Fate
Directed by Rob Bailey
Written by Janine Sherman Barrois
After an accident, a woman has trouble controlling her anger to the point that she stabs people several times if they cross her.Written by Janine Sherman Barrois
Rossi: "Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or the present or the present are certain to miss the future." John F. Kennedy.
Tropes in this episode:
- As You Know: Joy explains to Rossi who Hayden is, for the benefit of the viewer. As Rossi points out, he knows who his second wife is.
- Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: Well, Rossi didn't know Joy existed since her mother never informed him of her pregnancy, so that definitively counts.
- Disproportionate Retribution: The victims were stabbed to death in either their houses or their working places. Most of them had minor verbal arguments with the UnSub', and one of them was a boss who thought that the UnSub was underperforming in her job. Not what you would expect to be reasons for hatred or murder.
- It's All My Fault: The UnSub's daughter has this reaction after her mother is arrested, believing that if she'd told someone about her mother's erratic behavior after the accident, the deaths could have been avoided. JJ assures her otherwise.
- Luke, You Are My Father: Joy Struthers, the woman following Rossi, turns out to be his previously unknown daughter. She was following him to find out more about him.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Due to her inability to control her rage and the homicidal behavior that follows, the UnSub is constantly left with this after her kills, none more so than when she panics and accidentally kills her own husband.
- Prematurely Bald: The UnSub is tearing out chunks of her own hair due to stress and horror at what she's doing, to the point of having to wear a wig to hide the bleeding bald spots she's torn in her scalp.
- Ready for Lovemaking: Ellen's boss Sarah lies on her bed in a nightgown, calling out that she's ready for her boyfriend to come in, then asks if he wants to do it in the kitchen when there's no reply.
- Tragic Villain: The UnSub turns out to be a woman who had been in a car accident that permanently altered her brain, making her unable to control her rage. The team is largely sympathetic to her, and wondering whether the jury will be, too.
- Wham Line: Courtesy of the young woman following Rossi.Joy Struthers: I'm your daughter!
- There's another one at the end of the episode when Rossi asks Joy to stay a little longer so he can get to know her better.
Joy: I have to go back. Your grandson is running a fever.Rossi: (stunned) I have a grandson? - Wrong Assumption: Rossi assumes Joy is a crazy fan or wants him to be her crime writing mentor. Or both.
- Rossi: "When it comes to life, we spin our own yarn, and where we end up is really, in fact, where we always intended to be." Julia Glass.
