No Way Out (2): The Evilution of Frank

Season 2, Episode 23, Aired

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8.9
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When the prolific serial killer Frank returns and murders Gideon's girlfriend in his own apartment, he starts his own investigation. The BAU is forced to circumvent the local authorities to help Gideon find Frank.
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Fan Episode Reviews (25)

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  • Letting in the light.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Finnegan77, Feb 13, 2012
    "It's been a hard year for us, Jason." What an understatement. Season Two of Criminal Minds has seen our heroes through personal tragedies and professional trials. The killers they track seem to get cleverer, more difficult, and more disturbing with each episode. The affects they have on the profilers is cumulative, and the costs for these very compelling characters gets higher and higher. Elle flamed out. Morgan was confronted by his past. Reid was utterly changed by his ordeal. Prentiss still looks on as an outsider. Hotch tries to remain the strong rock of calm amid the scenes of carnage around them. The cases haven't just been hunt the killer/save the victim cases "the residual impact" of these cases, as Erin Strauss would say, have left wounds deep, searing wounds.

    But, not to be too clich about it, the man was right who said that without darkness, the light could not be seen. It's been a dark year punctuated by moments of brightness and camaraderie small things a smile, a shared joke, a Chaplin film, a moment of openness, a nod of understanding. And, even as we wade through the blood of Frank's victims, that is not forgotten, and the profilers take on added dimensions, and give us more reasons to care about them.

    The plotline of the ep itself was brilliant. Ed Bernero + Mandy Patinkin = some kind of wonderful. Every single shot was beautifully orchestrated, especially the rapid cuts of Gideon in the phone booth, the bathroom, remembering Frank in the diner, and leaving the florist and following Hotch's eye-flicking POV around Strauss' office. Hotch's voice-over profile of the team was a tender accompaniment to the visual scenes, and is one of those things that I can close my eyes and see again and again. Mandy is absolutely emotionally truthful in this one. How he manages to show everything from rage to terror to emptiness is beyond me. His teacher/student moments with Garcia help him get his footing back so he can crack the puzzle of Frank. The framing of Hotch and Reid as bookends of Gideon's life is also amazing. Gibson is at his best in his quiet white intensity, and Gubler is really the only one who shows his character is truly terrified about what may have happened to Gideon. And one of the most revealing moments was at the very end when Reid re-entered the bedroom to gaze down at the corpse of Frank's mother.

    No matter how many red herrings about Prentiss you pass before my eyes her insistence on calling in the MPD, wanting to give up evidence, forcefully questioning Hotch about Gideon's "capacity" at the train station I believe in her. The CM writers have done a great job fitting her into the team, giving her a role beyond Elle's and teaching her about her own weaknesses by showing her the weaknesses of others. She will be sorely tried during this political tug-of-war, but she'll prove to be faithful.

    Throw back the curtains, and let in the light. A metaphor for revealing truth the truth about Frank, the truth about Prentiss' possible role in the BAU, the truth about Hotch's position, the truth about Gideon's standoffishness with the people around him. Bernero gave us two small visual metaphors when first Hotch, and then Reid, opened curtains in this episode. Things are coming to light. Secrets. Conspiracies. Problems. Scars. As with Fisher King I, the minds behind the Minds are giving us a hint of what is to come. Are Hotch and Reid to be revealed? Or, perhaps they will be doing the revealing. But remember, the light can sometimes show us things we'd rather not see. I have a feeling we ain't seen nothing yet.moreless

  • Frank is back and he's out for revenge. His first target - Jason Gideon.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Lady_Lancaster, May 23, 2011
    Gideon's friend, Sarah, is found murdered in his apartment and naturally, Gideon himself is the main suspect until it is revealed that she is missing a rib bone and then we all know immediately that Frank is back -either that or Gideon is very good at being a copy cat killer! Gideon is missing and Frank is killing again because his beloved Jane has left him and gone to Washington in search of Gideon to tell him that Frank is behaving exactly the way it was predicted that he would. Apparently, Jane has finally realised that a sociopath cannot form proper bonds or feel true love and Frank is not a happy man.

    Ordered to stay right away from the case whilst the law hunts an innocent Gideon, Hotch and the team work secretly as they know that Frank is responsible and that they must find him (and Gideon) very soon before more carnage occurs.

    Remember Rebecca Bryant and little Tracey Bell whom Gideon saved? They are listed in his special 'Murder Book' where he keeps notes on his successes to remind him that the horrors he and the rest of the team encounter on a regular basis are worth it when some can be saved. What a pity then that Frank has stolen important sections of Gideon's book and begins to wreak havoc. Rebecca Bryant is soon dead and Tracey Bell is missing. Frank is clearly not going to allow Gideon any peace whatsoever ...

    The final ten minutes of this episode will blow your mind so I won't spoil it by writing any more. Kudos over and over again to Mandy Patinkin, Keith Carradine and Amy Madigan for being a part of a brilliant season finale and warmest congratulations to the writers and actors for their great work.

    I loved it. An amazing episode and worth watching over and over again.moreless

  • My team? Let me tell you about my team... I stand by my actions and I stand by my team, and if you think that you can find a better person for the job, good luck. - Hotchnermoreless

    10
    "Perfect"
    By bleach7, Feb 05, 2011
    This is why I fall in love with this show. My emotions are all tangled and all are visibile - sad because Gideon' love life were shattered. Hotchner's disturbed heart and mind but he was able to control everything as if nothing is happening inside him. The team is now a real team - rely on each other. I just hope that Emily will not destroy it.

  • If I need to summarise this episode,i only need 1 word,WOW

    9.4
    "Superb"
    By fly_trooper, Feb 05, 2011
    Starting from the begining,this show has made me sitting on my couch without moving.Every urge too pee,i tried to hold it.And,it really worth it.

    This episode is trully special.Frank,the psycopath who managed to escape Gideon is back.And what make his return so special is that he killed Gideon's girl and took Gideon's special book.

    When Frank killed 1 of the girl from season 2 episode 1,i was sad.I was sad because to think of it,she just escape from a crazy dad,and now being tortured by a crazier psycopath.

    The actor also is good in this particular episode.Especially Gideon,the way he talk,the way he faces reacted,you can feel how devastated he is.

    Overall,a great episode.My personal favourite,moreless

  • Review

    9.7
    "Superb"
    By cavanagh15, Feb 05, 2011
    This standalone show really does know how to do Season finales in style. To begin with - the part 2 of an episode that happened about ten episode ago was a great way to end the season. We didnt have to learn anything, we all ready knew the character well to begin with. I liked part 1 better, mainly because the ending of this episode kind of killed it for me. I thought everything pointed to a picture perfect episode right up until the end of Franks life when he kills himself. I thought the FBI would have handled that situation a lot better then they did in real life. I think if Frank had all ready had Jayne when Gideons team found his dead mother that would have been a more believeable ending to that storyline. Overall, loved the character that played Frank - having that role was the thing that made the two episodes done so well. The feel of the episode was a lot different from most and I liked that alot. The camera tricks were good and the use of flashbacks (the one of Gideon and Frank conversation stood out) were all really well done to me. Shame "The Fisher King" lady had to die - out of all the people he could of choosen he had to pick her? Lol. That woman had to endure so much in these two Season finales. The ending scene with the woman trying to get Hotchner away from his job felt a little too forced. It seemed like they wanted to have a cliffhanger so they forced on in by making it seem Emily's joining the BAU was a little something more then we were led on. Loved Hotchners profile at the end of his superior, I thought that scene was one of the best profiles the show has ever done. Overall, terrific season finale that had a couple of parts I didnt't care for at the end of the episode.moreless
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  • TRIVIA (6)

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    • Garcia has to plot out the ages of Frank's kills for Gideon. When she reads them out loud, she begins, "He killed 43 in their fifties..." However, at the moment Garcia says "43," that information had not yet appeared on her screen.

    • Rebecca Bryant, the victim saved in "The Fisher King Part 2," returns in this episode. However, she is killed by Frank, which makes her the first person to be saved in one episode and murdered in a subsequent one.

    • This episode introduced Section Chief Erin Strauss.

    • Frank and Jane are hit by a fast-moving train at Union Station. Amtrak changes locomotives at Union Station, and the trains run north on electric engines and south on diesel engines. Therefore, a train would not be traveling through the station at such a high speed.

    • Reference to the "Smithsonian Institute" in this episode should have been correctly referenced as the "Smithsonian Institution." This is the second time this error has been made, the first being in "The Big Game."

    • Gideon lives at 181 Arthur Street.

  • QUOTES (14)

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    • Sammy: Face it, buddy. You want some action? It's the roses.
      Hotchner: She's right.

    • Hotchner: (via phone while Gideon is at the florist) Jason?
      Gideon: Yeah?
      Hotchner: Button mums are something you give your mother.

    • Hotchner: My team? Let me tell you about my team. Agent Morgan fought to protect his identity from the very people who could save him. Why? Because trust has to be earned, and there are very few people he truly trusts. Reid's intellect is a shield which protects him from his emotions and, at the moment, his shield is under repair. Prentiss overcompensates because she doesn't yet feel she's a part of the team. She needn't worry. Every day, Agent Jareau fields dozens of requests for our team and every night she goes home hoping she's made the right choices. Garcia fills her office with figurines and color to remind herself to smile as the horror fills her screens and Agent Gideon in many ways is damned by his profound knowledge of others, which is why he shares so little of himself yet he pours his heart into every case we handle. I stand by my actions and I stand by my team, and if you think that you can find a better person for the job, good luck.

    • Gideon: (to the florist) Do you have a yellow flower? They're like, uh, they're little yellow flowers… They look like dandelions or like weeds - but they're not weeds… They have a little black spot in the middle, but they don't have a black spot… They're sort of round and puffy?
      Sammy: Button mums.
      Gideon: Do you have those? Can I see what those are?

    • JJ: No matter what happens this time, we don't split up. Clear?
      Reid: Crystal clear.

    • Garcia: (imagining the headlines while waiting in her car for Gideon) Gorgeous tech kitten found in lonely, dark parking lot, throat slashed ear-to-ear. Horrific. Tragic. With the very files of one of the most prolific serial killers ever. Tonight he remains at large, the blood of Quantico's finest…

    • Leopold: Agent Morgan?
      Prentiss: What the hell?
      Leopold: They say beauty can cover a multitude of sins...
      Morgan: What?
      Leopold: ...while underneath it all, we all look exactly the same.
      Morgan: That's Frank. He said that to me in the diner.
      Leopold: Give me Jane or I'll kill them all.

    • Gideon: I'm coming in.
      Hotchner: No, do that and this investigation moves inside an interrogation room and by the time the cops catch up we're going to be looking at more dead bodies. He's going to change who he goes after, he has to. We know who Frank is, we don't know the why - you help us find out the why and we'll catch him.

    • Gideon: Hotch, tell me something. Do roses say the wrong thing?
      Hotchner: What do you want to say?
      Gideon: Welcome, hi, good to see you, sorry I'm so damn late.
      Hotchner: Ah, roses say more than that.

    • Gideon: (to Garcia) Think of Frank as a living murder weapon. His genetics load the gun, his psychology aims it, and the environment pulls the trigger.

    • Rebecca: What happened?
      Frank: Your letter was so...nonspecific.
      Rebecca: But don't you...
      Frank: Were you afraid? I've never felt the feeling of...fear. Apparently, I am incapable. Tell me, Rebecca, what's it feel like...fear?

    • Morgan: (in Gideon's apartment, now a murder scene) P.D. thinks he did this?
      Hotchner: They have six witnesses who saw him running down the street covered in blood, wielding a gun.
      Morgan: OK. He was probably chasing the son of a bitch who did do this!

    • Gideon: Hey, Hotch. You're the best unit chief I know.
      Hotchner: Jason, I'm the only unit chief you know.

    • Gideon: "I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, my enemies for their good intellects." Oscar Wilde.

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