Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 3, Episode 5 Review't Deserve Antihero Status

Warning: SPOILERS for Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3, episode 5.

This article mentions suicidal ideation, death, and horrific crimes like murder.

The story quality throughoutCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3 has been a mixed bag, but the visual elements of “The Brutal Man” helped breathe new life into the crime drama. A.J. Cook’s Jennifer “JJ” Jareau has irrefutably emerged as themain character ofCriminal Minds: Evolution, following in the footsteps of David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) and Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster), who unofficially led seasons 1 and 2, respectively. Aside from JJ suffering a severe personal tragedy (the departure of Josh Stewart’s Will LaMontagne), her story has been set up as a foil for long-time antagonist Elias Voit (Zach Gilford).

AJ Cook as JJ staring down The Brutal Man in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3, episode 5.

Already halfway through the season,Criminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3 has delivered some of the strongest episodes since the continuation began in 2022 and, unfortunately, some of the weakest. Issues ranging from repetitive storytelling to lack ofmemorable unsubs inCriminal MInds’ revival threatened the future of the crime procedural, butseason 3, episode 5 poured energy into its visuals to supplement a passable storyline. The overarching narrative is still unclear as filming forCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 4kicks off, but JJ and Voit’s dual development at least seems poised for a serviceable conclusion after “The Brutal Man.”

JJ Turns To An Unlikely Source To Deal With Her Grief

Voit’s Doctor Becomes A Sounding Board For JJ In “The Brutal Man”

Will’s death inCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3 marked a turning point for the revival, and JJ has been struggling to cope with her grief ever since. Whereas season 3, episode 3 was saturated in JJ’s pain without feeling contrived, the following episode used JJ’s convoluted grief as a flimsy plot convenience to set her up as a major figure in the new Voit’s life. Ironically, it’s Voit’s doctor — Aimee Garcia’s Julia Ochoa — who becomes the key to tying them together when JJ seeks out the neuropsychiatrist for a session.

JJ and Dr. Ochoa’s conversation creates the framework for the episode, as most events are told through flashbacks spliced with cutaways to Dr. Ochoa’s clarifying questions. The back-and-forth between the past and present JJ is particularly compelling, as the camera shots use similar or identical movements to transition back in time or back to the present. JJ’s conversation with Dr. Ochoa offers unique opportunities for exposition and analysis that is usually left for interpretation, especially as the unsub of the episode unsubtly strikes a chord.

Joe Mantegna as Rossi and Zach Gilford as Elias Voit in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3, episode 5.

The Brutal Man’s Sickening M.O. Strikes A Nerve With JJ

The Real Masked Killer Complicates Her Healing Journey

The titular unsub of the week, known by his self-given moniker “The Brutal Man,” is a textbook family annihilator with a small twist.The Brutal Man toys with his victims — always two parents and two children — by presenting them with a choice: if they agree on one family member to sacrifice, he’ll let the rest live. This game never pans out inCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3, episode 5, as The Brutal Man wipes out family after family, always leaving one sole survivor to spread his message.

JJ originally concluded that the masked man from the BAU Gate video was Elias Voit himself, but The Brutal Man drew the FBI’s attention from Cleveland, OH.

One such survivor, a mother who lost her husband and daughters, resonates too much with JJ. The woman describes in detail how the unsub tied her and her family up, murdered her loved ones in front of her, and then refused to kill her. Instead, the unsub gave the victim his mask — the same Yase Otoko mask JJ investigated with Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) in episode 4 — and encouraged her to keep it on until the police came to take her down.The survivor’s testimony, insisting it feels pointless to seek help, is a clear reflection of JJ’s suppressed instability.

Losing Will fundamentally changed JJ and how she interacts with her job…

WhileCriminal Mindshas disturbing unsubsthat speak to universal fears, The Brutal Man (revealed to be a locksmith named Ronald Graber) was clearly created to prey on JJ’s unique anxieties. As Dr. Ochoa herself points out throughout the session, losing Will fundamentally changed JJ and how she interacts with her job. Beforehand, she was skilled enough to deal with horrific atrocities day by day without breaking a sweat. Now,the trauma is catching up with JJand throwing her off her game.

Voit’s Memory Returns Almost Magically (With One Big Condition)

Criminal Minds: Evolution Sacrifices Science For A Good Story

The Brutal Man is yet another killer connected to Voit’s network of killers, but the Sicarius killer is hesitant to confront his past. Following the Rorschach tests in episode 4,Elias Voit remembered he was a prolific serial killer. Rather than reawaken the tired cat and mouse game Voit and Rossi have been playing sinceEvolutionbegan, episode 5 adds a consequential wrinkle. With the empathy center in Voit’s brain suddenly functioning, his guilt is overwhelming, causing the former serial killer to become suicidal and beg Rossi to hand over his gun.

Voit’s complex amnesia storyline inCriminal Minds: Evolutiontakes yet another turn when Dr. Ochoa describes the miraculous wayVoit regains memories by being in someone’s physical presence. It’s a slight departure from how he remembered his wife and children, and overall demands far too much leeway from us as viewers, but it’s a unique narrative conceit.Criminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3, episode 5 shows its novel theory in action, as Voit suddenly remembers Tyler Green (Ryan-James Hatanaka) when he walks into the BAU’s office and comes face to face with his victim’s brother.

The BAU Ask Their Reformed Serial Killer For Help

The Success Of Voit’s Contributions Remains To Be Seen

Voit’s all-consuming guilt meets JJ’s grief head-on when the conversation between the profiler and Dr. Ochoa pans the camera to reveal Voit was present for the discussion. The set-up was later explained to be a premeditated plan, with JJ confronting her trauma to force Voit to process his own. It proves successful, as Voit decides to channel his guilt into something productive by becoming a tool for the BAU.Voit doesn’t deserve to be an antihero, but it seemsCriminal Minds: Evolutionis giving the killer an opportunity to turn a new leaf.

Criminal Minds: Evolutionis streaming on Paramount+.

Admittedly,Voit joining forces with the BAU was an inevitability, which was only made more pressing by The Brutal Man. Rather than take his life like the many Sicarius network killers before him, Graber surrenders to arrest and vows to talk without a lawyer — on the condition that he can pass along a message to Sicarius from his“disciple.”Though the former amnesiac is initially hesitant, the BAU convinces Voit to talk with Graber and receive his message, hopefully uncovering latent memories of The Brutal Man along the way.

I’d be remiss to ignore that Elias Voit is responsible for many ofCriminal Minds’ brutal deaths, but Zach Gilford’s delicate acting demands further sympathy. Though my reservoir has run dry, I can’t denyhis skillful performance begs the audience to root for Voit, at least in the battle if not the war. The desperate way Voit hugs JJ before walking into the interrogation room, chooses“monster”as his safe word, and offers heartfelt yet plentiful apologies all combine to make Voit the closest thing a mass murderer can get to a“good”guy.

That said, I hopeCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3 still has some surprises in store. It would be fine for Voit to end the season by confessing to Sicarius’ crimes and penitently accepting jail time, but that seems too easy, too optimistic for the crime drama. Regardless of how it happens, one truth is becoming abundantly clear:Evolutionseason 3 needs to be the end of Elias Voit.