Randall Garner

"Ask the question, Sir Percival."

Randall Garner, a.k.a. "The Fisher King", was a budding serial killer with an epic and dramatic flair. He first appeared in Season One of Criminal Minds.

Background
Randall was originally happily married with four children and was a school teacher. One night, Randall and his entire family got caught up in a house fire that was caused by faulty wiring as they slept. Randall tried to save them, but he was only able to save one of his daughters, Rebecca, and was severely burned in the process. His injuries gradually drove him insane, leading to his incarceration at the Bennington Sanitarium, coincidentally the current residence of the mother of Spencer Reid, Diana. Diana taught him about the Fisher King, mythical keeper of the Holy Grail and the obstacle of the Knights of the Round Table. This caused him to believe that he is the Fisher King, the Holy Grail being Rebecca and the Knights being the BAU, whom he also learned of from Diana. After being released by the sanitarium, Randall tracked down Rebecca, who had now forgotten of her past and was living a life of drugs and running away, and abducted her, keeping her for two years while her presence was never reported, with her foster-turned-adoptive parents believing she simply ran away again, this time for good.

Part 1
Deciding it was time to initiate his "quest", Randall stalked the BAU, taking photos of them as they investigated all of their cases in Season One and finding out about their personal information, such as addresses and daily schedules to name a few. He gets one Marty Harris killed and decapitated post-mortem, later framing Elle for the act as she and Morgan vacation in Jamaica; sends a skeleton key to Reid while he attempts to visit his mother at the sanitarium; delivers Marty's head and a 1963 baseball card to Gideon as he has dinner with Sarah Jacobs; drops off a box containing a rare butterly in a shadow box to JJ; makes a phone call to Hotch at his home; and taunts Garcia online using the alias "Sir Kneighf" (an anagram of the Fisher King), saying, "No Work, All Play."

Hotch arrives in Jamaica and is able to exonerate Elle before the two of them, along with Morgan, return to the BAU headquarters to regroup with the rest of the team. They share their discoveries and contemplate on what is happening before Garcia arrives and tells them of Sir Kneighf hacking into her account, leaving the possibility that the unsub now has access to all of the FBI's files. She also tells them that she managed to find the hacker's account and names the unsub as Frank Giles. The BAU raids his house only to find him dead, impaled on his bed with a medieval sword. They also find two messages, one written in Frank's own blood and the other engraved on the sword.

They use the latter message to find a music box, which Reid unlocks with the skeleton key that was sent to him. They find a third message, a sample of Rebecca's hair, and a DVD; when they play it back at the headquarters, they are described of the quest by Randall and are told of the one rule: only the BAU members must participate in the quest and no outside help is allowed. Hotch is immediately paid a visit by Haley afterwards, who tells him that a man came to their house and gave her a paper written with many numbers.

Deciding that outside help must be allowed, Gideon orders JJ to stage a press conference that Randall later sees, enraging him. When Elle starts becoming drowsy, Hotch allows her to go home and she is escorted by Agent Anderson, who unknowingly disobeys orders and drops her off instead of staying with her. Inside her home, Elle is confronted by Randall himself, who yells at her for breaking the one rule before shooting her when she lunges for her gun. He later writes a message in her own blood before leaving: "Rules."

Part 2
Meanwhile, the BAU manages to apprehend the man that approached Haley, who tells them that he was approached by a seriously-wounded man in a hat. Gideon realizes that the unsub they're looking for is suffering from terrible burn marks. The BAU then receives a phone call from Randall, who accuses them of breaking the one rule. When Gideon asks about his burns, Randall quietly snarls that he shot Elle before hanging up. Gideon and Hotch arrive at the hospital to be informed by Anderson that Elle survived and she is undergoing medical surgery. He also adds that Elle's FBI badge was stolen and is nowhere to be found. Randall is later seen giving Rebecca nourishment and tells her that he loves her when she pleads to be released. Rebecca begins to cry as Randall leaves the room.

Reid manages to find out that the numbers on the paper Haley gave Hotch symbolize certain words from a book written by an author with the surname of Fowles and published in 1963. Garcia manages to find an author named John Fowles, who had a book called The Collector published in 1963. Reid realizes that Randall is sending them items that are collected, and when the two of them see the book's cover, they find that it depicts a butterfly, a skeleton key, and a sample of blonde hair, identical to the items sent to the BAU. Reid calls a librarian who finds the words symbolized by the numbers on the paper, and the final message says, "The Path to the End Began at His Start to Find Her First Calm. She Sits in a Window with Secrets From Her Knight. Is It Adventure That Keeps Him Out of Her Sight?" The BAU uses the message to find out about Rebecca's past, and they interrogate her adoptive parents, who tell them of her deceased family and Randall's full name. Garcia later finds out that Randall was institutionalized in the same sanitarium as Diana.

The BAU sends someone to retrieve Diana from the sanitarium, despite her fear of flying. Reid socializes with his mother briefly before she tells him of what she told him years ago that led to his current delusion. Diana then reveals she was sent a photo of his residence, a mansion of a medieval style located near Quantico. Reid, Hotch, and Morgan rush to the house with several SWAT agents. They find Elle's ID and gun, and Reid later finds Randall in his office with a bomb planted on himself. Randall tells Reid to "ask him the magical question"; Reid realizes that in the myth of the Fisher King, one of the knights asks the Fisher King, who was also badly injured, a question that heals his wounds. Knowing that asking the question won't work, Reid attempts to tell Randall to stand down, but he refuses. Reid asks if Randall can forgive himself of the death of his family, and Randall replies, "Can I forgive myself? No, I can't." He then blows himself up and Reid manages to escape the explosion in time.

Reid immediately uses a clue hidden in the photo Randall sent Diana to find Rebecca, and she is rescued.

Profile
As mentioned above, Randall's killings began as a result of his delusion that he is the Fisher King. He believes that Rebecca is the Holy Grail, and that the BAU members are the Knights of the Round Table, who in Arthurian legend, sought the Holy Grail. Randall believes that if Reid asks him the magical question, all of Randall's injuries will be healed, in the same way the Fisher King's wounds were healed when Galahad asked the magical question.

Modus Operandi
Randall's methods varied, but all of his murders were laced with a medieval style; impaled with a sword, beheaded, etc. When he attempted to kill Elle, he used a handgun.

Known Victims

 * South Boston, Virginia, U.S.: Rebecca Bryant
 * Unknown location in Jamaica: Marty Harris
 * Quantico, Virginia, U.S.:
 * Frank Giles
 * Elle Greenaway
 * Spencer Reid

Quotes
Randall: (to the BAU via recording) I assure you, you will all understand in the end why it must be this way. You might even thank me. Hear now, you are on a quest. A young girl's life depends on the successful completion of it.

(the recording switches to a viewing of Rebecca)

Randall: As you can see she is quite beautiful, and in distress. Now please listen closely, for there is one rule, and this rule must be followed. The one rule is only the members of your team may participate in the quest: Jason Gideon, Aaron Hotchner, Derek Morgan, Elle Greenaway, Spencer Reid, Jennifer Jareau, and Penelope Garcia. The quest must be completed in the proper way, or it is regressed. That's it. One rule. Simple. Now, you will all receive an item soon that will hold the final clue you will need to finish the quest. You will also need to find a book which has inspired many an adventure like mine. Believe me when I tell you, I truly hope to see you all soon. It would make a successful end to this... adventure. For all of us.

Randall: (angrily, to Elle) I told you, it was one rule. One rule!

Gideon: I'm actually more interested in exactly how you got all those burns.

Randall: Remember this: next time you decide to step out of my instructions, Agent Greenaway did not have to die like that.

(Rebecca hits Randall in the head with her tray as he prepares to leave)

Rebecca: Why don't you just kill me, you son of a bitch?

(Randall turns around)

Randall: Because I love you too much, Rebecca.

(Rebecca begins crying as Randall leaves)

Randall: (to Reid) Ask the question, Sir Percival.

Reid: There's only one question that matters, Mr. Garner. There's only one really important question: Can you forgive yourself.

Randall: I couldn't get to them.

Reid: If you tell me where she is, you can save Rebecca now. Tell me where Rebecca is.

Randall: You already know. I sent your mother the map.

Reid: (confused) What map?

Randall: Can I forgive myself? No, I can't.

(Randall blows himself up, but Reid manages to get away in time)

Appearances

 * Season One
 * "The Fisher King, part 1"
 * Season Two
 * "The Fisher King, part 2"
 * "Aftermath"
 * "The Boogeyman"
 * "No Way Out II: The Evilution of Frank"