Legacy
Directed by Glenn Kershaw
Written by Edward Allen Bernero & Andrew Wilder
Written by Edward Allen Bernero & Andrew Wilder
Hotchner: "Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity, nothing exceeds the criticisms made of the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed." Herman Melville.
An UnSub feels the best way he could serve society is to get homeless people off the street — by murdering them with a cremation oven.
Tropes present in this episode:
- Agony of the Feet: The first thing the Victim of the Week suffers from thanks to the UnSub are cuts to her feet by broken glass.
- Chick Magnet: Morgan and Reid both display this in full force in this episode, as the former flirts with a homeless woman to convince her to be careful, while Hotch states that Reid was propositioned by every prostitute they questioned.
- Defiant to the End: When Maggie thought that she was going to die, she wasn't going to let Holcombe have the satisfaction.Maggie: Are you gonna hide your face from me? Coward. The old man was begging. Well, I'm not gonna give you that, you son of a bitch. I'm not gonna beg you for anything.
- Determinator: Despite everything she goes through, Maggie manages to keep moving forward, with most of it being because she has a daughter to take care of. She's ultimately rewarded in the end, as she survives.Maggie: His face... let me see his face...
(Morgan obliges and removes Holcombe's mask.)
Maggie: I won. - "Everybody Laughs" Ending: Granted, it's because they're watching a Charlie Chaplin movie.
- Hope Spot: Maggie makes it to the exit, only for Charles to shut the door before she could crawl out.
- I Have a Family: Maggie has a daughter and begs to be let go because she needs to take care of her.
- Jurisdiction Friction: A rare case in the series. The BAU cannot take a case unless they are requested to assist by the police. The detective that does ask for their help isn't high-ranking enough to count, and the captain doesn't think anything is happening (and is rather uncaring to the plight of the homeless in general, which the Unsub picks his victims from). Ultimately as the Unsub sent a taunting letter to the detective from across state line, the matter automatically becomes Federal, so the BAU has jurisdiction. Hotch, still wanting to avoid a fight with the local PD whom they depend on, insists they'll let them do the arrest and share any information. As evidence grows the local Captain does eventually come around.
- Kicked Upstairs: Detective McGee, who has OCD, is implied to have gotten this. He certainly believes he's only employed and a detective because the Captain was his deceased father's partner. Said Captain says he assigned McGee to skid row as it was where he'd do the "least amount of damage". Turns out he was more correct than he anticipated as McGee's obsessive nature means he noticed the disappearances everyone else was ignoring among the local homeless.
- Kill the Poor: Holcombe's MO. The BAU refer to this kind of UnSub as a "House cleaners". When cornered by the authorities, Holcombe even screams "Just let me do my job!"
- Loophole Abuse: The BAU cannot take a case unless they are requested to assist by the police. The detective that does ask for their help isn't high-ranking enough to count, and the captain doesn't think anything is happening. JJ then realizes that the taunting letter from the UnSub was mailed from one state to another. With the UnSub having crossed state lines, the case is automatically a federal matter.
- Missing White Woman Syndrome: Despite the detective's concerns, the police department doesn't look into the missing 63 people due to them being prostitutes and vagrants.
- Mood Whiplash: After seeing the UnSub prepare to kill an old man, we cut to Gideon’s office who has a Charlie Chaplin reel playing.
- Police Are Useless: At first, the police captain refuses to believe his detective over the fact that 63 vagrants have likely been targeted and systematically eliminated.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: The police Captain says he assigned McGee to skid row as it was where he'd do the "least amount of damage". Turns out he was more correct than he anticipated as McGee's obsessive nature means he noticed the disappearances everyone else was ignoring among the local homeless.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Holcombe is essentially HH Holmes, a serial killer infamous for his maze-like building in which he tortured people. Their names are similar and Holcombe's number of known victims (sixty-three) is the same as one of the streets on which Holmes's deathtrap stood (63rd). For extra bonus points, there's a theory that Holmes could have also been Jack the Ripper, which ties into Holcombe's preferred targeting of prostitutes and vagrants.
- Sadist: Holcombe’s intentions with his victims is to make them feel fear and hopelessness before he kills them. He makes them run barefoot through a dangerous maze with broken glass, vicious dogs and gas and he closes the exit door on them if they get to the end and knocks them out. He also films his victims and shows the footage to his current victims to show them what he plans to do to them.
- Wham Line:
- In-universe, the phrase "He's a housecleaner" instantly overcomes Gideon's objections to profiling the UnSub before they officially have the case.
- While JJ is perfectly polite to McGee, she clearly doesn't believe him at first. This exchange is what convinces her to take the case on:JJ: How many [missing people]?
McGee: 63.
JJ:...63 people?
- Hotchner: "Nothing is permanent in this wicked world, not even our troubles." Charles Chaplin
