The Performer
Directed by John Badham
Written by Holly Harold
An UnSub is emulating a vampire. A goth rocker who hates his fame seems to be at the center of it, but they profile the UnSub as a schizophrenic and the musician is too hard to confuse to be one. JJ goes to visit a fan of his who is schizophrenic and obsessed with drinking blood. And then his manager shows up and hits JJ over the head with a shovel and instructs the fan to get rid of the body.Written by Holly Harold
Reid: "In all the darkest pages of the maligned supernatural, there is no more terrible tradition than that of the vampire, a pariah even among demons." Writer, Montague Summers.
This episode provides examples of:
- Bait-and-Switch: While generally the show showcases the UnSub going through clean-up or recovery after their most recent murder, this episode instead shows the rock star after a party. However, the one of the real UnSubs is there with him too: his manager.
- Bloodlust: All of the victims in this episode were bled dry, showcasing a vampire motif. Turns out that the Loony Fan that performed the murders has a mental illness that makes her want to drink blood.
- Bluffing the Murderer: When Paul Davies is arrested under suspicion of being the Serial Killer of the week, the BAU tries this during interrogation by appealing to his vanity as a rock star. When Davies reacts differently from what they expected (read: tired of dealing with fans, then quickly figuring out that they are lying), they know it's not him.
- Call-Back: An entire episode referencing a different one from Season One. Both episodes deal with a serial killer whose killings are motivated by an obsession with a celebrity and wanting to boost their fame to get their attention, with Officer Owen Kim assisting the BAU.
- Continuity Nod: Two.
- Prentiss teasingly asks Reid if he still talks to Lila Archer, which he quickly dismisses.
- Soon after, Garcia teases about the fact the vampire subculture dresses like Prentiss did in high school.
- Expy: Paul Davies and his Dante persona are a fairly thinly-veiled take on Alice Cooper (born Vincent Furnier). Cooper had a lot of similar problems with substance abuse due to the demands of his stage persona, and after overcoming them often did work trying to help other rock stars kick their substance abuse habits (much as Davies says he wants to do what he can to help Gina at the end of the episode).
- Failed a Spot Check: Doubling as an Idiot Ball: When JJ comes to talk to Gina, she lives in an old house, and answers the door rambling incoherently about her grandmother being asleep. All of these things (house, illness, maternal figure) were mentioned in Reid's profile, pointing to the girl being the schizophrenic killer, and granted, JJ wasn't physically present to hear Reid present the profile... but there should have been enough for JJ to see that the girl wasn't mentally well at the least. Instead of calling it in (and maybe requesting backup to help the woman having a mental episode), JJ follows her into the house, letting the door shut. What's more, the hoard-like/disheveled interior of the house should have given JJ pause, but instead she just keeps pursuing the sick girl through the house to the back, not checking if there was anyone else hidden in the house. This ends up with JJ taking a shovel to the back of the head, courtesy of the rock star's manipulative manager; she eventually returns the favor once she's able to see straight, but it seems odd that, especially after working with the BAU for so long, that she wouldn't have recognized such clear signs of caution/danger.
- I Am a Humanitarian: The UnSub drinks human blood.
- I Am Not Spock: In-universe. When he first appears at his door without makeup, Paul Davies refuses to answer to the name Dante, correcting Detective Kim that Dante is just a role he plays. His utter disdain for the whole Dante persona permeates the episode, including at one point where Paul sulkily asks, "Do I have to be him?" about going to a promotional party.
- Insane Troll Logic: At the end of the episode, Prentiss declares that the rock star's stage persona is responsible for the murders, as opposed to the schizophrenic who committed them or the manager that manipulated said schizophrenic. Everyone on the team seems to agree. This stands in sharp contrast to the BAU always assuring themselves and each other that they're not responsible for the collateral damage of their own actions.
- Loony Fan: The killer of the week being a fan of Dante that not only doesn't understands the man is not a vampire, but has a vampire-like blood fetish that made her perfect for the manager's plans.
- The Man Behind the Man: Paul Davies' manager to Gina King, the Loony Fan with the (literal) vampire fetish who committed the murders.
- My God, You Are Serious!: Prentiss laughs when Morgan suggests she ask the rock star for his autograph during the interrogation. He wasn't kidding.
- No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: Discussed in-universe by Rossi as potential motivation for Dante murdering his fangirls. Right for the Wrong Reasons, though, as it's not him, but his manager that sees it this way.
- Perky Goth: The first victim and her friend were this.
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: Reid’s apparently never heard of A Clockwork Orange:Rossi: This from someone whose favorite album is The Beatles' White Album.
Hotch: Just because Manson liked it doesn't mean that it has to be ruined for the rest of us.
Reid: That's why I stick to Beethoven. No chance of negative associations.
(beat)
Emily: ...Yeah? Have you ever seen a movie called A Clockwork Orange?- Reid doesn't know what Twilight is either.
- Samus Is a Girl: The killer turns out to be a woman, which surprises the profilers as this type of methodology is rare in female schizofrenic killers. She is manipulated by Dante's manager.
- Shout-Out:
- Dante's stage name references Dante Alighieri, and his stage make-up makes him look like Eric Draven.
- Tara Ferris' computer password is Cullen, and results in JJ and Reid discussing it briefly.
- Subculture of the Week: Vampire fan subculture is at the center of this case, and the UnSub is a murderous one.
- Tragically Misguided Favor: Davies' manager really thought that this mess would help him recover from his depression.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: While the manager's plan was indeed to use the publicity of the murders to boost sales of the next Dante album, his reason behind the motive seems to have been that he thinks the Career Resurrection would have solved a lot of Paul's problems, encouraging him to feel worthwhile again and possibly kick the drugs. His obvious pain at Paul's suffering makes it clear his motives were not solely financial.
- Yandere: One of the UnSubs is one. She’s a huge fan of Dante’s and is recruited by Dante’s manager to kill people to promote his new album. Garcia finds emails from her where she views Dante as her god and was willing to kill for him.
- Prentiss: Writer Cyril Connolly said, "Better to write for yourself and have no public than to write for the public and have no self."
