I can't deny I'm still giddy over the BAU being back on our screens. But I'm also emotional for our characters. In episode 1, JJ faced her grief head-on with her boys and Penelope at her side. I know there wasn't a dry eye around the world during that moving scene. If you thought JJ’s personal battles were heart-wrenching, Luke's trying to hide his pain was soul-crushing.
On top of the team's emotional battles and coming off a successful case, Voit’s decisions are finally made. His choices bring someone Emily dislikes back into the BAU. This storyline is nothing short of chaotic. If you thought twin serial killers were the worst of this season, episode 2 has other ideas. Between Voit, Luke’s storyline, and a military murder case that stumps the BAU at first, this episode was heavy.
Military vets and goodbyes
Luke’s need to keep everyone in the dark about his personal battles reminds me so much of Derek. They both have Penelope at their side, checking in even when they lie and say they are fine. Even though these tough men hide from everyone else, Penelope knows something is up when Luke comes into work to meet with an old military connection, Tom. He has a weird military case for the BAU.
With his connections to Luke and Tyler, Tom is already comfortable getting his points across, even though Prentiss is hesitant about there being enough evidence. Usually, I’d agree with her, but this case needed to be dug into and fast. Later on, the team learns there is much more at play than possible military vets' suicides.
It turns out Tom was right. This case isn’t just about vet PTSD, but a man trying to cure a cluster headache by lobotomizing his victims. David (the killer) goes from hurting vets in the recovery program to taking medical professionals. Luckily, the team connects the dots in time and arrives at David’s place as he’s about to hurt his latest victim.
Using all his emotional tools, Luke talks David off the murder ledge. He tells him about how he lost the partner the military gave him to heal. We find out in that moment that Luke said goodbye to his dog, Roxy. David wonders how Luke is supposed to go on now, but he assures him he can and that he’ll be that person for David. With that promise set, they take David away and save the victim strapped to the table.
We end Luke’s personal battle with his visiting the cemetery again. Finally, we see Roxy’s name and an image of a dog on the tombstone. Penelope walks up and joins him on the stone bench. In that moment, Luke let himself grieve his furry best friend.
Voit apologizes for his crimes
After agreeing to a case, Prentiss greets a disgruntled Rossi with a good morning. He’s still upset that Voit is taking up so much of their time. Now he’s pushing back on picking a victim’s family to apologize to. Rossi thinks it will be easy and that Voit just needs to do it already. Prentiss assures him that Tara and Rebecca are at the prison now, trying to get the ball rolling.
Voit picks a victim but gets sidetracked when he congratulates Tara and Rebecca on getting married. They aren’t having any of his distractions. Finally, Rebecca locks in his decision, and they set the face-to-face with Mrs. Ryan (the mother of his victim).
It is honestly shocking that the mother doesn’t want to take a swing at Voit, even though he offers. Tara is quick to turn it down even before the mother denies she doesn’t want that, which I respect so much. It surprises me how open she is about learning about how her daughter died and how much pressure it took to crush her larynx. In front of an FBI agent and in prison, she’s not holding back.
The last thing shocks everyone the most. She’s listened to many podcasts about Voit, and she’s not happy with what she’s found out. This news sends Voit into distress. I can’t blame him because if lies were being spread about me without my knowledge, I’d be pissed, too. He tries to deny them, but the face-to-face ends, and they go into damage control.
The Sicarius Files
Prentiss’ morning is long from over as Rossi leaves and JJ appears to get some coffee. She’s in a mood of sorts and wonders if Prentiss listens to podcasts. She’s like mostly news and such, so she’s not in the current podcasting loop. JJ reveals that Henry devours podcasts left and right, but they’re all about Voit and the BAU, specifically about “you, me, and the BAU,” as JJ says it to Prentiss, who brushes it off. That casual response doesn’t last for long when she finds out who’s podcasting about them and what he’s saying to the world.
Her outrage is perfectly done with one single curse word before she meets with Brian Garrity. He greets her by calling her BELLA! I can’t help but think of Twilight. (Does that make me old? Oh well!) She keeps her annoyed disposition all the way to the office, where Rossi slams the door and scares the crap out of Brian. He makes it worse by telling Rossi that he told the world and paid an orderly for the “Dad” information. Let me just tell y’all, I’m cackling just thinking about this scene.
The “Dad” comment is beside the point when Brian is telling his listeners that the BAU trained Voit. He agrees to do a pivot to clean up his lies, but he wants a favor. He wants Voit on his podcast, and Prentiss turns him down. He threatens to tell his story his way as Rossi kicks him out of the office.
After Voit finds out about Brian’s podcast, he requests to be a guest on The Sicarius Files podcast with a twist. Both men have conditions leading the BAU to be on high alert and stand by during the podcast interview in prison. In a turn of events, Prentiss lets Voit take his rage out on Brian’s LED sign, shattering it to pieces before revealing he’s nothing special and people shouldn’t look up to him. Yet, a mystery killer from the end of episode one is doing just that as he drives away from his crime, shutting off the podcast with frustration.
The next episode of Criminal Minds: Evolution airs June 4 on Paramount+.
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