Émission TV: Criminal Minds - 18x5
Previously on Criminal Minds: Evolution...
Smets used the exact same codec as Franklin Fowler.
Which is the same as Voit's.
So, you think he didn't actually shut down the network.
I think he paused it.
And now, maybe there's some secret order, and his followers are reactivating.
Will, are you okay?
Will suffered an aneurysm.
Will's dead.
He's gone.
How'd you get this?
BAU-Gate.
I've been checking it.
So, besides us and Voit, who knows about BAU-Gate?
Anyone Voit talked to.
This could be tied to the new network, rising from the ashes of the old.
Why are you showing me this?
Because it was just posted to a website you created.
We're running out of ways to get inside Voit's subconscious.
And there is a network of killers locked inside of it.
There's a form of Rorschach test that we'd like to use on Voit.
How about this?
Am I a killer?
I made a deal admitting that I connected like-minded people on a network.
It's Voit.
So he prerecorded it and he had someone release it.
Why is his pulse so low?
What's he taken?
If he's ODing, he's been hoarding it.
He can't die.
Shit.
Code blue.
Code blue!
Damn it.
You don't get to die.
This is why you're still alive.
Are you okay?
I'm f...
Captain Dolce?
Yeah?
I'm SSA Jareau, this is SA Green.
House is dark, so we haven't seen any movement, but first responder heard noises.
Somebody in there.
Based on the previous pattern, this unsub will likely kill himself before being taken into custody.
What do you mean, "pattern"?
We've had multiple killers.
In separate cities.
It's part of a network.
Price for joining is you kill yourself before you can be arrested.
So, what, it's like a suicide cult?
Kind of.
Kind of?
What do I tell my men?
That we need to take this one alive.
So, Captain, SA Green will secure the perimeter entry points with your officers.
You and I will make a tactical breach through the garage.
This needs to be quick and quiet.
We clear?
Crystal.
Let's go.
We're going in.
Roger that.
We'll hold.
We have a victim.
Family room.
Female.
Teenager.
Deceased.
Copy.
Living room.
Female.
Shit.
Whoa, whoa, freeze!
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Hold your fire.
Drop your weapon.
No, no.
Okay, listen.
We don't want to hurt you.
Okay?
But y-you got to drop the knife.
W-We, we can help you.
We want to help you.
Yeah.
It's okay.
Okay.
What the fuck is wrong with you?
You trying to get yourself killed?
Shoot me.
What happened after that?
Sorry?
What happened after you took this woman into custody?
Uh, I should leave.
We just started.
This was a mistake.
Uh, hold on.
Jennifer, why is this a mistake?
Because it doesn't make any sense.
Doing this, with you.
Trying to make sense of what...
Jesus, I don't even know you and you sure as hell don't know me, so...
I assumed that was on purpose.
Why?
Some people find it easier to be honest with a stranger than a friend.
I think you're one of those people.
You witnessed a whole family get murdered by a woman who then asked you to put her out of her misery.
And all this happened less than a month after you lost your husband.
That's back-to-back-to-back trauma.
Anyone would need to talk about that.
Except that's not what happened.
No?
No.
I can help you.
I want to help you. "
When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."
Viktor Frankl.
You know what just hit me?
Hmm?
Why you asked me to talk this over.
You're a mother, right?
Yeah.
I'm not.
Someday, maybe.
But my friends who are mothers, their lives are a game of how much they can do in as few moves as possible, so just game this out with me, okay?
All right.
You could go to mandated counseling.
Overwhelm some poor, confused counselor with this very complicated story, or...
you could do it here, where the interested parties are already up to speed.
But you're not doing this because it's convenient, are you?
No.
Then you tell me.
Why are we doing this?
Instead of you talking to your people?
Is it the fact that you stepped in front of a law enforcement officer's loaded weapon to save a killer?
Okay.
How about this?
Can we start from the beginning?
Because you skipped over some important parts of the story.
Like what?
Like how you saved Elias's life.
I'd say, considering the history between the two of you, that must have been disorienting. "
Disorienting" is too small a word.
Fair enough.
What I want to know is how you get from there to unmasking a killer in Cleveland.
It started two days ago, when I learned that I was wrong.
About everything.
Hey.
Hi.
Hey, uh, Jennifer.
Tara, what's going on?
Um, that video you found, the one with the man in the mask stalking the family..
You mean Voit in the mask.
No, it couldn't have been Voit.
W-What, uh...
what are you talking about?
ViCAP got a hit.
A match to the house in the video.
Where?
Cleveland.
So he's a family annihilator?
Not the whole family.
He left the daughter Marilyn alive.
And he left her with this.
He actually, uh, put it on her as he was walking out the door.
Marilyn didn't get a good look at the unsub's face.
But she did tell investigators that after he had subdued the entire family, he told them he wanted to play a game.
They had to choose one family member to sacrifice, and then he would leave.
When they couldn't, he chose for them.
And he didn't leave.
When he was finished, he told Marilyn that he had kept her alive so she that could deliver a message to the FBI.
What was the message? "
Tell them I am the Brutal Man."
A-And as we saw from the video, Cleveland P.D.
found trace evidence in places you wouldn't expect, like-like the basement, bathrooms, closets.
Stuff like gum and candy wrappers.
Okay, guys.
We're not...
we're not talking about the obvious here.
If I was wrong about Voit, then, a week ago, this unsub posted his video on BAU-Gate.
I'm sorry.
BAU-what?
BAU-Gate.
It's a website that Elias started.
It had pictures on it.
Pictures of what?
Look, all you need to know is that the FBI shut it down.
Then it went active again with this video from...
Jesus, I hate even saying his name.
...
the Brutal Man.
At first, we couldn't figure out, was he posting on BAU-Gate for us or was it meant for Elias?
But then, at the Langham house, he left a survivor.
And we had our answer.
He wanted you to know he was out there.
Garcia, reach out to Cleveland P.D.'s media relations.
I do not want that moniker, "Brutal Man," to get out there.
I already have.
You know, just because we know this isn't Voit, it doesn't mean that he's not involved.
True.
Some of these guys on Voit's network gave themselves nicknames.
I had to when I was on it.
So, the Brutal Man could be somebody Voit knows.
We need to ask him.
Oh, I will.
No.
Dave, you'll talk to him.
The rest of us are going to Cleveland.
JJ, come with me.
Emily told me why I wasn't going to Cleveland.
She said it was too soon, that I was too close to the case.
And how did that make you feel?
Maybe that's why you want to talk to me, because of how your team has been treating you?
No.
It's okay if it is.
I understand.
I...
I think your team would understand.
Oh, my God, no, that's not it.
Emily and I are friends.
We worked it out.
And when we landed in Cleveland...
Uh, wait.
How did you two work it out?
It's not important.
It might be.
It really isn't.
So, by the time we landed in Cleveland, the unsub had struck again.
Stop.
I know that you traveled to Cleveland.
What you're not telling me is how.
We have a jet.
How do you go back to flying commercial after this?
I still think that Prentiss uses this for personal travel.
Hey.
A: That's illegal.
B: I would never.
Yeah, but wouldn't "B" go out of the window if you knew you could get away with "A?"
What are you doing?
Coming with you.
Can you guys give us a second?
Okay, make your case.
Why are you coming?
Because I have to.
I need more than that.
Emily, you told me to prioritize myself, and that's what I'm doing.
I am prioritizing myself, and I need...
I need to get back to work, okay?
I-I...
I need it.
Hey, all available SSAs and new agents on board.
Wheels up.
You were saying, by the time you landed in Cleveland, this "Brutal Man," he struck again.
Yeah.
So, that woman who was wearing the mask, if she wasn't the killer...
She was the one he let live.
Her name was Amy D'Anna.
In less than three hours, the unsub made her a widow and a bereaved mother.
He told her if she wore that mask, when the police arrived, they would kill her quickly.
That's just...
Brutal?
I'm guessing she didn't tell you much.
She must've been in shock from what she'd been through.
No.
That was the worst part.
She couldn't stop talking.
She described exactly what happened to her.
She said she'd locked up the house for the night, and her family was about to watch a movie.
Amy said he came out of nowhere.
It was as if he'd been inside the house the whole time.
Unfortunately for Amy...
that was only the beginning.
He tied them to chairs, placed them in a circle to face each other.
Now, the game begins.
Game?
Please, let us go.
I'm gonna make this easy for you.
Choose the one who dies, and then, I'll spare the rest.
And leave.
Take me.
No.
Let-let them go.
No, Bryan, no.
No, Dad, no!
Please!
No!
Hey, let them go.
Let them go.
Please let him go.
Take me!
No!
Get the fuck in here.
No!
No!
No, no!
Girls, look at me.
Look at me.
Look at me!
Do not look over there.
Look at me.
Who's next?
Why are you doing this?
I begged him to kill me, too.
But he refused.
He just, he cut off the zip ties...
he gave me the mask, and then he...
walked out through the garage.
I don't know how to live without them.
They were my whole life.
We have counseling services...
No.
What's the point?
There's no counseling for this.
Is there someone we can call, someone who can stay with you?
What...
what are they going to do?
They wouldn't understand.
Nobody could.
You won't be alone.
Can you get Amy's phone, please?
Yeah.
What's that?
It's, um, my boys' initials.
Was a gift from my husband.
Oh?
Is that a crucifix?
Yeah.
Surprised.
Why?
Most doctors I know are atheists.
Oh, I don't know about that.
I went to Georgetown.
It's a Jesuit school.
I liked the way those priests challenged me.
Also, they like to drink.
There's more to it than that.
Can't keep a good profiler down.
Deflection with humor.
What do you believe in?
Mm.
Not a lot right now.
Do you think Will is in heaven?
Why would you ask me that?
To see if you would answer the question.
I'm learning more by what you won't talk about than what you will, which helps me understand the dynamic your whole team has going.
What dynamic?
Oh, come on.
The Behavioral Analysis Unit is the most emotionally constipated group of experts I have ever worked with.
Okay...
Let's start with Agent Rossi.
What's wrong with Dave?
Well, after what he did with his little Rorschach test, I couldn't trust him to be alone with Elias.
Wait, didn't he tell you what happened when he came back to visit?
Thank you.
Whoa, whoa.
Pockets, too, please.
Why?
Agent Rossi, did it ever occur to you that, if you hadn't pulled that last stunt, we wouldn't have to have my patient on suicide watch?
Is this okay?
Is there any gum-related history you and Elias share that I should know about?
Anything that might upset him and make his condition worse?
I don't think so.
No, I swear.
We're good.
David Rossi.
Author of the profiling books Obsession and Understanding Evil.
I read those books.
No, actually, I memorized those books.
So I could learn from them, so I could be better.
Well, if you could remember that, what else do you remember?
I remember the smell of your cologne as I was smashing your face into the door of my house.
What?
And I remember smelling it when I was using you as a shield when somebody, who...
baiting you, just shoot him!
...
who I don't remember, was pointing a gun at us.
Agent Rossi?
Long story.
And then I remember smelling it mixed with your sweat as I locked you in a shipping container...
and left you there to die.
And what about the Brutal Man?
Does that name ring any bells?
You're not carrying your gun.
I insisted.
Is that because you've...
thought about killing me?
Because you know who I was?
Yeah.
But that was a different me.
When I couldn't accept that you are a different you.
What if I'm not?
Elias, we've run numerous tests on you.
Parts of your brain are talking to each other that didn't talk before.
There's only been one place where we've seen this kind of transformation: In the brains of soldiers who have taken high doses of psilocybin to treat PTSD.
So, from a neuropsychology perspective...
you're a miracle.
Can you come here?
I need to ask you a favor.
I need you to go and get your gun and put it on this table over here.
No.
I'm not asking you to pull the trigger, okay?
I'll do that by myself.
I'm not gonna do that.
I'm a fucking monster, David!
Don't you understand?
Elias...
stop.
I'm a monster!
Let go of him.
Just get the fuck out of here!
Please go.
Both of you, now.
Just get the fuck out!
In the wake of his suicide attempt, it appears that his memories have seemed to be triggered by the physical presence of a person.
So, when he saw Agent Rossi...
He remembered the kidnapping and locking Rossi in the shipping container, but he didn't remember Tyler's name.
Sorry, uh, Special Agent Green.
Correct.
Because he hasn't been in the same room with Agent Green.
But if you think about how far Elias still has to go, it's going to be extremely challenging.
Because the more he learns, the worse he feels.
The worse he feels, the less he wants to talk to someone who can help.
Sound familiar?
For a psychiatrist, you're not subtle.
Subtlety never got me very far.
And you're right.
Elias and I are caught on the same loop.
But, you know, that's why I'm here.
For your help.
So, after we interviewed Amy D'Anna, we walked the crime scene, but...
I could tell.
Tell what?
My head wasn't in the game.
Has anything come back on these tread marks?
According to the crime lab's report, these same tread marks were found in the flower beds outside.
But no signs of forced entry.
Our unsub came in here and waited for the family to settle in for the night.
The first victims, the Langhams, thought, uh, maybe they left the back door unlocked.
So, probably how he got in there, but here...
Yeah, but here Amy D'Anna insisted that she'd locked all of the doors.
JJ?
Something's not right.
What?
Amy said the unsub cut her loose and gave her the mask, and then he left through the garage.
Right.
What are you thinking?
Well, why not go out the back, avoid the risk of being seen?
Why go through the garage?
Maybe there's something meaningful about this space to him?
Well, the Langham house didn't have a garage.
So it's not the garage that's meaningful to him, it's what's inside of it.
Right here.
He took something off the car.
A souvenir.
I think I know what's triggering him.
We need to talk to Amy again.
Tara, hey.
Absolutely.
Give me a second.
Amy, I'm sorry, this may not seem important, but bear with us.
Did you have a bumper sticker or a decal on the back of your minivan?
Yes.
Okay.
What was it?
Uh, one of those stick figure family stickers.
You know, four figures showing me, Bryan, Taylor and Megan.
Did you get that?
Head wasn't in the game, huh?
Sounds like you were doing okay.
Ah, we haven't gotten to the bad part yet, have we?
The bad part was when we delivered the profile.
The unsub we're looking for is a white male between the ages of 25 and 35.
The psychological game he plays with his victims, in addition to calling himself by the moniker the Brutal Man, suggests a sadistic psychopath with a grandiosity bordering on a God complex.
His desire to not only disrupt but to destroy these families speaks to the unsub's own background being filled with domestic violence or a violence that somehow denied him a family bond at an early age.
What seems to trigger this unsub is viewing what would otherwise be a rather innocuous visual representation of the family unit.
And specifically a common stick figure family decal like these.
To him, it's like a taunt.
Because of the torture and nature of the violence, it's likely he's unmarried and has no children.
As for having his victims "choose... "
Whom first, that is obviously a false choice.
He knows...
Again, it is unlikely that this unsub has ever been married or has had children.
In all my time as a profiler, I...
I've never done that.
I've had victims die in front of me.
I've buried children.
But I have never abandoned my team.
Never.
JJ, you did not abandon your team.
You were having a very human moment.
In my job, I-I don't get that luxury.
'Cause you know what was happening while I was having my little "moment"?
The unsub was taking another family.
Jessica, Trevor, come and set the table.
Your dad's going to be home soon.
Hustle, hustle.
Come on.
Mine.
I'm sitting here tonight.
You sat there last night.
It doesn't matter.
I got here first.
Mom, tell him he can't sit here again.
Okay, I'm sitting here tonight.
See?
Problem solved.
Let's go.
Thanks a lot.
Now you ruined it for the both of us.
Great.
Nina?
Kids?
I'm so sorry I'm late.
I hope you guys didn't wait for me.
What's with the chairs?
Where are you guys?
The Nicolettis.
Mom, dad, teen daughter, adolescent son.
He tied them to chairs, placed them in a circle to face one another.
Innocent family like the others.
I know this family got under your skin.
But you deal with this a lot, right?
More than any person should.
Let's talk about coping skills.
Me?
I pray.
Has it ever made a difference?
That's not why I pray.
Then why do it?
I don't ask God to change outcomes.
I ask Him for help accepting them.
Even when whatever follows is a hailstorm of shit?
Especially then.
Okay.
You get on your knees?
Sometimes.
What does God look like to you?
Like this sky king sitting on a throne of clouds with this halo of light crowning the top of his head.
Really?
No.
Um, I didn't mean to sound...
It's okay.
I just...
I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself.
But seriously, I...
I like to imagine God looking wise.
Like my dad.
I lost him when I was 15.
I'm sorry.
It's still so unreal.
We were all at dinner.
One second, he was with us, and the next, he was gone.
Cerebrovascular accident.
A stroke.
Is that why you became a doctor?
Yes, it is.
I wanted to understand why it happened to him.
But you know, with...
all my education and experience, I still don't have an answer.
My father had no preexisting conditions, no medical history.
It just happened.
But doesn't that make you crazy?
Sometimes.
But then I remember he's in a better place.
I don't have that kind of faith.
I can see that.
But perhaps you perceive the divine more like the "Good Orderly Direction."
I don't know about that.
Mainly I just get by with a little help from my friends.
You were right.
I came back too soon.
There was never gonna be a right time.
It was always gonna be too soon.
There's a part of me that doesn't know how to make sense of life outside of this job.
We get this dopamine rush from saving lives, from putting handcuffs on the bad guys because we're smarter than they are.
And because we're smarter, we can stop them.
And if we can stop them, then it'll solve...
everything.
But it doesn't.
It can't.
You remember Andrew Mendoza?
Your old boyfriend?
Of course.
The one you were gonna follow to Denver.
Yeah, him.
Know why we broke up?
No, surprisingly.
He kept pushing for a threesome.
Oh, shut up.
No, for real.
Oh...
Oh.
Like you and another guy?
Oh, no.
He was not secure enough in his sexuality for that.
Nope, it had to be me with another woman.
With who?
Uh...
Oh...
no.
Please don't say me.
I mean...
we never got that far.
But he kept pushing for it until finally I was like, "Andrew, if I wanted to disappoint two people at once, I would go to dinner with my parents."
What?
Why...
why are you telling me this?
Because...
when he and I were over, I knew I could come back.
I knew this job would make me feel better.
Because...
I didn't have the real thing.
I never have.
You did.
You had the fairy tale.
The perfect husband.
And the feelings that you're feeling right now, Will is the one who would help you through them.
But now?
No matter how many lives we save, nothing you find in this job is gonna make this better.
And I am afraid that the grief will overwhelm you.
Tara said it would be like a wave.
But it really isn't.
It's more like an unsub.
When you're not expecting it, it comes through the back.
Oh, my God.
What?
The, the unsub.
Yeah, the-the door through the garage was locked when we made entry.
But Amy said that's how he walked out of the house.
Okay, so he locked the door behind him when he left.
There's only one way he could've locked that door.
Exactly.
Now, the figurative key being that all of the D'Anna family house keys were accounted for, as well as those of the Langham family.
What about a housekeeper or a handyman, a neighbor?
Yeah, even relatives.
There could be a few spares out there.
Oh, it's weird how hot I get when I am miles ahead of you, which I am right now.
Okay, all keys are accounted for.
However, I'm learning a thing in real time.
Is this a coincidence?
I think not.
Okay.
Uh, both the D'Anna family and the Langhams hired a locksmith to rekey their houses.
That locksmith in question is Ronald Graber, and his business is in downtown Cleveland.
Can you identify if Graber had any clients after the D'Anna family?
Uh, yes, yes.
The Nicolettis hired him to change their locks.
I'm sending you all relevant addresses now.
Thank you, Penelope.
Captain Dolce and I will take Graber's business.
Luke, Tara, you take his house.
Tyler, JJ, head to the Nicolettis.
Oh, good, good.
You're awake.
I see you're all a little tied up right now, so I'm gonna make this easy for you.
We're gonna play a little game.
The rules are simple.
You get to choose which one of you I'm going to kill.
Fuck you!
Fuck me?
All right, well, uh...
Fuck you!
No, no, no, no!
It's me.
What?
It's me, okay?
Take me.
No!
Dad, no!
Daddy, please, no, no.
Boring!
Oh, God.
As much fun, Pops, as it would be to kill you in front of your family, been there, done that.
I want to see Daddy's face when someone else dies.
Our suspect's name is Ronald Graber.
Based on our profile, he'll likely kill himself before being taken into custody.
So it is imperative that we take him alive, you understand?
Copy that.
Let's do it.
We got this.
Let's move.
Take anything you want.
We have a safe.
I don't want your fucking money.
No, don't you, don't you hurt my babies!
Then choose.
No!
Why?
Choose, goddamn it!
Ronald Graber, FBI!
Drop the weapon!
No, no, no.
Ronald.
Hey, hey, hey.
Just wait.
I-I know you were told it would be better if you ended your life instead of facing the consequences of your actions, but...
you don't have to follow those rules anymore.
Okay?
Oh, you don't know me.
I know somebody hurt you.
Took away what was precious to you.
And you felt lost.
Alone.
Is that what you think?
I think this whole persona you've created is about evening the score.
You destroy a family because someone or something destroyed yours.
Oh, is that supposed to work?
Ah, somehow you, uh, "you get me," and I get all weak in the knees and...
give up?
Tell me I'm wrong.
You want to know why I do this?
Tell me.
Because I want to.
We outsmarted the bad guy, put him in handcuffs, and yet, didn't matter.
I still felt lost.
All my coping skills were gone.
I keep thinking about what Amy D'Anna said.
There's, there's no counseling for this.
And yet you chose to do this.
Because maybe a-a neuropsychiatrist might-might have something, you know?
Like a, a-a...
Something to help me make sense of all this senseless, unfair bullshit.
Like a drug?
Or a mantra.
I don't know.
How about a prayer?
I wish I could.
You know, there's this old Roman Catholic prayer that goes, "Okay, God, is it all senseless, unfair bullshit?"
It sounds better in Latin.
Anyway...
whenever I invoke that prayer, do you know what I hear back in a voice that sounds eerily like my dad's? "
Get off the cross, we need the wood."
Do you understand what I'm saying?
Sure you don't have a drug?
Oh, I got lots of 'em.
Yeah.
If only it were that easy.
If only.
JJ, I sincerely believe, that in your situation, if you can't help...
Help yourself...
help someone else.
Like you.
What do you think?
I think...
maybe you might be right.
From what I can remember, everything I did was selfish.
Even trying to take my own life was all about me, just...
me trying to solve my problems.
Never even considered that I should do something to ease someone else's suffering.
Suffering that I caused.
So...
what do you want me to do?
Wait, y-you.
I...
I-I know his sister Alison, I-I...
I...
You can do this.
No, I-I want to, but I just...
Y-You can.
Just take your time.
Okay.
No disrespect to JJ, but, like, are we sure about this?
Got some serious reservations about our newly reformed serial killer.
Look, the plan was for JJ to use her trauma to help Voit process his.
And then help us with Graber.
The fact that he's here, especially in light of his suicide attempt, is, frankly, a win.
That mean anything to you?
No.
How about this?
Recognize him?
Uh, no.
Well, based on the pattern of your recovered memories, it appears that you have to be in the physical presence of a person to remember your relationship with them or any shared history.
Th-That's the Brutal Man?
It is.
He surrendered?
He did.
And once he was placed in handcuffs, he had one more thing to tell us.
Ronald Graber, you have the right to remain silent.
I don't want a lawyer.
I'll talk if...
you give me one thing.
What's that?
I have a message.
For Sicarius.
From his disciple.
Wait, Sicarius?
Is that what I called myself?
No, it started as a bad joke, but it became a shorthand for law enforcement.
And he thinks he's my disciple?
And he's got a message for you.
No, I swear, I do not know this man.
We think you'll remember once you're face-to-face.
Wh-What do you think?
I think if you have a shared history with this man, then, yes, you will remember.
But I'm not the man that he remembers.
It doesn't matter.
You walk in there, he hears the sound of your voice, he gets so excited, he wets his pants giving you his message.
W-Will you be there?
I'll be right in the room next to you, yeah.
What do I say?
By your own admission, you rarely communicated face-to-face with anyone on your network.
You preferred exchanging encrypted messages.
But there were a handful you spoke to using burner phones.
And we think Graber was one of them.
So you walk in, you introduce yourself. "
I'm Elias Voit, aka Sicarius.
You got a message for me?"
Like I said, he recognizes your voice and Bob's your uncle.
I'm not exactly sure how this works, but doesn't Elias need some sort of safe word?
Something that he can say if he needs help? "
Monster."
I'll say "monster" if I need help.
Okay.
Let's go.
I'm sorry.
For everything.
My name is Elias Voit.
I am Sicarius.
You have a message for me?
Synced and corrected by naFraC - www.addic7ed.com -
Smets used the exact same codec as Franklin Fowler.
Which is the same as Voit's.
So, you think he didn't actually shut down the network.
I think he paused it.
And now, maybe there's some secret order, and his followers are reactivating.
Will, are you okay?
Will suffered an aneurysm.
Will's dead.
He's gone.
How'd you get this?
BAU-Gate.
I've been checking it.
So, besides us and Voit, who knows about BAU-Gate?
Anyone Voit talked to.
This could be tied to the new network, rising from the ashes of the old.
Why are you showing me this?
Because it was just posted to a website you created.
We're running out of ways to get inside Voit's subconscious.
And there is a network of killers locked inside of it.
There's a form of Rorschach test that we'd like to use on Voit.
How about this?
Am I a killer?
I made a deal admitting that I connected like-minded people on a network.
It's Voit.
So he prerecorded it and he had someone release it.
Why is his pulse so low?
What's he taken?
If he's ODing, he's been hoarding it.
He can't die.
Shit.
Code blue.
Code blue!
Damn it.
You don't get to die.
This is why you're still alive.
Are you okay?
I'm f...
Captain Dolce?
Yeah?
I'm SSA Jareau, this is SA Green.
House is dark, so we haven't seen any movement, but first responder heard noises.
Somebody in there.
Based on the previous pattern, this unsub will likely kill himself before being taken into custody.
What do you mean, "pattern"?
We've had multiple killers.
In separate cities.
It's part of a network.
Price for joining is you kill yourself before you can be arrested.
So, what, it's like a suicide cult?
Kind of.
Kind of?
What do I tell my men?
That we need to take this one alive.
So, Captain, SA Green will secure the perimeter entry points with your officers.
You and I will make a tactical breach through the garage.
This needs to be quick and quiet.
We clear?
Crystal.
Let's go.
We're going in.
Roger that.
We'll hold.
We have a victim.
Family room.
Female.
Teenager.
Deceased.
Copy.
Living room.
Female.
Shit.
Whoa, whoa, freeze!
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Hold your fire.
Drop your weapon.
No, no.
Okay, listen.
We don't want to hurt you.
Okay?
But y-you got to drop the knife.
W-We, we can help you.
We want to help you.
Yeah.
It's okay.
Okay.
What the fuck is wrong with you?
You trying to get yourself killed?
Shoot me.
What happened after that?
Sorry?
What happened after you took this woman into custody?
Uh, I should leave.
We just started.
This was a mistake.
Uh, hold on.
Jennifer, why is this a mistake?
Because it doesn't make any sense.
Doing this, with you.
Trying to make sense of what...
Jesus, I don't even know you and you sure as hell don't know me, so...
I assumed that was on purpose.
Why?
Some people find it easier to be honest with a stranger than a friend.
I think you're one of those people.
You witnessed a whole family get murdered by a woman who then asked you to put her out of her misery.
And all this happened less than a month after you lost your husband.
That's back-to-back-to-back trauma.
Anyone would need to talk about that.
Except that's not what happened.
No?
No.
I can help you.
I want to help you. "
When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."
Viktor Frankl.
You know what just hit me?
Hmm?
Why you asked me to talk this over.
You're a mother, right?
Yeah.
I'm not.
Someday, maybe.
But my friends who are mothers, their lives are a game of how much they can do in as few moves as possible, so just game this out with me, okay?
All right.
You could go to mandated counseling.
Overwhelm some poor, confused counselor with this very complicated story, or...
you could do it here, where the interested parties are already up to speed.
But you're not doing this because it's convenient, are you?
No.
Then you tell me.
Why are we doing this?
Instead of you talking to your people?
Is it the fact that you stepped in front of a law enforcement officer's loaded weapon to save a killer?
Okay.
How about this?
Can we start from the beginning?
Because you skipped over some important parts of the story.
Like what?
Like how you saved Elias's life.
I'd say, considering the history between the two of you, that must have been disorienting. "
Disorienting" is too small a word.
Fair enough.
What I want to know is how you get from there to unmasking a killer in Cleveland.
It started two days ago, when I learned that I was wrong.
About everything.
Hey.
Hi.
Hey, uh, Jennifer.
Tara, what's going on?
Um, that video you found, the one with the man in the mask stalking the family..
You mean Voit in the mask.
No, it couldn't have been Voit.
W-What, uh...
what are you talking about?
ViCAP got a hit.
A match to the house in the video.
Where?
Cleveland.
So he's a family annihilator?
Not the whole family.
He left the daughter Marilyn alive.
And he left her with this.
He actually, uh, put it on her as he was walking out the door.
Marilyn didn't get a good look at the unsub's face.
But she did tell investigators that after he had subdued the entire family, he told them he wanted to play a game.
They had to choose one family member to sacrifice, and then he would leave.
When they couldn't, he chose for them.
And he didn't leave.
When he was finished, he told Marilyn that he had kept her alive so she that could deliver a message to the FBI.
What was the message? "
Tell them I am the Brutal Man."
A-And as we saw from the video, Cleveland P.D.
found trace evidence in places you wouldn't expect, like-like the basement, bathrooms, closets.
Stuff like gum and candy wrappers.
Okay, guys.
We're not...
we're not talking about the obvious here.
If I was wrong about Voit, then, a week ago, this unsub posted his video on BAU-Gate.
I'm sorry.
BAU-what?
BAU-Gate.
It's a website that Elias started.
It had pictures on it.
Pictures of what?
Look, all you need to know is that the FBI shut it down.
Then it went active again with this video from...
Jesus, I hate even saying his name.
...
the Brutal Man.
At first, we couldn't figure out, was he posting on BAU-Gate for us or was it meant for Elias?
But then, at the Langham house, he left a survivor.
And we had our answer.
He wanted you to know he was out there.
Garcia, reach out to Cleveland P.D.'s media relations.
I do not want that moniker, "Brutal Man," to get out there.
I already have.
You know, just because we know this isn't Voit, it doesn't mean that he's not involved.
True.
Some of these guys on Voit's network gave themselves nicknames.
I had to when I was on it.
So, the Brutal Man could be somebody Voit knows.
We need to ask him.
Oh, I will.
No.
Dave, you'll talk to him.
The rest of us are going to Cleveland.
JJ, come with me.
Emily told me why I wasn't going to Cleveland.
She said it was too soon, that I was too close to the case.
And how did that make you feel?
Maybe that's why you want to talk to me, because of how your team has been treating you?
No.
It's okay if it is.
I understand.
I...
I think your team would understand.
Oh, my God, no, that's not it.
Emily and I are friends.
We worked it out.
And when we landed in Cleveland...
Uh, wait.
How did you two work it out?
It's not important.
It might be.
It really isn't.
So, by the time we landed in Cleveland, the unsub had struck again.
Stop.
I know that you traveled to Cleveland.
What you're not telling me is how.
We have a jet.
How do you go back to flying commercial after this?
I still think that Prentiss uses this for personal travel.
Hey.
A: That's illegal.
B: I would never.
Yeah, but wouldn't "B" go out of the window if you knew you could get away with "A?"
What are you doing?
Coming with you.
Can you guys give us a second?
Okay, make your case.
Why are you coming?
Because I have to.
I need more than that.
Emily, you told me to prioritize myself, and that's what I'm doing.
I am prioritizing myself, and I need...
I need to get back to work, okay?
I-I...
I need it.
Hey, all available SSAs and new agents on board.
Wheels up.
You were saying, by the time you landed in Cleveland, this "Brutal Man," he struck again.
Yeah.
So, that woman who was wearing the mask, if she wasn't the killer...
She was the one he let live.
Her name was Amy D'Anna.
In less than three hours, the unsub made her a widow and a bereaved mother.
He told her if she wore that mask, when the police arrived, they would kill her quickly.
That's just...
Brutal?
I'm guessing she didn't tell you much.
She must've been in shock from what she'd been through.
No.
That was the worst part.
She couldn't stop talking.
She described exactly what happened to her.
She said she'd locked up the house for the night, and her family was about to watch a movie.
Amy said he came out of nowhere.
It was as if he'd been inside the house the whole time.
Unfortunately for Amy...
that was only the beginning.
He tied them to chairs, placed them in a circle to face each other.
Now, the game begins.
Game?
Please, let us go.
I'm gonna make this easy for you.
Choose the one who dies, and then, I'll spare the rest.
And leave.
Take me.
No.
Let-let them go.
No, Bryan, no.
No, Dad, no!
Please!
No!
Hey, let them go.
Let them go.
Please let him go.
Take me!
No!
Get the fuck in here.
No!
No!
No, no!
Girls, look at me.
Look at me.
Look at me!
Do not look over there.
Look at me.
Who's next?
Why are you doing this?
I begged him to kill me, too.
But he refused.
He just, he cut off the zip ties...
he gave me the mask, and then he...
walked out through the garage.
I don't know how to live without them.
They were my whole life.
We have counseling services...
No.
What's the point?
There's no counseling for this.
Is there someone we can call, someone who can stay with you?
What...
what are they going to do?
They wouldn't understand.
Nobody could.
You won't be alone.
Can you get Amy's phone, please?
Yeah.
What's that?
It's, um, my boys' initials.
Was a gift from my husband.
Oh?
Is that a crucifix?
Yeah.
Surprised.
Why?
Most doctors I know are atheists.
Oh, I don't know about that.
I went to Georgetown.
It's a Jesuit school.
I liked the way those priests challenged me.
Also, they like to drink.
There's more to it than that.
Can't keep a good profiler down.
Deflection with humor.
What do you believe in?
Mm.
Not a lot right now.
Do you think Will is in heaven?
Why would you ask me that?
To see if you would answer the question.
I'm learning more by what you won't talk about than what you will, which helps me understand the dynamic your whole team has going.
What dynamic?
Oh, come on.
The Behavioral Analysis Unit is the most emotionally constipated group of experts I have ever worked with.
Okay...
Let's start with Agent Rossi.
What's wrong with Dave?
Well, after what he did with his little Rorschach test, I couldn't trust him to be alone with Elias.
Wait, didn't he tell you what happened when he came back to visit?
Thank you.
Whoa, whoa.
Pockets, too, please.
Why?
Agent Rossi, did it ever occur to you that, if you hadn't pulled that last stunt, we wouldn't have to have my patient on suicide watch?
Is this okay?
Is there any gum-related history you and Elias share that I should know about?
Anything that might upset him and make his condition worse?
I don't think so.
No, I swear.
We're good.
David Rossi.
Author of the profiling books Obsession and Understanding Evil.
I read those books.
No, actually, I memorized those books.
So I could learn from them, so I could be better.
Well, if you could remember that, what else do you remember?
I remember the smell of your cologne as I was smashing your face into the door of my house.
What?
And I remember smelling it when I was using you as a shield when somebody, who...
baiting you, just shoot him!
...
who I don't remember, was pointing a gun at us.
Agent Rossi?
Long story.
And then I remember smelling it mixed with your sweat as I locked you in a shipping container...
and left you there to die.
And what about the Brutal Man?
Does that name ring any bells?
You're not carrying your gun.
I insisted.
Is that because you've...
thought about killing me?
Because you know who I was?
Yeah.
But that was a different me.
When I couldn't accept that you are a different you.
What if I'm not?
Elias, we've run numerous tests on you.
Parts of your brain are talking to each other that didn't talk before.
There's only been one place where we've seen this kind of transformation: In the brains of soldiers who have taken high doses of psilocybin to treat PTSD.
So, from a neuropsychology perspective...
you're a miracle.
Can you come here?
I need to ask you a favor.
I need you to go and get your gun and put it on this table over here.
No.
I'm not asking you to pull the trigger, okay?
I'll do that by myself.
I'm not gonna do that.
I'm a fucking monster, David!
Don't you understand?
Elias...
stop.
I'm a monster!
Let go of him.
Just get the fuck out of here!
Please go.
Both of you, now.
Just get the fuck out!
In the wake of his suicide attempt, it appears that his memories have seemed to be triggered by the physical presence of a person.
So, when he saw Agent Rossi...
He remembered the kidnapping and locking Rossi in the shipping container, but he didn't remember Tyler's name.
Sorry, uh, Special Agent Green.
Correct.
Because he hasn't been in the same room with Agent Green.
But if you think about how far Elias still has to go, it's going to be extremely challenging.
Because the more he learns, the worse he feels.
The worse he feels, the less he wants to talk to someone who can help.
Sound familiar?
For a psychiatrist, you're not subtle.
Subtlety never got me very far.
And you're right.
Elias and I are caught on the same loop.
But, you know, that's why I'm here.
For your help.
So, after we interviewed Amy D'Anna, we walked the crime scene, but...
I could tell.
Tell what?
My head wasn't in the game.
Has anything come back on these tread marks?
According to the crime lab's report, these same tread marks were found in the flower beds outside.
But no signs of forced entry.
Our unsub came in here and waited for the family to settle in for the night.
The first victims, the Langhams, thought, uh, maybe they left the back door unlocked.
So, probably how he got in there, but here...
Yeah, but here Amy D'Anna insisted that she'd locked all of the doors.
JJ?
Something's not right.
What?
Amy said the unsub cut her loose and gave her the mask, and then he left through the garage.
Right.
What are you thinking?
Well, why not go out the back, avoid the risk of being seen?
Why go through the garage?
Maybe there's something meaningful about this space to him?
Well, the Langham house didn't have a garage.
So it's not the garage that's meaningful to him, it's what's inside of it.
Right here.
He took something off the car.
A souvenir.
I think I know what's triggering him.
We need to talk to Amy again.
Tara, hey.
Absolutely.
Give me a second.
Amy, I'm sorry, this may not seem important, but bear with us.
Did you have a bumper sticker or a decal on the back of your minivan?
Yes.
Okay.
What was it?
Uh, one of those stick figure family stickers.
You know, four figures showing me, Bryan, Taylor and Megan.
Did you get that?
Head wasn't in the game, huh?
Sounds like you were doing okay.
Ah, we haven't gotten to the bad part yet, have we?
The bad part was when we delivered the profile.
The unsub we're looking for is a white male between the ages of 25 and 35.
The psychological game he plays with his victims, in addition to calling himself by the moniker the Brutal Man, suggests a sadistic psychopath with a grandiosity bordering on a God complex.
His desire to not only disrupt but to destroy these families speaks to the unsub's own background being filled with domestic violence or a violence that somehow denied him a family bond at an early age.
What seems to trigger this unsub is viewing what would otherwise be a rather innocuous visual representation of the family unit.
And specifically a common stick figure family decal like these.
To him, it's like a taunt.
Because of the torture and nature of the violence, it's likely he's unmarried and has no children.
As for having his victims "choose... "
Whom first, that is obviously a false choice.
He knows...
Again, it is unlikely that this unsub has ever been married or has had children.
In all my time as a profiler, I...
I've never done that.
I've had victims die in front of me.
I've buried children.
But I have never abandoned my team.
Never.
JJ, you did not abandon your team.
You were having a very human moment.
In my job, I-I don't get that luxury.
'Cause you know what was happening while I was having my little "moment"?
The unsub was taking another family.
Jessica, Trevor, come and set the table.
Your dad's going to be home soon.
Hustle, hustle.
Come on.
Mine.
I'm sitting here tonight.
You sat there last night.
It doesn't matter.
I got here first.
Mom, tell him he can't sit here again.
Okay, I'm sitting here tonight.
See?
Problem solved.
Let's go.
Thanks a lot.
Now you ruined it for the both of us.
Great.
Nina?
Kids?
I'm so sorry I'm late.
I hope you guys didn't wait for me.
What's with the chairs?
Where are you guys?
The Nicolettis.
Mom, dad, teen daughter, adolescent son.
He tied them to chairs, placed them in a circle to face one another.
Innocent family like the others.
I know this family got under your skin.
But you deal with this a lot, right?
More than any person should.
Let's talk about coping skills.
Me?
I pray.
Has it ever made a difference?
That's not why I pray.
Then why do it?
I don't ask God to change outcomes.
I ask Him for help accepting them.
Even when whatever follows is a hailstorm of shit?
Especially then.
Okay.
You get on your knees?
Sometimes.
What does God look like to you?
Like this sky king sitting on a throne of clouds with this halo of light crowning the top of his head.
Really?
No.
Um, I didn't mean to sound...
It's okay.
I just...
I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself.
But seriously, I...
I like to imagine God looking wise.
Like my dad.
I lost him when I was 15.
I'm sorry.
It's still so unreal.
We were all at dinner.
One second, he was with us, and the next, he was gone.
Cerebrovascular accident.
A stroke.
Is that why you became a doctor?
Yes, it is.
I wanted to understand why it happened to him.
But you know, with...
all my education and experience, I still don't have an answer.
My father had no preexisting conditions, no medical history.
It just happened.
But doesn't that make you crazy?
Sometimes.
But then I remember he's in a better place.
I don't have that kind of faith.
I can see that.
But perhaps you perceive the divine more like the "Good Orderly Direction."
I don't know about that.
Mainly I just get by with a little help from my friends.
You were right.
I came back too soon.
There was never gonna be a right time.
It was always gonna be too soon.
There's a part of me that doesn't know how to make sense of life outside of this job.
We get this dopamine rush from saving lives, from putting handcuffs on the bad guys because we're smarter than they are.
And because we're smarter, we can stop them.
And if we can stop them, then it'll solve...
everything.
But it doesn't.
It can't.
You remember Andrew Mendoza?
Your old boyfriend?
Of course.
The one you were gonna follow to Denver.
Yeah, him.
Know why we broke up?
No, surprisingly.
He kept pushing for a threesome.
Oh, shut up.
No, for real.
Oh...
Oh.
Like you and another guy?
Oh, no.
He was not secure enough in his sexuality for that.
Nope, it had to be me with another woman.
With who?
Uh...
Oh...
no.
Please don't say me.
I mean...
we never got that far.
But he kept pushing for it until finally I was like, "Andrew, if I wanted to disappoint two people at once, I would go to dinner with my parents."
What?
Why...
why are you telling me this?
Because...
when he and I were over, I knew I could come back.
I knew this job would make me feel better.
Because...
I didn't have the real thing.
I never have.
You did.
You had the fairy tale.
The perfect husband.
And the feelings that you're feeling right now, Will is the one who would help you through them.
But now?
No matter how many lives we save, nothing you find in this job is gonna make this better.
And I am afraid that the grief will overwhelm you.
Tara said it would be like a wave.
But it really isn't.
It's more like an unsub.
When you're not expecting it, it comes through the back.
Oh, my God.
What?
The, the unsub.
Yeah, the-the door through the garage was locked when we made entry.
But Amy said that's how he walked out of the house.
Okay, so he locked the door behind him when he left.
There's only one way he could've locked that door.
Exactly.
Now, the figurative key being that all of the D'Anna family house keys were accounted for, as well as those of the Langham family.
What about a housekeeper or a handyman, a neighbor?
Yeah, even relatives.
There could be a few spares out there.
Oh, it's weird how hot I get when I am miles ahead of you, which I am right now.
Okay, all keys are accounted for.
However, I'm learning a thing in real time.
Is this a coincidence?
I think not.
Okay.
Uh, both the D'Anna family and the Langhams hired a locksmith to rekey their houses.
That locksmith in question is Ronald Graber, and his business is in downtown Cleveland.
Can you identify if Graber had any clients after the D'Anna family?
Uh, yes, yes.
The Nicolettis hired him to change their locks.
I'm sending you all relevant addresses now.
Thank you, Penelope.
Captain Dolce and I will take Graber's business.
Luke, Tara, you take his house.
Tyler, JJ, head to the Nicolettis.
Oh, good, good.
You're awake.
I see you're all a little tied up right now, so I'm gonna make this easy for you.
We're gonna play a little game.
The rules are simple.
You get to choose which one of you I'm going to kill.
Fuck you!
Fuck me?
All right, well, uh...
Fuck you!
No, no, no, no!
It's me.
What?
It's me, okay?
Take me.
No!
Dad, no!
Daddy, please, no, no.
Boring!
Oh, God.
As much fun, Pops, as it would be to kill you in front of your family, been there, done that.
I want to see Daddy's face when someone else dies.
Our suspect's name is Ronald Graber.
Based on our profile, he'll likely kill himself before being taken into custody.
So it is imperative that we take him alive, you understand?
Copy that.
Let's do it.
We got this.
Let's move.
Take anything you want.
We have a safe.
I don't want your fucking money.
No, don't you, don't you hurt my babies!
Then choose.
No!
Why?
Choose, goddamn it!
Ronald Graber, FBI!
Drop the weapon!
No, no, no.
Ronald.
Hey, hey, hey.
Just wait.
I-I know you were told it would be better if you ended your life instead of facing the consequences of your actions, but...
you don't have to follow those rules anymore.
Okay?
Oh, you don't know me.
I know somebody hurt you.
Took away what was precious to you.
And you felt lost.
Alone.
Is that what you think?
I think this whole persona you've created is about evening the score.
You destroy a family because someone or something destroyed yours.
Oh, is that supposed to work?
Ah, somehow you, uh, "you get me," and I get all weak in the knees and...
give up?
Tell me I'm wrong.
You want to know why I do this?
Tell me.
Because I want to.
We outsmarted the bad guy, put him in handcuffs, and yet, didn't matter.
I still felt lost.
All my coping skills were gone.
I keep thinking about what Amy D'Anna said.
There's, there's no counseling for this.
And yet you chose to do this.
Because maybe a-a neuropsychiatrist might-might have something, you know?
Like a, a-a...
Something to help me make sense of all this senseless, unfair bullshit.
Like a drug?
Or a mantra.
I don't know.
How about a prayer?
I wish I could.
You know, there's this old Roman Catholic prayer that goes, "Okay, God, is it all senseless, unfair bullshit?"
It sounds better in Latin.
Anyway...
whenever I invoke that prayer, do you know what I hear back in a voice that sounds eerily like my dad's? "
Get off the cross, we need the wood."
Do you understand what I'm saying?
Sure you don't have a drug?
Oh, I got lots of 'em.
Yeah.
If only it were that easy.
If only.
JJ, I sincerely believe, that in your situation, if you can't help...
Help yourself...
help someone else.
Like you.
What do you think?
I think...
maybe you might be right.
From what I can remember, everything I did was selfish.
Even trying to take my own life was all about me, just...
me trying to solve my problems.
Never even considered that I should do something to ease someone else's suffering.
Suffering that I caused.
So...
what do you want me to do?
Wait, y-you.
I...
I-I know his sister Alison, I-I...
I...
You can do this.
No, I-I want to, but I just...
Y-You can.
Just take your time.
Okay.
No disrespect to JJ, but, like, are we sure about this?
Got some serious reservations about our newly reformed serial killer.
Look, the plan was for JJ to use her trauma to help Voit process his.
And then help us with Graber.
The fact that he's here, especially in light of his suicide attempt, is, frankly, a win.
That mean anything to you?
No.
How about this?
Recognize him?
Uh, no.
Well, based on the pattern of your recovered memories, it appears that you have to be in the physical presence of a person to remember your relationship with them or any shared history.
Th-That's the Brutal Man?
It is.
He surrendered?
He did.
And once he was placed in handcuffs, he had one more thing to tell us.
Ronald Graber, you have the right to remain silent.
I don't want a lawyer.
I'll talk if...
you give me one thing.
What's that?
I have a message.
For Sicarius.
From his disciple.
Wait, Sicarius?
Is that what I called myself?
No, it started as a bad joke, but it became a shorthand for law enforcement.
And he thinks he's my disciple?
And he's got a message for you.
No, I swear, I do not know this man.
We think you'll remember once you're face-to-face.
Wh-What do you think?
I think if you have a shared history with this man, then, yes, you will remember.
But I'm not the man that he remembers.
It doesn't matter.
You walk in there, he hears the sound of your voice, he gets so excited, he wets his pants giving you his message.
W-Will you be there?
I'll be right in the room next to you, yeah.
What do I say?
By your own admission, you rarely communicated face-to-face with anyone on your network.
You preferred exchanging encrypted messages.
But there were a handful you spoke to using burner phones.
And we think Graber was one of them.
So you walk in, you introduce yourself. "
I'm Elias Voit, aka Sicarius.
You got a message for me?"
Like I said, he recognizes your voice and Bob's your uncle.
I'm not exactly sure how this works, but doesn't Elias need some sort of safe word?
Something that he can say if he needs help? "
Monster."
I'll say "monster" if I need help.
Okay.
Let's go.
I'm sorry.
For everything.
My name is Elias Voit.
I am Sicarius.
You have a message for me?
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