Plain Sight
Directed by Matt Earl Beesley
Written by Edward Allen Bernero & Andrew Wilder
Written by Edward Allen Bernero & Andrew Wilder
Gideon: French poet Jacques Rigaur said, "Don't forget that I cannot see myself, that my role is limited to being the one who looks in the mirror."
An UnSub glues his victims' eyes open and rapes them before killing them. He writes verses from a classic poem at the crime scene. The BAU profile him as feeling inadequate in his regular life.
This episode provides examples of:
- Beneath Notice: The team quickly explains that the Tommy Killer has to be white because a black person would stick out in the neighborhoods he's targeting. He turns out to be a utility man: Of course he's moving around in locked-down areas — a service call's a service call. Of course he's carrying duct tape, binding cords, etc. and is able to remove them from the scene — he needs his supplies for work. Of course he's poking around people's houses—he has to check their connections. Of course he's up on utility poles where he can peek into women's bedrooms — that's quite literally his job description.
- A Birthday, Not a Break: Part of the action takes place on Reid's twenty-fourth birthday. Part of his party is even shown at the start.
- Dies Wide Open: Part of the Unsub's signature this time around. He glues his victims' eyes open after the fact.
- Henpecked Husband: Implied in the UnSub 's case. Not explicitly shown, however.
- Red Herring: Mrs. Gordon's attacker midway through the episode. It turns out that he's not the UnSub.
- Ripped from the Headlines: The Tommy Killer is loosely based on the Boston Strangler. In his later murders he leaves messages written on lipstick, like the Lipstick Killer (supposedly) did.
- Too Clever by Half: The UnSub manages to bypass Garcia's attempt to trace his phone call, a feat which should be impossible, leading Gideon to realize he must be a phone technician.
- Gideon: Rose Kennedy once said, "Birds sing after a storm, why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?"
