S6E7 - “The Middle Man”
We open on a girl named Meredith running through a cornfield in Indiana, pursued by men driving a big truck. The truck has these overhead lights that illuminate the cornfield, and we can hear the voices of the men hooting and hollering and having a blast. Meredith ducks out of sight and hides by some corn husks. The men stop the truck and get out, and it’s clear there are at least two of them, because one, the alpha, if you will, tells the others to “fan out”. Meredith is eventually caught, and we see three unsubs, a pack, all wearing burlap sacks covering their heads. Meredith is begging for her life, and one of the pack goes: “Let me know when you’re finished”.
Cut to BAU headquarters in Quantico, VA. Garcia has gone paperless and has new ipads for everyone, but Reid. Apparently, Reid still gets to use paper files because he is a Luddite. Hotch is like, this is great, but where did you get the funding from? And Garcia says: “I did a thing” and he’s like “You did a thing?” And Garcia goes: “Let’s not talk about the thing.”
Instead, they’re gonna talk about the murder of three Indiana girls. The transition Garcia uses is: “It’s harvest season in Indiana, and farmers are finding more than corn in their fields.” We learn about Meredith Joy, Kimberly Jukes, and Amanda Frye have all been found dead in, you guessed it- corn fields. All three women were exotic dancers living in different counties, but their bodies were found in Johnson County, Indiana. Each had been raped, beaten, and strangled to death. Stephanie Wilson was abducted last night from a place called Club Prowl, she finished her shift at midnight but never made it home to her two-year-old daughter.
My girl Meredith put up a fight, and two DNA samples were found under her fingernails, clueing the BAU into the fact that they are at least looking at a team of offenders. ALSO- the unsubs are using a condom, indicating that at least one of them has a record. They don’t realize that they’re looking for a pack yet.
Cut to Stephanie Wilson. She’s been blindfolded and handcuffed to a stripper pole. We see one of the unsubs, the pack leader, wake her up and tell her to get up and start dancing. We also see Wendell Bray from Bones? He’s the second in command? And I’m like??? He’s not an unsub. He’s a sweet boy! That’s Wendell Bray from Bones wearing eyeshadow to show that he’s edgy. My man is a great actor, but he looks like a boy scout. He looks like the kind of guy who stops to help little old ladies across the street. He looks like the kind of guy who never shoplifted ever in his life. What I’m saying is - He looks like the kind of guy who wants you to cum first. They were like- what on Earth can we do to make him look like a bad boy? Oh, I know! Let’s give him eye shadow and make him pout a lot. That’ll fool them. There’s also a younger kid named Scott who is definitely the underdog of the group. Wendell drugs Stephanie and makes her dance. Vibes are very “It’s a party”.
The opening quote is: “The herd seek out the great, not for their sake, but for their influence. And the great welcome them out of vanity, not out of need.” Guess who said that? Can’t guess? It was Napolean Bonapart.
On the BAU private jet, Morgan points out the patterns in the cornfields, indicating that the women were likely “let go” and then chased repeatedly. Rossi says: “Prostitutes and strippers usually make easy targets. Maybe they need to up the challenge.” And I know, what you’re thinking. We’re in for another episode of shitting on both people who are exotic dancers and people who engage in sex work. But actually, this is one of the only unchallenged remarks said in this episode regarding both sex workers and strippers. Obviously Rossi you’re in timeout for saying this. Hopefully, you can redeem yourself at some point in this episode. But also shame on everyone else in the private jet that they are flying and wasting tax payer’s money, for not rebuffing him.
Also, Garcia uses the phrase “face timing” and I got a little whiplash from it.
Cut to Indiana PD. We meet Sherriff Jeff Salters, who, just for the record, is trash. He starts out strong by yelling at one of his people for talking to a reporter which, to be fair, is warranted. He tells Hotch that Stephanie Wilson’s father has arrived and then he says: “You know how many strippers and prostitutes I saw get beaten up and raped when I worked the city? Sometimes it’s like they’re asking for it.”
Now, an earlier season of Criminal Minds may have let this unwarranted comment drop without rebuttal. But not season 6 of Criminal Minds! But we’re older now. We’ve matured. Except for Rossi. Rossi is still in time-out. Hotch looks straight at Sherriff Salters and says: “Nobody asks for this, sheriff. These women are victims of heinous crimes. I won’t have you judging them in front of their families.” And then Hotch puts Sherriff Salters in detention and says: “I’m gonna speak to Stephanie Wilson’s father alone.”
Cut to a bar- Wendell is the bartender. His name in the episode is Chris, but I’m gonna call him Wendell. Just as a news recording plays, Underdog Scott shows up and is freaking out. Now, this episode is gonna try to pain Scott in a more favorable light than the other two unsubs, he even has that Stranger Things bowl cut. But guys, he’s the worst one, because he is oblivious! Scott is pissed at Wendell and goes: “Chase ‘em around, have some fun with them, they won’t remember a thing, that’s what you told me!”
First of all. Scotty Boy. “Chase ‘em around, have some fun with them”??? It’s like that meme “I can forgive drugging and raping girls, but I draw the line at murder.” Okay, Bowl Cut. Also, it’s a plaid alert. Scott is wearing plaid. But I’m pissed off. So I’ll ring the bell, but it’s more of a necessity than a personal choice. Anyways, Wendell tells Scott he had no idea that the girls would be killed.
Cut back to Indiana PD. We meet Stephanie Wilson’s father who is played by J Grant Albrecht. He is an actor who uses a wheelchair and/or a cane, and we get to see him acting his heart out in this great scene with Hotch. Not only are we getting visibility for wheelchair users, but Stephanie’s father recognizes that his daughter is an adult who can make her own decisions in life. He’s currently caring for his granddaughter Amy, who is very cute.
Cut to a strip club. Prentis and Reid talk to a stripper named Tara Dice. Prentis immediately correlates stripping with sex worker, and Miss Dice has to set her straight. Prentis asks what it would take for Tara to go home with someone. And Tara is like, I have a boyfriend. And Reid goes: “Does he know that you work here?” Tara says: “Yeah, duh, that’s how we met. He doesn’t have a problem with it, do you?” Reid, sputtering says: “No, no, not at all. I’m from Las Vegas.” Reid is also in timeout.
Tara Dice tells Prentis and Reid about two guys who got private dances. It’s a booth set up, but it’s somewhat private. So although the person getting the dance can see the rest of the room, he wouldn’t be able to see his partner in the booth next to him. So now they think there may be someone else involved. They also clock that Stephanie was abducted on theme night, and Prentis suggests the unsubs picked it specifically because the club would be popping and the two men would blend in more easily.
Cut back to the pack lair. The pack members confront the pack leader, asking if he really did kill those girls. And Michael is like- “Yeah. I totally did.” And they go back and forth about the semantics of who did what and how bad it is. Wendell is like “We just had sex with those girls, we didn’t kill them” and Michael goes: “First of all- the jury is not gonna call it sex, they’re gonna call it rape!”
The BAU determine that all of the girls were abducted during themed nights when the clubs were packed so that the unsubs would not be easily identified. Reid also watches a lot of footage of private dances. He sees that one of the men in the booths is obviously communicating with someone else in the club. So now they are positive that they’re looking for a pack. Prentis says: “They would look to the pack leader to choose the target.”
Back with the pack- Michael and Wendell discuss Scott’s loyalty. Wendell tells Michael that Scott won’t go to the police, but Michael has begun to get paranoid and he’s concerned about Scott’s loyalty. We cut immediately to a scene of Scott bringing Stephanie breakfast. Just to be clear, this is the woman he abducted, drugged and raped, and he’s bringing her “breakfast”. Criminal Minds is really trying to get us to be sympathetic toward him, but it’s not happening. He takes off Stephanie’s blindfold and she begs for her life. She’s like- I don’t want breakfast, I want to live! This little tet-a-tet is cut short by the return of the two other pack members, and Michael is pissed!
Hotch, Rossi and Sherriff Salter decide that because the pack chose themed nights to go to the strip club, they must be college students.
PROFILE
The BAU believes the men they are looking for are college students, that’s why the killings coincided with the beginning of the fall semester.
This means the unsubs are most likely in their late teens to mid-20s, but police shouldn’t rule out older students who transferred in or enlisted in the military right out of high school.
The BAU is canvasing colleges in the area.
College students are impressionable kids eager to fit in and find their place in the world. This environment is conducive to the creation of a pack.
In a typical pack, not all members are created equally.
There will be a dominant one, an alpha personality who is most likely the oldest member of the group.
The BAU believes he could be from out of state and has likely committed similar crimes before.
The lieutenant will be fiercely loyal to the pack leader, the alpha demands this.
He probably comes from a broken home where he felt a loss the dominant was able to fill.
Finally, there is the follower, the newest member of the pack.
He hasn’t cemented his loyalty to the alpha when he’s already starting to question his role in the group.
It’s unlikely this member is privy to the pack leader’s ultimate agenda.
It won’t be long before the dominant realizes the low man is a liability. The BAU needs to find this man before the pack eliminates him.
The BAU plans to drive a wedge in the pack, by turning up the pressure on the newest member of the pack’s group. The police amp up patrols and place armed officers at local area colleges, one of which is the school that the pack attends. Scotty Boy sees the armed officers and is like “I’m out”. Later that night, Wendell drives Scotty Boy out to a cornfield. Wendell thinks the plan is to just scare Scotty, but when they show up at the cornfield, Michael tells Wendell to kill Scotty Boy. And at first Wendell’s like, naw, bro, I’m good. But then Michael is like “pretty please” and Wendell is like, well- I’m already out here. So Wendell kills Scotty Boy.
Back at Indiana headquarters, Garcia has expanded her search for similar crimes nationwide and has found a hit. There’s a DNA match in Louisiana, but the DNA only matches one of the current unsubs. The BAU believes this to be the alpha. There was additional DNA found at the crime scenes in Louisiana, meaning that the alpha had previous partners that he disposed of before moving to Indiana.
The next day, some poor farmer rolls up on Scotty Boy’s dead body in his tractor. Morgan, Reid, and shitty Detective Salters show up at the latest crime scene, and they quickly determine that the pack has disposed of its weakest link. They discuss that the pack is devolving, which, Reid is acting like it’s a shock, but according to their profile, this was exactly what they determined would happen. Reid also points out that this crime scene was three counties away from the previous crime scenes, and Morgan and Sherriff Salters argue about why the unsubs have changed their dump sites. TLDR- at least one unsub is connected to the investigation.
We cut to Michael’s house aka the Unsub lair, and Wendell is going through it. We don’t feel bad because he’s The Worst. But it is character development. Wendell calls the police station and asks to speak to Sherriff Salters, but ultimately hangs up before giving away any information. However, Alpha Michael is pissed anyways.
Garcia calls and asks Hotch to speak to the members of the team alone. They go into a conference room at Indiana PD, and Garcia tells the BAU that Sherriff Salter’s son Chris went to the same college as Scott and had a sealed juvenile record. Hotch is like “unseal it” and Garcia goes “I already did that. And it’s blank.” Clearly, Sherriff Salters has been covering up for his son Chris, and since we spent all that time with Wendell, we know that Chris is the unsub. I now realize how confusing I have made this recap by referring to Chris as Wendell. But they’re the same person.
Hotch immediately goes to Sherriff Salters and confronts him. He tells Sherriff Salters that the BAU believes Wendell is an unsub. I really like this scene, because Hotch says some choice things. Hotch is STEAMED. Sherriff Salters asks Hotch if he’s a father and Hotch is like yes I am. And Sherriff Salters goes “Then you understand.” And Hotch goes- “I understand that if you run your home the way you run your department, then you bully your family the way you bully your officers.” I’ll put a clip in, It’s so good.
The BAU now has to figure out who the dominant alpha pack leader guy is. Garcia realizes the unsub is Michael Kosina of Louisiana. Sherriff Salters goes: “I know him. He caused Chris’ bar fight!” And the BAU is like “let’s go to his house” and I’m like “???? He caused Chris’ bar fight??” Sherriff Salters is going to try to talk his son off a ledge, but Hotch is like, just in case it doesn’t work, Prentis be ready to step in because you’re a woman and they HATE women.
Back at Michael’s house, Michael and Wendell are on the move with Stephanie. They’re about to leave the house when the cops and BAU show up. Michael holds Stephanie at gunpoint and Wendell also draws a gun and points it at his father. Sherriff Salters immediately starts yelling at his son and telling him to drop his weapon, and as everybody predicted, it doesn’t work. Prentis goes “I’m holstering my weapon. I just wanna talk” and Michael goes “that’s what they all say” ????
Prentis then starts shit talking Michael and being like “nobody cares about you Michael” and Michael goes “you call yourself a negotiator???” Prentis then tells Wendell that he’s Michael’s sloppy seconds. Michael killed his last team in Louisiana, and Wendell is next. Wendell gets all offended and is like “Michael, were you really gonna kill me?”
Michael pulls a gun on Wendell, and the BAU and cops fire a million bullets at him. Luckily Stephanie is okay, they didn’t really seem to be worried about shooting her accidentally. After Michael dies, Wendell points his gun at himself, and Sherriff Salters shoots his son in the arm to prevent him from killing himself. But it’s a happy ending because Stephanie Wilson gets to reunite with her father and little girl.
Later, back at Indiana PD, Hotch and Sherriff Salters have a little debrief about the situation. I really like this scene, and I’m gonna put a big clip of it in here. Hotch tells Sherriff Salters that it’s okay to be grumpy at work, but when you get home, you have to be fun Daddy.
Rating Criteria:
Criminal/Serial Killer: 13/20
Character development/ character arcs: 10/20
Forensics/Context: 5/20
Script writing: 17/20
Background characters: 17/20
Overall: 62/100