The Edge of Winter
Directed by Hanelle Cullpepper
Written by Janine Sherman Barrois
Morgan talks to a woman in a mental hospital, hoping she is ready to testify in the trial of the man who abducted and tortured her and her friend a year earlier.Written by Janine Sherman Barrois
Morgan: "No one is ever a victim, although your conquerors would have you believe in your own victimhood. How else could they conquer you?" Barbara Marciniak.
Tropes in this episode
- Broken Bird: Daria, the witness, big time. She developed a bad case of the Stockholm Syndrome and became the UnSub's partner, but the severe trauma of participating in the torture and murder of the other victims created a mental break, causing Daria to suffer from delusions that Coby, the UnSub's friend, was his partner instead in order to cope with the horror of what she was forced to do. These delusions have also caused her to mentally suppress much of what happened to her and to develop amnesia. When Morgan comes to talk to her, she eventually confesses that she "loved" Joe and that's why she willingly became his accomplice, but then just a few minutes later, asks him if he thinks they'll ever catch Joe's partner. It's made clear by the end that she won't be able to leave the mental hospital anytime in the near future.
- Downer Ending: Morgan discovers that Daria developed Stockholm Syndrome for Joe and acted as his accomplice more willingly than anyone previously knew (albeit only after he'd tortured her so much that she had a mental break to cope with the horror and trauma)—including torturing people on her own initiative because "it's what he wanted"—and realizes that she's suffered permanent mental damage and cannot serve as a witness in Joe's trial. He gently bids her goodbye, and she'll likely have to stay in the mental care facility for a very long time, if not the rest of her life.
- Flashback Within a Flashback: Daria's sister flashes back to the day she disappeared during the flashback to the case.
- Foreshadowing: Daria asks if Morgan has a girlfriend and mentions having a boyfriend that she misses. It turns out later that she was talking about the UnSub.
- Once More, with Clarity: Initially, Daria claims that the UnSub's partner was his friend Coby, and the flashback scenes show him cleaning up the blood and the two of them together torturing the victims. Once it's revealed later that Coby was uninvolved and it becomes clear that Daria was the real partner, the flashback scenes change to reflect this.
- The Reveal: Daria gained Stockholm Syndrome for Joe, her kidnapper. Despite her obvious pain at the copious trauma she suffered, even after a year of being in a mental facility and receiving help, she still claims that she "loved" the UnSub, he was her "boyfriend", and he "loved" her too, and she admits that she still "loves" him and would help him kill again if he asked her to. This is when Morgan realizes that she's far too broken, unstable, and unwell to serve as a witness against the killer like he'd planned for her to.
- Sadistic Choice: Joe broke Daria and forced her to become an accomplice in his murders through physical and mental torture, including this. One particular example the audience sees is forcing her to use the ice pick to inflict the stab wounds on Ben, one of the victims, under threat of shooting Carrie (another prisoner, whom Daria grew close with) if she didn't.
- Wham Line: A few from Daria:
- Daria admitting to Morgan that she "loved" the UnSub.
- Also, near the end, when she says this again, Morgan asks her if she would hurt someone again if Joe asked her to. Her response:Daria: If he wanted. He loved me. (. . .) He's my boyfriend. I loved him. I still love him.
- After the above confession, Morgan tells her sister Ellen that Daria's not fit to testify and is permanently mentally damaged. She seems reluctant to believe him, but then Daria asks Morgan the following question (proving she's still mentally dissociating), and Ellen visibly reels:Daria: Hey, do you think you'll ever catch Joe's partner?
- Whole Episode Flashback: The episode flashes back and forth between the investigation and Morgan's attempt to prepare Daria for the trial a year later.
- Morgan: "There are times when the mind is dealt such a blow it hides itself in insanity. There are times when reality is nothing but pain and to escape that pain, the mind must leave reality behind." Patrick Rothfuss.
