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Criminal Minds Season 9 Episodes
Season 9 Episode Guide
24 Episodes 2013 - 2014
Episode 1
The Inspiration
Wed, Sep 25, 201341 mins
Since Strauss' death, Hotch has been doing double duty. He has been asked to fill her position permanently - the only member of the team who he has told being Rossi - which he is seriously considering, if only to provide more time to spend with Jack, and to prevent an outsider from putting an unwanted administrative eye on the team. He will have time to contemplate this potential move when the team travels to Glendale, Arizona on their latest case. Two single, young women in individual cases were found in parks, each raped, shot through the heart, and placed in a praying/begging position postmortem. A third victim is found by the time they reach Glendale and a fourth shortly thereafter. Beyond the third victim being married, albeit separated from her husband, the team finds other similarities, namely that the victims were forced to eat human flesh, all from the head. The team believes that there is one single human head being used, that belonging to whoever the unsub's first victim yet to be found, and that uncovering her identity will provide necessary further clues as to the identity of the unsub.
Episode 2
The Inspired
Wed, Oct 2, 201342 mins
The team is called back to Glendale, Arizona, when it is determined that the man arrested for the praying mantis murders was the wrong person. They did not apprehend Wallace Hines as they thought, but rather Jesse Gentry, who they learn is Wallace's twin brother and was given up for adoption when he was a child. The two did not know of the other growing up. As a paralegal, Jesse has a strong legal team, headed by his boss Mark Anderson, who threatens to sue the FBI if they continue to "harass" Jesse in any way. The team knows that Jesse is involved in the case in some manner as his reappearance after all these years cannot be coincidental. They also learn that Carla Hines is not as innocent as she first appeared. In their search for Wallace and going through her house, they find that she tried to burn evidence, which they determine has to do with the twins' biological father, whose identity Carla has never divulged.
Episode 3
Final Shot
Wed, Oct 9, 201342 mins
On a lunch hour in crowded Archer Plaza in Dallas, Texas, a sniper, firing twelve shots, manages to kill six people. The BAU has to figure out if it is a random attack, a targeted attack, a terrorist attack - homegrown or foreign - or even something related to the upcoming fiftieth anniversary of the shooting death of John F. Kennedy. The six unrelated victims were killed in different parts of the plaza, the remaining six bullets splattered elsewhere throughout the plaza, leading to the team initially believing that it was a random attack by someone who was a bad shooter. But the nature of the six killed leads them ultimately to believe that the sniper was indeed an excellent shot, with the six non-fatal bullets being red herrings. They have to look at the backgrounds of the six dead to see who was the intended target or targets. Reid is able to narrow the target list to three, and most likely no more than two, the remaining victims being collateral damage. When a second sniper shooting occurs at a gas station leaving three more dead, the theory that it was a targeted hit is strengthened based on the location of the shooter in relation to the station itself. They have to find a connection between whoever the target(s) in the first shooting to whoever the target(s) in the second shooting to at least find the unsub's motivation. Even if they are able to find the connection, discovering the identity of the actual sniper may be a little more difficult.
Episode 4
To Bear Witness
Wed, Oct 16, 201341 mins
Mateo Cruz has just been introduced as the new section chief. A surprised J.J., who knows him, and Cruz seem not to want to divulge that they have a history. They don't even seem to want to let the team know that they know each other, which may be difficult to hide amongst a group of profilers. Cruz wants to accompany the team into the field on their next case, which takes them to Baltimore, Maryland, where a young John Doe was found stumbling around a warehouse district. Alive, he has ligature marks on his wrists, and drill marks in the corner of his eyes which they determine was a just performed lobotomy. He ends up paralyzed without the ability to speak, but his mental faculties seem to be in tact. Through what slow communication Morgan is able to do with him, Morgan learns that the unsub is white male that the victim did now know, and that there was a female victim as well, who is probably still captive. The team believes the unsub held him captive in one of the nearby warehouses, and that he let him go purposefully. This M.O. does not seem to match with the fact of choosing as the victim who the team believes travels in a circle where he would not be soon missed. When a further medical examination is done on the victim, they learn the purpose for letting him go: a microscopic camera was inserted in his eye, meaning that the unsub has been watching everything going on. Through this technology, the team is able to communicate to the unsub, who takes more direct measures in showing the team what he is up to. The key to finding who the unsub is still rests with identifying the victim, and tying him to a similar case that occurred recently in Berlin, Germany.
Episode 5
Route 66
Wed, Oct 23, 201342 mins
During the BAU's initial briefing for their latest case, Hotch collapses. He is rushed to the hospital suffering from complications resulting from his near fatal stabbing by George Foyet aka The Reaper. Meanwhile, the rest of the team, while concerned for his life, are urged by Rossi to go to Wichita, Kansas to work on that case of sixteen year old Samantha Wilcox who was abducted by her ex-con father, Eddie Lee Wilcox. In the process, Eddie severely beat Samantha's boyfriend. Eddie had not been in contact with his ex-wife, Samantha's mother Melody Grimes, in quite some time, she who moved with Samantha to Wichita to get away from him. In reviewing evidence, the team believes Samantha may not have plotted with her father, but was a willing participant in their getaway. She is probably unaware however of her father's most recent past, which looks to include armed robbery, mob connections and murder, from which he is probably running. They're afraid that Samantha may not survive if Eddie is pushed into a corner. Back at the hospital, Hotch is in surgery, during which time he encounters Haley and Foyet together in his thoughts, which may determine his fate on the operating table.
Episode 6
In the Blood
Wed, Oct 30, 201341 mins
During the Halloween season as Garcia prepares for a Day of the Dead celebration at her apartment for the team, the BAU is called to Provo, Utah to investigate the murder of a Jane Doe, whose dead body was crushed beyond recognition beneath a pile of boulders in a state park outside of the city. The woman, who is eventually identified as Gloria Carlyle, had deep lacerations on her arms, a burn mark on her body, and all material embellishments removed from her person. Her recent past included leaving a Utopian sect three months earlier, that sect which was involved in a similar mysterious death five years ago. The team finds another dead body shortly after their arrival, the similarities being that the victim is young, female and blond. A third victim initially confuses the team as it is a he, who was morally perverse. It is that latter issue and the similar burn mark found on his body - which the team will eventually learn is a brand - that may provide the nature of the ritual involved and the identity of the unsub.
Episode 7
Gatekeeper
Wed, Nov 6, 201341 mins
The BAU heads to Boston, Massachusetts where three men thus far have been found strangled to death in the downtown area. Each were lower middle class which generally rules out theft as the motive, and some sort of garrote was used in each strangulation. Other aspects lead the team to believe that the killings were not random but that the unsub probably didn't know each of the men personally. In interviewing family and friends of the victims, the team also learns that each victim was well liked despite having a major character flaw, those flaws which may be partly the motivation of the unsub in killing them. The team has not been able to identify the last person who would have seen the latest victim, Scotty Delfino, that person who would have been his latest one night stand. But when a fourth and fifth victim emerges, both who don't quite fit the profile, it is their indirect connection and that to Scotty Delfino that may lead the team to the identity of the unsub and the reason why he feels the need to kill. Meanwhile, Rossi is sad to hear that one of his long time haunts, a bar where he met his first wife Caroline, will probably soon close.
Episode 8
The Return
Wed, Nov 13, 201341 mins
When teenagers who were reported missing are suspected of a series of mass murders in Chicago, the BAU investigates their whereabouts to find a motive for the crimes. Also, Morgan has conflicting feelings when his girlfriend takes her job at a hospital as seriously as he takes his.
Episode 9
Strange Fruit
Wed, Nov 20, 201344 mins
While fixing a burst water main, a city works crew digs up the back yard of the home of the Johnsons - father Charles, mother Tina, and their middle aged son Lyle - upon Tina's approval. The Johnsons have lived at the house for thirty-five years. The crew finds the skeletons of two human bodies buried in the yard. The BAU takes the three members of the Johnson family in for questioning, who they believe know something about the skeletons, primarily because Lyle ran when he saw the authorities at the house. While Hotch, JJ, Morgan, Rossi and Cruz question the Johnsons individually, Lyle initially comes across as the most guilty by his animosity, however the team eventually believes his attitude is more a facade hiding other issues. Charles also demonstrates a more reserved form of animosity, he being a history buff who continually implies how he and his family, as being black, have been persecuted, this situation being no different. The identification of the two bodies and of the others which are eventually found in the yard, in addition to what Reid and Blake are able to find in the Johnson house may piece the puzzle together. Meanwhile, JJ wants to divulge to the team the fact that she and Cruz have been on special assignment, against Cruz's wants.
Episode 10
The Caller
Wed, Nov 27, 201343 mins
The BAU heads to St. Louis, Missouri where ten year old Andrew Taffert has gone missing. The reason it is a BAU case is that the Tafferts - father Malcolm Taffert and mother Lida Taffert - had been receiving prank calls from someone with a childlike voice stating "I'm gonna get you", and that blood was splattered on their front door after Andy had gone missing. Reid notices that this case is much like a fifteen year old cold case that the BAU worked on where the parents in that situation received such prank calls prior to their son being abducted and eventually found dead. The father in that case, Richard Clayvin, was always considered a suspect. As such, Malcolm is initially considered a prime suspect, especially considering his over controlling temperament. The similarity between the two cases extends to the post-abduction prank calls with the voice changing its statement to, "Did you see what I did?". But as the investigation progresses, which includes re-interviewing Richard Clayvin, the team may have to find other similarities before they can identify the unsub.
Episode 11
Bully
Wed, Dec 11, 201342 mins
While concluding a case with the team in Los Angeles, a case where she receives a minor bullet wound to the arm, Blake receives a telephone call from her father, retired Kansas City police detective Damon Miller, about the murder of a middle aged man which he believes is the latest in series of murders conducted by the same unsub. He believes this murder is tied to the murder of a pair of teens one year ago. Beyond the overkill beatings inflicted in both sets of murders, there are no ties between the two on the surface. Blake's father is able to convince KCPD to invite the BAU, which does not sit well with Blake's brother, KCPD homicide detective Scott Miller, especially as there is animosity between the siblings. Although Blake wants them to take the case, she implies that she is not looking forward to returning to Kansas City itself, where she has not been in five years, and where family demons about which she has never mentioned to the team reside. As the team works through the case, which they do determine is serial in nature and is tied to an incident at a high school years earlier, Blake will have to face those family demons, which includes dealing with her relationship with Scott, and facing the memory of the tragic deaths of both her mother and older brother, also a former police detective.
Episode 12
The Black Queen
Wed, Jan 15, 201443 mins
In 2004, the BAU traveled to San Jose, California for two reasons. One was to recruit Garcia, a hacker at the time, who was known in her circles as the Black Queen and who was given the choice of the job or prison. The second was to investigate the murders of eight prostitutes. Although he didn't fit the profile exactly, a man named Sam Russell then admitted to the eight murders, he who is now on death row at San Quentin, his execution scheduled in two weeks. However, the San Jose Police Department computer system was just hacked, and Russell's files stolen. The anonymous messages the SJPD received from the hackers are that Russell is innocent. Garcia believes the hackers are a vigilante justice group called Star Chamber, Russell who used to be a hacker himself and who Garcia knew online. Russell also now recants his admission of guilt, he stating that he was drug addled at the time, with the lead investigator, now retired Det. Bob Cooper, feeding him drugs to satisfy his habit in return for the confession. The case takes on extra dimensions when more prostitutes end up dead, which may be a red herring by Star Chamber who now have his case file and thus can mimic those previous murders, and when messages from Star Chamber go specifically to Garcia, which she recognizes as coming from her old hacking mentor and boyfriend, Shane Wyeth. Garcia's encounters with Shane about this case end up being uncomfortable for her, especially in light of the sensitivity and sexual harassment training the department went through highlighting what are deemed the inappropriate comments especially between her and Morgan.
Episode 13
The Road Home
Wed, Jan 22, 201444 mins
While the BAU looks for a vigilante killer on the loose in Cleveland, Rossi is concerned when his former Marine sergeant goes missing and heads to Los Angeles to find him. Also, the secret JJ has been keeping from the team may be catching up with her.
Episode 14
200
Wed, Feb 5, 201442 mins
Will arrives at the BAU office with news that JJ has gone missing. On JJ's directive if she ever did go missing, Will has come to inform Mat, who would "know what to do" as the two are still working on a top secret case from their joint State Department days. This news surprises the rest of the team, as they had no idea JJ and Mat even knew each other prior to him being appointed Section Chief. However, they all discover that Mat is also missing, which they fear the worst for both JJ and Mat. Hotch is able to find out some basic information about what JJ and Mat were working on - that is was an Afghanistan based mission in trying to locate Osama bin Laden - but the BAU is told by the State Department not only to mind their own business as their disappearances are a State Department matter, but that they are to cease any work in trying to find either JJ or Mat or face the consequences if they do. The team ignores this directive, but they know that they have to work clandestinely to avoid detection by the State Department. They call in reinforcements in the form of Emily, who was in contact with JJ during her State Department years, and thus may have extra insight into what JJ was working on. They quickly discover that the person who has probably kidnapped JJ and Mat is a man named Tivon Askari, who worked as a translator on Mat and JJ's crew in Afghanistan but who was discovered to be a double agent, one who went to the highest bidder. But the team not only has to find out what Askari's goal is and where he may have taken the pair, but they also have to find out something that JJ already knows about someone else in their Afghanistan crew to uncover the full details and thus JJ and Mat's location.
Episode 15
Mr. & Mrs. Anderson
Wed, Feb 19, 201441 mins
The BAU travels to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where two young women, in two separate incidents, were found dumped at the side of the highway, strangled to death. Both were semi-clad, wrapped in a shower curtain, which they later learn is commercial grade used by hotels, but neither victim was sexually assaulted. By tracking the last known whereabouts of one of the victims, they are able to trace her to a nearby motel where an unusual piece of evidence is found leading to that belief that there are two unsubs, one male and one female. On the BAU's directive, Pittsburgh PD discover that several murders can be attributed to the pair dating back to 1994, with a few breaks in time periods. But another subsequent victim not fitting the profile of any of the other victims and finding a victim of one of the past crimes who survived the attack may lead the team to the identities of the unsubs. In tracking the pair, the team may also learn how solid or fragile their actual partnership is, and if it is the latter, what they can do to work that relationship to their best advantage. Meanwhile, Morgan and Garcia share their Valentine's Day plans and problems with each other.
Episode 16
Gabby
Wed, Feb 26, 201443 mins
The BAU travels to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where four year old Gabby Hoffer has just been abducted. While her divorced mother Kate Hoffer was on a "raffle prize" Caribbean cruise with her boyfriend Rodney Baderson, she left Gabby under the care of her cousin, Sue Walsh, who is more like Kate's sister in that they grew up together after Kate's parents took Sue in as their own following the death of her own parents. A sleeping Gabby was abducted out of Sue's car parked in a gas bar parking lot late one evening as Sue made a quick stop to pick up grocery supplies. Between being abducted by strangers or someone Gabby knows, the BAU, checking both paths in their investigation, believe that the first suspect is Gabby's biological father, Doug Hoffer, a trucker and drug addict who has not seen either Gabby or Kate in over a year. The only other immediate piece of evidence is a witness seeing a dark colored minivan in the parking lot around the time of the abduction. This evidence leads to the team picking up a man by the name of Ian Little, who was Doug's old drug dealer and who Kate knows. Ian, who has second and third degree burns to his face, refuses to disclose how he received those burns, for which he did not receive medical attention, or any knowledge of Gabby. The BAU will have to uncover further ties Ian has to the family to discover Gabby's whereabouts, if it is not too late.
Episode 17
Persuasion
Wed, Mar 5, 201443 mins
The BAU travels to Las Vegas, Nevada, where the dead bodies of two young women, one killed in the last twenty-four hours, the other two weeks ago, are found outside the city in the desert. The M.O. seems to be the same, the most unusual similarity being that both drowned. Initial indication is that the most recent victim is a local, the longer deceased victim a tourist. They are eventually identified respectively as local waitress and former drug addict Frida Bancroft, and "strip-miner" (a person who steals left behind money and chips at casinos) Renee Sheffield. Believing the victims may have been working together as two of perhaps several grifters and a hobo code "2/10" near the bodies, the BAU comes to the conclusion that the unsub is from among that group, probably homeless, and is seeking revenge on people within the community who stole from him/her. Testing the water in which the victims drowned gives the BAU a starting point as to the geographical locale of the unsub, whose leadership within a cult-like group may be further rationale for the murders. Meanwhile, Reid has mixed feelings about what ends up being the reunion with his Las Vegas-based mother.
Episode 18
Rabid
Wed, Mar 12, 201443 mins
When three bodies are found with animal and human bite marks in a shallow grave near Milwaukee, the BAU has puzzling questions to answer. Meanwhile, Reid and Garcia work out for a company fitness test, but try to hide their preparation from Morgan.
Episode 19
The Edge of Winter
Wed, Mar 19, 201444 mins
Morgan is helping Daria Samsen prepare for a trial in a case where she was held captive for close to a year outside Hamilton, New York, before she was able to escape. It has been a year since that escape, the intervening time being spent first at the hospital, where she was recovering from her several physical injuries, then at a mental institution, where she has been recovering from her emotional trauma. Morgan and JJ initially questioned her a year ago when the BAU was working on the case, and he is now following up on the statements she made at that time. Many of Daria's fellow captives were tortured, continually beaten and eventually killed, with precise puncture wounds to the body made by an ice pick. Unlike the initial victims who were dumped, the latter victims were "displayed", hung like scarecrows. Daria's lead captor was a man named Joe Bachner, but based on the nature of his being and Daria's statement, the BAU knew that Joe was working with a partner, someone with OCD who was the one who made the puncture wounds. Morgan's job is to make sure there are no surprises in the courtroom. Daria ends up remembering more during this follow-up with Morgan, including how she was actually abducted by Bachner, her new statements which could change the face of the case.
Episode 20
Blood Relations
Wed, Apr 2, 201444 mins
The BAU travels to rural West Virginia, the area around Wheeling, where two men, Clark Howard and Mathias Lee, were killed in separate incidents, both by some form of barbed wire as the murder weapon. The BAU learns that the men hated each other, leading to the question of whether the second killing was done in revenge of the first. They also learn that the men's feud extends to their extended families. The feud is currently led by Cissy Howard and Malachi Lee, the respective matriarch and patriarch of the two families, the two who have not seen or talked to each other in years by choice. What concerns the BAU is that barbed wire was stolen from three local farms, meaning that at least one other person is being targeted to be killed. The feud seems to stem historically to moonshine, and the BAU believes the current feud concerns production of today's version of moonshine: meth. But when they learn what the product being fought over is, their attention turns to Caleb Howard as the possible unsub, he being the sole known black sheep of the two families. The team will have to dig deep into Cissy's background to discover the full motive of the killings.
Episode 21
What Happens in Mecklinburg...
Wed, Apr 9, 201442 mins
A series of targeted abductions near Memphis have the BAU searching for a commonality between the missing persons and a motive that will lead them to the unsub. Meanwhile, Savannah vents her frustration to Morgan about the amount of traveling he does for his job.
Episode 22
Fatal
Wed, Apr 30, 201443 mins
Victims of arsenic poisoning are found in Long Beach, California. The investigation reveals that the killer has a fascination with Greek mythology, based on handwritten death threats to the deceased and other mysterious clues. Meanwhile, Hotch is concerned about participating in Jack's third grade career day.
Episode 23
Angels
Wed, May 7, 201442 mins
As a favor to Cruz whose friend, Peter Coleman, is the lead investigating sheriff, the BAU take on as their next case the murder of prostitutes in rural/small town Texas, the latest in Briscoe County. The latest victim is Abigail Jones, who was shot execution style in the back of the head, but not before she was tortured by having deep lacerations carved into her back in a cross-hatch fashion. This M.O. mirrors the murder of another prostitute, Hannah Kelly, in a neighboring county six months earlier, and the murder of a john, Lucas Wagner, eleven months earlier. The team quickly learns that Wagner, although convicted as a john, was truly a prostitute as well. They will also learn that forensic evidence will be difficult to come by due to the general protocols of various officials in the area. Their initial suspicion is that the murders were indeed torture, or consensual S&M sessions gone wrong, and that a john nicknamed "Mack the Knife" may be involved. With subsequent victims, they come to the understanding that the lacerations are not torture but religious symbolism. Morgan also notices that some people seem to have some pertinent information, but are afraid to talk for fear of reprisal. Although they don't know who the unsub is, they have a good idea that someone trying to insert himself into the investigation can lead them to the unsub.
Episode 24
Demons
Wed, May 14, 201442 mins
In the aftermath of the shootout the authorities have with Preacher Mills, several people are down. Among the dead are Mills himself and Sheriff Coleman, and three people associated with the pool hall. Injured is Morgan. But seriously injured is Reid, whose shooting Blake blames on herself as he pushed her out of harm's way. What the BAU is able to determine is that the three pool hall victims were dead before the shooting started, which confirms their theory that Mills was being framed by the true unsub, that the unsub was at the scene among the shooters, and that Dinah Stidham is connected as the only person associated with the pool hall who was not there. When they eventually catch up with Dinah, they can see that she is scared but does know much about what is going on. The nature of how she was located leads to the team coming up with a new theory, one where they have to find a way to make Dinah talk while protect her while she is in the unusually unsafe police station, and protect Reid who the unsub will also be after.
