"Riding the Lightning"
Directed by Chris Long
Written by Simon Mirren & Andrew Wilder
Written by Simon Mirren & Andrew Wilder
Gideon: "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." - Genesis 9:6
The BAU go to interview a married couple of serial killers shortly before their execution. They figure out that the wife did not in fact kill their son even though she confessed to the murder — because he is not dead. Even so, she chooses death over ruining her son's life by letting him know who his father was.
This episode provides examples of:
- Abusive Parents:
- Dawes's misogyny stems from being abused by his mother when he was growing up.
- Sarah Jean's father was harsh, neglectful, and physically abused her mother.
- Alone with the Psycho: The BAU quickly figure out that Dawes had to be alone with his victims to fulfill his fantasies.
- Artistic License – Law: For an FBI team to know for a fact that a convict is innocent and yet let her be executed, even if she asks for it? There is no way that's legal.
- The Atoner: Sarah Jean, the wife of the serial killing couple.
- Domestic Abuse:
- Jacob Dawes to Sarah Jean. A manipulative psychopath who craves power and control; sees her and their son as possessions he can dispose of; and abducts teenage girls to torture, murder, and rape in his workshop. He even takes delight in the idea that Sarah Jean will be executed along with him.
- A comment from Sarah Jean's mother suggests that her father was similarly abusive to her.
- Friendly Address Privileges: When JJ enters the interrogation room:Jacob: Oooh! Who are you?
JJ: My friends call me JJ...
Jacob: Well... hello, JJ!
JJ: You're not my friend. You can call me Jennifer. - Good All Along: Sarah Jean was dubbed "the Ice Queen" during her trial and assumed to be as guilty as her husband, but she was actually just another victim of his.
- Go Out with a Smile: Sarah Jean, who dies content in the knowledge that her son is safe.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Sarah Jean willingly walks to her execution for a crime she didn't commit because she thinks it is the best way to protect her son and give him a normal life. She even refuses to meet him before her death just so he is not disturbed by learning who are his real parents.
- How We Got Here: The episode begins with Gideon attending a cello concert. The ending reveals that it is actually taking place after the main plot of the episode, and that the cello player is the death row inmates's biological son.
- Let Off by the Detective: Inverted, the BAU let a woman be executed for a crime they know her to be innocent of.
- Little "No": Dawes hisses one through his teeth when Hotch shows him a picture of his still living son, as he realizes this means Sarah Jean isn't going to Hell with him.
- Martyr Without a Cause: Subverted with Sarah Jean, who allows herself to be executed for the murder of a still-alive person, and in fact insists on it. As far as she's concerned, her "cause" is to keep her son in the dark about who his biological parents were, which assumes a lot about him never finding out through his adoptive parents or his own research.
- Miscarriage of Justice: Sarah Jean is executed and remembered as a child killer and a serial killer on the same level as her husband, despite being actually innocent of the first and having worked to put a stop to the second. Though, this is exactly what she wants.
- Monster Fangirl: Jacob Dawes has a horde of fangirls who call themselves "The Brides of Jacob" and deliberately dress up as his victims.
- Never Found the Body: Sarah Jean claimed to have killed her son and disposed of the body. She was sentenced to death for it, even though no trace of the child was ever found.
- Not So Stoic: The last expression we see on Dawes's face is one of absolute fury as he sees a picture of his very much not murdered son.
- Offing the Offspring: When the police came knocking, Sarah Jean's husband told her to kill their child, claiming that he would be a liability to their escape.
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Sarah Jean handed her son to her employers so they would raise him as their son, and then claimed she had indeed killed him and disposed of the body. He is now grown into an adult, completely unaware of his origin or the fact that his mother was executed for his "murder".
- Ripped from the Headlines: The serial killing couple was inspired by real examples like the Wests and the Gallegos.
- Title Drop: Dawes yells to Sarah Jean that they're about to "ride the lightning" when they're getting ready for the electric chair.
- Together in Death: Dawes had Sarah Jean kill their son so that she would go to Hell with him. Well, at least he thought she killed their son. She gave him up for adoption instead.
- Visible Victimology: Dawes has a thing for blonde women (like his wife, Sarah Jean). His obsessive fans even dye their hair blonde in shows of devotion to him.
- Gideon: Albert Pine said, "What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal."
