S5E11 - “Retaliation”

We open in Lockport, New York, and we’re watching a man run through the woods at night. He stops by a tree, pants, catches his breath, before taking off again. We’re like, two seconds in, and…. It’s a plaid alert. The unsubs is wearing plaid. We cut away and see that the unsub, whose name is Dale Schrader, is being pursued by dream team Prentis and Morgan. Morgan tackles him and brings him into custody, but Dale bites Morgan. Prentis, who arrives two seconds after this happens goes “Did he bite you?” And I’m like- okay- so he’s a biter!

Okay so those Oz fans out there- Dale Schrader is played by Lee Tergesen, who played Tobias Beecher (basically the main character in Oz)!

Just wanted to share this note about Oz from IMDB, which is basically all you need to know about the show- Some cast members that played prisoners have noted that, throughout the series, if you showed up late to the set, your punishment would be that your character would either die or be raped the next week.

Anyways… we learn that Dale is under arrest for the murder of Stacy Ryan, and the kidnapping of Dale’s own, daughter- Jenny. By the way, the BAU so far do not  have a connection between Dale and Stacy Ryan, but supposedly he stabbed her and threw her out of a truck. Also Jenny is TERRIFIED of her father. Dale tries to talk to her before being arrested, but the BAU refused to let him speak to her. Morgan goes in the ambulance with Stacey, and Morgan and local Detective Bunting escort Dale back to prison. Prentis and Dale have a little verbal sparring in the car. She calls him dumb, he tells her she doesn’t understand him, it’s very Prentis. We also learn that Dale was originally a bank robber. But after his release from jail he escalated his crimes to kidnapping and murder. Apparently after kidnapping his daughter he hid out in the woods, which is where we started this episode, pursuing Dale through the woods where he had been hiding in a cabin with his daughter.

Dale then starts coughing and tells Prentis he’s going to be sick. However, this is a rouse that he uses to unbuckle his seat belt. Detective Bunting stops the car to make sure Dale is alright. Dale stops coughing says : “Am I boring?” Prentis, realizing something is a miss, draws her gun- but it’s too late. A Car comes out of nowhere and knocks their car off the road.

We fade to black, and when Prentis wakes up. She’s still in the car, and she’s watching Dale strangle Detective Bunting to death. Unfortunately Prentis has a concussion and is bleeding. Dale un-handcuffs himself, just as the person who ran them off the road runs up to the car. Prentis identifies herself and asks the person for assistance. But PSYCH! This person is actually Dale’s accomplice, and he helps Dale out of the car. As the unknown subject drives away with Dale, Prentis is finally able to grab her gun, and she pushes her way through the broken windshield, and shoots after Dale and his partner as they drive off.

A few moments later, the ambulance carrying Morgan and Jenny shows up. Prentis describes the getaway car as a big truck and luckily she remembers a partial license plate number. Cut to Lockport headquarters, JJ informs the rest of the team that Dale is ON THE LAM!

Cut to Dale and his partner at an undisclosed location. We later learn this partner’s name is Joe Muller. Apparently Dale and Joe have some sort of plan, and Dale is anxious to get started, but Joe has no sense of urgency about the situation. I don’t like to honk the bad acting horn this early in the episode, but I really think Joe is doing a bad job. Great hair. Bad job.

Cut to the hospital. Prentis is ready to get back in the field, but Morgan is like… Emily… you’re in shock! She asks for a cognitive interview and he tells her that her adrenaline is pumping and she goes EXACTLY! Then Morgan talks to Jenny and Jenny’s mother, Dale’s ex wife Leslie, who are both devastated to learn of his escape from police custody. Morgan asks Leslie if she knows anyone who would help Dale and she says that she does not. Morgan then asks Jenny if there was ever anyone else around when Dale had kidnapped her and held her in the cabin in the woods. And she states no, it was just her and her father.

Cut back to Lockport Headquarters, and we learn more about Dale’s past. Also I’m having a fucking hard time not calling him Beecher. OZ was a terrible show. I’m not sure that I even got through the entire first season. But Beecher has this on again off again relationship with the actor who plays one of the internal affairs agents and it’s not even sexy even when it’s SUPPOSED to be sexy. So I’m just having a hard time not thinking about this as I’m watching this tepid episode. But whatever here’s the back story- Dale robbed 15 banks in the 1990s. Which is… a lot of banks. The BAU believe that other people were involved in these robberies, but Dale was the only person who was ever convicted. He was a model prisoner, only served 11 of his 15 years, and he was released early on good behavior.

The BAU try to zero in one who Dale’s helper might be. They also take a closer look at Stacy Ryan. We learn that Stacy was a drug addict, but her brother did time with Dale in jail. Dale in Jail. They don’t think this is a valid connection but like, this is a big connection? There is no sense of urgency in this episode. Later, at the hospital, Morgan and Prentis discuss Dale’s choice to stay local. There was time in between when he kidnapped his daughter and when he was taken into custody, and stayed hidden in the woods, instead of running for the Canadian border. So they believe he stayed in the area for a reason.

Morgan and Prentis arrive at the police station. Prentis is pretty beaten up, and I’m disappointed that Morgan didn’t make her take a fucking sick day as she was literally run off the road by a criminal! American office culture strikes again! Garcia calls to tell the BAU that although Dale was arrested for robbery, but all the money he stole was never recovered. Garcia also finds records showing another bank robber Dan Otey, who was arrested slightly before Dale. Apparently Otey had a lengthy sentence ahead of him, but he never did time. Instead Dale did. Now the BAU think that Mr. Otey turned Dale in. The BAU do not think that Otey is the partner, but they do believe that he is somehow involved.

Cut to Dale and Joe in a car in front of Dan Otey’s house. This exchange is awful Dale knocks on the door, and Otey’s young son answers. Dale asks the boy if his father is home, and the door is shut in Dale’s face. Dale then fires at the door, and we hear the boy screaming, and we’re like- did Dale just Mcfreakin Blast this Ginger? But no, he killed Otey instead.

The BAU show up at the scene. Prentis, as in- fresh out of the concussion Prentis, is interviewing Otey’s wife, who just, can’t stop waving her cigarette around. Otey’s wife tells Prentis (who again- was just yeeted off the road), that Dale’s partner brought Otey’s wife and son upstairs and kept them upstairs while Dale killed her husband.

Cut to Dale and Joe- they’re having a lover’s spat at Joe’s house. Joe is angry that Dale has dragged him into this. He starts punching Dale, and then Dale starts laughing. Dale says: “Ha ha ha. I get it. You gotta do watcha gotta do. Come on bro, almost done. Ho ho ho.” I hate this fucking episode. Also we keep having these awkward moments when Beecher I MEAN DALE pulls out a gun and gives it to Joe and is like “Shoot me” “You want to end it, do it!” And asking Joe to shoot him. And Joe like, pusses out.

Cut back to the BAU- Morgan and Prentis do a cognitive interview. Prentis takes us through the car crash. I actually really like how this is shot. How we keep seeing flashbacks but then Prentis is talking to Morgan and explaining what is happening. But this all works out in the end, Prentis is able to remember that Dale’s partner is giving her instructions about staunching her bleeding. This, coupled with the fact that the partner took Dan Otey’s wife and son out of harm’s way, makes the BAU realize that Dale’s partner is a good guy.

Cut to- Joe- at an undisclosed location, listening to a voice mail message. The message is a woman’s nervous voice saying: “Joe, it’s me He got us. All of us. I don’t know where we are.” And then a little boy’s voice comes on and says “HELP US DADDY!” So, now we understand. Dale kidnapped Joe’s family and is holding them hostage. So if Joe doesn’t do what Dale wants, Joe will kill Dale’s family.

Beecher, I mean Dale, I mean- canonically they could be the same person. I know that Tobias Beecher went to jail because he killed a young girl with vehicular manslaughter when he was drunk, but hear me out. Canonically he could’ve been driving away from a bank he just robbed when he killed the little girl, then went to jail and slept with that internal affairs guy from SUV, and then been released and kidnapped his daughter!

Cut to- the next day. Beecher and Joe are driving in a car. Beecher gives this dumb ass monologue and says “you figured out a way for a good guy to be bad” and some other dumb shit.

Back at Lockport headquarters, I don’t know how they got to this, but they find a witness who didn’t testify on Dale’s behalf at trial. His name is Joey Short. And the BAU are like… he must have been an undercover officer! And yep, it’s him- Joe Muller.  

Cut to Joe Muller- he goes to evidence lock up, and speaks with the evidence receptionist. She just... lets him into evidence lock up. Even though he’s not an active cop! So I guess the key to Dale’s safety deposit box has just been in evidence lock up this whole time?? I mean, being a bank investigation and all, no actually, scratch that, being a criminal investigation of any kind- are you seriously telling me that the police did not find this key and think HM MAYBE WE SHOULD CHECK THIS BANK ROBBER’S SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX!!! BUT I GUESS WE DIDN’T DO THAT. I GUESS WE JUST LEFT IT IN STORAGE! So Joe goes back to his car and presents Dale with the key and Dale is like- drive me to the bank. So Joe is like, I guess we’re going to the bank!

But thankfully, just as they’re about to drive off, Prentis and Morgan show up! They manage to stop the truck, but Dale pulls a gun on Joe. And Prentis, who, again, just had a concussion, mcfreaking shoots Dale and kills him. Which causes Joe to start screaming YOU JUST KILLED MY FAMILY! YOU JUST KILLED MY FAMILY! And Prentis is like CALM DOWN. And I just- I- I am speechless. This is so bad.

Back at Lockport headquarters, Joe and the BAU try to figure out how and where Joe’s wife Molly was snatched. Apparently Stacy Ryan and her brother helped Beecher kidnap Joe’s family. Joe left his house first, and went to the hardware store. When he came out of the store and got ready to start his car, Beecher showed up. Beecher walked right up to his car, and stuck a polaroid of Joe’s wife and kids in Joe’s face. Then Beecher got in the car with Joe and had him stop in a trash filled alleyway. Stacy Ryan was in the alley, demanding drugs, and so Beecher just stabs her, puts her in the car, then makes Dale pull over on the side of a driveway so he could yeet Stacy out of the car.

The BAU is like, now hold on, why didn’t Beecher just leave Stacy in the alley? Why did he put her in your truck? And it’s because Joe’s fucking family is in that alleyway.  So the BAU go to an abandoned house near the alleyway where they find Stacy Ryan’s brother and take him into custody. The BAU find Joe’s wife Molly. She’s been drugged, but she’s okay. Then Morgan and Rossi find Joe’s kids. This is all fine, but, Joe shouldn’t be here. Like, the BAU should have left him back at the station. But I guess because he was former police it’s okay? Also Prentis is here even though she had a concussion mere hours ago.

Rating Criteria:

• Criminal/Serial Killer: 6/20

• Character development/ character arcs: 2/20

• Forensics/Context: 3.5/20

• Script writing: 0.5/20

• Background characters: 5/20

Overall: 17/100