Criminal Minds Season 19 Episode 7 Is an Intense Reminder That the Truth Matters

Critic’s Rating: 4.3 / 5.0

4.3

Women are crazy, right? We lash out for its own sake because we get “too emotional.”

That’s the stance for many, and it’s brought up during Criminal Minds Season 19 Episode 7.

If you missed our exclusive clip, you can see just a small snippet of how, without the truth, women look like a bunch of psychotic man-haters.

Deep down, there’s a reason. Criminal Minds Season 19 Episode 7 wasn’t afraid to highlight the issue with women not being believed and having to take matters into their own hands.

Sure, this is an extreme case, but it’s a brutal reminder that there is always something deeper going on.

Criminal Minds Gets Back to Doing What It Does Best

After three seasons of focusing so much on Voit that I felt like the writers had forgotten some members of the team existed, Criminal Minds: Evolution has finally brought the narrative back to its heart.

There has been more focus on individual characters, with Luke gaining emotional depth over two episodes due to losses, and Garcia getting a chance to shine in the previous hour.

However, at the heart of each episode has been a focus on the case of the week, bringing the entire BAU together to figure out the motivation and profile, and find the UnSub.

This hour could have been another way to tear women down. After all, it was an hour focused on how brutal women can be after they’ve been hurt.

However, the heart of the installment is one about justice.

As we start, Garcia brings up Rossi’s idea of justice — he believes UnSubs should die to get justice — but not everyone does.

And I’m with Garcia on this one. Justice isn’t death for me, although Garcia did hit low with the mention of Gideon’s killer.

In some cases, it’s making sure people suffer and hurt. In other cases, it’s the chance to get the truth out.

The latter is all Maria and Ruby wanted throughout the Criminal Minds Season 19 hour.

Sure, they did it in some of the most brutal ways possible, wanting those who hurt them to feel the pain, humiliation, and fear that they felt — that many other women have felt.

Yet, it wasn’t just about that type of justice. Maria made it clear that she wanted the evidence, the video footage of everything that happened to her.

Without it, she comes across as a “psychotic, man-hating” fury who has been scorned, but with the footage, it’s a chance to see the type of brutality men of the law were willing to commit.

Maria tried to do the right thing by going to the police, but the men who hurt her were protected by the blue line. 

Then the new sheriff was willing to look the other way, sure that Maria was just a party girl who regretted some choices.

I finished the hour and just thought to myself, “Well, of course this is how it all played out.” Despite the #MeToo movement, change hasn’t really happened.

We’re still not believed, because around 5% of reports are false. Those who are believed are blamed anyway, whether it’s because of the amount they drank or what they were wearing.

Things haven’t changed, but heaven forbid that anyone takes justice into their own hands.

It’s Garcia who is able to help save Maria and Ruby from death by cop. 

She’s the one who understands deep down how they’re feeling, and only she understands their need for justice that didn’t actually involve killing people.

With the truth out, there’s hope that change can come. 

But it’s not going to start with the sheriff resigning. He needs to stay and make some of the harder choices to create a safer place for the town.

Will this change anything in the real world, though? That’s the sad thing, because my thoughts are “probably not.”

I am grateful that Criminal Minds is willing to highlight this and offer us a look at the two women outside of the killings. 

They’re not doing it because it’s fun, but because they see no other option after exhausting the right way. And it’s something that needs to be recognized.

The Fan Removes His Mask

This whole hour offers something else: a chance for Rossi to realize that Garcia’s belief in justice is also right.

It’s interesting that everyone else’s reactions to Garcia’s decision to speak on Voit’s behalf are ignored. Clearly, they got it, as they know Garcia well.

Rossi is the one taking the Voit situation a little too personally. 

With this in mind, I’m curious about how he’s going to react the minute he finds out that Voit has had some meetings with The Fan.

Most of the hour was focused on the case of the week, but there is still a need to keep The Fan arc going.

I’ve got to admit that I was bored with the interaction, though, and I’m curious as to whether that’s how I was meant to feel.

Didn’t Voit seem a little bored throughout most of it? Like he was playing a game he knew he’d win?

It was only at the very end that my interest was piqued.

Now, I’m curious about what that picture is. Something made Voit shift uncomfortably.

The Fan now has the upper hand.

This has happened a couple of times this season. Just as I’m losing interest in the Voit era of Criminal Minds, something happens that pulls me back in.

We’ve had Lance get taken and branded, and we’ve had Voit toe the line on whether he’s still the same old Voit.

Now we have this intrigue with the picture, and I can’t tell whether Voit is going to tell Tara or Rossi anything about it or try to deal with it from the inside.

There’s not much he can do, so his only choice is to run to the FBI, but that risks the picture being leaked.

What could Voit possibly want to keep so desperately hidden from the world, considering everyone knows him as this sick psychopath?

And so, I’m pulled back in once more. 

I just hope that it doesn’t take away from the continued focus on the BAU members and the cases of the week, because they make me feel like I’m watching Criminal Minds again.

This is where we love to hear from you!
How have you found the move back to the case-of-the-week structure? What are your thoughts on The Fan and how Voit reacted? Drop your comments below, and let’s get chatting!