He’s baaaaaack!!
After what seemed like an eternity, we finally received answers to all the questions we had regarding the gunshot heard around the world that ended last season. If you hadn’t picked up on it, hopefully you realized that the man in the mask was The Reaper; a sadistic serial killer who haunted Hotch and team earlier in the fifth season and had escaped prison by drinking his own blood; forcing him to convulse where he escaped in route to the hospital.
The season premiere, aptly named “Nameless, Faceless” picked up exactly 4 hours from where the finale left off. Completely exhausted from the gruesome ordeal in Canada, the team is immediately called to another crime scene. When they arrived, they find a man brutally murdered with the initials “LC” next to his body. According to officials, this is the second man to have been murdered in the same fashion with the same initials found at the scene. The killer had sent a note to a Dr. Barton, letting him know that for every day he did not let his 15-year-old son Jeffrey out of the house, another person would die. Meanwhile, J.J. has been trying to get hold of Hotch who is not answering his cell or returning any of her messages (did anyone else get the feeling that this had to mean Hotch was in a lot of danger?). As the team is introduced to Dr. Barton, his son Jeffrey overhears the team discussing the imminent danger that they are both in and sneaks out of the house to go to school; hoping that being outside will prevent anyone else from being killed. At this time, the team decides to pull case files on all the patients Dr. Barton has worked on within the last 6 months. This leaves hundreds to go through in a matter of hours, hoping to track down the killer. Prentiss finally decides that they need another team member and decides to go to Hotch’s place. Reid and Dr. Barton continue going through the patient files while she is gone.
When Prentiss gets to Hotch’s apartment there is no answer. When she tries him on his cell phone and hears it ringing inside, she immediately breaks down the door. As she enters the apartment she finds Hotch’s cell phone, keys, broken glass on the floor, a pool of blood on the carpet, and what appears to be a gunshot hole in the wall. Fearing the worst, she immediately calls Garcia to help her locate their leader. She tells Garcia everything she has just found in Hotch’s apartment, but tells her that she cannot tell any of the other team members because they need to be focused strictly on catching Dr. Barton’s threatener. She then proceeds to call Reid to explain to him what is going on, knowing that he will be expecting her back.
Garcia calls all local hospitals to find out if any FBI agents have been admitted recently. To her surprise, she locates a hospital who just had a John Doe drop off carrying the FBI credentials of a Derek Morgan (hmmm…remember when The Reaper attacked Morgan and stole his credentials?). As Prentiss arrives to the hospital she learns that Hotch has been stabbed nine times. Luckily, none of them were fatal and he is going to be just fine. As she looks down, she notices that on the chart is says, “Aaron Hotchner” with the initials “LC” right under his name. When she inquires to the nurse about what it means, she learns that LC stands for “living children” and is used when patients are put on life support and don’t have a “Do Not Resuscitate” order. At this point, Prentiss learns that the killer’s true motive is not to hurt Jeffrey Barton, but to kill Dr. Barton; leaving Jeffrey without a father.
As Dr. Barton goes to school to pick up Jeffrey, the killer is outside. We learn that the killer’s son was in a car accident in January and was brain dead on arrival to the hospital. He became angry with Dr. Barton when the doctor told him there was nothing he could do for his son and refused to operate on him. He pulls out a gun and shoots at Dr. Barton but Reid jumps in front of him, causing him to be shot in the leg. At this time, Mr. Meyers (our killer) aims one more time at Dr. Barton, but Reid shoots him first. Not long after, the team arrives and Reid finally tells them that something has happened to Hotch.
As the team arrives at the hospital, Hotch asks them what the Reaper had taken from him. The Reaper always kept souvenirs of his victims, and this was no exception. He had taken a page from Hotch’s address book under “B” where we learn Hotch filed Haley under her maiden name in case something like this ever happened. Knowing that The Reaper’s true intention was never to kill Hotch but to make him suffer by killing his ex-wife and son, the team rushes over to Haley’s house and explains to her what happened. Morgan goes to pick Jack up who is at a friend’s for a play date, and they proceed to the hospital to see Hotch.
I found the scene between Hotch and Haley one of the most touching parts of the episode. You could tell she still cared for him very much, and considering the last time we saw these two together she was filing for divorce, I expected the meeting to be much more confrontational. We learn that the U.S. Marshalls are taking Haley and Jack into protective custody until the Reaper can be caught so that they will not be in danger. If you hadn’t caught on, D. B. Sweeney (from “The Cutting Edge”) is playing the detective assigned to Haley and Jack’s case, and from what I hear, he’s been signed on for a six episode run – so don’t expect this case to be finished anytime soon!
As for Reid, we learn that he will be on crutches for a while, but is going to be just fine. If anyone notcied, Reid was sitting in most of this episode. Little bit of trivia for you: the storyline of Reid getting shot was a last minute add-in when Matthew Gray Gubler had to have numerous knee surgeries this summer. His most recent one? Last week. So don’t expect to see Reid up and moving for a while, but we know this means he most definitely isn’t down and out.
Although the premiere was only an hour long, I felt like it was longer. And for me, that is a good thing. There was so much going on in this episode, but not too much to where it became crowded and confusing. I think this is going to be a great season. I’m especially excited to see what the writer’s do with Shemar Moore’s broken leg he suffered last month when he was hit by a car. We know Derek Morgan is the toughest member of the team so to see him down may be difficult.
So what did you guys think of the premiere episode? Is it true what everyone is saying about this season? Will it be the best to date?
