S5E10 - “The Slave of Duty”
Episode opens with Hotch adjusting his and Jack’s tie – i am guessing funeral blacks. It is raining and playing remorseful music. The scene cuts and we see Morgan and others of the BAU team walking in a funeral procession – Rossi and Morgan carrying the casket. We get a voice over of Hotch’s words from the ceremony; he talks about how much they both loved Jack. The team looks much more upset about this than Hotch??? They are crying, whereas Thomas Gibson is not giving us as much range as he did in the previous episode Hotch then goes on to quote the Pirates of Penzance.
We cut away from the funeral, and now we see the team at a lavish reception. Rossi tells Hotch to get some air, and the two of them leave. At a table, the rest of the BAU is sitting around and chatting – Prentis questions what they’re supposed to do now without Hotch, and Morgan says Hotch will definitely be back.
In the backyard, Hotch and Rossi are talking. Hotch says he broke his promise to Haley (bro already???), because he had promised her he would catch Foyet and spend the rest of his life making it up to her. Rossi is like – you still can! You saved Jack! Hotch then says he does not know if he has the tools to take care of his son, so basically it sounds like he is gonna send Jack away with his sister in law.
The BAU gets a call, and yes, they have to work tonight. They depart the funeral – are they allowed to go to work if they’ve been drinking? We get some depressing shots of Jack playing alone inside of an empty house? Its giving low budget horror.
Next, the BAU is on the jet. JJ tells them how in this case, there have been two women dead in 2 weeks, both killed within their own homes. There was no sign of forced entry, and the floors were covered in rose petals. Additionally, there is no evidence of any sexual assault. Both women were last seen leaving their offices on a Friday, and never returned to work on Monday.
Reid shares that there could be a socio-economic angle with these murders, given that both of the women were from affluent neighborhoods, however, Rossi points out that nothing was stolen or missing from either of the homes. Both of the women worked in high powered professions, along with also being white and brunette. So it is likely that these women represent something – or someone – the unsub knows. So the team needs to figure out where this unsub is meeting these women, and how is he is gaining access to their homes.
The team arrives in Nashville, and we see JJ meet Landon Kamiski. He shows them where to set up, and says the mayor is “on my ass”. JJ also shares that she was to make a press conference. There is like – awkward tension between JJ and Kamaski as she expresses why the press statement needs to be as broad as possible – urging all women to be hyper vigilant . Is he the unsub? He is reading threatening to me.
Now at the crime scene – the Johnson crime scene – Prentis and Morgan look around the home. Apparently, unfortunately, sadly, the unsub also killed her dog. Prentis says “she probably thought he was protection enough” in reference to the pup, and Morgan comes in with this trash-ass victim blaming saying “that was her first mistake. She had all the precautions to avoid home invasion, she just didn’t use them properly”.
The unsub left his prints all over, which typically would indicate he is disorganized, however, the crime scene itself suggests organized, given the roses and the murder of the dog. Morgan also believes that this unsub was a stranger to the women; he didn’t talk his way in, he was laying in wait. He knew his prints wouldn’t show up in the system, meaning he knew he didn’t have any priors, and he is smart – most likely he is educated. He knew exactly what he was doing. He likely knew when she would leave the house, and when she would return – he is stalking them.
We get a shot of a man watching a woman from a car, and a woman getting into her car and driving away.
Back at the crime scene, Prentis is confused about how the unsub got in. At the morgue, Rossi and Reid see the bodies of the two women. They notice that there aren’t any ligature marks on either of the victims, so how did he keep them there? The mortician reveals that one of the women had a concussion, while the other had broken ribs, so that is worth noting and taking into consideration. So there was an initial assault to assert his dominance, and make sure they were too scared to try to escape. Another weird thing – both of them had the exact same stomach contents. Chicken, broccoli, pasta, salad, and red wine. Is he wining and dining them first? Rossi says he must be playing out a fantasy – the rose petals, he then cooks for them. A last supper!
Back at the crime scene, Prentis shares how it isn’t just a fantasy or routine, but proper etiquette. She notices how there are hand prints on both of the chairs at the dinner table – meaning he pulled out the chair for the lady, poured her wine, cleaned up after the meal, and then drew her a bath. But then something changed upstairs. Likely in the tub – at the most vulnerable, and then fear kicks in. Now we see Hotch and Jack watching old home tapes of baby Jack and Hayley playing. Hotch tries to get him to go to sleep, but he says he wants to wait for “mommy”. Jack wants to sleep wit h Hotch again, which he says is okay. We see Hotch carry jack upstairs and leave the TV on like an animal.
Back in Nashville, JJ has gone over all of the people who were employed at the homes and delivery drivers, etc, but has not been able to find any overlaps. Garcia also says that there is no fingerprints or anything matching on the paper trail. However, what is worth noting is that both women ran in similar circles; they both had country club memberships, upscale restaurants, private concert venues, fancy hotels, etc. They both had high class life styles. And this unsub somehow fit right into both – he is educated, intelligent, proper – a downright gentlemen. He is romancing them, whether they like it or not.
Reid suggests Garcia looks into dating sites, and social networking sites, especially for working professionals and privileged elite. Morgan tells everyone to go to the hotel and try to sleep, to which Prentis is like “we’re giving up?”
Cut and we see our unsub “romancing” the woman from earlier. She asks him to turn off the music, and he’s like “but its your favorite song” to which she is like “how do you know that?” and he’s like “its the most played song on your ipod”. She tries to escape, but he grabs her and threatens her – asking for “a little appreciation”. She complies, and he suddenly is like, okay no biggie. And then he says it is time to draw her bath.
Back with Hotch, Chief Strauss pays a visit. She asks after Jack, and then says she wants to discuss something with Hotch. She suggests that he retire – since, there is no reason he should have to return to the BAU – “offering you a way out”. But i have a feeling Hotch isn’t gonna take this. He says he will need to weigh his options.
And now we get the profile:
We believe the Unsub is already with his next victim
If he is matches pattern, she’ll be a successful woman, probably brunette, early 30s, to mid-40s.
She’ll be at home in Nashville’s upper echelon
This means that he fits in. he drives the right car, he wears the right clothes, he’s highly intelligent. He probably comes from a place of status.
He’s sociable and endearing
You would never suspect he is capable of murder, but he will take whatever it takes to protect the fantasy he is trying to relive
Its this fantasy that fuels his drive, he is recreating a romantic evening which he and repeating it with each of his victims
He most likely had a relationship taken away from him – so a loss or a divorce.
Like [Ted] Bundy, these women are representations of that first loss. Bundy picked victims who had similar features to women that abandoned him, and this unsub is likely doing the same thing
These women were confident, successful and strong, and they fought back. Which means he has the ability to overpower them fairy easily.
He believes or fantasies he is in a relationship with them, no matter how fleeting the initial interaction is, it is everything to him. An invitation.
The locations that the women visited prior to their deaths are high class establishments – the BAU/po-po are going to want to visit the same places
Look for men who fit the profile, but also women who match the victimology.
Back at the home, we see the lady in the tub. She reads the weather to the unsub, and asks him want he wants to do today. He is in the shower. After they are done bathing, she suggests they go see a new movie at the mall, but he says he wants to stay inside.
She is smart – she says she wants to go on a real date. She also talks about how much he means to her, and asks if he trusts her. SMART LADY.
We see him walk with her towards the door – but before they get there, someone unlocks the door. It is a boyfriend. He calls out to her, and we see him lock the door behind him. He calls her phone and sees it on ta small side table. He puts his phone down beside it, and walks down the hall investigating. We then hear her yell “Grant, help!” and the unsub steps out with Erika, and the unsub is like, why do you have a key! Grant tells her to run, and she tries the door, but he locked it, so he yells at her to go up the stairs?? Unsub has a knife and repeatedly stabs grant in the back, yelling and asking why he has a key. He steps away from Grant, who is swiss cheese at this point, and is like, “Erika, sweetie, why did he have a key?” and Erika is absolutely hysterical at this point.
Now we see the BAU roll up to Erika’s home. Apparently a UPS guy called it in because he needed them to sign for a package. The MO is different here, because he went overkill with the murders of these two – stab marks all over, face and neck, etc. They also were able to determine that Erika had sex with the unsub prior to her death, and Prentis is correct in her assumption that Erika did that because she thought it would keep her alive. But it didn’t – so why not? They notice that the breakfast dishes didn’t get washed – so maybe there was something that interrupted them. Garcia calls and says nothing came up for Erika, and she hadn’t used her credit card for over a week. However, Reid has an idea for how they can find more information – this time with their cars.
Back at the police station, the team regroups. Essentially, they are trying to figure out how it was possible that the unsub could have missed the fact that Grant excited. He had been out of town last week visiting family in Indianapolis, however, the violence with which he killed both of them suggests that he knew both of the victims. However, they also know that since he never got this far, he is likely to try to find another victim tonight.
Back with Hotch, he excitedly talks about pancakes for dinner. Hotch tells Hayley’s sister about how he was offered retirement. She tells him that she could stay with Jack if/when he needs to be away for work – what a valiant offer damn.
Garcia calls into the team saying she is a “girl genius” – she used the GPS tracking from all of the victims cars. Erika was the only victim who didn’t visit a private club, go to a concert or fancy restaurant in the days leading up to her death, she did spend a couple hours at a botanical garden on the Tuesday before, however. But, none of the other victims went there either. Spencer is like, uh but if they all didn’t go, then how is relevant, and Garcia is like, because Erika would just go to work and back, a straight line, and I’m like ah a woman after my own heart. She even had her groceries delivered! So we gotta find out what she was going on Tuesday then.
Now we see Rossi approach Morgan. Morgan says he isn’t going to stand in the way of Hotch’s team. Rossi tells Morgan that Strauss offered him retirement, but Morgan is like, he’s not going to take it. Rossi is saying he might because he wont let this job take his son. Rossi is like “it doesn’t matter what i think – then why are you having this conversation? Rossi is just like, you need to be willing to step down.
Rossi begins to leave, but then Morgan calls him back – Morgan talks about how the unsub recently had a loss, but Morgan suggests, what if love wasn't the only loss? Perhaps it is financial independence. They call Garcia and tell her to look up employee records of each of the venues the victims visited in the week prior to their death, and to look for men spending beyond their means. Morgan instructs her to look for cars, wardrobe, etc, something that does not fit their current income level.
At the botanical garden, JJ and Reid have a tour. They learn that there was a corporate fundraiser, and they learn that most of the people in attendance hire private valets so they don’t have to trek up the hill in heels. JJ and Reid suspect the valet driver to be the unsub. Next we have a shot of the unsub working as a valet again – bruh his name is Joe. we see him look through the car GPS and write down all of the directions to get to this new woman’s home.
Garcia is also to cross reference the valet services, and yep, Culpepper Valet was involved in all of the locations involving the victims. Rossi nd Prentis meet with the head of Culpepper. The manager is able to quickly say Joe Bealser is the unsub – he was engaged recently, but it needed because she had been sleeping with the best man. We learn that he lost his inheritance, his parents, and his wedding.
Morgan and Prentis roll up at his apartment and knock down the door, however, there isn’t anyone in his apartment. They find universal garage door openers, and also the rose petals were from his wedding. JJ and Reid mill around with high society people trying to figure out which lady is gonna be his next victim.
Cut and we see the unsub kick a young lady down the stairs. He starts beating her up – this is very different than before! The BAU rolls in and apprehend Joe. Prentis scolds him and its uhhhhh cringey. Cringe. Cringe. Rossi waxes poetical about how scars remind us of where we have been.
Now we see Hotch visiting Haley’s grave. Rossi joins him, and says he suspected he would find Hotch there. Rossi is correct in his guess that Hotch will be coming back to the team. Why do all TV graveyards look exactly the same?
Rating Criteria:
Criminal/Serial Killer: 19/20
Character development/ character arcs: 20/20
Forensics/Context: 15/20
Script writing: 5/20
Background characters: 17/20
Overall: 76/100