Night Lights
A man kidnaps people, blinds them, and makes them find their way out.
Tropes
- The Atoner: Dr. Mendelbaum subjected kids to traumatic Face Your Fears therapy that messed up the episode’s UnSub and drove another patient to suicide. After this, he discontinued his work to avoid hurting anyone else, went into more traditional check-ups and became known for giving free check-ups and services to at-risk kids. At the time of his murder, he was writing a memoir admitting his past mistakes in an effort to guide other doctors seeking ways to treat kids with phobias.
- Big Damn Heroes: Simmons shoots the Unsub from behind as he's about to stab Alvez.
- Blinded by the Light: The Unsub's last victim shines a lamp in his face, causing his photosensitive eyes extreme pain.
- Eye Scream: The UnSub kidnaps people and does horrible things to their eyes.
- Face Your Fears: The idea behind the "therapy" the UnSub was subjected to in his childhood.
- Meaningful Name: Dustin Eisworth attaches a lot of worth to eyes and vision.
- Near-Rape Experience: Not confirmed but heavily implied when Eisworth’s classmate Christian Russo recalls how he lured her into the woods, bound her hands and blindfolded her, then gave an Evil Laugh while chasing her through the woods until one of her friends stopped him before he could do anything else to her.
- Self-Made Orphan: The UnSub killed his parents for the "therapy" they subjected him to.
- Villain Ball: The Unsub partially frees his last victim, forcing her to look at her boyfriend's corpse and mocking her for trying to sympathise with him. While he's distracted by ranting, she cuts the last of her bonds, grabs a lamp and shines it full in his face, causing his photosensitive eyes incredible pain and allowing her to escape long enough for the BAU to rescue her.
