S7E1 - “It Takes A Village”

We open in a Senate Hearing. We see JJ (welcome back, bestie) being questioned by a bunch of serious-looking people. It is some sort of hearing. A senate hearing? Unclear. One man, Senator Cramer, who is leading the proceedings, asks JJ how long she has been back with the bureau, and she tells him three months. Senator Kramer then says: “A lot has happened since then, sabbaticals, transfers, reassignments. Four of you remained in the unit?” We learn that the BAU team members are now Rossi, Morgan, JJ, and Garcia. We learn that during these three months, the BAU team worked on seventeen cases. Senator Cramer calls this “impressive” and then says, “even more impressive is the fact that you were reinstated, promoted, and suspended in that short time. I believe that’s a record, Agent Juneau.”

We cut to- outside the courtroom. We immediately see Reid, so we know that he, at the very least, is still with the team. Also outside the room are Rossi, Hotch, and Garcia. BAU Section Chief Erin Strauss shows up and tells the team that “it doesn’t look good.”

We cut back to JJ being questioned by Senator Cramer. He’s asking her about an investigation, asking her why the case was only open for two days. Apparently, the BAU team took multiple months to gather information, but the case itself was only open those two days. Senator Cramer tells JJ that the investigation was “too big” for the BAU and asks JJ why they didn’t consider starting a joint task force. JJ states that they did not have time to do all of that.

Now we get screen text- “two weeks earlier.” JJ and Morgan hurry into an apartment building and up a stairwell, guns drawn. They burst into an apartment (without knocking). The apartment is empty, as whoever they are chasing has escaped through a crawl space above the apartment. Morgan rushes to the roof of the building, where he is attacked by none other than Ian Doyle. He’s got long hair and a beard to show that time has passed. We also realize that SWAT has surrounded the building, and snipers have their guns trained on the rooftop. Morgan and Doyle tussle and Doyle escapes. Morgan orders the snipers not to shoot and is able to trap Doyle by the edge of the roof, where he has nowhere to go.

Back with JJ and Senator Cramer. Noticing now, his name plaque says “Mr. Cramer,” but IMDB specifically says his name is Senator Cramer. Anyhoo, he’s asking JJ if she realizes what she has done. JJ says: “Yes, we put an international criminal with terrorist connections in federal custody.” Cramer says: “You used government funds for a personal vendetta, never called homeland security, and now six people, including two of your agents, are dead.” Cramer then asks JJ to explain how the BAU was able to find Doyle when none of the other agencies (CIA, etc) were able to. Morgan spent the months following Doyle’s arms-dealing contacts, and when that didn’t work, Morgan “put himself in Doyle’s shoes” and started looking for Doyle’s son, Declan. Remember, Prentis helped fake Declan and Doyle’s housekeeper/nanny’s deaths when Doyle was taken into protective custody. When Doyle captured Prentis and tortured her last season, she told him that Declan was alive. Now Doyle wants to find his son, and like, I get that he’s an international criminal with terrorist connections, but this man cares more about his son than Hotch did in season one of this show.

We’re back to the past- two weeks ago- Garcia and Morgan are at BAU Headquarters in Quantico, VA, trying to figure out where Declan is. Garcia has come up with a list of contacts that may have assisted Prentis in creating a fake ID for Declan. JJ interrupts them and asks if anyone has seen Reid, and they tell her that he’s at the firing range. She then asks what they’re up to, and they’re like, “Nothing”. So it’s clear that what Garcia and Morgan are doing is very hush-hush. Garcia suggests they tell Hotch and Morgan’s all, “Oh, Hotch knows I’m doing this.” And Garcia is like, “Really?” And Morgan goes, “Well, he knows that I’m not about to let Doyle roam free.” Morgan tells Garcia that he plans to tell the rest of the team when they have something to report.

Back with Cramer- he’s now interviewing Morgan. It looks like the room has cleared out. Whereas JJ had a panel of judgey NFs, Cramer is hassling Morgan alone. Cramer and Morgan have a dynamic, passionate back and forth. I’ll add the audio. Essentially, Cramer accuses Morgan of believing he is above the law, and Morgan accuses Cramer and the criminal injustice system of not prioritizing Ian Doyle.

Now with Garcia and Morgan. They start profiling why Prentis joined the BAU, hoping it will shed light on where Declan is. They believe Prentis would have wanted to be close to Declan, so she likely used a DC contact. Remember that forger who Doyle killed in “Lauren”? Ben Corelli? They think that he may have been the one who created Declan’s new identity. Luckily, the FBI processed Mr. Corelli’s belongings and paperwork. So Garcia and Morgan start going through these belongings, and they find a passport for a Matthew Thatcher, birth date March 28th, 1999. So an Aries. We can see from the photo that it’s clearly Declan. We also see the housekeeper’s new ID is Louise Thatcher. Both of them still live in Virginia. We learn that Declan is going to a boarding school in Stafford County. He’s an honor student and plays lacrosse. Morgan pays Declan a visit.

Back with Cramer and Morgan. We learn that Morgan performed round-the-clock surveillance on Declan for two months. We Morgan was not able to personally be there, there was a camera system in place.

Back in the beforetimes, Garcia goes through the camera footage, and she finds footage of Doyle stalking Declan. We also learn that during this whole situation, Hotch was in Pakistan leading an investigative task force??  Hotch is like oh shit, I’m coming back!! Hotch then tells Morgan to “take the shot” if he finds Doyle. Later that night, Morgan and JJ stake out Doyle’s apartment, but there’s no movement. Meanwhile, Reid and Rossi call in to report that Declan went home early from school after feeling sick and hasn’t been seen since. At the Thatcher residence, there is a police car parked out front, but no agents inside. The lights are out in the house, and when Reid and Rossi go in, they find a disconnected landline and a deceased lady FBI agent on the floor. Upstairs, they find a deceased FBI guy next to a table. So I guess those are the two dead agents. Reid also finds the deceased body of Louise Thatcher in a closet.

Back with JJ and Morgan at the Doyle stakeout, a totally unrelated police pursuit of a vehicle happens to pass by the apartment. JJ and Morgan see Doyle peer out the window from Doyle’s apartment, which prompts JJ and Morgan to break into the apartment. So this now brings us to that scene we saw earlier, with the standoff of Doyle and Morgan on the rooftop.

We now see Declan being manhandled by a man and lady unsub. We don’t know who they are or who they work for. Declan also is coughing ominously. So, as Abigail likes to say, that does not bode well.

Next, Morgan questions Doyle at BAU Headquarters. Morgan demands to know where Declan is. Doyle is like, bro, you know where he is. Morgan is like, “Stop playing games,” and Doyle is like, “Wait, bro, Declan is actually missing?” Morgan quickly realizes that Doyle is being honest and genuinely had no idea Declan was MIA. So someone else must have taken Declan. Morgan is like, “Who could have taken him?” and Doyle is like, “IDK!” and Morgan is like, “Think!” and there’s a long pause, and Doyle then goes, “IDK”

Outside the interrogation room, Strauss and JJ are watching on. It’s Blondie Time. Strauss doesn’t think Doyle is being genuine, but JJ points out that Doyle’s carotid reveals that Doyle’s heart has been racing ever since Morgan brought up Declan. Strauss goes: “Well if he didn’t take his son, who did?” We go to Garcia, who was going through the camera footage and finds that whoever took Declan cut the camera feed.

Reid and Rossi examine the Thatcher House crime scene, trying to come up with a theory about how the intruders gained access. Then we get a really choice exchange, where Reid says, well, the FBI agents were male and female, so perhaps the unsubs were male and female and posed as the next shift? Implying, canonically, that the FBI strategically never has same-sex surveillance shifts. That they always choose to have a male and female agent on stakeout. I am not a fan of this episode tbh. They also talk about how shooting the FBI agents was professional, but stuffing Louise in the closet was personal. Then Reid calls Louise Declan’s “caregiver,” and I’m like, who is she? His housekeeper, his nanny, his caregiver?? I’m a housekeeper, I’m a nanny, I’m a caregiver lady. Also, after examining the closet, Reid and Rossi see items that might belong in a male wardrobe. However, only Declan and Louise are supposed to live in the house.

Back at Quantico, Doyle is like, “Let me go, I’ll find my son.” Outside the interrogation room, Strauss is getting annoyed. Rossi shows up, and she looks at him, and she goes, “He didn’t do it.” And Rossi goes, “No.” And Strauss asks the question that we’ve all been wondering. She goes: “What the HELL is going on here?” Also, Hotch is back with a beard. Lots of facial hair in this episode. One could say it’s a… hairy situation. Garcia also has a “Top Ten List of Doyle’s Enemies.” Using the surveillance footage, she has ID’ed one of the unsubs as Richard Gerace. Gerace is apparently a low-level gun runner. Hotch goes to watch the interrogation with Rossi. Rossi takes one look at Hotch’s beard and goes: “Well, that’s a good look. How was the desert?” And Hotch goes: “Hot.” We also learn that Jack’s aunt Jessica has been watching Jack while Hotch was in Pakistan. Apparently, they Skyped every day. Sure, Jan.

Inside the interrogation room, Morgan gets a text informing him of the suspect’s name- Richard Gerace. Morgan asks Doyle about Gerace, and Doyle says: “I gave him a nasty scar in Belfast twenty years ago. Hasn’t been my problem since.” Morgan then asks whose problem Gerace has been. And Doyle tells Morgan that Gerace was Prentis’ problem.

Now we’re back with Senator Cramer. He is questioning Hotch. We learn that the federal government spent $17,400 on Prentis’ funeral and another $642,000 on medical expenses. Which was a wash, obviously, because Prentis WAS STILL ALIVE.

*Time travel sounds* Back to the past. Hotch tells JJ: “It’s time.” The team gathers at the round table. Hotch walks in and tells the team to sit down. Nobody sits. Morgan goes: “What’s going on?” Hotch says: “Seven months ago, I made a decision that affected this team. As you all know, Emily lost a lot of blood after her fight with Doyle. But the Doctors were able to stabilize her. She was airlifted from Boston to Bethesda.” We then learn what we already knew, that Prentis was reassigned to Paris. We see the team’s reaction. They’re shocked. Hotch is like: “As I said, I take full responsibility for the decision. If anyone has any issues, they should be directed towards me.” And then Prentis walks in, eyebrows on fleek.

*time travel sounds* Back to the future. Reid is sitting outside the courtroom. Strauss comes up and sits by him. She offers his gum. You could cut the tension with a butter knife. Prentis then walks by. Strauss goes: “At least you’ve got her back.” And Reid goes: “Do we?”

Ugh, these quick cuts are killing me. Now we’re in the past. Prentis tells the team that her friend Tom Koehler was also living in the house with Declan and Louise, thus the men’s clothes. He was raising Declan as his own but was on assignment overseas, which is why the BAU never saw him on the surveillance footage. The beeping phone in the house was from Declan calling Tom. So now Tom is on his way back to the USA.

The BAU fills Prentis in on the details of Declan’s kidnapping. Someone poisoned food at Declan’s boarding school because several kids got sick. Louise came and brought Declan home. Then Gerace and his partner posed as the next shift and took out the FBI agents standing guard outside the house. Prentis says that Gerace “doesn’t have the balls” to pull off Declan’s kidnapping. Prentis says that the lady unsub is the alpha. JJ goes: “So we’re looking for a woman who’s getting back at Doyle?” Prentis says: “And our suspect list just got a lot longer.” We learn that Ian Doyle was a player. We see that all the ladies are white brunettes with longish hair.

Prentis asks Garcia to send the files of the possible lady unsubs to the conference room. Prentis and JJ walk down the hallway and catch up, and here is the moment where we get the one-liner about Ashley Seaver. She is no longer with the BAU, she was transferred to Andi Swann’s unit. Now in the conference room, everyone’s looking at the photos, trying to narrow down a profile that might fit. The team suspects that lady unsub might actually Declan’s mother because of the brutal physical nature of Louise’s death.

Prentis goes into the interrogation room with Doyle. Doyle only seems slightly surprised that Prentis is there. He goes: “Of course.” Mind you, Prentis is no longer an FBI agent. So wild that they are letting her just question her ex-lover and also the man who tried to murder her. Seems like a conflict of interest to me! Prentis demands to know who Declan’s mother is. She shows Doyle all the photos of the women that Garcia found. Doyle points at a photo and says that the name of Declan’s mother is Chloe Donaghy. But Doyle doesn’t think she has anything to do with the kidnapping. Chloe did not want to have a baby, and she, as Doyle puts it, “tried to kill Declan before he was ever born.” We see a flashback of a woman taking pills and Doyle strangling her to get her to throw up. This is so problematic, but we don’t have time to dive in.

Now we see Declan in captivity. We see that Chloe is the lady unsub. She asks Declan: “Do you know who I am?” He goes: “No.” She goes: “I’m your Mum.”

Back with the BAU, we learn that Chloe brought tainted cupcakes to the boarding school for the kids to eat. The BAU dives into her history, learning that she ran an international prostitution ring before moving on to chemicals. JJ goes: “She hardly seems like the mothering type- why would she take Declan?” Back with Prentis and Doyle, Doyle doesn’t understand why Chloe would bother taking Declan if she never wanted him. Prentis is like: “You kept her prisoner for nine months and forced her to have this baby she didn’t want!” And Doyle is like: “It was only seven, but fair point.” We also learn that Louise helped deliver Declan. Chloe was apparently chained to a bed during the pregnancy. It’s just so awful. Doyle suggests that Chloe has kidnapped Declan for money.

Reid tells us that typically the abduction of a child by their own mother, regardless of the psychological disposition, would be low risk to a child. Prentis then presents that BAU with a list of associates of Chloe’s with bank accounts. The BAU thinks that someone hired Chloe to abduct Declan for money with the intention of torturing Ian and getting back at him. They have Garcia look for people who hate Doyle with big bank accounts. Garcia finds a man named Lachlan McDermott, whose older brother was murdered by Doyle years ago. Lachlan runs a successful import company and has an abandoned warehouse that the BAU thinks Chloe is keeping Declan in.

Cut to- Senator Cramer interviewing Hotch. Cramer asks Hotch if he called the Baltimore City PD upon learning of a possible location for Declan. Hotch is like, “No.” Cramer then asks if Hotch called the Harbor Police. Hotch is like, “No.” Cramer is like- “It takes an hour to drive from Quantico to Baltimore. Why didn’t you call them?”

Instead of Hotch answering, we’re back with the team in the past. They break into the warehouse and find Gerace’s dead body. Chloe has taken Declan and gone on the run. On the Lam!! Hotch calls and tells Reid, who then informs Prentis. I guess now it’s Reid’s turn to interrogate Doyle, because he goes in and tells Doyle that Chloe is working with Lachlan. Reid asks Doyle how Lachlan would leave the country. Doyle goes: “IDK.”

Now, we see Senator Cramer with Reid. He’s got the full panel. I don’t know why some people get the full panel, and some only get Cramer. We learn, through this interrogation, that Reid suggested that the BAU release Doyle. We also learn that Reid is the only team member not to request reinstatement to the unit after everything went down. Cramer says: “Was the decision to release Ian Doyle a personal one?” Reid says: “A young boy’s life was at stake. I ran the probability of his survival, and it wasn’t good. If you want to punish me for taking a risk, then I encourage you to do that. But do not put the rest of my team on trial for something that I suggested.” Cramer goes: “Calm down, Agent.” Reid goes: “This is calm, and it’s Doctor.” Essentially, Reid wanted to offer Doyle in exchange for Declan. Cramer states that the FBI does not trade captives, and Reid rattles off instances where the FBI has traded captives.

Zoomy with me back to the past. The BAU find a private airfield that Lachlan’s family used for imports. So the BAU believes that Chloe and Declan will be arriving there for transport. Prentis goes to ask for Strauss’ permission, and Strauss is like, “I don’t give my permission,” and Prentis is like, “Okay,” and Strauss is like: “The team is already on their way, aren’t they?”

Cut to the airfield- Lachlan, Chloe, and Declan are on a private plane that is about to take off. The BAU arrives on the airfield and blocks the runway, so the plane can’t depart. Hotch gets out with his megaphone and announces that the BAU wants to trade. Lachlan is like, “Let’s do it.” Chloe doesn’t like this deal and tries to shoot Lachlan, but Lachlan shoots her first. He doesn’t kill her, though, just injures her. Lachlan then grabs Declan and drags him out of the plane. Just as the trade is about to happen, Chloe comes out shooting. She shoots Doyle, Reid shoots Chloe, and someone shoots Lachlan. In the end, Declan is fine. Doyle is bleeding to death, and he lays there on the ground and reaches his hand out to Declan. It’s this super dramatic moment where Declan says: “I remember you” to Doyle. And Doyle says: “Sorry, son.” And then dies.

Now, back in the NOW TIME. The entire team is in the chambers with Senator Cramer. He tells them that the “Diog” (Domestic Investigations Operations Guide.) has rules and “you chose to ignore every last one.” “What I find interesting is that you are experts in behavior but find nothing wrong with yours.” Prentis goes: “The journey was not traditional, but this team neutralized four international criminals.” Cramer dismisses everyone but Prentis.

We cut to a little while later, and Prentis is staring at her photo on the dead agents wall. She tries to pull it off, but it’s screwed in. Garcia arrives with a screwdriver. We learn that Garcia has been watching after Sergio for Prentis, and Garcia asks for “visitation rights.” The rest of the team comes over. Strauss tells them that the committee led by Senator Cramer has cleared the team but that the BAU better watch their step. Prentis is gonna come back! We learn that Prentis basically saved the team by convincing Cramer that the BAU are the only ones able to do their job. How did she do this, you might ask? By reciting the FBI Oath of Honor. And I guess that was enough to just… seal the deal?

Rating Criteria:

• Criminal/Serial Killer: 15/20

• Character development/ character arcs: 20/20

• Forensics/Context: 10/20

• Script writing: 6/20

• Background characters: 18/20

Overall: 69/100