S2E3 - “The Perfect Storm”
Jacksonville FL. Open on a husband and wife receiving a package in the mail - a mysterious DVD. They play it and they realize that it is depicting their college-age daughter being tortured to death - essentially a snuff film, while Billy Joel’s “Only the Good Die Young” blares. They are extremely distraught, as one would be, and we later learn that the father dies from a heart attack while watching.
We learn that Laura was 20 and a sophomore in college. She was the 5th in a series of kidnappings and murders - all of the girls being abducted in different ways, some from parking lots others while out running. She wasn’t reported missing - her roommate thought she was visiting family. Morgan points out that we don’t see her murdered on the tape, and some of the others were tortured presumably for weeks, so it might make sense for them to operate as if she is still alive. But not for long.
They talk about how this is likely a sadistic killer, the thrill of the kill isn’t enough to satisfy his needs, he needs to spread panic. Reid chimes in talking about how sadistic killers usually kill strangers as it is easier for them to torture and kill someone they don’t already know. Gideon is certain that there have to be two killers involved, and it is extremely per formative. The music wasn’t added - it was an actual part of the whole thing. It is common for team killers to record/take tokens of their crimes, because then they can revisit the crime later for their own sick pleasure. Also the camera moves - one tortures while the other records. Master and servant.
On the private plane the team further talks about the psychology of the team. Folie a duex - a rare psychological phenomenon when two people share the same psychotic delusion. Or the bond between two people have who bring out the worst in each other.
Psychotic Team
Usually a dominant and a submissive
The dominant of the two will usually insist on taking the life
In this case, the DVDs function as a shared souvenir but also a way for the dominant to keep control over the submissive - keep them motivated, loyal and aroused.
And control - built in blackmail.
They find Laura Clemson’s body under a bridge. She had only been missing a little over a week, which indicates that the torture time is getting shorter and shorter. The team decides to split up and cover more ground more quickly.
Hotch and Elle go to visit Laura’s mother, who is like...going THROUGH IT. Laura’s mother asks if she can have a ring that her husband gave her daughter as a gift back. They ask about Laura’s personality, which mom isn’t super thrilled about, but she understands its important to help figure out why she may have been targeted. Of course, she sounded as if she was an absolute angel. Her mom is really upset and saying things like “this wasn’t supposed to happen.” Cut to Gideon and Morgan who are at the crime scene and where the body has been found, under a the bridge. She has deep lacerations around her neck. They realize the ring is missing, and its possible that the killer may have kept it to give as a gift. The Jacksonville police officer is a horrible actor here, btw.
Cut back to the Jacksonville PD and Goobs is talking about how in addition to the five known victims, there were two others that seem to fit the bill, but they had different DNA on the victims. Goobs hypothesizes that perhaps the dominant let the submissive perpetrate the first two as a way to lure them in. JJ notices that the package sent to the Clemson family was only sent to the mother, much like the first package. They say that the packages being sent to mothers could be a message? Next we see a girl jogging and a guy in a car ask for directions. When she turns away after giving him directions they snatch her.
They talk about how the unsubs escalated from using their hands to strangle to a ligature because its more efficient. There are some unanswered questions though - why leave the bodies in fairly plain site while hiding the victims cars? Despite these unanswered questions, they feel ready to offer a profile:
The Profile
The dominant one is the mastermind - not to say that the submissive is innocent or pure
If the criminal desire wasn’t present, the partnership wouldn’t exist
The offenders share a common delusion - the bond between the two justifies their actions
Two sick minds that complete each other
Sometimes they met in childhood, sometimes they are family
The dominant makes the submissive feel powerful
They live only for their new reality
Deep loyalty to each other
The submissive is usually easier to get to crack
The profile briefing is broken up when JJ alerts them to the mother of a new victim - the girl we saw be snatched while jogging. They’ve finally tracked down pieces of the various cars at a single used car dealership in Georgia, all sold by a guy named Joey. His background is littered with petty crimes, and this suggests he may be the lesser - aka the submissive - of the two killers.
Cut and we’re at Joey’s house where Gideon and Morgan and Bad Actor Police FL dude are. Joey’s crippled father answers, and then Joey rolls in carrying a gun, refusing to put it down, so naturally, FL Cop just fatally shoots him. We find out the Joey works at the garage with a bunch of former ex cons and inmates. Morgan talks about how the dominant would not have gone down like that, so Joey must have been the submissive.
They look into who Joey’s former cellmate could have been, Garcia track him down and sees that his name was Tony Carnado. They roll up to Tony’s place and his cute little wife shows up and talks about how he’s not home, and she knew Joey. she says her husband is trying to get clean and he’s been getting better. She also says when tony and joey get together she’s “afraid of what could happen”. They say that they’re gonna talk to Joey so she should leave, so she says she’ll call her friend Kim.
Gideon and Bad Actor FL go back to the police station. Not long after, Tony’s wife shows up and she’s now got a black eye. She says when tony got back he got angry and got angry. Goobs notices that the ring she is wearing looks a lot like Laura’s. She takes it off and when it hits the table you can hear how CHEAP that ring is. We’re back at the Carando residence, and Morgan gets hit with a baseball bat as Tony tries to take him down. Unfortunately, tony is dealing with Morgan and so he easily gets overtaken. For some reason this isn’t sus, because like even though his wife allegedly warned him, he still comes home?
They apprehend him, and bring him in for questioning. Hotch goes in to question him, but before doing so mentions that because he’s the dominant it could be tricky - you have to praise them and make them feel good/proud. This doesn’t go well and he already mentions lawyering up. Gideon mentions that he has been in prison before, so he knows to keep his mouth shut. They notice that Tony keeps looking at two photographs of the victims. Hotch and Gideon think it could be a good idea to put his wife in there with him, because it’ll humanize him and maybe get him to talk.
Gideon goes and asks her if she’d be willing to go and talk to him. She eventually agrees. Wifey goes in there with him, and begins questioning him. They have some very intense eye contact. Both are sweaty, its very Florida. She asks where Joey took “the girl” and he still resists answering. He eventually says she’s in a storage unit, and joey’s dad is the only one who has the key. Goobs is like yo doesn’t joeys dad have MS? Isn’t he in a wheelchair?
Elle and JJ are talking about how Tony’s mother was a drug addict, he bounced around as a kid because of that social services, his mom became a sex worker, and then Elle asks the question “how’d he get the confidence to pull off something like that?” and he’s supposed to be the dominant in the partnership. They roll of up to the storage unit, but there is literally nothing in there. Just junk. And then they realize...why isn’t Amber scared of Tony? Amber is the one who is initiating eye contact. she s also very calm around the photos of the victims. Then Garcia finds amber’s voice on the recordings. so . SO. amber is the dominant one in the partnership. But guess what. She’s fled the scene.
Gideon goes in to crack Tony. and tony goes on about how nothing would come between them. Amber was allegedly abused by her father and brother, and her mother likely knew but did nothing about it. Apparently her father and brother would bring her to the woods. Much like how the bodies of the girls were often found in the woods. Finally tony says “cabin” and the BAU somehow is able to locate it. Inside is Amber and Tiffany, Amber is beating her up and doing some bad acting as they apprehend her. Tiffany spears is alive! They found the remains of another person under the cabin - likely amber’s former partner in crime.
Rating Criteria (out of 20)
Criminal/Serial Killer: 20/20
Character development/ character arcs: 10/20
Forensics/Context: 10/20
Script writing: 17/20
Background characters: 17/20
Overall: 74/100