The Eyes Have It
Directed by Glenn Kershaw
Written by Oanh Ly
An UnSub hunts and kills people and removes their eyes. With the first one he dug them out with his fingers, but he learns to carefully cut them out to preserve them. Then he preserves them and puts them in his taxidermied animals to prove that he can "do eyes", a thing his first victim told him he couldn't.Written by Oanh Ly
Morgan: "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee." Matthew 5:29
Tropes present in this episode:
- Bait-and-Switch: When the UnSub looks at his female client and darkly says that he needs something from her, you naturally think he means her eyes. He just means his payment.
- Continuity Nod: Morgan is dating Tamara Barnes, the sister of a victim from two episodes ago.
- Damsel out of Distress: The UnSub's last victim puts up enough of a fight to let the B.A.U. catch him.
- Eye Scream: The M.O. of the UnSub is to remove his victims’ eyes and preserves them for his stuffed animals.
- Freudian Excuse: The UnSub grew up extremely isolated. The BAU would have been more surprised if he didn't have mental issues.
- Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: The BAU determines that UnSub used to hunt animals, but has started hunting humans.
- I Am a Humanitarian: Reid discusses the possibility that the UnSub eats the eyes. Cut to a fork mashing something round, soft, and white, which turns out to be the UnSub eating a hard-boiled egg.
- Subverted Trope: The team discusses how enucleators don't normally take the eyes with him.
- Taxidermy Is Creepy: The UnSub kills his victims and gouges out their eyes to put in stuffed animals.
- Too Dumb to Live: Sandy and Wes, who walk in the park at night after the BAU warns everyone via local news that an insane serial killer hunts people there at night.
- Morgan: "Dwell in peace in the home of your own being, and the Messenger of Death will not be able to touch you." Guru Nanak.
