Coda

Coda
Airdate	February 23, 2011
Written by	Rick Dunkle
Directed by	Rob Hardy
EPISODE GUIDE
Previous:	"Today I Do"
Next:	"Valhalla"

"Coda" is the sixteenth episode of Season Six and the 130th overall of Criminal Minds.

Overview

As Prentiss enlists two former friends from Interpol to track down an old enemy, the BAU is called to Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, to help locate the missing parents of an autistic boy.

Synopsis

In Coda (Season 6, Episode 16), the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) investigates the abduction of a Louisiana couple, Alicia and Charlie Davis, who vanished during a suspected robbery. Their autistic son, Sammy Sparks, becomes a key player in the case as he is found unharmed and seemingly detached from the chaos around him. Sammy communicates through his love for playing the piano, and the BAU members—especially Reid and Prentiss—work patiently to connect with him, hoping he can provide clues to uncover the couple's whereabouts. The team grapples with understanding Sammy's perspective and navigating his world, seeking to decode the puzzle surrounding the crime.

Meanwhile, tensions rise within the Davis family's household as secrets begin to surface. The Behavioral Analysis Unit uncovers motives tied to financial pressures and betrayal, peeling back layers of deception to reveal the truth behind the crime. Sammy's piano-playing becomes a critical tool in unlocking details from his memory, leading the team to discover the whereabouts of his parents and the identity of those responsible for their abduction. Amidst the urgency of the investigation, Coda offers poignant moments that highlight the bond formed between Sammy and Reid, showcasing the BAU’s compassion in addition to their tenacity in solving cases.

Guest Cast

• Skyler Brigmann - Sammy Sparks
• Jennifer Christopher - Rebecca David
• Siena Goines - Tsia Mosely
• Mimi Kennedy - Miss Rogers
• Jessica Lundy - Alison Sparks
• Timothy V. Murphy - Ian Doyle
• Cade Owens - Jack Hotchner
• Sebastian Roché - Clyde Easter
• Romy Rosemont - Elizabeth Sparks
• Lew Temple - Bill Thomas
• Phil Willcox - Charlie Sparks
• Shane Woodson - Sheriff Oliver

Referenced Criminals

• Deepwater Horizon

Music

• "Brother" by Road Hawgs
• "Home" by Daughtry

Bookend Quotes

• Spencer Reid: "Tomorrow, you promise yourself, will be different, yet, tomorrow is too often a repetition of today." — Author James T. McCay
• Ian Doyle: Honoré de Balzac once said, "Most people of action are inclined to fatalism and most people of thought believe in providence."

Trivia

• "Coda" is a musical term referring to the concluding passage of a piece, which can consist of a few measures up to an entire section.
• Mimi Kennedy previously co-starred with Thomas Gibson on the sitcom Dharma & Greg.
• This is the 2nd of 9 episodes in which a non-BAU/ guest cast character, Ian Doyle, recites a bookend quote. The other episodes are:
  • "Tabula Rasa" - Ending bookend quote recited by both Mr. Corbett and Spencer Reid.
  • "Lauren" - Ending bookend quote recited by JJ (who was with the State Department at that time).
  • "Zugzwang" - Ending bookend quote recited by Maeve Donovan.
  • "200" - Beginning bookend quote recited by Prentiss. (Who was with Interpol at that time)
  • "Beyond Borders" - Ending bookend quote recited by Jack Garrett.
  • "Tribute" - Beginning bookend quote recited by Prentiss. (Who was with Interpol at that time)
  • "Chameleon" - Beginning (and only) bookend quote recited by Krystall Richards.
  • "Family Tree" - Beginning and end bookend quote recited by Everett Lynch.

Criminal Minds Episodes

Season One Extreme Aggressor • Compulsion • Won't Get Fooled Again • Plain Sight • Broken Mirror • L.D.S.K. • The Fox • Natural Born Killer • Derailed • The Popular Kids • Blood Hungry • What Fresh Hell? • Poison • Riding the Lightning • Unfinished Business • The Tribe • A Real Rain • Somebody's Watching • Machismo • Charm and Harm • Secrets and Lies • The Fisher King, Part 1 Season Two The Fisher King, Part 2 • P911 • The Perfect Storm • Psychodrama • Aftermath • The Boogeyman • North Mammon • Empty Planet • The Last Word • Lessons Learned • Sex, Birth, Death • Profiler, Profiled • No Way Out • The Big Game • Revelations • Fear and Loathing • Distress • Jones • Ashes and Dust • Honor Among Thieves • Open Season • Legacy • No Way Out II: The Evilution of Frank Season Three Doubt • In Name and Blood • Scared to Death • Children of the Dark • Seven Seconds • About Face • Identity • Lucky • Penelope • True Night • Birthright • 3rd Life • Limelight • Damaged • A Higher Power • Elephant's Memory • In Heat • The Crossing • Tabula Rasa • Lo-Fi Season Four Mayhem • The Angel Maker • Minimal Loss • Paradise • Catching Out • The Instincts • Memoriam • Masterpiece • 52 Pickup • Brothers in Arms • Normal • Soul Mates • Bloodline • Cold Comfort • Zoe's Reprise • Pleasure Is My Business • Demonology • Omnivore • House on Fire • Conflicted • A Shade of Gray • The Big Wheel • Roadkill • Amplification • To Hell and Back, Part 1 • To Hell and Back, Part 2 Season Five Nameless, Faceless • Haunted • Reckoner • Hopeless • Cradle to Grave • The Eyes Have It • The Performer • Outfoxed • 100 • The Slave of Duty • Retaliation • The Uncanny Valley • Risky Business • Parasite • Public Enemy • Mosley Lane • Solitary Man • The Fight • A Rite of Passage • ...A Thousand Words • Exit Wounds • The Internet Is Forever • Our Darkest Hour Season Six The Longest Night • J.J. • Remembrance of Things Past • Compromising Positions • Safe Haven • Devil's Night • Middle Man • Reflection of Desire • Into the Woods • What Happens at Home • 25 to Life • Corazón • The Thirteenth Step • Sense Memory • Today I Do • Coda • Valhalla • Lauren • With Friends Like These... • Hanley Waters • The Stranger • Out of the Light • Big Sea • Supply and Demand Season Seven It Takes a Village • Proof • Dorado Falls • Painless • From Childhood's Hour • Epilogue • There's No Place Like Home • Hope • Self-Fulfilling Prophecy • The Bittersweet Science • True Genius • Unknown Subject • Snake Eyes • Closing Time • A Thin Line • A Family Affair • I Love You, Tommy Brown • Foundation • Heathridge Manor • The Company • Divining Rod • Profiling 101 • Hit • Run Season Eight The Silencer • The Pact • Through the Looking Glass • God Complex • The Good Earth • The Apprenticeship • The Fallen • The Wheels on the Bus • Magnificent Light • The Lesson • Perennials • Zugzwang • Magnum Opus • All That Remains • Broken • Carbon Copy • The Gathering • Restoration • Pay It Forward • Alchemy • Nanny Dearest • #6 • Brothers Hotchner • The Replicator Season Nine The Inspiration • The Inspired • Final Shot • To Bear Witness • Route 66 • In The Blood • Gatekeeper • The Return • Strange Fruit • The Caller • Bully • The Black Queen • The Road Home • 200 • Mr. & Mrs. Anderson • Gabby • Persuasion • Rabid • The Edge of Winter • Blood Relations • What Happens in Mecklinburg • Fatal • Angels • Demons Season Ten X • Burn • A Thousand Suns • The Itch • If the Shoe Fits • Boxed In • Hashtag • The Boys of Sudworth Place • Fate • Amelia Porter • The Forever People • Anonymous • Nelson's Sparrow • Hero Worship • Scream • Lockdown • Breath Play • Rock Creek Park • Beyond Borders • A Place at the Table • Mr. Scratch • Protection • The Hunt Season Eleven The Job • The Witness • 'Til Death Do Us Part • Outlaw • The Night Watch • Pariahville • Target Rich • Awake • Internal Affairs • Future Perfect • Entropy • Drive • The Bond • Hostage • A Badge and a Gun • Derek • The Sandman • A Beautiful Disaster • Tribute • Inner Beauty • Devil's Backbone • The Storm Season Twelve The Crimson King • Sick Day • Taboo • Keeper • The Anti-Terrorism Squad • Elliott's Pond • Mirror Image • Scarecrow • Profiling 202 • Seek and Destroy • Surface Tension • A Good Husband • Spencer • Collision Course • Alpha Male • Assistance Is Futile • In the Dark • Hell's Kitchen • True North • Unforgettable • Green Light • Red Light Season Thirteen Wheels Up • To A Better Place • Blue Angel • Killer App • Lucky Strikes • The Bunker • Dust and Bones • Neon Terror • False Flag • Submerged • Full-Tilt Boogie • Bad Moon on the Rise • Cure • Miasma • Annihilator • Last Gasp • The Capilanos • The Dance of Love • Ex Parte • All You Can Eat • Mixed Signals • Believer Season Fourteen 300 • Starter Home • Rule 34 • The Tall Man • Innocence • Luke • Twenty Seven • Ashley • Broken Wing • Flesh and Blood • Night Lights • Hamelin • Chameleon • Sick and Evil • Truth or Dare Season Fifteen Under the Skin • Awakenings • Spectator Slowing • Saturday • Date Night • Ghost • Rusty • Family Tree • Face Off • And in the End...