Unknown Subject
- Episode aired Jan 25, 2012
- TV-14
- 43m
The BAU team searches for a serial rapist in Houston known as "The Piano Man" who has resurfaced and is assaulting his previous victims. Also, Prentiss tries to come to terms with her trauma... Read allThe BAU team searches for a serial rapist in Houston known as "The Piano Man" who has resurfaced and is assaulting his previous victims. Also, Prentiss tries to come to terms with her trauma from last year and with rejoining the team.The BAU team searches for a serial rapist in Houston known as "The Piano Man" who has resurfaced and is assaulting his previous victims. Also, Prentiss tries to come to terms with her trauma from last year and with rejoining the team.
Photos
- Peter Joshua
- (as Jim Pacitti)
- Susan Estrof
- (as Catheryn J. Brockett)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaHamilton is not wrong. Both "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart" were written by the same person, Jim Steinman. In fact, urban legend says the two are actually connected and about the same couple.
- GoofsSalt water is NOT a safe homemade emetic. If mixed correctly, it is actually recommended by doctors (including the Mayo Clinic) to settle the stomach and prevent vomiting. If mixed incorrectly, it is toxic. It might induce vomiting, but it will cause weakness, cramping, and extreme thirst. It can also restrict breathing and cause kidney damage. Poisoning oneself to combat a suspected drugging is not going to improve the situation.
- Quotes
Aaron Hotchner: [quotes the evaluation report] Patient shows no hesitation tackling difficult goals as part of reintegrating into her life. She has reached out to her mother.
Emily Prentiss: I'm going to.
Aaron Hotchner: And has started a romantic relationship with a man named Sergio. Now, I don't care if you lie to your therapist. All I care about is how your behavior affects your job.
Emily Prentiss: I don't think it has.
Aaron Hotchner: You've been over-compensating.
Emily Prentiss: How have I...
Aaron Hotchner: You rushed to repair your relationship with Morgan. You've become an emotional sounding board for Reid and Rossi.
Emily Prentiss: That's being a good friend.
Aaron Hotchner: You offered me parenting advice.
Emily Prentiss: Okay, so maybe I have been working a little bit harder to regain people's trust. Is that such a bad thing?
Aaron Hotchner: No. It only is if you use it to avoid dealing with what you went through.
Emily Prentiss: But I'm not. I chose to come back here. Why? Because I care about the people I work with? Yes. But also because it's clean. I know who the good guys and the bad guys are. I don't have to worry about screwing someone over to make a case.
Aaron Hotchner: Okay, I want you to make a deal with me. You're gonna go weeks, months even, feeling fine. And then you're gonna have a bad day. Just let me know when you do
Emily Prentiss: And that's it?
Aaron Hotchner: That's it.
Emily Prentiss: Deal.
Aaron Hotchner: Sergio?
Emily Prentiss: He is the perfect man. He doesn't hog the covers, and he poops in a box.
- ConnectionsReferences Charade (1954)
On the other hand, there are a few clunkers in the season, such as "I Love You Tommy Brown" and "There's No Place Like Home". "Unknown Subject" is not quite outstanding but it's a long way from being one of the clunkers. For 'Criminal Minds', "Unknown Subject" is a pretty unique episode, with the viewer not knowing the identity of the villain and also the victim until late into the episode and the victim taking revenge on the villain, which is a neat change and am struggling to think of an episode before that does this. No other episode has included the importance of piano ballads either.
'Criminal Minds' has made many attempts at trying something different, and effectiveness has varied wildly. "Unknown Subject" is one of the more successful attempts, executing an already intriguing story with many twists and turns and with a great atmosphere, along with doing things rarely done before and doing them neatly. Especially when compared to "There's No Place Like Home" from the same season, which also tried a change of pace but the results just came off strange and ridiculous.
Not everything works. The biggest and only real disappointment is that there isn't enough of the team dynamic or the little character moments within the team that are such a large part of the show's appeal, and characters feel underused or side-lined like Rossi (barely remember his contribution to the episode), Morgan and Reid. Generally Season 7 did rush Prentiss' returning to work, the team's initial reactions and how she's dealt with it, but "Unknown Subject" provided closure in a way and satisfyingly and it's actually made clear in the writing and Paget Brewster's acting that she was and is haunted by the trauma. Loved the scene between her and Hotch, but was a little turned off by her at times uncharacteristic lack of professionalism (such as disclosing very personal details with the rape victim).
However, the episode looks great, and the music especially the melancholic use of the piano is hauntingly atmospheric. The script is tight and thought-provoking with some intriguing profiling, and the story is intriguingly told, with neat twists and turns and good suspense and emotional impact. The acting is very good, with Paget Brewster particularly noteworthy of the lead performances while Dina Meyer gives one of the season's finest supporting turns as a character that despite her vengeful side is very easy to sympathise with and we understand her actions, especially with a villain as repellent as the one here.
All in all, maybe not the best episode of Season 7 but the most different episode of the season ("Heathridge Manor" is also unique in its creepiness, but "Unknown Subject" had more of what had not been done before on the show) and an example of different being done well. For me, it's one of the season's better-faring episodes though with some reservations. 8/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Oct 30, 2016
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD