Criminal Minds – Recap & Review – Dorado Falls

photo: cbs

Criminal Minds
Dorado Falls

Original Air Date: Oct 5, 2011

Angelique – Associate Staff Writer
Angelique@thetwocentscorp.com

Charlottesville, Quantico’s own backyard, is shaken up by a mass murder at an internet security company. An up and coming company which hasn’t been around long enough to make enemies in the business.

All but one of the employees are killed, the only one who got away was lucky enough to be on a planned vacation to a Doctor Who Convention. A small detail which peaked an interest in the BAU’s local geek Doctor Reid.

The victims are either shot or stabbed. Reid and Hotch assess the scene to figure out the order in which the victims were killed and figure out who the main target was. The CEO of the company was killed first, he was shot multiple times assassination style. Rossi and JJ go through the ransacked remains of the CEO’s office. The other victims were killed because they were witnesses. The CEO used to be a decorated Navy Seal and the team thinks that the Unsub must be someone from the Navy Seal’s past.

Meanwhile the Unsub – who used to be a Navy Seal along with the CEO – continues on his rampage. The next stop, his parents’ house. Upon arrival he claims that his father is not his father but merely a replacement. He keeps asking about the Dorado Falls mission. When neither one of his parents can answer his questions he kills them in cold blood. He’s convinced that they are not who they say they are. He leaves their house and by the time the BAU arrive, he’s well on his way to his ex-wife and daughter. The team is convinced that Dolan is suffering from PTSD and that he could see everyone as a potential enemy.

It’s Reid who figures out that Dolan is likely suffering from a mental breakdown in which his mind and eyes make him believe that his loved ones are not who they say they are, merely imposters. As long as he can’t see them he’s fine, as soon as he sees his family his mind distorts reality. A car accident on Friday caused the perfect combination of head trauma combined with his past as a Navy Seal which makes him extremely paranoid and caused him to snap.

When Dolan realizes that he can’t reach his wife or daughter because they have been taken away – he abducts a Navy General who knows what the Dorado Falls mission was. He needs to get answers and he wants to use the General as leverage to get his family back. Rossi negotiates with Dolan to get him to release the Navy General while Garcia pinpoints his location for Hotch and Derek. Upon arrival Dolan has fled the scene.

Dolan, who knows that the phone prefix, from which Rossi’s calling him, is a number that is only used by the FBI in Quantico. He figures that also has to be where they keep his ex-wife and daughter. Instead of the BAU catching the Unsub on their home-ground, this Unsub chooses to pay them a visit at the FBI building in Quantico. Normally an Unsub wouldn’t have been able to come this far but Dolan is a highly trained Navy Seal. And nothing is going to stop him, because he’s convinced that the FBI is holding his wife and daughter while they have been replaced with imposters.

Dolan makes it all the way up into the BAU bullpen with a bomb and a gun. Rossi is able to talk him down with the help of Dolan’s ex-wife. They want to take him to the hospital for treatment but they have to blindfold him. His wife is attempting to blindfold him when his daughter runs into the BAU. Derek is holding Dolan back while JJ pulls his wife away. Emily is trying to hold the daughter away from Dolan but it’s too late he has already seen her. Luckily the BAU was filled with agents and they are able to take Dolan away.

The hard thing about this case was that this Unsub didn’t want to kill, it was all in his head. A combination of events that caused this outbreak of violence and there is no real treatment or a way to prevent it from happening.

I loved this episode, there was one moment I really loved. I am sure that you loved it too, the ‘genie’ comment between Derek and Garcia! That’s classic Garcia/Derek banter. From Derek’s; Talk to me little genie.’ followed by Garcia’s; ‘Well, since you know how to rub my lamp… your wish is my command.’

I really liked the moment between Emily and Derek at the end of the episode. I love how they let the feelings linger on, that’s real life. Forgiven not forgotten. It’s obvious that everyone is trying to find their footing within the team which has obviously changed. JJ’s becoming a profiler while still being the media liaison and Garcia is still introducing the team to the new cases. So, part of JJ’s old job is still Garcia’s. Things are shifting both work-wise as well as relationship-wise (relationships between characters – not love relationships, I am not implying anything here).

One small tiny little detail that has been missing so far is Emily’s point of view on the whole being ‘dead’ thing.  I really want to see Emily open up about what happened to her during the seven months that she was alone. I would love to see her talk to JJ preferably or Hotch because they won’t judge. Or even Rossi, she’s had some heart to heart talks with Rossi before.

Dorado Falls was the first episode written by Sharon Lee Watson, and what a debut. I have to say that I loved her writing, all characters got their little moments to shine in very true to their characters moments.

Did you like the episode? Are you looking forward to the next?

Next Week: Painless