The good news is that this is a very, very interesting episode; maybe the best of the whole first season. The bad news is that it's a two-parter so viewers had to wait until the next season to see what happened! In my case, since I've only seen this on DVD, I have to wait at least a year for the next DVD package to be available. What a bummer.
First, the group is shown leaving for two-week vacations: all of them but A.J. and Penelope. Elle and Derek are going to Montego Bay, Jamaica; Gideon is going to an isolated cabin in the woods; Dr. Reid is going to Nevada to visit his mentally-ill mother, and Hotchner is going home to be with his wife and kid.
After the first 13 minutes of almost soap-opera type stuff, as we get glimpses into the personal lives of the BAU, the main story kicks in when "Hotch" gets a strange phone call from some guy speaking gibberish about "the youngest holds the key" and several other things which sound like clues to a mystery. Derek then gets call saying there has been a murder in Room 19 of where he's staying. He investigates and sees a lot of blood. The trail of it goes to Elle's room, so she is rousted out of bed by local cops and handcuffed. Gideon, meanwhile, receives a package that contains a Nellie Fox baseball card, an envelope with the words "Save Me" printed on it, and a box. Inside the box is a man's head! Needless to say, that kind of ruins his quiet time in the woods (with an old flame, played by Diane Venora). Reid receives a skeleton key and a note that says, "She will die unless you save her, Dr. Reid. Call Gideon. He knows."
Back in the office in Virginia, the computers go haywire so Penelope freaks out. Jennifer receives a package with a framed European butterfly with a note that says, "She has been searched for, but never found."
Well, obviously the killer is playing a game and he knows all about each of the BAU members.
So much for the vacation. They have to get back together and figure this out, especially after another murder takes place related to their investigation. The show ends with the man in Elle's apartment, with a gun pointed at her. We hear a shot, and that's the end of the season!!!
First, the group is shown leaving for two-week vacations: all of them but A.J. and Penelope. Elle and Derek are going to Montego Bay, Jamaica; Gideon is going to an isolated cabin in the woods; Dr. Reid is going to Nevada to visit his mentally-ill mother, and Hotchner is going home to be with his wife and kid.
After the first 13 minutes of almost soap-opera type stuff, as we get glimpses into the personal lives of the BAU, the main story kicks in when "Hotch" gets a strange phone call from some guy speaking gibberish about "the youngest holds the key" and several other things which sound like clues to a mystery. Derek then gets call saying there has been a murder in Room 19 of where he's staying. He investigates and sees a lot of blood. The trail of it goes to Elle's room, so she is rousted out of bed by local cops and handcuffed. Gideon, meanwhile, receives a package that contains a Nellie Fox baseball card, an envelope with the words "Save Me" printed on it, and a box. Inside the box is a man's head! Needless to say, that kind of ruins his quiet time in the woods (with an old flame, played by Diane Venora). Reid receives a skeleton key and a note that says, "She will die unless you save her, Dr. Reid. Call Gideon. He knows."
Back in the office in Virginia, the computers go haywire so Penelope freaks out. Jennifer receives a package with a framed European butterfly with a note that says, "She has been searched for, but never found."
Well, obviously the killer is playing a game and he knows all about each of the BAU members.
So much for the vacation. They have to get back together and figure this out, especially after another murder takes place related to their investigation. The show ends with the man in Elle's apartment, with a gun pointed at her. We hear a shot, and that's the end of the season!!!
