100
Directed by Edward Allen Bernero
Written by Bo Cresenote
Hotch's family is in witness protection to hide them from Foyet. Foyet hunts down the officer assigned to their case, tortures him to within an inch of his life, and finds them through the officer's phone. When he learns this, Hotch goes off on his own, like Foyet knew he would. Haley walks herself and Jack right into Foyet's trap at Hotch's house, a place Foyet chose to make it personal, but it is also what saves Jack.Written by Bo Cresenote
Hotchner: "He who fights with monsters might take care, lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." Friedrich Nietzsche.
This episode provides examples of:
- Alone with the Psycho: Haley and Jack with Foyet.
- And This Is for...: It's not verbal, but for each blow Hotch lands on Foyet, images flash onscreen of Foyet's previous victims, including Haley and Hotch himself.
- Artistic License – Physics: In that no matter what kind of body armor he was wearing, the number of bullets at close range Foyet took should have put him down longer than two seconds. Even if none of the bullets got through, the force of impact would have most likely broken ribs, and that's without even taking into account the severe damage his body's undergone from his stab wounds.
- Asshole Victim: It is wrong of law enforcement to beat suspects to death, but if ever there was a worthless piece of trash who deserved it, it's George Foyet.
- Bittersweet Ending: On the bitter side, Haley has been murdered, leaving Hotch devastated and Jack without his mother (though the episode doesn't show much of how that will affect him). On the sweet side, Foyet is finally killed, Hotch has been cleared of any wrong doing, and the BAU make it clear that they absolutely have Hotch's back. The episode ends with Hotch being reunited with Jack, and the entire team standing with them.
- Both Sides Have a Point: During an argument, Rossi tells Strauss that realistically, there isn't much an Obstructive Bureaucrat can do to stop incidents in the field like the one she's currently investigating and thus he finds her investigation pointless. Strauss counters that this doesn't mean they should just be doing nothing.
- Censorship by Spelling: Foyet mockingly does this along with Cover Innocent Eyes and Ears during Haley's final moments.Foyet: She's gonna D-I-E because of your inflated ego.
- Character Death:
- Haley Hotchner is shot and killed by George Foyet.
- Foyet himself is subsequently beaten to death by Hotch.
- Children Are Innocent: Jack realizes something is wrong, but is still too young to fully understand the gravity of the situation. This is perhaps most obvious when he asks Hotch if Foyet is "a bad guy" (something which even makes Foyet smirk).
- Defiant to the End: Sam Kassmeyer was tortured by Foyet, but still refused to give up any details on Hotch's ex-wife and child.
- Despair Event Horizon: Hotch crosses it, and takes George's skull and brain matter with him.
- Didn't Think This Through: Foyet had previously repeatedly stabbed himself in order to pretend to be a victim of the Reaper. This left him with permanent internal damage requiring medication, and the BAU is eventually able to track him by the drugs he needs a prescription for.
- Face Death with Dignity: Haley.Hotch: Show him no weakness, no fear.
Haley: I know.- Averted with Foyet in his final moments as he, a sadistic serial killer, hypocritically feared for his life.
- Flashback Episode: The episode is the team minus Hotch explaining to Strauss why they think Hotch's actions were entirely justified. The interviews slowly make it clear that several people are dead, but leaves their identities and the fates of both Foyet and Hotch unclear. (Until we get to Hotch's flashback at least)
- Forced to Watch: A "forced to listen" variant; the Reaper deliberately kills Haley over the phone so Hotch (and the entire team) can hear it.
- Genre Deconstruction: This case ended with the death of a US Marshall, a civilian, and a wanted fugitive being beaten to death. There is naturally fallout for all of this, with the FBI higher ups trying to understand what went wrong, who to blame, and what consequences are needed.
- Gory Discretion Shot: We pointedly don't see what's left of Foyet, but the team's reactions to the sight, and that Morgan could tell Foyet was dead with just a glance are pretty telling.
- He Who Fights Monsters: The full quote is used as one of the episodes quotes, but ultimately subverted. It's pretty clear that Hotch did the right thing.
- Hide-and-Seek Horror: Hotch tells Jack to "work the case," which Jack thinks means "crawl into the blanket chest in the office" in an attempt to hide him from Foyet and buy time for Hotch to get there. As Jack runs out of the room, Foyet tells him he'll "be right up, Jackie-boy" in a particularly Affably Evil tone of voice.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Foyet's attempts to kill Hotch's family result in his death.
- Impersonation Gambit: Inverted. Foyet impersonates a field marshal to gain Haley's trust, and this is what ultimately leads to her death.
- I Surrender, Suckers: Foyet tries to pull one of these again, but Hotch doesn't buy it and/or is too far gone to care.Foyet: (Hotch pins Foyet down and punches his face) Okay okay... you got me... I surrender... I surre- (Hotch angrily punches his face in again) no... (Hotch throws rage-fueled after rage-fueled punches at his face until he splits it open then slams Foyet’s head into the floor repeatedly until he breaks his skull to ensure he STAYS dead)
- It's Personal: Foyet takes it very personally that Hotch rejected his proposed deal where he promises to stop killing people in exchange for Hotch to stop trying to find him. Hotch really takes it personally when Foyet attacks his family and rightly kills him for it.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: Hotch kills Foyet while he tried to make a pathetic surrender plea in an attempt to make him stop hitting him. He was ignored.
- Little "No": Foyet's final word before Hotch beats him to death.
- Motor Mouth: Reid when he repeats what Foyet said during the call with Hotch.Morgan: Reid, what did Foyet say, exactly?
Reid: *without missing a beat* Haley's hair looks good dark. She's lost some weight, it must be because of all the stress you caused her. Where's the little man? Oh, there he is. Now, do you think he likes Captain America because of you? That's your wife on the other line. Hold, please. Hi, open the gate and I'll drive in. - No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: After Foyet kills Hotch's ex-wife and threatens to murder his son, Hotch literally beats Foyet's head to a pulp with his fists.
- Not So Stoic:
- Hotch, heartrendingly so; after the Reaper pushes him to his breaking point, Hotch flies into an incoherent rage, beats the Reaper to literal death and has to be dragged away from the body while he's sobbing Broken Tears.
- The Reaper himself spends most of the season as a perpetually-unshakable smug asshat, rarely ever showing much emotion beyond smugness and cool-headed sadistic self-satisfaction. When Hotch beats him to death, the camera doesn't linger long on the Reaper's reaction but it's clear he's terrified in his last moments.
- Prentiss isn't quite as stoic as Hotch, but she's pretty hard to rattle. Haley's murder still brings her to tears.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Haley when she learns that Hotch is alive, unlike what the "officer" told her.
- Foyet briefly has a look of terror on his face when Hotch keeps hitting him even after he tries to surrender.
- Outfit Decoy: Hotch is hunting The Reaper and sees his shoes reflected in a mirror. He slowly advances on that position...and then spins around and empties his gun into Foyet's actual hiding place: the curtain.
- Papa Wolf: Hotch's Heroic Second Wind is motivated by the desire to protect his son.
- Parenthetical Swearing: Prentiss addresses Strauss with a "ma'am" with so much vitriol that it sounds like a curse.
- Pet the Dog:
- Strauss is as gentle and considerate as she possibly can be when interviewing Penelope, clearly trying to be careful with her considering how badly recent events have affected her. This is an early indication that the investigation is not necessarily the witch hunt the team assumes it is.
- She also actually prompts Hotch to give an answer exonerating himself. Rather than asking why he killed Foyet, she asks what he thinks would have happened if he hadn't, making it far easier for Hotch to justify his actions.
- Rage Breaking Point: Hotch had finally been pushed too far when Foyet killed Haley over the phone then bragged how he’ll kill Jack next. Once Hotch got the upper hand, he gets even more enraged when the bastard had the gall to beg for mercy despite all the shit he did. Hotch savagely beats him to death as painfully as possible and continued to break his head open even after he’s already dead.
- Retcon: Reid has been pretty firm in every other instance before this that his eidetic memory is primarily related to what he reads, not what he hears; it's even been a plot point. This episode suddenly has it as working on everything he's heard as well, as demonstrated by his little "human tape recorder" stunt when discussing Foyet's taunts over the phone.
- The Scapegoat: More than one BAU member accuses Strauss of trying to make Hotch this. Ultimately, he's cleared of any wrong doing.
- Self-Made Orphan: Foyet, according to Hotch. Though Foyet denies it.
- Serial Killer: One that takes it personally that you try to stop him, hunts down your family, kills your wife and goes after your five-year-old.
- Shout-Out: Foyet mentions Captain America to prove to Hotch that he is looking directly at Jack and Haley. Hoth's son wears a Captain America t-shirt for most of the episode.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: When Foyet says that he'll kill Hotch and show his son both of his dead parents, Hotch interrupts him by smashing a table leg against him.
- Significant Anagram: Reid deduces from Foyet's chosen nickname "the Reaper" that his most likely alias is Peter Rhea.
- Tactical Reminiscence: A rare instance of an Innocent Inaccurate being Played for Drama. Hotch tells Jack to "work the case," exploiting his four-year-old misunderstanding of Hotch's job. In a flashback scene, it's shown Jack thinks this means hiding in a blanket chest in Hotch's office. Hotch knows that this is an unlikely place for Foyet to look, and sure enough, after Hotch has killed Foyet, this is where he finds Jack, unharmed.
- Talk to the Fist: Hotch shuts up Foyet's Evil Gloating at the climax of their fight.Foyet: (Stands over Hotch while brandishing a knife) After I finish you, I'll find that little bastard son of yours, then show him both his dead parents, and tell him that it's all your fault. And then I'm gonna- (Hotch breaks the bastard's leg with a piece of wood) GYAAAAAAAH!!! (Hotch gets up and slams him into the wall, making him lose his knife then finally slams him to the floor and punches his face in repeatedly)
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Erin Strauss decides to trust Hotch's word when he says that he believed Jack was in danger if Foyet got up, despite them never getting along in previous episodes and her being suspicious of him in this one. After the interrogation is over, she offers him additional support if he ever needs it.
- True Companions: The BAU being this is nothing new, but is made clear by the way they refuse say anything against Hotch (or each other). The episode's closing quote also alludes to this.
- Villain Ball: Foyet gains the upper hand over Hotch in their fight, but then stops to taunts him over how he'll kill Jack too. Bad move.
- You Are Not Alone: The BAU to Hotch.
- Hotchner: Poet Handel Long said, "So much of what is best in us is bound up in our love of family, that it remains the measure of our stability because it measures our sense of loyalty."
