Episode 4 The 4th episode of Criminal Minds Evolution Season 19 begins with an unsub (later identified as Sean Fincher) taking Charles and Mary Tolson hostage. Sean blathering about heresy, wanting a confession. Angry with the answers he murders Mary by bashing her with a sledgehammer.
Meanwhile, Emily and Tara check out the manuscript fromvoit’s fan in Kensington, Pennsyvania. It has been written perfectly by an analogue typewriter- this implies he is precise, and has a severe case of OCD. The agents think the fan felt he was called pathetic by Voit in the podcast and so wants to prove himself.
Elsewhere, Henry, JJ’s son, ghosts her. But he’s been telling Luke he doesn’t want to go to college and it’s been upsetting JJ.
Penelope butts in with the murder of Tolson. The unsub has done a number on Colorado Springs, killing two women in front of their husbands. But he waited until the kids were out of the house. He also looks average, making him difficult to describe. Tyler and Emily take the case with Dave.
Dave and Tyler survey the Tolson crime scene. Dave encourages Tyler to get his bad theories out before he recreates the scene. They question every move and conclude that the unsub put the couple on trial for heresy.
Charles remembers the unsub had a vial of salt on his neck and salt is present at both crime scenes. Salt is used in cleansing rituals which has Emily deducing that the unsub is on a witch hunt.
It cuts to Sean holding the Blairs “on trial.” His wife, hearing of the attacks, goads him, claiming that she is a witch. But Sean kills her husband. Andrew.
Dave questions her and finds out that Andrew cheated and Sean is after adulterers. Adultery was like heresy in the medieval period. The financial records of the first two victims confirm that they were also cheating.
Dave also recalls the Malleus Maleficarum and the Satanic scare of the 80s. It is the very instruction manual the unsub is using to put adulterers on trial. The BAU theorizes that the unsub must have experienced some emotional trauma involving a loved one leading to the killing spree.
The BAU tries to find a link and Dave encourages Tyler who realizes that the unsub knew the kids’ schedules.
Cut to the estranged Woodrows trying to reconcile after their daughter leaves for school. Sean suddenly snaps at the couple.
Back to the fan mystery, Tara, Luke and JJ concentrate on it. The fan sends another package – 3 photographs of a Jane Doe from Pennsylvania. Voit believes the fan hasn’t killed yet, but will soon.
Laura Boyd is identified as Jane Doe by BAU. The pictures were taken by her ex, Lance Kingston. She is afraid of him and tells me he went crazy and started stalking her when she broke up with him.
JJ questions Lance, who is narcissistic, aggressive and erratic. He’s cocky one minute, then the next lashes out. But he knows the cops got nothing on him.
JJ doesn’t think he’s the fan, and Tara has an idea. She gets him to sign a release with a leaking pen. He simply cleans his hand when the ink spoils the shape. Which means he is the not the fan .
The fan is OCD, he would have blown up if the pen leaked on him. He probably hacked Lance’s devices to steal the photos and frame him.
The agents are still not ready to let Lance go without ensuring Laura’s safety. They make Luke play good cop AND bad cop. Luke mentions how Lance has no one and is an easy target for the fan. But Luke won’t protect Lance if he doesn’t stay away from Laura. Lance is cowed down to agree.
Back to the unsub, Penelope finds Sean Fincher, a substitute teacher who taught the children of all 3 victims. His pastor daddy killed his mommy. And 4 weeks ago his wife divorced and left with their son . That’s what sent Sean off on his killing spree.
Meanwhile, Sean puts the Woodrows on trial and finds them guilty of failing their daughter. In a twist, the wife, Delores, reveals that they both cheated on each other. Her husband, Brenton, had accidentally killed their son and resentment had ensued. She goes on about forgiveness, but Sean is unwavering. Tyler arrives and kills him before he can kill them both.
Tyler regrets being one step slow but Emily and Dave tell him he did a good job.
JJ thanked Luke for looking after Henry and had a feeling that the kid would open up to her when he was ready.
Home, she honestly reveals she is tired but wants to spend time with Henry. Henry eats ice cream and tells him that he is worried about leaving JJ alone, and agrees to go to college.
Meanwhile Voit realizes Laura is just a Trojan Horse. The fan is collecting information so he knows how not to get caught out. And after hacking Lance, the fan will learn how the BAU works when the guy rants online about the interrogation.
It also works as a two-birds-one-stone situation with the fan probably using Lance as his first kill, one of many, to perfectly emulate Voit.
It cuts to the fan placing Lance’s unconscious body in his car. Pennsylvania license plate.
The Review Episode
Criminal Minds Evolution takes on a two-part story in Season 19, Episode 4. The big mystery of Voit and his fan turned possible copycat killer. And then there’s the case of the week after the medieval trials that Sean Fincher presides over.
“Sean’s story is pretty interesting for a one-off segment. It keeps viewers glued, even as they learn about the killer’s face, his act, and his planning, as the cops try to close in on him.
We can get inside the killer’s head and investigate with them through the BAU. The episode does throw a curveball pretty early on with Sean killing a man.
Then there’s the second storyline that has created quite a stir with the arrival of guest star Connor Storrie from Heated Rivalry as a victim. Voit’s fan hasn’t appeared yet but Storrie’s Lance keeps the viewers busy, and we have to wonder if he’s the fan himself at first.
Having a young character like him, it just shows how badly the writer’s room needs a Gen Z consultant for their dialogue writing, especially with Lance’s dialogues like “F**k this noise” and “I’m peacing out.” It sounds more like 70s hippie slang than the Zillennials that make up the current youth demo.