Criminal Minds Nanny Dearest takes us down a disturbing path as the UnSub was torturing and drowning nannies, while releasing the children they cared for shortly after kidnapping them. Thanks to the BAU, one last abduction went a little different than what the UnSub was used to after doing this on the same day for the past several years.
The Breakdown
On this week’s Criminal Minds entitled Nanny Dearest, the BAU fell into a case with which they were familiar. For the past several years, on the same day each year, a nanny was found dead in Los Angeles. Each had been kidnapped along with the child in their care within a few days before. The child was always found within 24 hours, however, the nanny ended up dead after being tortured and drowned. With the day approaching for another year, May 13th, the team decided to be proactive and head to L.A.
Morgan and JJ headed to Seattle instead to talk to a victim who had escaped with her life, Tara. The victim would not cooperate with the BAU previously. She was too traumatized by the events to talk about any of it with the BAU and many of her memories were suppressed. The case was still the same when they paid a visit to Tara this time. JJ and Morgan tried speaking with Tara’s therapist to gain more insight into her current state.
As the team prepared themselves for the abductions to begin again, they received word that a nanny and baby girl had gone missing. The UnSub had changed his MO by kidnapping them almost 2 weeks before May 13th, instead of 4 days prior. When the baby girl of 2 did not show up after 24 hours, the team grew even more concerned. The girl, Phoebe had asthma and needed medicine.
Phoebe’s parents spoke during a press conference pleading with the kidnapper to return their daughter and nanny. Tara, the previous victim, saw the press conference and decided it was time for her to help. With the help of JJ and Morgan, Tara was able to provide more information about the UnSub and the chain of events leading up to her escape. She was even able to assist with a sketch of the UnSub after some conditioning using lights.
The team worked through theories and checked local parks in the meantime. The kidnappings always happened in a park and they learned that the UnSub had a dog. This led them to check out the local dog parks as well.
Flashbacks continued to be shown throughout the episode of the UnSub. We kept seeing a nanny smoking cigarettes and a child.
Using what they knew about the UnSub, they were able to track him down. Dog parks, location, an interest in a child with asthma, and the date of May 13th all helped to locate the UnSub. More flashbacks showed a nanny sitting on a toilet, smoking cigarettes, and a little girl in the bathtub. A little boy walked in (UnSub). The nanny scolded the boy and took him back down the hall. Meanwhile, the little girl in the bathtub drowned. The UnSub’s little sister who had asthma had drowned and he was now trying to avenge that in some way by torturing nannies and drowning them.
When Morgan and JJ came upon the house, the UnSub kept them away for a short time with his dog. When Morgan finally broke into the room the UnSub escaped out the window. As he ran down the street, he shot at JJ. JJ shot back and killed him with a bullet to the head.
The case affected JJ and her thoughts of her own son. As she returned home that evening, her son’s room was her first stop. When her husband Will came out of their bedroom and saw her, he welcomed her home and the two embraced.
The Analysis
This episode of Criminal Minds was not over the top or too mild either. I think it was just right with a mix of story with the case, personal story with JJ, some teary parts, a tiny bit of action, and a good ending (you go JJ!). There were not too many people or side stories involved where it was hard to keep up or keep track. It was just really all about the case this time; the personal story with JJ was minimal.
I usually write a much longer analysis or have more opinion on parts and characters, but this episode was just very basic and right down to it. There isn’t much more to say than that!