Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 1 Episode 9 Review: Memento Mori
The Sicarius versus BAU showdown is what viewers have waited for all season, but it comes at a great cost on Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 1 Episode 9, “Memento Mori.” If anyone is going to test the limits of the BAU’s most prolific profiler it’s Sicarius.
Since his return, Rossi struggled to recover from the death of Krystall despite all his protests. His recklessness might not be as obvious as it was on Episode 1, but how else do you explain him trying to go after Sicarius by himself?
The scenes where he tries to break through to Sydney Voit, who falls prey to her husband’s manipulations, break your heart. His profiling her in the grocery store and guessing her tragic background just emphasizes how twisted Sicarius is that even when “falling in love” he was really just picking out the perfect victim.
Although Ellias’ story about him uncovering corporate crimes that the FBI is covering up sounds ridiculous, it’s easy to understand why Sydney is so desperate to believe him. No one wants to even think about the possibility that someone they love could commit such horrible acts.
The highlights of this episode are the two-hander scenes between Rossi and Sicarius. Every scene they share shows why the two characters, and actors, are evenly matched.
Sicarius taunts Rossi for not being the great profiler he expected while Rossi breaks down Sicarius’ deluded belief that he can still keep his family and calls out his “devolution.” It’s the best choice out of all the possible matchups since Rossi has nothing left to lose while Sicarius has everything left to lose.
Joe Mantegna plays Rossi as the hardboiled agent who has encountered enough monsters to see through Sicarius’ bravado. Even though Rossi is disadvantaged from the moment he walks into Sicarius’ house, you can’t help but think he’ll still come out on top.
Sicarius’ unexpected assault on Rossi tilts the narrative from a tense battle of wit to something more desperate and unnerving. The more desperate Sicarius becomes the more dangerous he is.
The flashbacks included, distinguished by showing the year AND the use of black and white coloring, don’t always work on the episode. It’s always better to show instead of tell but in many cases, Criminal Minds: Evolution ends up doing both anyway with these scenes.
Rossi tells us Sicarius loves his family but he’ll hurt them in the end, no matter how hard he tries not to. Do we also need the saccharine flashback of him and Sydney moving into their first home?
The flashback to Garcia and Luke’s date in 2020 is a nice callback for fans to the original series finale but unnecessary in the context of the episode. We already know Garcia found the person for her with Tyler, we don’t need the clunky moment of her telling Luke they’ll both find the right person eventually.
Those add-ons aside, it’s a tense installment that allows Sicarius to shine as one of the scariest UnSubs yet.
Tyler’s determination to kill Sicarius himself feels all too predictable even if it does come at the expense of Garcia’s feelings. He’s already tried to do it once, so it’s surprising the BAU doesn’t keep closer tabs on him after suspecting he lied about not recognizing Voit in the lineup.
Tyler throwing a wrench in Sicarius’ plan to stage Rossi’s suicide also ramps up the drama and sets up the highest stakes possible leading into the finale. Does the BAU let Sicarius go in exchange for Rossi’s life, or do they take down one of the most prolific serial killers of all time?
Additional Thoughts:
- Rebecca telling Tara she’s moving to Sacramento only to later hold her hand during the briefing gave me whiplash.
- Sydney’s reaction to Elias telling her they need to keep the girls off their phones cracked me up. “That’s impossible!”
- Even though I disliked their date flashback, I did enjoy Luke being Garcia’s confidant about Tyler. She’s right, they do have better chemistry when she’s giving him a hard time.
- Where is Bailey?
- Will being excited to finally ride in the jet is adorable.
- I’m glad Tyler is still alive but maybe he needs some serious therapy before he and Garcia have a real relationship.
What did you think of this episode of Criminal Minds: Evolution? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Criminal Minds: Evolution airs Thursdays on Paramount+.
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Breeze Riley
Breeze Riley is a pop culture enthusiast who decided to turn her love of watching too much TV into a hobby writing about it. Although she's a convention-going sci-fi and fantasy nerd, she's just as likely to be watching an off-beat comedy or period drama. She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic.