Proof (28 Sep. 2011)

The team travels to Durant, Oklahoma, where two females - both low risk in their late teens, long blond hair and blue eyes - were found sexually assaulted then murdered within a three day ... See full summary »

Director:

Karen Gaviola

Writers:

Jeff Davis (creator), Janine Sherman Barrois

Stars:

Joe Mantegna, Paget Brewster, Shemar Moore

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Joe Mantegna	...	David Rossi
Paget Brewster	...	Emily Prentiss
Shemar Moore	...	Derek Morgan
Matthew Gray Gubler	...	Dr. Spencer Reid
A.J. Cook	...	Jennifer Jareau
Kirsten Vangsness	...	Penelope Garcia
Thomas Gibson	...	Aaron Hotchner
Andy Milder	...	Cy Bradstone
David Starzyk	...	Matt Bradstone
Tracy Middendorf	...	Lyla Bradstone
Johanna Braddy	...	Tammy Bradstone
Nawal Bengholam	...	Medical Examiner
Kinna McInroe	...	Gwen
Peg London	...	Mrs. Elcott
Doug Morency	...	Mr. Elcott

Storyline

The team travels to Durant, Oklahoma, where two females - both low risk in their late teens, long blond hair and blue eyes - were found sexually assaulted then murdered within a three day span. Other similarities between the two murders are that the body dump sites are public, the victims were not wearing their own clothes but rather 1980's vintage clothing, and that the killer used sulfuric acid to blind the victims. From this evidence, the team believes the unsub is homeless, and is using the acid as a measure of power. They also know that the victims are surrogates for who the unsub will actually target, she probably someone he knew from the 1980's. When another young woman named Tammy Bradstone goes missing, she who fits the profile, Morgan and Prentiss, in interviewing Tammy's parents, believe they have uncovered the unsub's identity and who his real target is. They just have to use that information to find a hopefully still alive Tammy. Meanwhile, Reid is angry at those who knew...

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Plot Keywords:

tied up while barefoot | tied feet

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

28 September 2011 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mark Gordon Company, The, CBS Television Studios, ABC Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

43 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the end of the episode, "Mambo Italiano" by Dean Martin is playing in the background. Joe Mantegna played Dean Martin in the movie The Rat Pack.

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Goofs

On the cabinet in the bedroom at Cy's brother's house, where he takes Lyla's underwear, there is a photo-frame with 3 pictures. When Lyla comes in the room, there is different photo-frame with only 2 pictures, and it's also another color.

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Quotes

[the team is still in shock Prentiss is alive]
David Rossi: How's Reid?
Aaron Hotchner: He's angry and frustrated. I'm surprised everybody isn't.
David Rossi: Ah, some of us had an inkling.
[Hotch gives Rossi a surprised look]
David Rossi: What? I'm good at what I do.

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Connections

References Iron Chef (1993)

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Soundtracks

"Mambo Italiano"
(uncredited)
Music & lyrics by Bob Merrill

User Reviews

A View from a Hole

This is great! Faith on Criminal Minds was at an all-time low after the disastrous season opener, but this seems more like something from the far superior The Closer, the absolute ruler of the Crime Procedural Drama. The Closer contains no nudity, profanity or violence unacceptable on national TV - it plays by the same rules as Criminal Minds, yet almost always comes out on top in comparison.

This time, the world of Criminal Minds seems more like the world of The Closer: a complex mixture of endless shades of gray, multiple viewpoints and not just black and white, right and wrong. Also, the repercussions of Prentiss' return are now allowed to play out - something that was crucially lacking from the "All Is Well" spirited season opener.

Normally, it would be necessary to give spoilers in order to point out the flaws, but not here: The plot and unsub-of-the-week are both layered, complex and surprising. More importantly, everything holds up in the end. Most importantly, the disturbing atmosphere established in the opening refuses to dissipate over the course of the episode and for once, not everything ends up neatly tied up in a pretty package. The unsub's methodology has a progression similar to John Doe's in SE7EN, yet is different. The unsub is more human than ever before and harder to simply brand as "a psycho" or a sociopath. You might even feel sympathy for them. *This* will linger in the memory for a long time.

Without the damage to the overall credibility to Criminal Minds that the Reaper arc and the Doyle arc did to the series, this would be a 9/10. Now it's "just" an 8/10 - but that is still great!