing that he is breaking. The medical examiner tells Prentiss and Reid that there was blood on the body that didn’t match the victim, and it shows a severely low white blood count. Hmmm, the unsub has leukemia. The only consistency to the unsub’s MO is the drowning and the resuscitation. “If that’s the case, I’d say he isn’t too happy right now,” the ME tells us. “Why?” Reid asks. Because he drowned her and tried to resuscitate her, but there is no evidence that he was successful in doing so.

Hotch gives us the profile: white male, mid to late 20’s (aren’t they all), local to the area. Rossi adds that the unsub is a sadist with a God complex who gets off on killing his victims only to save their lives. Morgan tells us that he went from strangling and killing fit men to drowning and dumping smaller victims, and is no longer moving his victims. JJ mentions that because of the changes in his behaviour, they believe he is most likely injured or sick.

We cut between two scenes – first, at the unsub’s home, and his phone rings, then to the team where Hotch tells us that the unsub is performing CPR so we should be looking at doctors, lifeguards, anyone who has this kind of training. Rossi requests that some younger cops be placed undercover on the lake to try and lure him out. The unsub has accelerated and won’t wait long to attack again. Back to the unsub, who shows us his caller ID. It’s a doctor. He answers the phone.
We see a woman and her son stranded on the road with a flat tire. She decides to walk back to town, leaving her son in the vehicle to wait for her.

Rossi is in his office looking at his phone and Prentiss comes in to talk. Rossi admits that Caroline has ALS and tells her that he’s not right with what Caroline is asking him to do for her. He admits that Caroline has asked him to help her die. Prentiss is shocked.

Flat tire mom comes upon the unsub and accepts a ride from him. The unsub then appears at her vehicle and tells the son that his mother is in town and has been asked to take him to her. The son gets into the truck and then we see that his mother is bound and gagged in the back. Uh oh! This can’t be good.

Reid tells us that the unsub has cancer of the blood and is dying. Morgan brings up that the first victim was out on the lake for a baptism and that water burials can be seen as a form of baptism, especially since the unsub has a God complex. Hotch calls Garcia and asks for a list of all cancer patients in the area (clients please, clients … get with the time) and she answers that she will make HIPPA her bitch. (Wish I could make FIPPA my bitch – it’s paining me in my butt at work!) She also finds that the first victim joined his church after a near death experience which changed his life.

Now we are putting two and two together. The unsub wants to know about death, and wants to ask someone who has died and been revived what it is like. We flash back to when the unsub was buried by his father and see that he also had a near death experience. Cut to the unsub performing CPR on flat tire mom. He asks her if she saw the light. She sees her son tied up on the dock beside her.

Garcia tells us that the first victim was a “big hoodlum” and all of that changed after his near death experience. Morgan is a skeptic – no one actually sees the afterlife. The light is the emergency room lights, and the angels are the doctors. Reid disagrees and tells everyone that he saw the afterlife. This is big coming from Reid – he’s a scientist, someone who doesn’t normally buy that new age stuff. For him to admit this, it has to be true!

They deduce that the unsub wants to know if the experience is the same each time you die. Prentiss shares that while Reid felt warm and saw a light in his near-death experience, when she coded in the ambulance, all she felt was cold and darkness. Reid asks, “You actually died?” She sighs. The best way for this unsub to make sure his victims have an experience is to keep them dead longer. We cut to the unsub reviving flat tire mom again. He tells her son that she needs a break, and pushes the son into the water. JJ tells everyone that there is an abandoned car near the lake belonging to Samantha Brown and her son Evan. We see the unsub, and he’s still pushing Evan under the water.

Morgan asks Garcia to pinpoint the colder parts of the lake. Garcia tells them about Daniel, who was murdered 15 years before. He was a park attendant and his dock was in the coldest part of the lake. Daniel’s son murdered him after he tried to drown his son and bury him alive. The son, Chase, was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma. The son could be the unsub. Chase is still drowning Evan, but is losing strength and coughing. He lets Evan go, who manages to get free of the rope, gets out of the water, and runs. The unsub chases him, leaving Samantha on the dock.

The team shows up and finds Samantha. Evan is still running and shouting for help. Prentiss and Hotch run toward the shouting. Evan stops and looks around, and the unsub grabs him and pushes him back in the water.

Hotch tells Chase to let Evan go, and Chase says he can’t because he needs answers. Hotch tells him that there are no answers – that is why people have faith. Chase tells Hotch that his life has been one nightmare after another. Chase lets go of Evan and falls back into the water, trying to kill himself. We see Chase walking toward a light and then pulled backward. He flashes back to seeing his father the night that he killed him. He opens his eyes … a wet Prentiss and Reid tell him it isn’t his time to go and that he is under arrest. Evan turns around and finds his mom! He runs to her and hugs her and all I can think is her ribs are broken from multiple attempts at CPR and she doesn’t even grimace!

Rossi gives us the closing quote: “The timing of death, like the ending of a story, gives a new meaning to what preceded it.” – Mary Catherine Bateson.

We return to Caroline’s hotel room. Rossi tells her that he cannot help her die, and she asks him to let her go. He tells her that he can’t and that life is worth fighting for. She reminds him that soon she will be unable to walk. She wants to die as she is now and how she has lived, not who she is going to become. He again tells her that he can’t help her and she says she knows. She tells him that he is the best man she has ever known, and that is why she wanted him with her tonight. He asks what she has done, and she asks him to sit with her. She has taken her life into her own hands. Rossi tries to call for help, and Caroline begs him not to. She doesn’t want to die in a hospital. He cries and holds her as she tells him it will be fast because she is already tired. She asks if “he” will be there. Rossi says he knows that “he” will. Next, Rossi is having a glass of wine at the graves of Caroline and a “James David Rossi”. The “he” was their son. Cut to some beautiful cherry blossoms.

It’s hard to understand that two people who obviously love each other that much would ever divorce. It’s hard to understand loving someone so much that you would do what he did for her. But it is the kind of love we all strive for. This was a very emotional episode from Rossi’s perspective, and I hope he finds some happiness in the future!

Next week, we go to Kansas to investigate the bodies of young boys that turn up in the aftermath of a series of tornadoes. Also, work pressures cause tension on JJ’s home front. Seems we get to see her husband, William. I love Josh Stewart as an actor; he comes from my other all-time favorite show, Third Watch. I actually miss that show. Oh well guess it’s time to pull out the DVDs!

Photo Courtesy of CBS

We start this episode with a woman in what appears to be her bedroom frantically looking for something and a little boy outside her door crying for her to open the door to him. The sound of this little boy’s voice is haunting – very urgent, yet old for his age. He has been through this before. You can tell. The woman, who we now know is his mother, locates what she is looking for: a pair of scissors. She holds them for a while, but hears her son and throws them. She’s obviously in distress and this little boy has done this before; he knows what she is doing on the other side of this door and he’s imagining the worst. She phones someone and then we cut to her dropping “Bobby” off on someone’s front lawn and driving off.

Someone is watching.

“What are you doing here,” Bobby asks as a van pulls up to where he is standing.

Now we are in a restaurant with Rossi and his ex-wife, Caroline. They chat about his eating habits, San Francisco, his love life, and how they should see each other more often. The music turns soft … is Rossi going to get back together with her? His phone rings. He has to leave, and she knows that some things never change. They make plans to have dinner and off he goes.

Hotch announces that they have a child abduction which happened 48 hours ago. Garcia adds that this is coming to them so late because the mom didn’t know he was gone; she assumed that he was with his grandmother. Reid tells us that in stranger abductions, the first 24 hours are critical and this kid has been missing twice that long.

Next, a man opens a bolted door with a sandwich in his hand and we see Bobby hop off of a bed. “When can I see my Mom?” Bobby asks. The man gets angry and drops the sandwich onto the table and says, “We’ll talk about your Mom later!” and heads off to work.

We’re on the plane now and Rossi is talking on the phone. Morgan and Prentiss tease him.

Garcia tells us that the mom has a history of erratic behaviour, depression and two suicide attempts in the last five years. Reid asks if she was being treated for her depression. Garcia says that this woman does more pill popping than Elvis and JJ reminds them that depression is one of the few things that can overwhelm maternal instinct. Reid wonders if maybe this is a runaway and not abduction since Bobby lives in a chronically unhappy household.

JJ and Hotch arrive at the police station and it’s decided that it would be best for JJ to speak to the mother. She tells her about her own boy, Henry, and then launches into what happened the morning that Mrs. Smith dropped Bobby off at his grandmother’s.

Reid gives us a lesson on the vicious circle of depression as he and Morgan tour Mrs. Smith’s home.

Back to JJ. Mrs. Smith says she went to pick him up when she felt better and was told he was not there. JJ understands Mrs. Smith’s bad days … Mrs. Smith shows JJ her wrists which have cut marks on them and explains that Bobby has seen her do that, and she needed to get him out of the house quickly. There was no time to leave messages at her mother’s when she didn’t answer the call.

Morgan and Reid find a picture in Bobby’s room and only four pairs of shoes in Mrs. Smith’s room. Mom denies herself any luxury yet her son has been to an expensive theme park and has a picture to remember the experience.

Now back to Bobby and what we now know is his abductor. The abductor hands him a box of 120 crayons, but Bobby asks to go home. Abductor says, “Buddy your mom is unhappy a lot. Do you want me to help you Mom?” Bobby nods his head.

Mom is not a suspect. Her concern for her son is genuine. She didn’t ask am I in trouble, am I under arrest, where’s my lawyer? Grandma’s alibi checks out too. We think it’s a stranger abduction, but the area Bobby was in has too much foot traffic for someone to not notice a struggle. Rossi thinks he new his abductor.

We cut between two scenes: Bobby drawing, and his mother leaving a drug store. She is approached by the abductor, and he tells her that he knows where her son is and can take her to him. Instead, he ties her up, strangles her, and then stabs her.

She is found the next morning. Reid tells us that she was “slaughtered by someone completely out of control, yet on her wrists there are precise wounds on top of where she already cut herself, only deeper”. Morgan thinks this was never about the kid; it was always about the mother. Make her suffer for a few days, then kill her. It means he knew her personal history.

Morgan calls Garcia and tells her to drop everything. She responds with her signature innuendo: “With pleasure. Let me tell you something – this is a Lamborghini you are talking to. You have to drive me, you can’t just leave me in the garage or I will wilt.” Morgan asks her to figure out who might have been in Mrs. Smith’s house in the past little while and to check the computers in the house. The police officer announces to Hotch that they’ve another child abduction, a four-year old boy taken from a park about an hour ago! Hotch sends in Morgan and Reid.

In this case, the mom was sitting on the bench and the child was playing. She looked away for two seconds and he was gone. Morgan asks was she by herself, and Reid asks why she drove her son an hour away from where they live to go to the park. She is jiggy and scratching … something isn’t right here. She explains that was shopping, and changes the subject, asking why the police are looking in the park if her son is gone. Reid asks Mrs. Tanner exactly what drug she is addicted to because he can see very obvious symptoms of withdrawal. She asks Reid if he is crazy and Morgan tells her he saw two deals go down on the other side of the park. They know that she was distracted because she was buying. She needs to tell them the truth.

Now we go to the abductor. He is speaking to Timmy, the second abducted child, about new PJs and sharing a room with Bobby. Timmy covers his ears and cries that he wants his mommy! This really angers the abductor. Bobby comforts Timmy as the abductor leaves.

Morgan tells Hotch (glorious Hotch!) that the mom was addicted to Oxy. So, there is one mom addicted and one mom suicidal. They load the body of Mrs. Smith into the coroner’s van as Hotch tells Morgan to put Mrs. Tanner into protective custody.

The abductor tells Bobby that Timmy’s mommy is weak like his, and Bobby asks when he can go home. The abductor tells Bobby he will be safe and happy when Bobby notices the knife covered in blood. Bobby asks where his mom is, and the abductor says he took her to a place where she’ll be happier. Bobby begins to cry, and the abductor asks if he thinks wolves are bad, then explains that wolves only kill the weak which thins out the pack so that the pack can be stronger. Oh now we know what he is doing, but who the hell is he? He tells Bobby that Timmy also wants him to make it better for his mommy and off he goes.

Hotch is now giving the profile: a white male, mid to late 20s, physically fit enough to subdue Marlene Smith and carry out a vicious attack. Rossi adds that they believe he sees himself as a rescuer, taking children away from unfit parents; he may have abandonment issues from his own childhood. Morgan tells us that the impulsive nature of committing the murder out in the open show he is inexperienced, then Reid adds that the violence against Marlene Smith went from precision to frenzy, which shows psychopathic traits – quick to rage and quick to recover.

Now the abductor is sneaking up to a house, as Prentiss tells us that he has insider knowledge into the families. The abductor shrinks into hiding when he sees that Mrs. Tanner is being guarded by a police officer. Reid says that emergency personnel were called to the Smith house after her suicide attempts and to the Tanner house after an overdose. Both kids went withthe abductor without a struggle, so they knew him. The violence is directed at the parents but they don’t know what the end game is.

The abductor returns home, and now he is VERY angry. Hotch tells us that they have deprived the abductor of his target which will increase his volatility; he may become violent toward the children. We see Timmy shouting that he wants his mommy. The abductor grabs him, and Bobby shouts, “Don’t hurt him!”

Following a scene where Timmy walks into a bar, we see the BAU speaking to his father. There’s no sign of any abuse on Timmy. JJ asks Timmy if he saw another boy. He says yes, and the boy’s name is Bobby. JJ proceeds to ask Timmy about the car ride and the place he was held, and Rossi asks why Timmy wasn’t afraid. Timmy tells Rossi that the man said he would come when he spoke to him on the phone, and that the man is a superhero. Timmy shows them the button on the phone where he speaks to abductor. Rossi pushes it and hears, “911 operator, please state your emergency.”

Switch to the abductor at work, and he gets a call from a girl saying her mother’s drunken boyfriend is trying to attack her and her mother won’t do anything about it. He leaves, and we see him next at the home of Shannon, the girl on the phone.

Prentiss gives Garcia that profile and Rossi tells her to trace 911 calls. Prentiss and Rossi talk about his breakfast with Caroline, his first wife, and Rossi thinks they could get their spark back.

Police are carting Shannon’s mother’s boyfriend off while the abductor is watching. Garcia tells the team that out of eleven 911 operators who were on duty when the calls came in, only one was off duty when the abductions and murder happened – George Kellen. We see a picture of the abductor. He was at work today but left early, and his last call was a domestic dispute. They rush to the address.

George knocks on the door of Shannon’s home and enters the house. OMG! Rossi and Prentiss are at George’s, but there are no kids there. Hotch and Morgan are at Shannon’s house, the door is open and the lights are on, but the unsub has beaten them there.

Now Shannon’s mom is tied up, and Bobby un-gags her. George is speaking to Shannon and says he is helping her, that the problem is not her mom’s boyfriend, it’s her mom. Garcia learns more about George, and tells Hotch that the unsub entered the foster system when he was 11, and his father abandoned the family when he was a baby. She doesn’t know what happened to the mom. Hotch asks for the address of the foster home. He also tells Reid and JJ that George needs the approval of the children before he can kill the parent.

Bobby tells Shannon’s mom that George wants Shannon to tell him to kill her mom. If she doesn’t, then he will kill her because that means she is bad, too. As this is happening, Garcia discovers that George’s mother jumped off a bridge. Cut back to George, who confesses to Shannon that one day, he followed his mother on “one of her walks” and he watched her jump off a bridge. His mom wanted to die but she could not make herself do it up to that point. He says she was right to kill herself, though. He had never seen her as peaceful as when she was falling off that bridge. When her pain ended, his life changed. Now, it’s Shannon’s moment.

Hotch heads to the foster family’s farm. George’s foster father died the month before – this must be the trigger. Reid shares that it is abnormal for women to kill themselves in a violent way, such as to jump off a bridge. Move to George, who wants Shannon to shoot her mother. Shannon tells him she loves her mom, and her mother says that’s crap, that if she loved her, she wouldn’t have called 911. Shannon’s mother antagonizes her. Remember, if Shannon doesn’t agree with George, he will kill Shannon, too. Hotch pulls up at the farm. He and Morgan enter the room, and Hotch tells George that he thinks that George pushed his mother off the bridge. Hotch shoots George, JJ removes Bobby, and Shannon and her mom hug.

Rossi reads the closing quote: “All things true wicked start from an innocence.” – Ernest Hemingway.

Following the serious events of this episode, there is a funny interaction among JJ, Garcia, Prentiss and Spencer about women and shoes to lighten the mood before it gets dark again.

In the final scene, Rossi is having dinner with Caroline. They chat and she is drinking wine, for fortification she tells him. Rossi muses that who would have thought they would find themselves on a date again after all these years. Caroline asks him if he remembers pledging to her during their divorce that they would always be there for each other, no matter what. He asks her what it going on, and she tells him that she has ALS – and that she wants him to help her die. Rossi cries. They hold hands. We watch the fire burn as it fades out.

Photo Courtesy of CTV

As Reid speaks the opening quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Men are not prisoners of fate but prisoners of their own mind,” we learn that this unsub has another motive other than killing. But, but … he just killed an entire office of people! Taking it out on the “boss” who took four “body shots” and one to the head execution style.

Now we see the unsub in what we think is his parents’ home but he’s not recognizing his own father.

In a comic moment, we hear Morgan interact with Garcia as she teaches him to whistle a la Lauren Bacall. He and Prentiss smile.

Oh my LORD! Now the unsub kills his parents.

Garcia magically finds out that “the boss” and the unsub were in the same Naval unit and he has a wife and child. Off we go to find them. He’s unstable and on a rampage – it could be PTSD. How bad would his disorder be to make him kill his own parents? The team discovers he has been Stateside for six years. If it’s PTSD, it might be an escalation, not a first episode. But wait! He didn’t come to kill his parents. He’s on a mission.

Local PD has gone to the wife’s house to pick her and their daughter up. Luke (as we now know the unsub) pulls up and watches. The police stop him and make him turn around as the BoLo flashes on the cruiser computer.

Next Rossi tells Hotch that the first victim was given the Navy Cross in 2000. Hotch answers, “We weren’t at war!” Rossi exclaims, “Exactly, you have to show extreme sacrifice, risk life and limb to win the second highest medal of valor! What did he do in peace time to deserve it?” JJ brings the news that Luke was the second in command of a Navy Seal unit that was involved in over 20 highly classified missions. ”Operation Dorado Falls” was the only mission in 2000. Hmmmm!

It is revealed that apparently Navy Seals are resistant to PTSD. This begs the question why would Luke kill his commanding officer and his parents? Ohhh, the profile has now changed!

Oh no! Luke evades a road block. He’s off the grid!

Prentiss talks to the ex-wife who seems to feel that Luke was always married to the Navy more than to her. “Is that why you separated?” asks Prentiss. “No,” says the ex-wife, “the fact of the matter is he was ready to leave in an instant. An exit strategy that didn’t include us.”

Garcia tells Prentiss, Morgan and Reid that the unsub had an accident on the Friday before but he passed a field sobriety test. Morgan pipes up, “That wouldn’t rule out drugs!” Reid offers Schizophrenia as a possibility, but the unsub’s age rules out a first episode of this disease. They continue to bounce ideas off each other as Luke shaves!

(The rest of the episode called for a lot of rewinding and re-watching on my part. It was very involved and very fast. Thank God for my PVR.)

The action shifts to Luke, standing in front of a popcorn eating, Robert Mitchum watching man. Luke is holding a gun to this man’s wife’s head, and states, “If you want her to live, you tell me where my family is.”

The BAU arrives on the scene, and the hysterical wife shouts, “He took my husband.” Morgan walks her through the event, and she recalls that Luke told her husband he wants his real parents and he knows that he replaced them. Reid asks if he mentioned “Dorado Falls”. “Yes,” she replies.

Reid suggests that Luke may have Capgras syndrome; it involves one sense, and victims believe all of their family and friends have been replaced. (Even with schooling in Psychology, I had never heard of Capgras syndrome, so this had me hitting the pause button and scrambling to my iPhone to search this subject.) Spence explains: “The link between the sight and emotion parts of the brain is severed. You don’t recognize loved ones to see them but if hear them without seeing them you think they are real. It’s caused by tumors or trauma.” Prentiss reminds all of us that Luke was just in a car accident. Luke is not killing for the fun if it. He does it because he believes he has no other choice. If he were to see his wife and daughter, the results would be deadly.

“No one remembers Dorado Falls,” the kidnapped popcorn eating General tells Luke. “I remember,” Luke says.

JJ pays a visit to the Pentagon, and is told that the info she’s looking for is highly classified. After telling the Pentagon guy that if he doesn’t help and it goes south, he hands her a file. “Why is Luke so worried about this mission?” she asks. “I don’t know and I can assure you there’s no blowback,” Pentagon guy answers.

The action returns to Luke and the kidnapped General. Music is playing, Luke cocks his gun, and then a phone rings. Luke answers and it’s Rossi, who introduces himself as “Sgt. Major Rossi” and explains that he was in boot camp with Luke’s dad! ”Who told you to call me?” Luke asks. “I volunteered,” Rossi answers.

As Rossi continues to question Luke, Garcia is triangulating the area of the cell phone.

“Why did you kidnap the General?” asks Rossi. “For leverage to get my family back,” Luke replies. “Do you think we’re holding them?” Rossi counters. “I saw you take my wife and child,” responds Luke.

Hotch grows concerned, and asks Garcia if she’s pinpointed a location.  She’s got it, and they head out.

Meanwhile, Rossi asks Luke to release the General so they can talk about Luke’s family. After all, the General is innocent in all of this. Luke tells Rossi he didn’t start “Dorado Falls”, and Rossi asks Luke to share his side of the story. Luke tells Rossi to go first, and Rossi reads from the Pentagon file that “Dorado Falls” was a boat off the coast of Cape Town. It was owned by a South African diplomat who was selling nuclear secrets to Iran. Reid deduces that Luke’s mind chose “Dorado Falls” to build a conspiracy around!

The BAU’s SUVs speed to a halt outside what they think is the kidnap site, but it’s not. Garcia goes on a rant about things that interfere with signals, and Hotch tells her to hurry. She discovers another building nearby, and off go Hotch and Morgan.

In recounting the “Dorado Falls” mission to Rossi, Luke shares that intel failed to ID two children aboard the boat. Luke tells him there was a chance to abort, but he was told to go ahead. Rossi tells Luke, “Sometimes collateral damage can’t be avoided.” Luke returns with, “People who sit in offices always say that.” In a flashback, we see Luke entering the boat and pointing a gun at the two children. “You had to shoot those kids didn’t you?” asks Rossi.  “They were witnesses. They saw us … they would have blown the mission.” Just like everyone at the internet security company.

Hotch, Morgan and the ETF enter the building.

Luke tells Rossi that the government tried to buy Adam (the commanding officer of “Dorado Falls”) with a Navy Cross, but it didn’t work so they replaced him with an impostor. Rossi tells Luke that his family is safe and asks Luke to let the General go and take him instead. “Why?” Luke asks. “Cause I was a marine with boots on the ground. I know what you’ve been through,” Rossi sympathizes.

Hotch and Morgan find the General still alive, but no Luke. He’s heading to Quantico. An FBI officer is found shot in the academy parking lot, which means Luke has arrived. He knows the building, he took training there, and there’s nothing he won’t do now.

Tension builds as Hotch secures all floors and moves the wife and child. Garcia locates Luke on 7th floor, which is then sealed off.

OH GREAT! It’s revealed that Luke’s an expert in explosives! What next?

Luke calls Rossi to tell him he’s right behind him.  They all turn around and VOILA, there he is. “Gimme my wife and daughter and I’ll let everyone go!” demands Luke.

Hotch starts the evacuation process, and Spencer asks if Luke wants to know what’s really going on. Reid explains to Luke what happened as a result of the car accident.

At that point, a voice comes over the PA system. If Luke doesn’t see his family, but only hears them, he believes they are real.

“Luke. Can you hear me? I need you to stop what you’re doing! We’re fine,” his wife says. “Luke you have to let them go!”  His daughter adds, “Daddy, mommy says you don’t feel good. Maybe you need to lie down.” Luke’s face changes as he hears his daughter’s voice. “I’m scared Daddy and I just want to go home!” (That little girls a damned good actress!) Hotch asks the wife to speak to Luke about something personal.  She asks him about watching the sun rise on their honeymoon. She reminds him that he told her that as much as he loved that place he loved her even more!

Reid explains what Capgras syndrome entails. Luke’s wife agrees, and his daughter tells him she loves him. Morgan tells Luke he’s a hero and they don’t want to hurt him. Rossi asks Luke to put his weapon down and close his eyes, and Luke complies. His wife comes out and hugs him, and his daughter comes rushing out. Luke opens his eyes, and Rossi yells for him to be taken out of there.

The closing quote is voiced by Rossi: “We’re born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for a moment that we’re not alone.” – Orson Wells

The situation with the unsub has been resolved, but the issues within the BAU remain. Hotch asks Prentiss, “Is everything ok?” She responds, “I’m good. It’s all in a days work right?  I’ll see you in the morning!” Prentiss learns that Morgan hasn’t been completely honest with her. “Hotch didn’t order my takedown recertification,” she asks Morgan. ”Wanna tell me what’s going on?” Morgan replies, “I just thought we could use a refresher!”  She says, “You thought I could use it ’cause you’re nervous about me being back. You think I’m gonna mess up the team’s rhythm. I get it, Morgan.”

And then this little exchange takes place:

Morgan: OK Emily, I am nervous, not about you, about me. Emily – I thought I lost you and I blamed myself. Now you’re back and I don’t want to be worried about losing you again and get distracted.
Prentiss: So you want some reassurance. I cannot imagine what you went through!
Morgan: It was seven months of hell!
Prentiss: How can I make it up to you? I’ll do whatever it takes.
Morgan: Just give me 10 hours of training.
Prentiss: OK.
Morgan: And shooting range on Sundays …
Prentiss: I’mmmmmm there!
Morgan: And my morning coffee and a neck rub every day!
Prentiss: Ahhhh buddy, you are really pushing it!

They smile as the elevator closes and we fade to credits!

Wow! This one took it out of me. I actually had to watch the hour in two separate spurts. There was a lot of going back to see what had actually been said and a lot of looking things up. It made me think about how we have come to watch TV these days. Long gone are the Leave it to Beaver days where we just sat and took in what was in front of us. TV has become interactive. Man, did I ever move onto something light and fluffy after this one!

Canadian readers – have a great Thanksgiving weekend! And see ya back here next week for “Painless”, which appears to be centred on Hotch … you know I will be watching this one closely!

Image Courtesy of CBS

Well my wish came true, our team is back to chasing unsubs … according to CTV, this week it was an unsub with “one of the most alarming minds, in one of the most shocking episodes.” This ones called “Proof”.

This episode took us back to the heart of Criminal Minds, catching creepy criminals based on profiling.

This unsub is killing young blondes after torturing them with sulfuric acid. As the profile builds, it becomes clear that he is taking away their senses. Sight, taste, remember we have five … there will be more.

On the periphery Reid is deliberately ignoring and slighting JJ and Prentiss for their part in the deception behind Prentiss’ so-called death. He feels that JJ could have told him after all he “cried at her home for 10 weeks”.

There has always been a strong relationship between JJ and Reid. As I write this, I am watching a rerun of Season 3’s season finale “Lo-fi”, where JJ’s husband William mistakenly backs her into a corner, forcing her to announce unexpectedly to the team that she is pregnant. Reid is hurt at this point (as is Hotch) that she didn’t tell him first.

In the midst of the case, at the most chilling point, the unsub coaxes his very drunk niece into his truck. She believes it’s a ride from homecoming, to hide her drunkenness from her parents, but her uncle takes her to the torture site!

We then see Morgan and Prentiss tease out of the unsub’s sister-in-law the reason for the kidnappings and torture. Morgan and Prentiss have had a heart to heart earlier where she admits that she understands why Reid is upset with her, but she isn’t sure why Morgan is not. After all, he carried her coffin. He explains he is just happy to have her back.

In the meantime, Garcia has been jostling Rossi about cooking lessons, which Rossi and Hotch decide are just what is needed to bring the team back together.

The case is solved. We find out that the unsub is torturing his victims to get back at his brother for marrying who he (the unsub) thought was his girlfriend. It helps that he has frontal lobe damage so that his delusions are exasperated.

Once back on the BAU jet, Prentiss asks Reid if he is coming to Rossi’s, to which Reid replies … he is not sure. Prentiss apologizes to Reid.

The show ends with Rossi giving an Italian cooking lesson involving red wine that JJ can’t wait to drink, some pancetta, and spaghett! We see the team minus Reid. Is he really that upset? Is he really going to need more time? Is he really going to alienate himself that much from the team?

Then in a split second, the door bell rings. Hotch (oh my Hotch how I love you) goes to answer the door. Who could it be?

Ahhh! It’s Reid! We knew he would come. He loves his team too much. Especially JJ. After all, he is Henry’s (JJ’s son) Godfather. He may be hurt but he seems to be working through it.

This loyal viewer is happy!

Next week is looking good! Off we go to “Dorado Falls”. After watching the promo, I have to say I am actually a little scared. I have not been that shaken by an episode since “The Internet is Forever”! Can’t wait!

In seven years, we’ve met Hotch, Reid, Morgan, and Garcia. We said hello and goodbye to Gideon and Elle. We’ve said hello to Rossi. We said hello, goodbye, welcome back to JJ and Prentiss. We tried out Jordan Todd and Ashley Seaver. We’ve mourned the death of Haley Hotchner. We welcomed the birth of Jack Hotchner and Henry Lamontagne. We’ve had Un-subs and some small victories and some large defeats.

Anyone who has watched Criminal Minds from the beginning would have been through all of this with the team. I am one of those people and I can’t stand the summer hiatus, I live all summer in anticipation of the return of my favorite show!

This year was a little tense – we all knew that AJ Cook (JJ) was returning after the nasty joke that was played on us last season, but none of us was really sure about Paget Brewster (Emily Prentiss) or Thomas Gibson (Aaron Hotchner) and so we waited patiently to hear the news that our team would be back together. The announcements came May 28th that Paget was signed, then shortly after, to my total relief, it was tweeted that Gibson would be coming back, too.

We all breathed a sigh of relief. Over the summer, we tried to decide how it was that these characters were going to be brought back and how the show was going to get back to its roots.

As someone who has watched the show from the very first minute of the very first episode, last year’s complete departure from the show’s normal premise, which was continued into this year’s premiere, just didn’t fit for me.

This is a show about a tight team that solves crimes that no one else can. This is a show about piecing together a puzzle that is at the centre of the crimes. This is a show about profiling the criminal. This isn’t a show about INTERPOL, international spies and terrorists of a global nature. I know this storyline was written as a vehicle to end Prentiss’ character if need be, but it just didn’t seem right.

Well as the Director said to Reid, “At least you got her back.” Yes, Ms. Strauss, at least we have our full complement again!

I enjoyed watching the team’s reaction when Prentiss walked through the door, and the worry throughout the episode – until the last minute – on how they were really going to receive her. And I did love the addition of Timothy V. Murphy as Ian Doyle. After all, I am a sucker for an accent.

I thought “Hairy Hotch” was scrumptious and Garcia was just that little bit of comic relief in an otherwise very edgy story line.

While as a whole I did enjoy the Season 7 premiere – it’s hard for me not to like this show – I am not so secretly wishing that now that our team is back, we can get back to the business that made this show a success, one un-sub at a time!

Remember when the BAU was looking for the Reaper? Remember the 100th episode which had us gasping as George Foyett pulled the trigger and we didn’t know if Haley was dead or alive? Remember watching Hotch react to finding Haley’s body? Remember the moment of relief when Jack popped out of the toy box and said “I was working the case Daddy!” Now that’s what I’m talking about!

Previews of this season show that we are going to see some of JJ’s baby and husband and that Rossi is going to get a love interest. We may even get an answer to what is causing Reid’s headaches.

On to next week!

Photo Courtesy of CBS

Judging from my Twitter feed when it was released, people are digging it.

I am not.

Why? I feel the show is too smart, too well-written and too wonderful (and I’m only 3 episodes in … late starter over here) to resort to a “sex sells” campaign.

While I haven’t seen every episode, being a TV fan means I’ve read the blogs, I’ve seen the shockers, the headlines and everything else.  I’m aware of what’s up in Ms. Alicia Florrick’s life. So I do agree that this poster probably accurately reflects the journey our little lawyer is going to take in the third season. However, I still think this poster is missing the mark.

Here are my two over-arching issues: 

1. The poster targets an audience that may not stick around past the racy scenes. 
2. There’s an extremely important message that the poster maybe should have put in bigger font.

So let’s look at my first issue, and get ready for some generalizing.  Sex sells typically targets males. Younger males.  This demographic is gold to CBS because it’s a demographic that’s very attractive to advertisers.  The Good Wife‘s current audience is mostly made up of those in the 55+ range – not so attractive to advertisers. So perhaps CBS is hoping to couple the “sex sells” and the cougar trend to bring in a younger audience.  But is this audience going to stick around when they find out at the core of the show is an excellent script and a very powerful female?

Maybe.

Hopefully.  World would be a better place and all …

But maybe not. 

The flip side of this is – oh wow, look at Julianna, this is so empowering. And cool, I absolutely feel that, but this ad is not making me, a young, woman-power inclined mind, want to tune in.  Instead it’s making me want to step away from the Emmy posting and write this blog.

Now I could let this slide, and let CBS have this one, but then there’s my second issue.

The ad sells sex, but nothing else.

The Good Wife has moved timeslots this year.  It’s moving from its Tuesdays at 10 slot to Sundays at 9.  So if I were the marketer, that would be my main focus – letting people know in big lettering that there has been a move and that there is an alternative to watching Desperate Housewives.  The ad does mention this, but in smaller writing at the bottom.  Are people reading the whole ad, or just focusing on the uber-hot Julianna?

I think the quick fix would be switching up the messaging.  Use the imagery, but have the big message be  “New day, new time, new beginnings (or even, new woman)” and the catchy “Don’t let the name fool you” be the tagline.

If the ad used the “sex sells” gimmick to catch eyeballs and then used it to relay some important information, I’d be down.  And I’m sure there will be a follow-up ad closer to September focusing more on the tune-in time.

At any rate … the marketers over at CBS did get people’s attention … good or bad … so I’ll mark this down as a win for them, even if I’m still not fully on board.

Photo Courtesy of CBS

In the show that my significant other has dubbed “The One with Ben Linus and Jesus”, J.J. Abrams’ Person of Interest features Jim Caviezel as a CIA agent – who is thought to be dead – that teams up with a “mysterious billionaire to prevent violent crimes by using their own brand of vigilante justice”. Michael Emerson is Finch, “a software genius who invented a program that uses pattern recognition to identify people about to be involved in violent crimes”.

Want to see for yourself? Here’s a really cool extended trailer:

Now, I think this one looks totally fab, but it also falls into the camp of “might be too complicated for many viewers”. This one has definitely been added to my list of must-watch new series. Will it make yours?

Photo Courtesy of CBS

The Fall Schedule

Monday:
8:00: How I Met Your Mother
8:30: 2 Broke Girls
9:00: Two and a Half Men
9:30: Mike and Molly
10:00: Hawaii Five-0

Tuesday:
8:00: NCIS
9:00: NCIS: Los Angeles
10:00: Unforgettable

Wednesday:
8:00: Survivor: South Pacific
9:00: Criminal Minds
10:00: CSI

Thursday:
8:00: The Big Bang Theory
8:30: How to Be a Gentleman
9:00: Person of Interest
10:00: The Mentalist

Friday:
8:00: A Gifted Man
9:00: CSI: NY
10:00: Blue Bloods

Saturday:
8:00: Rules of Engagement

Sunday:
8:00: The Amazing Race
9:00: The Good Wife
10:00: CSI: Miami

Later

At midseason, CBS will bring back Undercover Boss and premiere a drama about rookie cops called The 2-2.

Say Goodbye …

… to $#*! My Dad Says, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, The Defenders, Mad Love, and Medium. None of them will be returning.

Your thoughts? Any new shows look good to you? Will you miss any of the cancelled shows?

Person of Interest Photo Courtesy of CBS