Public Enemy
Directed by Nelson Mccormick
Written by Jess Prosser
An UnSub who slashes people's throats in public is theorized to be suffering a psychotic break, seeing as he picks his victims based on who is easiest to sneak up on in any given crowd. The BAU look at the other crime scenes, while JJ stays with the Collins family and plays tea party with the daughter. They determine that his psychosis is akin to that of an arsonist, but he accomplishes it by killing, rather than setting fire to things.Written by Jess Prosser
Rossi: "Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy." F. Scott Fitzgerald.
This episode provides examples of:
- Asshole Victim: When Connor gets to shiv his father at the end of the episode, it's hard not to think that he finally stabbed someone who actually deserved it.
- Attention Whore: Exploited. Connor is a narcissist and kills in public areas to generate fear and attention.
- Bait-and-Switch: In the farmer's market, the UnSub looks like he's targeting the girl who's buying flowers. It's not revealed until later on that the florist was the victim when the girl is interviewed by Rossi.
- Batman Gambit: The BAU reports false news that Connor's latest victim is still alive. This compels Connor to go to the hospital she's in to make sure she's dead.
- Cop Killer: Connor kills one cop in order to escape a lockdown.
- Foreshadowing: During his arrest, Connor mentions he will be treated like royalty in prison because he’s a Cop Killer. The last scene shows a prison inmate discreetly handing Connor a shiv while passing by him, another one allowing Connor to take his place in line so he confront his father, then all the inmates just stand and watch as Connor repeatedly stabs his father to death with no indication that they plan to intervene.
- Insurance Fraud: William set a fire that killed his wife and staged it as an accident to collect life insurance.
- Kindness Button: Connor sees his victims as tools for him to use to get attention, so he doesn’t care who they are. But he makes an exception with a young boy reading a book at a library because the latter reminds him of his childhood self.
- Misplaced Retribution: When Connor learns that his father will be eligible for parole, he begins his killing sprees by attacking locations that remind him of his father. A rather unusual example of this trope, as Connor is more or less taking his rage out on locations, rather than the people he's killing.
- Saying Too Much: When he sees news claiming that his last victim is alive, Connor blurts out in front of a convenience store clerk also watching the news that it’s impossible for her to be alive. Of course, the clerk might have been too distracted by the news itself to notice his bizarre comment.
- Skewed Priorities: When Connor is arrested, he is ecstatic that he will be treated with great respect by prison inmates for killing a cop. The arresting detective reminds him that before that happens, he will be detained at the local police station, facing the wrath of over a dozen officer for killing one of their own. Especially since some of the officers know him personally.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: One of the cops tells Connor that he thinks the man who killed his colleague is a coward (not knowing Connor is the man responsible). Connor responds by leaving to kill as many people as possible.
- Verbal Backspace: The first victim tells his daughter that she can have Communion wine when she turns 21 — then catches the Priest's eye and adds: "or at your first Communion". We later learn that that's next week.
- Rossi: William Shakespeare said, "When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when his son gives to his father, both cry."
