Criminal Minds Review: Ashley (Season 14 Episode 8)

Criminal Minds Season 14 Episode 8, “Ashley,” takes us on an emotional spectrum from heart-warming to gut-wrenching and back again.

There are many ways where we can feel for an unsub in spite of their actions. They may have just cause for their rage even with no excuse for what that rage does. Other times, their very realty has been warped by mental problems or life events.

Sometimes, especially with vague depictions of mental illness, there can be too little exposition to make us really see how a character gets where they are. But with a man a loses his child, we hardly need it.

There’s even a touch of good intention to his damaged mindset. Jordan believes he is sparing children from toxic households. That he is instead killing adoptive parents who are flawed but innocent only adds to tragedy of it.

In a story that is almost entirely devastating, its nice to see a character like Jane, who knows one of the kidnaped girls only through her visits to a café, but still goes out of her way to try to support Ruby. We understand why Jordan would trust her.

After a news report exposes that Jane has not taken Ruby in, it feels strange that she is not considered to be at least as much of a target as the second girl Jordan has taken, but the entire issue is dropped right after it arises.

Whatever else this unsub is, he seems to want to help the children whose lives he has taken apart. I don’t fear for their lives as much as Jane’s—or his, when he is finally forced to face the truth of his own child’s death.

This, too, is a product of terrible circumstance, not bad parenting. His daughter dies of a heart defect, but he is left desperate for justice and in such denial as to seek out a replacement in the children of those he kills.

There’s no happy ending in this case, and it’s about as far from a cheerful Thanksgiving episode as you can get. Thankfully (pun intended,) we get a much different kind of plot within the BAU.

I still don’t care for the side bit here of Garcia’s continued attitude toward Luke. I’m not sure if we’re meant to believe that they are meant to be—and if so, what of his current, live-in girlfriend?—but I just don’t care right now.

Fortunately, Garcia is also involved in much better things. No, not the bit where she accidentally reveals that Rossi wants to propose to Krystall, his third wife, and now ex-ex. That part is all kids of awkward.

Instead, since Krystall knows she’s about to get engaged anyway, Garcia does what she does nearly as well as anything involving technology and sets up a lovely congratulations party for the newly reunited couple.

The proposal itself is sweet too, albeit a jarring mood swing from heartbreak in the case just minutes before. Here’s hoping Rossi and Krystall are allowed their happiness on a show that too often takes it away.

 

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Criminal Minds airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on CBS.

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