This week’s episode of Criminal Minds: Evolution sees Penelope spilling the tea on her kiss with Tyler, the BAU pulling double duty solving another case, and Rossi making a discovery that changes the directory of the case. Keep reading for everything that happens in “What Doesn’t Kill Us…”
Making Their Case
Prentiss and Bailey are making their case to the Attorney General to keep the case open. Not only does she think Sicarius was taken care of when Benjamin died, but she’s also wary that it’s a flight risk to have them digging, considering two agents almost lost their lives. She believes they are grasping at straws but Emily reminds her their profile doesn’t fit Benjamin Reeves. Prentiss leverages her job by stating that if the BAU can’t do its job, she has no choice but to hand in her resignation, and this time, Bailey stands by her. Nobody is losing their jobs today, but a lot of cases have been sitting in wait while they throw all of their resources at Sicarius.
Bring Your Deputy Director to Work Day
Tara is out on a separate assignment that Rossi gave her to look into the tracking devices, so Deputy Director Bailey fills in her spot on the new case. He brings in one of the victim’s family and sits in on an interview. At first, they are apprehensive about complying with law enforcement given recent developments, but Bailey talks to them about how his own father is wary of big government and sometimes he thinks his dad is right. He says it’s critical they find out who did this to Terry because the killer has kidnapped two more victims, women that attend the university.
Once Terry’s mom sees them, she breaks down and tells them that Terry had sold his prescription OxyContin to Grace and someone told the police. However, it remains to be seen the connection between all three victims. Alvez helps piece it together. Terry is the dealer while Grace is the user but Ashley? She’s the “enabler,” she was cited for helping cover up a fellow sorority sister’s drug overdose.
Bailey and Prentiss deliver a profile to the team and a lot of the staff at the university that the missing persons work and attend. They believe he’s a middle-aged man, fit, and all about his religion, someone who everyone would overlook. Begrudgingly, the staff complies and they make a short list of suspects, landing on one specifically: Frank Scelsa.
Hearing shouts, Bailey and Prentiss run into the building and find Ashley, who has escaped. She tells them that Frank has Grace in the basement and Prentiss heads down to them. She gets him to give up Grace after quoting Genesis in the Bible and they make the arrest. Bailey rushes to Grace to keep her stable until paramedics arrive.
The Comedown
Elias returns home after murdering his uncle. He’s making his family breakfast when he gets flashbacks of things that his uncle said to him and he pictured himself slicing his wife’s neck with the kitchen knife. He snaps out of it and continues cooking. Later, he’s seen in the garage on his phone checking the news. When he comes back inside, he attempts to reprimand the kids for not wanting to give up their electronics to spend quality time together. However, the youngest says that if they have to, so does he; he’s always on his phone. He has another episode, stating that he “can’t take this family anymore” and visualizes himself shooting his wife and kids in their heads. Except, he said the “quiet part” out loud and they’re stunned. He tries to save it by telling them he’s under a lot of pressure at work.
He heads outside to play basketball where his wife confronts him, telling him she knows what he did. He becomes paranoid and asks her to tell him exactly what she thinks she knows. She knows about the secretive phone calls, the trips, the lying. He pulls out his kill kit with his gun inside and points it at her through the case. Once again he asks her what she thinks she knows. She tells him she knows he lost his job. He places the gun back inside. He didn’t want to scare her about losing his job until he was sure he had something else in place. He needs to make a plan because the silent treatment and random outbursts aren’t working.
The next morning, he lets her know he’s going to go away for a few days but when he comes back he’s going to be the father and husband that his family needs.
Kiss & Tell
The weight of kissing Tyler Green is weighing on Penelope, so she tells Prentiss about it. Prentiss, surprised and stressed because Tyler is a material witness in possibly the largest case the BAU has ever undertaken, tells Penelope to call it quits. And she wants her to do it today.
Tyler calls Penelope throughout the day but she keeps sending him to voicemail. Eventually, though, she calls him back and says that they can’t continue to do this and that she’s going to need her keys back. Tyler offers to drop them off later that night and before she can protest he hangs up. At her apartment that evening, Tyler does what he promised to do. Before he leaves, he confides that after he found out what happened to his sister, he was going to end his life. However, that all changed when he met Penelope. Not able to stop themselves even though they know they should, they share a passionate kiss.
Caught ‘Em
Rossi pulls an all-nighter combing through the footage Tawny handed over to the police from the hardware store cameras. He hyper-focuses on a man in a jacket and a hat (Elias) when he realizes that’s their suspect.
The first seven episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution are available to stream on Paramount+. Be sure to stay up to date with all of our coverage, including recaps and interviews with the cast.
