Sex, Birth, Death

Season 2, Episode 11, Aired
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Episode Summary

The BAU is called to investigate a series of murders of prostitutes in the nation's capital and suspects a teenager is guilty of the crimes. The case becomes complicated when a congresswoman, who about to make a speech to praise the city's lower crime rate, threatens to take away the case if SSA Hotchner calls a press conference to discuss it.moreless
9.0
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EPISODE RATING: Superb
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Fan Episode Reviews (19)

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  • Prostitutes are being murdered in Washington D.C. and the team think that they may already have a viable suspect when a young man approaches Reid in public.

    7.0
    "Good"
    By Lady_Lancaster, Oct 11, 2011 Report Abuse
    Young Nathan is a teenage boy with a problem. He has an overwhelming desire to kill prostitutes and feel their blood running through his fingers. He approaches Reid and tells him that he recently attended a lecture and asks Reid to help him but runs away before Reid can do anything constructive except draw a vague sketch of the young man who is clearly troubled.

    When the team hear that prostitutes are being murdered, usually in daylight, in Washinton D.C., Reid immediately recalls his conversation with the young man and, with the help of Garcia's computer genius, is able to find out who he is and which school he attends. After talking to the more senior members of the team, they decide that it's worth paying a visit to young Nathan whom they believe could benefit greatly from some in-patient psychiatric care. His mother is violently opposed to this but Nathan himself knows that he needs help. He does, however, insist that he has not killed any prostitutes, he just fantasises about doing so and writes grisly fiction on the subject as well.

    Meanwhile, a high-powered Congresswoman wishes to make a speech on the steps of the Capitol announcing that crime in D.C. has greatly decreased and leans on Hotch to not alert the news media to the fact that there is a serial killer on the loose in Washington. This part, I had no trouble believing wht so ever. Naturally, a poilitician can't have reality interfering with their delusions of grandeur and her treatment of the 'ladies of the night' whom she was obliged to meet in the BAU conference room was, to say the least, ignorant but again,not unexpected.

    Meanwhile, young Nathan's fantasies are getting more and more violent and he wants to stop but can he? And is he the killer at all or just wants to be?moreless

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    2 4

  • Graet episode, with many interesting dimensions! At the present time, this is rated on TV.com as the third best episode of Criminal Minds ever. I think there are many episodes that are much better than this one, even though this was still good.moreless

    10
    "Perfect"
    By amazing_race, Oct 11, 2011 Report Abuse
    This was yet another good Criminal Minds episode. This one was about a series a of murders of prostitutes in Washington D.C. The FBI believes that a high-schooler is responsible, but although they rule him out as a suspect, an aanalysis shows that this kid is lkely to kill in the future. Very eerie!

    I though the suspense in the episode was brilliant, as there was an air of mystery with the high school kid, even though we knew he wasn't the bad guy. The case in itself was not magnificent. There have been better ones, but hdad it not been for the involvement of the boy in the episode, this one would hardly be memorable.

    My favorite part of this episode was the ending. It was really well done! The lengths some future-killers will go to stop themselves from killing is astounding!

    All up, this was a very good episode of Criminal Minds. In comparison to other episodes from this season, I think it was better than its predecessor, but episodes like 'The Boogeyman' and 'North Mammon' are still better than thi s one.

    Keep it up, Criminal Minds! The quality of these episodes are very high, and I am really lookin forward to seeing more! I'd highly recommend this episode!moreless

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    4 2

  • All I have to say is YUCK.

    4.4
    "Poor"
    By angelspinknose, Apr 07, 2011 Report Abuse
    Too many stories going on during this episode. Reed trying to get the mentally disturbed kid help, what's his name not believing the new girl, the dead hookers. Too much for one episode. And come on did you have to end with the kid trying to slit his own wrists?

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    0 18

  • Review

    9.3
    "Superb"
    By cavanagh15, Mar 20, 2011 Report Abuse
    Really creepy episode, if Im being honest. I didnt care for the way that the real man who was killing the prostitutes was found, but I thought that the young boy who really wanted to kill them was a very interesting story to follow. This is the first time that the Criminal Minds team has ever done something like this and I take my hat off to them for doing what they did. They made an episode focus around a future killer. A man that walked in and out of the BAu turned to murder at the last possible moment of the episode, only to back down and try to kill himself. A very interesting storyline to follow because the boy actor who played him did so very well. His story actually took away from the main story a bit, but his story was so good that you cant really say that that was a bad thing. Criminal Minds Season Two is beginning to hit a massive stride of back to back to back to back episodes, which can only move it up to number one as far as my favorite crime dramas good. Very well put together episode.moreless

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    6 1

  • What's going on in the mind

    9.3
    "Superb"
    By Parricida, Mar 20, 2011 Report Abuse
    This episode caught me from the first moment - Reid meets a young boy in a metro who asks weird questions about case he does not know but what is happening and makes himself a suspect.

    So, that really makes this episode around Reid and his relationship with the boy. He seems to think the boy has similarities with him - he also wonders what will happen with him.

    I most say that boy was really fascinating thing in this episode - the way he got involved, wanted to be helped.. but Gideon said he will kill sooner or later..

    And I most say this episode stand out for the score.. The music really put so much strenght on the tragic end of this episode.

    Really perfect in all aspects..moreless

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    4 1
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • When Morgan and Prentiss are questioning prostitutes in an alley in Washington, a bus passes by on the street outside the alley. The bus is a Montebello, California, city bus. Edit
    • In the profiling session in the conference room, the whiteboard in the background shows a misspelling of the word "mandatory" as "manditory." Edit
    • The sketch of the unsub that Reid asks Gideon to distribute was a Matthew Gray Gubler original. Matthew is a successful artist, and displays many of his drawings, including some of his cast-mates, on his own website. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES

    • The song played at the beginning of this episode was "Where Is My Mind?" by The Pixies. The song played while Nathan is typing was "I Gotta Feeling (Just Nineteen)" by Eagles of Death Metal.

      Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES

    • Congresswoman Steyer: Well, I have talked to my people, and I understand that we have a potential serial killer targeting prostitutes in D.C.
      Hotchner: (surprised) That was awfully fast.
      Congresswoman Steyer: (smirks) I have awfully good people.

      Edit

    • Gideon: You saved his life.
      Reid: He wanted me to let him die.
      Gideon: He's sick. He needed saving.

      Edit

    • Garcia: You and me, we're hitting the town.
      Reid: No offense, Garcia, but I don't think I'd make very good company right now.
      Garcia: No, up. Up! Don't make me hurt you.

      Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Nathan: It's just the text for a graphic novel. Morgan: About killing prostitutes? Nathan: Jack the Ripper, it's a famous case. Nathan is making an understatement. In 1888, five prostitutes were murdered and mutilated in London's Whitechapel district. The killer became known as Jack the Ripper because that was how he signed some taunting letters he sent to the police. Historians have come up with many theories about the crimes and named several suspects, but the identity of the Ripper is still unknown. This is one of the most notorious unsolved crimes in history. Edit
    • Reid: This is the way the world ends. The T.S. Eliot quotes in this episode are from his 1925 poem, "The Hollow Men," verse V. Edit

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