Criminal Minds season 13 episode 7 review: Why did it have to be snakes?
Tonight, the show went to a completely different place in Texas in order to solve the mystery of a very different sort of UnSub: A demented individual who did their best to target prominent people in the local community. The M.O. of this UnSub was certainly unusual: Trapping people in their cars using a dangerous snake, and then eventually taking some of these people before dismembering them. It didn’t make sense at first, but don’t worry — it does in time.
What the BAU had to figure out was a reason for the UnSub to use the snake, and eventually they learned that in between this and tongue dismemberment, the next clue was to figure out who may have a split tongue — much like a snake — themselves. They found a local tattoo artist and questioned him — he wasn’t the guy, but he was able to send the BAU on a trail that eventually led to Desi. The more we learned about her, the more she felt like a horrific comic-book villain. She was mistreated by her mother for ages, locked in a shed with snakes and treated as though she was unworthy. When her mother found her she was torturing her sister with snakes (natch) as a result of what her mother did. It was almost like some of her previous acts were training for what she was doing now. Her mother was a real estate agent, and in some ways that made it all the easier for Desi to find targets and go after them. Her mother finding success in her field was what caused her to act out.
You can probably see the end of this case coming, mostly because it’s similar to the vast majority of the episodes that you’ve seen on this show over the years: Right when Desi was about to kill her mother Luke and JJ burst into her torture chamber in order to take her down. She tried to escape, but eventually Matt shot her in self-defense outside.
Luke Alvez backstory
Adam Rodriguez doesn’t get too many spotlights on the show, but we had one that put him front and center tonight. We got a chance to see Luke’s longtime friend and former partner in rehab, but unfortunately he was also struggling in his recovery.
Through most of the case Luke debated what to do to help his friend, but in the closing minutes he chose to pay him a visit. He wanted to give him another reason to get better, and with that Luke brought him … a puppy! Having that something to care for was an additional incentive in order for him to get better. Who doesn’t love a puppy cameo?
CarterMatt’s overall thoughts
As with every Criminal Minds episode we wish that there was more backstory with some of the main characters; yet, we did very much appreciate much of what this story did in terms of the case. Desi was one of the creepier UnSubs we’ve seen in some time — if you hate snakes, there’s probably a good chance you really hated this one.
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