Zoe's Reprise
Directed by Charles S Carroll
Written by Oanh Ly
An UnSub evades detection for a time by copying the methodologies of famous serial killers, meaning there's no single MO for the police to catch on to. A criminology student guesses the truth and tries to alert Rossi, who tells her to convince the police to invite his team to the case. She goes to find evidence and is murdered a few hours later. When he's caught, the UnSub explains that he has no particular motivation, he just wants to kill people.Written by Oanh Ly
Rossi: "I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn." Albert Einstein.
Tropes
- Ascended Fangirl:
- Zoe for Rossi, though it takes her murder to do so.
- The UnSub himself is a much darker version of this: after getting out of prison, he figured that he was going to end up there anyway and had an almost compulsive desire to kill. He opted to study famous serial killers and their MO so he could become one himself slowly evolving his own signature.
- Cassandra Truth: Zoe when she tells Rossi that she believes there's a serial killer in Cleveland.
- Erotic Asphyxiation: The UnSub and his girlfriend have this in a park, where the former is mistaken by the BAU to be killing another victim.
- Fiery Redhead: Played with. Zoe is very determined to find the killer but she's also quite introverted.
- Foreshadowing: Before Zoe approaches Rossi, the two fans who talk to him discuss how it stumps them that serial killers' spouses don't know at all. It later appears again with this killer's girlfriend, with JJ asking the same question.
- Hidden in Plain Sight: The killer's pictures of his murder sites.
- It's Personal: To Rossi as a result of not listening to Zoe.
- Jack the Ripoff: The UnSub first copies other serial killers, including the Ripper himself, trying to find his preferred method.
- Joggers Find Death: One of the kills made during the episode is a night jogger.
- Kiss of Death: The killer does this to all his victims as he's killing them.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Rossi, when he realizes that Zoe was right about the presence of a serial killer in Cleveland...after she turns up as the killer's latest victim.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Played With. Zoe going to the latest victim's house ended with her murder and the UnSub discovering his niche as a strangler-style serial killer. However, her death convinced Rossi there was a serial killer, with her notes and observations being essential to even knowing there was a killer to begin with.
- Nightmare Fetishist: The killer's girlfriend, Linda, though she quickly changes her mind when she discovers just ''how'' bad he is.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Mrs. Hawkes takes it horribly when she learns her daughter was murdered, and later on, the body needs to be returned to the medical examiner to obtain the DNA of the killer.
- Parting-Words Regret: Rossi deeply regrets not believing what Zoe said throughout the episode.
- Posthumous Character: Zoe.
- Redheads Are Uncool: Zoe is supposed to be unpopular and has distinctive red hair.
- Shout-Out: Zoe has a Silence of the Lambs poster in her room.
- Sickly Child Grew Up Strong: The killer was sick as a child who takes his illness regimes as his signature.
- Trip Trap: This is mentioned as the methodology the Bike Path Rapist used to start his assault on his victims.
- Rossi: Austrian novelist Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach wrote, "In youth we learn. In age we understand."
