Charm And Harm
Directed by Felix Enriquez Alcala
Written by Debra J Fisher, Eria Messer, & Andrew Wilder
Written by Debra J Fisher, Eria Messer, & Andrew Wilder
Gideon: The French philosopher Voltaire, wrote, "There are some that only employ words for the purpose of disguising their thoughts."
A known serial killer, Mark Gregory, escapes and kidnaps a young woman. He checks into a hotel and drowns her in the bath tub. The BAU are tasked with tracking him down. They discover that his first victim was his mother, who died when he was ten.
This episode provides examples of:
- Alas, Poor Villain: After Morgan reveals Gregory's dead, the BAU become somber as depressing music plays...Then the last shot is of Mark's father, grieving the death of his son that could've been avoided.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: How Mark gets his victims, charming them in some way.
- Damsel out of Distress: Downplayed with Mark's intended final victim. She doesn't quite escape from him on her own, but manages to put up enough of a fight that Elle and Morgan can do the rest.
- Faux Affably Evil: Mark is able to appear Affably Evil to an unassuming degree, but it's clear it's all an act.
- Freudian Excuse: The UnSub's utter hatred of his mother drives him to commit the murders.
- Henpecked Husband: It turns out that Mark's father found out that his mother was having an affair for over a year and didn't have the spine to call her out on it. Mark decided to do him a favor.
- I Have a Family: The last victim pleads with Mark like this, bringing up her two sons. Given his own relationship with his mother, it actually just upsets Mark more.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Based on Andrew Cunanan but mixed with the second spree of Ted Bundy, which also happened in Florida. For one, the UnSub targets women instead of men like Cunanan.
- Sanity Slippage: Gregory is a lot more brutal as the episode goes on. By the end, it's not clear if he knows his last intended victim isn't his adulterous mother.
- Stalker with a Crush: Gregory stalked his ex-wife for a couple of years after being married to her for 23 days.
- Wham Line: Gideon finally says what everyone's thinking:Gideon: We think Mark's first victim was his mother.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Gideon rages at the killer's father to such a degree that Reid, of all people, calls him on it and points out that the father isn't actually the killer. Gideon counters with the fact that Gregory's father protected him, even though he suspected him of killing his own mother. This is an attitude he notably lacked when it was a woman being declared guilty by inaction several episodes prior (though in fairness, he wasn't in the field at that time).
- Gideon: The author, François de La Rochefoucauld wrote, "We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others, that in the end we become disguised to ourselves."
