Thursday, March 11, 2010

Mrs. Amanda Recaps CRIMINAL MINDS (Episode 5x17 "A Solitary Man")

Before we get to this episode’s recap, here are some casting notes from my sister Erica (one of the show’s Casting Associates – more from her here and here):


This one is co-written by Kim Harrison, who is our showrunner's assistant. One of the best things about working on this show is that EVERYONE is treated with a great amount of respect. Ed Bernero (the showrunner) has always given his writing support staff the opportunity to write an episode of the show. This season, he produced two episodes by his assistants/support staff (The other one aired a few weeks back - it was about the guy who was cutting people's throats to get back at his father, that was written by Jess Prosser, another writer's assistant). Kim has been working so hard for the past 5 years and it's so great to see her have this chance (and it's a GREAT story).

On a casting note, we have Gabrielle Carteris in this episode (yep, you read that correctly). She is such a WONDERFUL lady and a HUGE fan of the show. We were thrilled to get her, but I think SHE was even more thrilled to be on the show (And as a child of the original 90210 era, it was like a dream come true for me to get to know her :) ).
And now on to the recap:

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess…and her super-crazypants of a father.
The show opens with Mr. Hatchett (the dad – played by Bradford Tatum) sneaking into Jody's (his daughter - played by the cutie Morgan Lily) bedroom window after Mrs. Clemons (played by Melissa Culverwell) puts her to bed. She is excited to see him, and asks for a story.
This may seem like an odd way to enter your child’s bedroom, but you find out later that there’s a good reason for it…It’s because he’s a serial-killin’ weirdo.

He tells her a fairy tale about a lonely king looking for his queen – his true love. As he’s weaving this magical yarn, the scene cuts to a bar where Hatchett is watching an outgoing bartender peddle her wares. After work, her car won’t start…“luckily,” Hatchett is there to help her out. He gets the car started, but when she goes to thank him, he’s nowhere to be seen behind her hood. What’s the smart move here for her? Yep, she gets out of the car.
 
The moral of the story?  Don't go to work.

Jody asks, “And so they rode off into the night together?” Hatchett answers, “No, sweet pea. She wasn’t the right one.” FORTUNATELY FOR ALL OF THE SINGLE LADIES OUT THERE – he’s going to keep looking.  And if he doesn't find her, he tells his daughter he's "going to go to a better place."

The BAU is investigating the death of the bartender. She is the fifth woman to be found along the same stretch of highway. All of the victims have the same story – they were taken from “target-rich and offender-friendly” areas, kept for 12-24 hours, and then strangled and placed in their dump spot with their right arm palm up and their left arm palm down. There is skin DNA under their nails, along with some metal shavings. Dr. Reid rolls this information around in his mind and comes up with Edgewood, New Mexico.
 Lots of Joe in this episode - hooray! 

Meanwhile, our dungaree’d knight is selecting his new victim – a young hitchhiker.
 
She should have taken a ride from this buckaroo instead.

The kidnapped hitchhiker flicks on her Bic lighter and finds herself trapped in the back of his (tinfoil-encased?) rig. There are scratches on the wall, and a lone shoe on the floor. She starts to scream, but is interrupted by Hatchett, who shuts her up via speaker. He tells her that he wants to talk, and she agrees. He goes in to have this little chat carrying a bottle of water. She asks for a drink, and he tells her if she answers correctly, she’ll get some. He asks her, “Are you religious?” She answers yes. He then asks, “Do you want kids?” She says, “Someday.” This angers him, and he leaves.
 
Kyle and I had a similar conversation before we got married, but in a crappier truck. 

The BAU finds diesel fuel and table sugar on the victims. The local sheriff tells them that sugar absorbs diesel fuel. They figure out that he’s transporting his victims. Garcia taps into the “Highway Serial Killer Database” (seriously) and comes up with a list of local truckers.
 
It used to be the “Highway Serial Killer Excel Sheet.”

Nancy Campbell (played by Gabrielle) and her teenage daughter pull into a rest stop. Nancy goes inside to pee while her daughter waits/texts in the car. Unfortunately for them both, Hatchett has picked this location to dump Miss “Wrong Answer” Hitchhiker.
I loved this part of Maximum Overdrive.

He nabs her in the bathroom. He doesn’t take the daughter. 
This rest stop must be on the same electrical plan as the FBI.

Now the FBI is confused. Nancy doesn’t fit his usual M.O.; she is older, previously married, and has a daughter. Plus, he took her quickly – literally right after he got rid of the last woman. (Although they seem unphased about the fact that he managed to get her out to the truck without the daughter noticing.) Shemar figures out that he wants a companion, but can’t devote the necessary Starbucks-and-snuggling time since he is a trucker. While he pieces this together, Garcia connects four more women to the same killer. 

Hatchett is having breakfast with his daughter and Mrs. Clemons. When Mrs. Clemons goes to take a call, Jody asks for a story. He tells her that the king had almost given up hope of finding a queen, until he saw the perfect woman for him. His daughter is excited, and hugs him goodbye before leaving for school. Hatchett tells her, “Don’t worry, we’ll be a family real soon.” You learn that Mrs. Clemons is actually her foster mother. She tells him that Jody is going to be placed with an adoptive family because he lives out of his truck (because his house burned down and his wife died) and can’t take care of his daughter. 
 Sad. Not serial-killing sad, but sad. 

Nancy finds herself in the back of the truck. This time, Hatchett turns the lights on and forcibly offers her the water. He talks about family, and asks her what she would do if their daughter started crying. When he tries to clean her up to meet his daughter, she reminds him that she has her own child. He gets mad and leaves.
Just like Cinderella, but with more Dasani.

Back at the FBI, Garcia narrows down the list of independent trucking contractors and further sorts it by men going through custody battles with someone other than the mother. There’s only one match. Guess who?
"If he were a bit more chivalrous, he could be just like the Hells Angels, minus the prostitution rings and sex trafficking schemes."

They find another body. This one is beaten up and unceremoniously tossed out. It’s Mrs. Clemons. The BAU determines that he’s going after Jody. 

Jody arrives home to find the FBI staked in and around the house awaiting her father’s arrival. Hatchett shows up, but catches sight of the police. He puts Nancy in the front seat as a human shield. 
 Way to ruin it for everyone, dude.

Emily and JJ take Jody into her room. She shows them her art – paintings of all of her father’s stories. They decide to use the daughter to trap the father. They (miraculously) produce a CB radio and call into the truck. Jody asks her father how the story goes, and asks to see the new queen. Hatchett releases Nancy.

Jody asks her father, “Are you going to a better place now?” The answer is yes – he kills himself. 
 This works out to be a big savings to the America taxpayer.
(Btw, this guy was amazingly scary and sympathetic all at the same time.  Good work, Bradford Tatum.)

On the BAU plane, you learn that the couple who was going to adopt Jody has backed out (Um, WTF??? This was the real crime in this episode), but her aunt has come out of the woodwork and adopted her. Phew.

And they all lived contentedly after massive psychiatry bills happily ever after.

1 comment:

  1. Hi I am Prasad From INDIA Morgan lilly is just looking like my smaller sister. i would like to bring my small baby {Morgan lilly} to my home {india}

    ReplyDelete