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Criminal Minds Season 8 Episodes
Season 8 Episode Guide
24 Episodes 2012 - 2013
Episode 1
The Silencer
Wed, Sep 26, 201241 mins
The vacancy on the team due to Prentiss' departure is filled by agent and university linguistics professor Alex Blake, whose arrival affects Garcia and Strauss the most but for different reasons. The first case with this entire new team takes them to Abilene, Texas where Don Dell, a life sentence prisoner, escaped when, during his transfer to a hospital, an accident occurred. The driver and EMT died in the accident, and Don killed the guard, in the process sewing his mouth shut, which is a signature of a past killer never caught coined the Silencer. The last of the Silencer's three murders, all of middle aged brunette working class women and all which were committed in the middle of the night, occurred in 2004, when Don was incarcerated. During his entire incarceration, he never spoke a word. The team is pretty sure he is the Silencer and not a copycat. They have to figure out why silence is a key to his life, and decipher the cryptic messages he is leaving behind in the hopes of being able to determine his whereabouts before he kills again.
Episode 2
The Pact
Wed, Oct 10, 201243 mins
The team is called to southwest California when two murders occur within three hours of each other in San Diego and Los Angeles. Each victim was chained to the back of a vehicle and dragged. The first was dragged post mortem, while the second was still alive when initially dragged, which shows either two unsubs or a quick escalation in the evolution of the single unsub's psyche. The victimology is different, the first a middle class wife and mother, the second an ex-con drug addict. These differences are brought together when a third murder occurs. Garcia determines that a common factor is a connection to the violent deaths of two specific children, and people associated with those children being brought together through an online support group. They quickly identify the two unsubs and their intended fourth target. However, the nature of that fourth intended victim has an impact on how this final encounter will play out.
Episode 3
Through the Looking Glass
Wed, Oct 17, 201244 mins
The team travels to Kansas City, Kansas where three members of the upper middle class Yamada family - its parents and teen-aged daughter - are found murdered and dumped at the side of the road, with its adolescent son, Scott Yamada, still missing. The deaths are meant to look like a murder/suicide committed by the father. The bodies were reported by a drifter who disappeared shortly thereafter. Another upper middle class Kansas City area family - the Acklins - who have a similar family make-up, have also just gone missing. There are no direct ties between the two families. Although father Mike Acklin was in the middle of a lawsuit, their family life seems as perfect as the Yamadas,... at least on the surface. The team discovers that both families went to great lengths to present themselves as being perfect to the public eye while being truly dysfunctional. Uncovering other similarities between the families and finding the drifter may lead to the team discovering motive, if the Acklins were abducted (or if Mike walked them all away because of the lawsuit) and if so how, and thus a hopefully still alive Scott and the entire Acklin family. Meanwhile, Hotch receives some news from Beth which may affect their relationship.
Episode 4
God Complex
Wed, Oct 24, 201242 mins
The team is called to work on a case on the Mexico border, where two otherwise previously healthy men were found with their right leg amputated. One man did not survive the "operation" while the second, college student Tony Anders, only remembers bits and pieces in what he previously thought was a nightmare. The nature of both amputations shows the team that the unsub has some knowledge of anatomy, but it is unclear if the unsub is/was a medical doctor. When a third victim stumbles into a hospital, the team has a slightly clearer picture of the unsub's motives: he is trying to do live leg transplants, which is medically impossible, leading the team to believe the unsub has a God complex. They have to figure out how he is choosing his victims, and the reason he is trying to perfect this operation before they can find him. A secret relationship of Reid's provides a little assistance on the case, at the risk of the team discovering this relationship Reid wants kept secret and which he does not fully comprehend himself.
Episode 5
The Good Earth
Wed, Oct 31, 201242 mins
In four separate incidents, four men go missing in La Grande, Oregon, having never made it to their intended destination while driving. The latest missing man, Terry Rodgers, doesn't quite fit the victimology of the first three, all middle class healthy family men and longtime La Grande residents, whereas Rodgers is single, recently arrived in La Grande, living off the grid, and slightly out of shape, although trying to improve his health. His was the only vehicle found, off road, tire tracks from another vehicle found adjacent, and vomit, presumed to be his, next to his vehicle. Analysis of that vomit shows it was Rodgers' but with elevated levels of melatonin in his system. In other words, he was drugged. When the body of one of the men is found drowned, the team comes up with a profile of the unsub, but when a fifth person goes missing who doesn't fit the victimology (a person eventually found alive), and Reid calls his mysterious friend, the team adds an extra dimension to their unsub profile. It isn't until the other three vehicles are found that the team believes they can narrow down their search and hopefully find three men still alive.
Episode 6
The Apprenticeship
Wed, Nov 7, 201243 mins
The BAU investigates the beating and suffocation death of a young sex worker in Miami, Florida. The team gets involved because the murder followed similar type murders of puppies in the area, meaning that the unsub has evolved in his killings to humans and will most likely strike again. After the team's arrival, other similar murders occur, although each subsequent murder of sex workers evolves in major ways. Because of the locations of the bodies, the team believes they are dealing with an adolescent unsub, and because of the rapid evolution of each subsequent murder, they also believe the unsub has an accomplice, an older person who acts as a mentor. They also believe that the young unsub will eventually feel like he can strike out on his own, which means that there may be a standoff between the two, which in and of itself will not stop the killings. The BAU must find the pair before any more deaths occur.
Episode 7
The Fallen
Wed, Nov 14, 201241 mins
The BAU travels to Santa Monica, California where three bodies, burned beyond recognition, in three separate incidents, have been found at the famous pier. After the autopsies, it is learned that the victims were stabbed to death, with the burning being a cover. When a fourth victim is discovered with a slightly different mode of death, they determine that the victims were all homeless who were trying to make a living on the street. In the process of the investigation, Rossi unexpectedly runs into an old colleague among the homeless. For Rossi, finding the unsub thus becomes as much part of his regular job as it is as a means of repaying his old colleague, who refuses Rossi's help to clean up his life.
Episode 8
The Wheels on the Bus...
Wed, Nov 21, 201241 mins
In the Washington DC area, a school bus transporting twenty-four high school students home after school is commandeered. The GPS on the bus is disabled, meaning that the bus disappears without a trace along with all its passengers, which not only includes the students, but also the driver, Roy Webster, and the bus monitor, Carol Roberts. Cell phone calls to the students are unanswered. The bus and the cell phones are eventually found, but the twenty-six are nowhere to be found. Initially the BAU believes the abduction has something to do with a previous altercation between Webster and the students, which resulted in the need for the bus monitor; however, as the BAU gathers evidence on the case, Rossi notices that much of that evidence is remarkably similar to a video game called Gods of Combat, pointing to the suspicion that the unsubs are extreme gamers who are turning their love of the game into reality; so, the team delves into the psyche of gamers and the codes by which they live in the hope of finding the bus passengers still alive.
Episode 9
Magnificent Light
Wed, Nov 28, 201242 mins
The BAU heads to Seattle, Washington, where two people have been stabbed to death in their respective apartments, each crime scene having the blood-scrolled message "hear your evil see your evil." The team discovers that both victims attended a presentation by motivational speaker Barry Flynn, and the second victim, Cynthia Strobl, was one of the privileged few in the audience who was singled out by Flynn for a one-on-one session following the public presentation. They also learn that Flynn himself has gone into hiding for the day, a ritual he has on show days, and not even his manager knows where he is. Flynn becomes a suspect, until evidence shows that he too has been targeted by someone, probably the unsub. They have to figure out the connection between the unsub and Flynn to hopefully find a still alive Flynn. Meanwhile, Garcia tries to figure out why Morgan refuses to go to a swanky British Embassy gathering to honor his father's old partner.
Episode 10
The Lesson
Wed, Dec 5, 201243 mins
The BAU investigates a series of what look to be ritualistic murders in Arizona. In separate incidents, two men have been found dead, their bodies stuffed in a coffin-like box, their hair dyed black, and several of their joints dislocated. Each died from hanging, although the autopsies show that they were each hung several times. Connie Foster, the girlfriend of one of young adult male victims, is also missing and is assumed abducted by the unsub, who they believe is holding her and trying to find the perfect match for her in whatever context, hence the reason for the two deaths, as those victims weren't the right match. When a third male victim is discovered, they believe their religious ritual theory is strengthened since that third victim had, in addition, holes in his hands, like he had been crucified; but, when a father and son go missing, Reid comes up with an alternate theory that the unsub may be putting on a specific kind of show, those he is holding captive his puppets in that show. Meanwhile, Reid and his telephone girlfriend decide to meet, about which he is apprehensive. His apprehension is balanced by concern over her fear that she is being stalked.
Episode 11
Perennials
Wed, Dec 12, 201241 mins
The BAU travels to the southeastern US where two similar murders of two very different victims - beyond both being involved with extreme religions - have happened 100 miles apart in the matter of days. Both victims were killed by being chiseled over the head, were in a submissive position, had urban wildlife hair residue in their system, and had wood residue in their back teeth (signifying that they were biting on a stick), and at each crime scene there was an infestation of maggots inconsistent both with the location and the amount of decomposition, meaning that the unsub brought the maggots to the kill sites. When a third victim is discovered upon the BAU's arrival, they further learn from a witness that the unsub is calling his victims by a name other than their own, and that he is being quite open about his activities. The BAU notices that many of the murders are reminiscent of the serial killings of Russell Smith, who killed eight prostitutes in the area over a twenty year period, but who died twenty-five years ago. The BAU has to figure out the unsub's connection to Smith and tie in the significance of the maggots to find the unsub before he kills again. Meanwhile, the team learns some disturbing news about some of their past cases.
Episode 12
Zugzwang
Wed, Jan 16, 201341 mins
Reid's girlfriend, Maeve, whom he's never even met, has been kidnapped by her stalker. Reid is certain of this fact since the kidnapper uses the code words that he and Maeve had set up. He asks his colleagues for help in finding her. They cannot do so officially but do so in their personal time. Reid himself is in an odd situation. He can be the most help due to the thousands of hours they had talked and really gotten to know each other, but in his emotional state of being in love with her, he cannot focus. As such, he requires the assistance of one of his colleagues to filter through the information covered in their conversations. They quickly discover Maeve's full identity and, from such discovery, information about her which Reid did not know (and perhaps did not want to know). They also quickly discover the identity of the kidnapper, whose profile was not their initial thought. They have to understand the true nature of the kidnapper's motivations to hopefully find Maeve still alive, a motivation that Reid may factor into.
Episode 13
Magnum Opus
Wed, Jan 23, 201342 mins
Two weeks after the fact, Reid is still reeling over the murder of his girlfriend, Dr. Maeve Donovan, by her stalker. His friends try to reach out to him, but he remains in seclusion, not talking to anyone. They have to figure out a way to bring him back to a state where he at least reaches out for help in dealing with his grief. As such, he doesn't accompany the team on their next case, that of two murders in San Francisco, California, where the seemingly unrelated victims were found in public places, wrapped in clear plastic and their bodies drained of almost all their blood while they were still alive. Early in their investigation, they find two more victims who have one more similarity: their eyelids were removed. The combination of the eyelids and the body placement of all four victims leads the team to figure out what the unsub is doing with the blood. They still have to figure out why the blood is so important to the unsub to discover who he is before he kills again.
Episode 14
All That Remains
Wed, Feb 6, 201344 mins
The team is called to Salisbury, Maryland, for their latest case of a seemingly happy family with an underlying dysfunction. Bruce Morrison is a university professor and writer on mandatory sabbatical for personal issues. He just telephoned 9-1-1 to report his two teen-aged daughters, Sarah and Katie Morrison, missing. The call was 36 hours after they disappeared. Their disappearance and the 9-1-1 call are one year to the day after he made a similar 9-1-1 call 36 hours after the fact that his wife, Judy Morrison, went missing and was never found. Many suspected Bruce of killing Judy, as she had had an affair with a colleague, Jeff Godwin, which Bruce discovered. Bruce is also an alcoholic, who over the immediate past has been in various stages of sobriety. That alcoholism is perhaps the reason he can't remember why he didn't call 9-1-1 earlier in both cases than he did. The team has to dig a little deeper into the Morrison family to discover if Bruce, Jeff Godwin (whom Bruce believes killed Judy and abducted his daughters), or someone else committed the crimes. JJ is able to provide some personal insight into the matter.
Episode 15
Broken
Wed, Feb 20, 201342 mins
The BAU travels to Austin, Texas, where three separate murders have taken place (two young women, one young man). Each was last seen at a large but different social gathering, and all were savagely beaten; however, the two women were stripped and left naked, while the first victim, the male, was re-clothed afterward. Further investigation reveals the male victim as a closeted homosexual, leading the team to believe that the unsub is a repressed homosexual who murdered the female victims when unable to perform sexually with them, murdering the male victim after feeling guilt for having had sex with him. When a fourth victim, another male, is discovered, another emerging piece of evidence is the exact same style of men's watch placed on the last two victims, both watches deliberately set at a different time from what is actual. The team has to uncover the meaning of the watches and the times to which the watches were set to discover the identity of the unsub and whom his ultimate targets are.
Episode 16
Carbon Copy
Wed, Feb 27, 201341 mins
The BAU heads to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where the Replicator, the unsub who has carried out a series of crimes replicating cases recently solved by the BAU, has murdered his latest victim. The reason why this Philadelphia murder attracts their attention is that unlike the previous three murders by the Replicator, this one took place in a city other than that of the original crimes. Garcia discovers that the flowers sent by the Replicator to JJ were purchased through a credit card whose owner lives in Philadelphia. And Strauss gets involved as she feels this case undermines the work of the team. By the time they arrive in Philadelphia, what they find that is also unique is that a second murder has taken place in Philadelphia using the same MO, which the Replicator has not yet done. Tracking down the Replicator is made all the more difficult by an uncooperative Detective Rizzo, the lead police investigator who does not like the BAU's involvement. The Philadelphia victims all being nurses and the geographical location leads the team to closed case they worked on fifteen years ago. They believe they are close to catching the Replicator until... Meanwhile, Blake and Strauss try to deal with their past antagonistic relationship in different ways.
Episode 17
The Gathering
Wed, Mar 20, 201341 mins
The BAU is disturbed by their finding that the Replicator has had such intimate access to all the team members. However, Strauss gives a directive for them to put that case aside since there are no new leads which may give them some perspective over time of who the Replicator is, and focus their attentions on their regular cases. That next case takes them to Saint Paul, Minnesota, where women have been stabbed to death, but more disturbing have had their tongues pulled out pre-mortem. They know that the tongue removal is the key to understanding the motivation of the unsub. The disparate set of women victims is seemingly chosen at random until the team discovers one common bond: that they all have a very strong on-line presence, their deaths telegraphed by stories in their own on-line blogs, messages or texts. To catch the unsub, they may have to dig a little deeper into the world of on-line chatter and who else may be sharing stories about violent deaths. Meanwhile, Kevin catches Garcia with a man who he learns she has dated, so far only casually, which makes him feel uneasy. Kevin and Garcia have to come to a decision if they can truly be friends while not being lovers.
Episode 18
Restoration
Wed, Apr 3, 201343 mins
Two men are savagely killed in the working class neighborhood of South Chicago, Illinois, Morgan's old stomping grounds, with a third victim by the time the team arrives in the area. There are no signs of sexual assault, although all victims had their pants and underwear pulled down to their ankles. There is the same written message at each crime scene, "Look Up to the Sky", which Morgan recognizes as the mantra of Carl Buford, Morgan's childhood mentor who molested young boys including him when he was a child. The team believes the unsub is one of Buford's former victims who is killing men acting as surrogates for Buford. Morgan may be the key through his personal knowledge to the team finding out who the unsub is, which may include confronting Buford himself, as well as the salvation for many of Buford's other victims, many of who, like Morgan, suppressed their victimization.
Episode 19
Pay It Forward
Wed, Apr 10, 201341 mins
The team is called to Bronson Springs, Colorado (formerly designated "City of Tomorrow" as a great community in which to live), because of the discovery there of the decapitated body of retired police deputy Charlie Figg. That in and of itself would not normally require the services of the BAU, but the fact that Charlie's dead body was found just hours after the discovery of another human head in the just-unearthed 25-year-old official Bronson Springs time capsule makes it a BAU case. That head belonged to then 23-year-old Wade Burke, who was never listed as deceased since no body was ever found and no foul play was suspected. The team quickly learns that Burke and Figg were both decapitated with the same saw, and thus probably by the same unsub. When a third decapitated victim is discovered shortly after their arrival, they determine that all the victims were hypocrites in that their private lives were contrary to their squeaky-clean public image. The team realizes that the unsub, through these murders, is also commenting on Bronson Springs' "City of Tomorrow" honor as being undeserved. But as they dig deeper, they find a further connection to a purported 25-year-old sexual assault assumed to have been committed by Burke. But no charges were ever filed against Burke, and the case file is missing. The unknown assault victim may be the key to finding the unsub.
Episode 20
Alchemy
Wed, May 1, 201342 mins
The team travels to Rapid City, South Dakota after Reid, who is suffering from insomnia, stumbles across a case. Two thirtysomething men in separate incidents were found dismembered in the area, one in Rapid City, another in a nearby native reserve. The men were also poisoned with a natural herb. Both men were also not local, they were associated with the seasonal logging industry. When a third man, Chad Dumont, goes missing, he who is also not local but a military man on furlough, the team refocuses on the non-local aspect. Ritualistic markings on the bodies also leads to the team looking into the native angle as well as the naturopathic angle. After doing further interviews, they determine that the unsub is a woman who is luring the men away using the ruse of sex. The team has to piece together all these clues to find the unsub and her motivation. Meanwhile, Rossi tries to help Reid understand the cause of and deal with his insomnia.
Episode 21
Nanny Dearest
Wed, May 8, 201343 mins
The BAU returns to a six year old active case of nannies and their charge, one pair per year, being abducted in parks up and down the California coast. The children are found alive and unharmed within 24 hours, but the nannies are eventually found dead, with the exception of one, Tara Rios, who, in 2010, managed to escape but was so traumatized by her ordeal that she remembers nothing and now refuses to assist with the case anymore. The victims were physically assaulted, burned with hot implements, and drowned in scalding water. The unsub has always made sure that the bodies were found in a Los Angeles park on May 13, that date this year being a few weeks away, the reason for the team's current work. The team is late as the unsub has struck earlier than usual this year, abducting a nanny named Gina Mendes and her charge, two year old Phoebe Payton. This abduction ends up being different than the other five in that Phoebe is not returned within 24 hours, which is all the more dangerous for her since she suffers from asthma and requires medication to control it. The team feels that Tara is still their best hope in finding the unsub, which may place them in a tenuous situation as she is still not mentally prepared to relive the ordeal, as supported by her therapist. This case ends up being a difficult one for J.J. as the mother of a young child.
Episode 22
#6
Wed, May 15, 201343 mins
Before the BAU heads off on their next case, Blake receives a surprise visit from her husband, Dr. James Blake, who was supposed to be on a his latest stint overseas with Doctors Without Borders, that stint which was supposed to be ten months in length. She eventually learns why he has made this visit home early, that reason which makes her contemplate her future with the BAU. That next case takes the team to Detroit, Michigan, where two sets of couples, in separate incidents, were found dead in the trunks of their respective vehicles. Each victim had multiple superficial stab wounds in their abdominal area, and one final fatal stab being the last wound inflicted. They also learn that the unsub kept each couple for a week before they were murdered. They also eventually surmise that the couples were abducted in some fashion using their cars, as the unsub was able to dismantle the GPS history to hide his/her tracks. Hotch goes to extreme lengths to uncover those vehicle travel histories. The case takes a turn when a subsequent murder by the unsub has only one victim, the wife of the couple, leading the team to believe that the unsub has found a surrogate for the male. They determine that that surrogate is a man named Phillip Connor. They have to find a victimology connection between the murdered couples and Phillip to discover the unsub's true motive and identity.
Episode 23
Brothers Hotchner
Wed, May 22, 201340 mins
While Hotch and Jack are in New York with visiting Beth, Hotch receives a telephone call from his estranged New York-based brother Sean, who he has not heard from in four years. Now working as a bartender in a club, Sean wants Hotch's help in a death that occurred at the club, where the woman in question quickly bled out through her eyes, mouth and nose just before her death. Hotch convinces the team that this death is the basis for a case when Sean tells him that his own girlfriend recently died the same way. The team quickly learns that these two deaths are not the only ones, most to hit drug users in clubs, but what confounds the team are the few victims, such as Sean's girlfriend, who were non-drug users. The drug found in each of the victim's systems is Ecstasy. They later learn that the form of the drug that killed the victims was a more lethal variety that had not yet been known to have hit the US. They have to find the source of the drug and how it was administered to such a diverse group of people to find the unsub. They believe the focus of the case is the Edinburgh, the club where Sean works. As such, Sean and his colleagues are considered suspects. Through it all, Hotch examines his relationship to Sean and how their lives have diverged when they were children, when Hotch was considered the troubled child and Sean the good one.
Episode 24
The Replicator
Wed, May 22, 201343 mins
Immediately following the Ecstasy case in New York City, the Replicator hacks into Garcia's computer system, on which he posts photographs of each of the team members in New York and his "Zugzwang" calling card. Although he has taunted most of the team members individually in the past, he seems to focus his attention on one team member while in New York. That focus, another calling card left by the Replicator in what he believes is from a past case and that he seems to have easy access to almost anywhere the team has access, leads to the team believing he works within the bureau. Looking at what the Replicator has done up to this point in time, they also believe the motive for his actions has something to do with what was the feud between Blake and Strauss. Even if the team does determine the identity of the Replicator, they have to tread carefully as the Replicator has thus far been able to manipulate the team into what he has wanted them to do, and his final end move may take place before they can find him.
