Criminal Minds: Evolution season 19, episode 7 introduced us to Voit’s fan and just when Voit thought he could continue to be the mastermind, his Fan quickly made him realize that he really wasn’t holding all the cards.
It all started when Voit got one of his many visits from family members of his victims. He was surprised to see a man named Dr. Joshua Ryan, who said he was the cousin of a girl named Deena, whose mom had already come for a visit. Joshua claimed he was there on behalf of her father.
Voit meets his match when his Fan comes to visit
Voit noticed as Joshua spoke to him that he had some OCD behaviors, and he told Voit that he studied criminology after what happened to his cousin. Voit immediately sussed out that this man was actually the Fan the BAU had been looking for. Instead of telling anyone, though, he invited his Fan to come back to speak with him.
When Joshua returned, Voit recited his words from the video he had recorded that Brian gave the BAU. He told his Fan, who wanted to be called God, that if he wanted to earn that title, instead of emulating Voit, he needed to form his own persona. He still thought the Fan didn’t hold all the cards until he was stunned to see a photograph, although the audience didn’t see what it was.
The only thing we can think of is that the photo involves his family. Despite the divorce, Voit would likely feel protective over them and could be a weakness the Fan exploited. Whatever happens next, Voit will likely need to let the BAU know, even if it means they figure out that he encouraged his Fan.
The team works a new case as Dave Rossi and Penelope Garcia try to work things out
Elsewhere in the episode, the BAU was actually on the case of deputies being found assaulted and killed. Sheriff Chambers, who was recently elected, had asked the medical examiner not to let out details of the sexual assaults, but the BAU needed the information to work the case.
Emily convinced Dave and Penelope to work together, which was tough considering when trying to defend herself, Penelope brought up Donnie Mallick. He was the man who had killed Jason Gideon, and then Rossi shot him. She wasn’t thrilled with what Penelope did but wanted to make sure they could have the time to work things out.
While they did argue over their moral compasses over how to handle justice, the discussion did allow them to look for traffic stops that connected all of the deputies and wouldn’t be flagged as excessive force.
They found a man named Daniel Salazar, who did work with the cartel Chambers kept thinking was involved. However, he had just returned from Mexico and knew nothing about the murders. Salazar gave the BAU information about a faction of certain deputies known as The Furies, a gang that liked to party and deal in narcotics. The team realizes their unsubs are likely female victims of the deputies.
The team discovered the house where the gang would party, and blood upstairs indicated where the assaults took place. There were also cameras in the room, meaning the assaults were recorded.
Just as the team figured out the information about the recordings, the women, Maria and Ruby, arrived at the police station and held Chambers hostage with their weapons. Ruby was badly wounded when deputies returned fire, and Maria refused to talk to Rossi.
Penelope asked if she could try, and she got through to Maria by empathizing with her experience. She got Maria to reveal where the tape was so they could hold the deputies accountable who assaulted them.
Chambers had actually made a judgment about Maria and Ruby when they first reported what happened, and he realized he should have listened. He told Emily that he would resign, but she convinced him to stay on and do better.
At the end of the episode, Penelope and Dave made amends, showing that even when they had disagreements, they still cared about each other.
Now that Voit knows who he Fan is, we’re looking forward to seeing what comes next and what he decides to do, especially if he realizes that he vastly underestimated who this man was.
Criminal Minds: Evolution is streaming Thursdays on Paramount+.
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