Unfinished Business

Season 1, Episode 15, Aired
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Episode Summary

A serial killer reappears after 20 years of silence and contacts the BAU through Gideon's retired mentor, who had made his life's work tracking the killer, with the promise he will kill another victim in the next five days.''
8.8
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EPISODE RATING: Great
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Fan Episode Reviews (12)

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  • Former BAU profiler Max Ryan has written a book about the one who got away. 'The Keystone Killer' murdered seven women, taunted the police and then, suddenly, stopped. Is he dead, in prison, infirm - or is he killing again?moreless

    7.5
    "Good"
    By Lady_Lancaster, May 26, 2011 Report Abuse
    Gideon attends a lecture given by Max Ryan, a retired profiler who has just launched his new book about 'The Keystone Killer' who terrorized Philadelphia several years previously, killing seven woman and sending the police word puzzles which were supposed to help in his capture, but they never did. When the crimes stopped, Ryan was (and is) convinced that the unsub was just biding his time, a theory which seems to be justified when one of his familiar puzzles, along with women's driver's licenses are delivered to him just as his lecture concludes. One of the licenses belongs to the last known victim and one to another woman who is found dead a few hours after.

    The killer has changed his MO but when Morgan suggests that they may be dealing with a copycat, former agent Ryan will have absolutely nothing to do with the possibility, he is convinced 'The Keystone Killer' is behind this latest crime and insists on acting as a consultant to the BAU given that he knows the case so well and, in fact, has moved to Philadelphia since his retirement to be close to the scene of the crimes.

    Is 'The Keystone Killer' active again or is someone just using a similar MO to make the BAU (and Ryan) believe that he is?

    An interesting episode with plenty of twists and turns. Perhaps not as hard hitting as others but definitely entertaining with a well thought out plot.moreless

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  • This is a good one

    9.8
    "Superb"
    By michelle_212, Jan 15, 2011 Report Abuse
    I really liked this episode. I loved seeing how each of the characters reacted to Ryan. It was also facinating to hear Gideon talk about how things have changed in how the BAU works. Plus, it's nice to see them developing Elle a little. I thought this was one of the best episodes for her.

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  • Not as good as I've come to expect from this show.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By rainbowgnu, Jan 15, 2011 Report Abuse
    As much as I love Criminal Minds, this episode was below par for me. The story of the overbearing ex-mentor who always thinks he's right, and then realises the error of his ways as the student outmaneuvers him, is done in almost every show in every genre at some time or another. I just wasn't really feeling the story as much as usual. Plus there wasn't enough of Garcia! Hurry up and give her some of the opening credit space!!!moreless

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  • A good example of how different generations interact on the same (and old) case. Very good episode.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By PeggFenway, Jan 15, 2011 Report Abuse
    This was a very good episode with the way the writers showed how bringing in an old profiler (retired Special Agent Max Ryan)can rock the boat. They got the unsub, and Ryan got the one that got away. We also got to see a bit more into Elle's character in this one as well.

    Max Ryan recieves a letter from the "Keystone Killer" when he gives a presentation on the book he wrote about the investigation, and it reopens the case. We had a good look at what can happen when you mix two different methods of investigating together. There is Gideon with the rest of the current team. Then there is Max Ryan (whom is also Gideon's mentor), who was a profiler during the days when they worked solo. He eventually comes around to the team concept and is able to function better with the rest of the team to get the unsub (a Walter Kern).

    We see Elle lose her cool with a possible suspect who is arrested for missing an appointment with his parole officer. Then at the end, she is talking to Hotch about not losing her life to the job. Not dying, but one day "finding that life passed me by".

    It seemed like Reid was the only one who was open minded about working with Ryan, though towards the end he appeared to be a little put off by Ryan's attitude.

    All in all this was a good episode, and showed what the series is all about.moreless

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  • Old retired cop and the serial killer he profiled both come out of retirement at the same time.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By JohnnySoftware, Jan 15, 2011 Report Abuse
    The plot of this story had a few twists in it, that kept you guessing who the killer was. More than most episodes.

    The retired cop was very melodramatic. The way it was acted and/or directed by the actor who played that character was very good. That sort of fit the role.

    Some scenes were kind of painful to watch because he just did not "get" how the modern team worked. Other scenes, when he clicked with some of the team was pretty cool.

    There were a lot of quotes by philosophers of previous centuries. That part was creepy.

    The head of the team was in perfect form as usual. It is like he has seen so much stuff go wrong or succeed in his life, he already knows so much.

    Despite all that experience, he lives very much in the moment. In this episode as many, he had lots of little epigrams to toss out to the team.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • As Reid looks at the first word search puzzle left by the Keystone Killer, he notices many words that seem to have nothing to do with clues to the case, including false, fake, joke, decoy, mock, bait, delude, fools, pearl, see, clue, have, well, sos, thrilling, self, lure, ban, suffer and cad. Edit
    • Reid refers to the unsub as he reads a medical report that says, "he lost mobility in his right side due to severed nerve damage to his spinal cord." A few minutes later we see this man using his right arm to attack his next victim while holding his left arm tight to his side as though it is useless to him. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • The song at the end of this episode was "I Don't Wanna Know" by Sheryl Crow. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES

    • Max Ryan: Is there anything worse than cop-shop coffee?
      Gideon: Day-old cop-shop doughnuts.

      Edit

    • Walter Kern: You know you've enjoyed this ride as much as I have, Max.
      Max Ryan: I sure am enjoying this part.
      Walter Kern: We are inseparable, you and me.
      Max Ryan: Let's just test that theory, huh. Get him out of here.

      Edit
    • Elle: What's the matter, Scotty? Can't deal with a woman who's not afraid of you? Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Morgan mentions that the Green River Killer didn't remember where he buried many of his victims. Gary Leon Ridgway confessed to murdering 48 women and disposing of their bodies in the Portland and Seattle areas. He is quoted to have had trouble remembering all his victims. He did remember leaving them in "clusters" so he could drive around the areas and relive his crimes. Edit
    • Max Ryan: You're not worried about too many cooks? Ryan was referring to the old saying, "Too many cooks spoil the broth," which means having too many people involved can ruin a recipe because they each want to put something of their own in. Sometimes having too many people with too many different ideas can muddle an investigation, but that does not seem to happen with the BAU team. Edit
    • Reid mentions the first women killed by Ted Bundy "looked like his fiancée." Bundy's fiancée was an attractive young woman with long brown hair and so were many of his victims. His relationship with her ended shortly before his killing spree began. Bundy was executed in California in 1989. Edit

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