S16E10 - “Dead End”

We open with a flashback to Feb 2020. It’s a black-and-white flashback so we know it is about to get sentimental. Rossi and Krystal are celebrating their wedding anniversary in his office. Real romance. She is chewing him out about him accepting the job as the new unit chief. He promises that this will be the last anniversary they spend in his office and she says: “Your mouth is writing a check your ass can’t cash.”

We get a cool music transition as the scene goes from the flashback of Rossi and Krystal, to Rossi stuck in Voit’s shipping container in present-day times. Yep, Rossi is still Rossing in there. It’s a live, laugh, Rossi situation. But the good news is that we see him figure out how to turn on the shipping container light so he can get a good look around. He also finds one of those oxygen monitors and sees that the oxygen is slowly going down. Rossi also finds what appears to be a bomb (similar to the set up in the second shipping container where JJ and Alvez were “blown up” and we say “blown up” because they weren’t really). Finally- Rossi sees a camera that is monitoring him. So Voit is paying for an internet connection in these bitches. 

We cut to the Seattle field office, and the remaining BAU team members are briefing the local police officers on Voit. The team explains that his name is Lee Duvall (although he is going by the alias Elias Voit), and he is currently on the run with his family (super hot wife Sydney, basketball-playing daughter Harlow, and prep school daughter Hollie.) Based on Voit’s profile, the family does not pose a threat. The concern is that Voit might kill them if he feels threatened. The BAU are also concerned about the whereabouts of Rossi, as they have little to go by.

Garcia is having trouble tracking the IP address that Voit sent them in the encrypted live stream of Rossi. Tara has a brainwave and asks that Penelope record the feed next time Voit gives them a glimpse of Rossi. This way, they can analyze the footage for clues of where Rossi might be Rossi-ing.

The Attorney General meets with Prentis, Rebecca from DOJ, and our boy Deputy Director Doug Bailey. The AG tells Prentis that she wants photos of Voit and his family posted in the media ASAP. But Prentis explains that this is a horrible idea, and will likely cause Voit to kill his family. Prentis also explains the importance of tricking Voit into believing that the DOJ will negotiate with him. The AG and Doug vehemently state that they will categorically not parle with him. Prentis is like “I know, but pretend that you will and buy us time to find Rossi!” Rebecca from DOJ suggests that they only get the locals involved to minimize the chances that Voit will see news coverage and kill his family. The AG reluctantly agrees and then dismisses Prentis. As Prentis walks off, she notices the other three having a Mean Girls-style discussion in whispers. Something is definitely going on behind the scenes.

Now we see the Voit family arrive at a house in Burney, CA. As they are unpacking, Hollie ditches the family and sneaks into the backyard. She takes out her phone, and attempts to upload a homework assignment to a school portal. Remember- Daddy said no phones! Daddy Voit catches her in the act and yanks the phone out of her hand and curb stomps it on the floor. Hollie freaks out and says “Dad!” in a very stereotypical teenage girl annoyed voice. Daddy is all “it’s fine, I’ll buy you another phone.” He then sends her inside and pulls out his own phone to check Rossi Cam 2023.

In the shipping container- Rossi is investigating everything in the room, looking for a way out. Rossi notices Voit watching him on the camera, and realizes that Voit is likely going to start live streaming to the BAU. Voit does go live with the live stream, and Rossi starts talking, but Voit cuts out his audio feed. Instead, the BAU hears Voit’s voice, and Voit demands to speak to Deputy Director Doug. Prentis offers to talk to Voit, and Voit is like “Doug or bust.”

Now we see Rossi pulling a 5 minutes crafts, and he starts putting shit together from what he finds in the shipping container. Meanwhile, Deputy Doug doesn’t understand why Voit wants to talk to him specifically. Prentis is like, well its because you fucked up! You didn’t set the case straight with Benjamin Reeves, you made yourself the face of the investigation. She says: “Voit is a profiler and he's been studying YOU!”

In the round table room they have Voit on speaker. It’s Deputy Doug, Tara and Prentis. Voit has some demands. Namely, he insists that the BOLO on him be rescinded. He asks they rescind it for 24 hours so his family can flee the county, and then tells the BAU that he’ll give them Rossi’s location. Prentis mutes the phone call and gives Doug instructions. Unsure why they couldn’t have done this earlier if they were really concerned about him handling a phone call. I mean, he is the deputy director of the fucking FBI, and Prentis still feels like she has to babysit him, but go off. Prentis and Tara stress the importance of Doug getting Voit to release his family before fleeing. Doug tries to run this past Voit, and Voit refuses to release his family. Voit then says: “Now I know you’re not the one in charge, but you’re definitely the one that likes the gold star.” This phrase- “gold star”- strikes a chord with Doug. Then Voit repeats his demands for the BOLO and hangs up.

Now Garcia manipulates the recording of Rossi and lifts Voit’s audio away so that the team (and Will because he’s still here for some reason) can hear what happens in Rossi’s world. The team (and Rossi on the stream) hear thunder, and Rossi says: “Is this what’s supposed to happen? I die in a flash flood?” This is a sneaky way of him alerting the team to the fact that it is raining without him blatantly acknowledging the weather and furthering the chances of him getting in trouble with Voit. The BAU team (plus WIll) is able to locate the rough location of the shipping container due to gas, Ramona's abduction, and the weather. But this is still a large search area. Will and JJ head off to this rough area to attempt to locate Rossi.

We see Doug inform the AG and DOJ Rebecca that Voit knows about “Gold Star.” We still don’t know about “Gold Star”! The AG is like- “FUCK! What are my options, Rebecca?” Rebecca then tells the AG that Voit needs to be “terminated with extreme prejudice.” This means that the Voit has too much information for his own good, and he has to go. His death means that Agent Rossi and Voit’s own family will likely be collateral damage. Doug points out that this won’t work- because the death of Agent Rossi will send the BAU into a tailspin trying to solve the case. Those meddling kids! They’ll figure out what “Gold Star” is! So instead, the suggestion is that they let Voit go to protect the “Gold Star” secret.

Garcia then gets a call that Tyler is going into surgery, and the prospects are bleak. She has a breakdown in her office, and Luke has to come to comfort her and get her to power through this. They still have to find Rossi.

Back with the Voit family, Daddy shows Sydney his “witness protection” kits. Aka, new IDs for the entire family. Sydney is freaked out. Voit is like, “Lol, Sydney, you stupid woman, forging documents is not as hard as you think!” Sydney starts to ask if they are even safe at the house they currently are, and he continues to gaslight her. Sydney then goes to comfort the girls, who, at this point, are like- Mom, let’s go. Sydney continues to defend Voit and tells the girls that he’s looking out for their best interests.

Sydney begins to unpack her stuff but looks out the window and sees her husband on his cellphone. Remember how he made a big deal about the whole family being offline? Sydney starts snooping around, and she finds a suitcase hidden under the bed in their room. It’s one of Daddy’s kill kits. While it doesn’t have overtly murderous stuff in it, it does have Moose’s dog collar.

Rossi notices Voit watching him again, and Voit cuts the camera cord so that Voit loses the connection. Now Rossi really gets into 5-minute crafts, and there is a montage of him building an explosive. His oxygen levels are also getting very low, so this is nerve-wracking. Rossi then sets up a mock barricade using a metal table he found in the shipping container, attaches the explosive to the shipping container door, and detonates it. And it works! The shipping container door lock opens, and Rossi is able to open it. But my man forgot that he’s buried underground. The explosion disrupted the dirt above the shipping container. So when Rossi opens the door, the dirt starts pouring in, and he is effectively trapped.

Prentis informs Rebekah and Doug that Rossi has disabled the stream. She tells them that the BAU hopes this means that Rossi has either escaped Voit or is in the process of escaping. Doug then tells Prentis that the FBI and DOJ is prepared to let Voit go. Prentis is like ??? Rebecca explains it’s because of “politics.”

Tara, Luke, and Garcia are trying to figure out what Rossi was trying to say to them in the video. They think that Rossi specifically called Voit by his real name “Lee Duvall,” as a sign to the BAU. Perhaps Rossi is somewhere connected to Lee’s past? Meanwhile, Rossi has exhausted most of his air supply in the explosion. He hallucinates that Krystal is there and they are slow dancing together. While this is happening, Garcia does some digging on Voit, and is able to find information on Voit’s mother’s side of the family. I’m not sure why she’s only just doing this? I thought she looked at Voit before, but I guess she only looked at property owned by Voit directly? Searching for property owned by his family seems like an obvious search that should have been conducted hours ago. I mean, it should have been investigated the second they found at his real name! Anyways- Garcia finds the Burney, CA property. JJ and Will are already out there, but Deputy Doug insists on joining them in the field. The BAU act like this is insane, but remember, Voit asked for Doug specifically! Is it really that crazy? We know that Doug has ulterior motives (ahem, Gold Star).

The next morning, in Burney, CA, we see Voit making eggs for the girls. Sydney says, “Hey, can we talk” and Daddy’s like, “Girls! Breakfast!” So the girls arrive for their boring ass eggs, and Sydney is like, “Actually, Husband, we need to talk right now!” So she sends the girls off. Sydney begins questioning Voit about Moose’s collar. He tells her the collar belonged to his boss’ old dog, who recently died. Sydney is like- I don’t believe a word you’re saying; tell me the truth. Voit gets in her face and tells her, and starts screaming at her. Sydney then lunges for his cell phone, and Voit grabs the phone, wrestles Sydney, and then goes to punch her. But the girls are right there, and they beg him to stop, and he does. Just then, Voit looks out the window, and the FBI has rolled up. He gets Sydney and the girls into a bedroom and locks them in.

Outside, it’s Doug, Will, JJ, and Luke. JJ and Will- are married couples allowed to be on SWAT teams together? Like, I get that they’re not on a SWAT team, but they’re storming the residence of a highly dangerous killer. I feel like in real life family members can’t be on SWAT teams together. Deputy Doug is ready to walk in and the rest of the team is like ??? There’s a procedure. There are hostages. You can’t just walk in there and talk to him. But Doug insists, and sure enough, Doug walks to the front door, and Daddy Voit lets him in.

Luke and Will, and JJ assume tactical positions, and they realize that Voit let Doug in without any sort of obstacle and that Doug has also turned his radio off. So he has essentially isolated himself inside the house. Prentis and Tara call from Quantico, and Prentis brings up “Gold Star.” She tells the rest of the team that the AG and DOJ were essentially ready to let Daddy Voit walk away. Nobody seems to know what “Gold Star” is, but the BAU determines that the DOJ and AG are going to prioritize it over the lives of Voit’s family and Rossi. Will suggests they focus on getting Sydney and the girls out, and the rest of the team agrees. JJ, Will, and Luke surveil the house, and Prentis, Tara, and Garcia provide guidance from headquarters.

Inside the residence, Voit and Doug speak in the living room. Doug is acting cocky and seems confident that he has the upper hand. He brings up “Gold Star” again and asks how they can resolve the issue, pointing out that Doug and Voit are the only two who know what it is. Although, the AG and Rebecca definitely know… so that’s not 100% accurate. Anyways, Voit pulls out a gun and shoots Doug in the head, killing him. Mac’s poor little Meow Meow Blorbo! He’s dead on the floor.

Outside, JJ and Will have located the bedroom where the Voit family is hiding out. Sydney gets the window open and sees the FBI, and they sort of tag team getting Hollie and Harlow outside. Sydney is preparing to climb out the window when Doug is shot, and she screams. Voit hears the scream, and he rushes into the bedroom just in time to prevent Sydney from climbing out the window. Daddy then shoots out the window as the BAU retreats and hits Will in the shoulder. But Will is wearing a bulletproof vest, so he’s fine.

Inside the hideaway house- It’s Daddy Voit and Sydney alone. Voit points his gun directly at Sydney and pulls the trigger. But PSYCHE! He’s out of bullets. So she doesn’t die. This scene is great; you can see the look on her face like MARRIAGE IS OVER. Voit is then arrested by Alvez and taken into custody. Voit reads his own Miranda rights!!

Back at Quantico, Tara tells DOJ Rebecca that Voit was taken into custody, but Deputy Doug was murdered, and Ross is still MIA. Voit is now refusing to speak to anyone except for the AG and will not reveal Rossi’s location. Tara starts grilling Rebecca on “Gold Star” and begs Rebecca to come clean about what “Gold Star” entails. Rebecca refuses. Tara then brings up Rossi’s life hanging in the balance, and Rebecca yells at Tara and storms off.

Garcia is working on Voit’s burner phone with his evil serial killer database but says it will take weeks to crack the codes and get in. Now the BAU is left with one option only- Sydney Voit. JJ talks to Sydney, who is so upset, still trying to come to grips that the man she was married to for fifteen years is one of the most notorious serial killers in the United States. She and JJ discuss the stigma of being a family member of a serial killer, and JJ assures her that the BAU will do everything they can to protect Sydney and the girls. Voit will be tried under his legal name (Lee Duvall), and the family will be placed into witness protection. Ultimately, Sydney agrees to talk to Voit to see if he’ll tell her where Rossi is buried.

Sydney sits down with Voit in an interrogation room. The first thing Voit does is apologize to Sydney. Sydney starts crying and asks him if any of their relationship was real, or if she and the two girls were just “an elaborate alibi.” The acting is SO GOOD. Voit tells her that the BAU’s promises of protecting the family are “bullshit” and warns her that everyone will know that she was married to a serial killer. He tells her that he would rather have murdered his family than let them learn the truth about what he what he had done. Sydney asks her husband to give him a sign that he really is capable of emotions and love, and asks him to tell her where Rossi is. And he does.

We’re back with Rossi in the shipping container, and he’s continuing to hallucinate that Krystal is there. He hears music (must be the lack of oxygen), and “their song” starts playing, and they're dancing, and I’m just like, my man, you have limited oxygen. Don’t dance. I don't care for these hallucinations! Krystal ultimately tells Rossi that it’s his “time to live” and she fades into the light, and suddenly Luke Alvez is there, saving Rossi.

Next, we see Tyler Green wake up from surgery, and Garcia is the first person to greet him. They immediately launch into a conversation about their relationship. We think this is ill-advised. Like, girl, he is probably so drugged up right now. There’s no way he’s lucid. Tyler apologizes to Garcia for lying to her and breaking her trust. Maybe is the romantic in me, but I feel like it’s fine??? Like, people lie in relationships all the time? Tyler had to Count of Monte Cristo this shit because Voit literally killed his sister? But now the revenge is all out of him, I feel like he’s a reformed bad boy now. But whatever, the relationship is over, and they kiss goodbye.

We cut to Garcia’s apartment. The BAU (plus Will because I guess he is just an honorary member now) gathers after Deputy Director Doug’s funeral. Apparently, Prentis gave the eulogy, which would have been a sight to see. Curse yee Criminal Minds writers for not allowing us to hear that speech! But the episode is wrapping up; we’re out of time. We get a bunch of vignettes to tie up the loose ends. Luke and Garcia have a heart-to-heart, and now the people who ship them are gonna freak out. JJ and Will also have a heart-to-heart because he was shot during the Voit extravaganza, and JJ didn’t like seeing him hurt. Like girl, bestie, have you just considered not having your husband involved in your SWAT team? We round out the party with Prentis and Tara mentioning “Gold Star” to Rossi.

And finally- we see a SWAT team bringing a handcuffed Daddy Voit into an unknown facility. They’re casing the joint, checking all the rooms, making sure no one else is there. Daddy Voit is brought into an interrogation room, and his handcuffs are removed. He’s still guarded by armed men, but like, why are they removing these serial killer’s handcuffs? The door opens, and someone enters the room and stares at Voit, but we can’t see who it is! I guess we’ll have to wait to find out until next season…