Criminal Minds season 14 episode 9 review: A dive into Tara Lewis’ past
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The UnSub this week was one that fit into one of the most-difficult categories in an “Angel of Mercy.” This is someone who is absolutely convinced that what they are doing was something that was noble, correct. This also had to be someone who actually had access to some of the patients, and someone who was getting some sort of trophy following his killings — a way of him telling himself that he is actually doing good for others and working in order to put some people out of their misery. This was his mind telling him that he was going to be able to make the world better.
So where did Tara’s ex Daryl Wright fit into the picture? That had a lot to do with how she was able to get the insight and information that she needed to understand some of the patients who were dying. What made this so painful is that Daryl is a recovering addict himself and that’s something that was a huge burden during their marriage. He was eventually able to get clean, but with someone else. Inevitably, that is the sort of thing that made Tara ask questions about herself and why this wasn’t something that happened for him.
We’re not sure that someone like Tara can completely forget about the past. It’s impossible. Yet, as we saw with her at the end of the episode, she knew how to at least move forward with her life. She had to eventually step away from Daryl because she needed a chance at her own life. She needed to recognize that there’s only so much that she could do. When eventually the BAU found the UnSub in Douglas (who was overdosing patients following the loss of someone he held dear), she was actually able to use her experiences to talk him down. The UnSub was brought to justice and he wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else.
CarterMatt Verdict
This episode was in so many ways about the ways in which people can choose to heal and also the ways in which they can self-destruct. Tara had to dig deep in order to figure out the right way to approach this case and, in her conversations with Daryl, she got a little bit of closure. In the closing minutes of the episode, he admitted to her that it was her leaving that actually inspired him to get sober. It was the thing that actually did allow him to see outside of his situation and towards a possibly-better future.
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