Lo-Fi
Directed by Glenn Kershaw
Written by Chris Mundy
UnSubs kill people on subway stations in New York. The police and the BAU think it's one guy at first, but with witnesses describing him as different races and his MO varying between what the BAU calls "organized" and "disorganized", and differences in height, they realize it has to be several. Part 1 of 2.Written by Chris Mundy
Hotchner: Voltaire said, "The man visited by ecstasies and visions, who takes dreams for realities, is an enthusiast. The man who supports his madness with murder is a fanatic."
Tropes in this episode:
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with most of the team getting in different but very similar looking black SUVs, followed by a shot of one of them exploding.
- Continuity Snarl: Prentiss pretty much says Hotch slept with Joyner a few years back, but he is supposed to have been with Haley since high school. However, it's never actually confirmed, so it's likely just an incorrect assumption based on the Unresolved Sexual Tension.
- Double Standard: Discussed. Will is uncomfortable with JJ being on a case like this while she is pregnant. She asks him if he plans on quitting his job as a policeman, pointing out that they're both going to be parents.
- Internal Reveal: JJ tells the team that she is pregnant, which the viewer knew since The Crossing.
- Long-Distance Relationship: Now that they're having a baby, JJ and Detective LaMontagne have to figure out how they handle him being from New Orleans and her having a job where she has to travel a lot. This causes some friction between them, as she is called away to New York just as they were about to have a free weekend to pick out cribs. They seem to have made up by the end of the episode, though.
- New Old Flame: We're introduced to Kate Joyner, an old friend of Hotch's who he is heavily implied to have been in a relationship with. There is some light flirting, and as Hotch is divorced now, it could happen.
- Ripped from the Headlines: As Reid points out, this case is very similar to the Son of Sam murders.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: In-Universe, JJ points out how similar Kate Joyner looks to Hotch's ex-wife Haley.
- Tarot Motifs: The UnSub leaves a tarot Death card on one of his victims. Subverted, as Hotch points out the Death card does not really signify death, so the UnSub can't know tarot too well, but they think he could be invoking the DC sniper, who left that card as well.
- Western Terrorists: The villains of the episode.
