"The Thirteenth Step" is the thirteenth episode of Season Six and the 127th overall of Criminal Minds.
Summary[]
As the BAU goes to Montana to track down two young lovers who have embarked on an interstate killing spree, Prentiss receives alarming news from an old friend.
Guest Cast[]
- Tony Alameda - Tattooed Man
- Daniel Buran - Jason
- Harley Graham - Heather Manning
- Meegan Godfrey - Schoolteacher
- Roberta Hanlen - Mrs. Donovan
- Gary Hudson - Tim
- Bill A. Jones - Newscaster #3
- Kerry Kilbride - Newscaster #1
- Deirdre Lovejoy - Agent Bates
- Robert F. Lyons - Paul Donovan[1]
- Angus Macfadyen - Sean McAllister
- Kevin McCorkle - Gary Manning
- Colleen McDonnell - Karen Manning
- Olga Ospina - Newscaster #2
- Adrianne Palicki - Sydney Manning
- Walt Scott - Store Owner
- Jordan Tartakow - M.E. Tech
- Jonathan Tucker - Raymond Donovan
- Desary Vailencour - BAU Agent
- Oleg Vidov - Driver
- David Wells - Store Clerk
Referenced Criminals[]
Music[]
- "Six Pack and Smokes" by Tara Novick Teaser
- "The Hop" by Radio Citizen
- "Revival" by JVC Mix Maritine Girault
- "Green Haze" by Miles Davis Bar Source
Bookend Quotes[]
- Emily Prentiss: Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, "What really raises one's indignation against suffering is not suffering intrinsically, but the senselessness of suffering."
- Emily Prentiss: William Glasser wrote, "What happened in the past that was painful has a great deal to do with what we are today."
Trivia[]
- The "thirteenth step" is an aptly-titled extra "step" for the twelve-step recovery process, which dictates that someone, usually a man who is a veteran Alcoholics Anonymous member, must not start making romantic advances on another person who had just entered Alcoholics Anonymous. It is also a term referring to the fulfillment of only the first step (admitting that one was powerless over alcohol) and the twelfth step (having a spiritual awakening after completing the entire process and then sharing it with other alcoholics) while ignoring the other steps.
- A promo for the episode is accompanied with the narration: "They're young. They're in love. And...they're killers." This is extremely similar (almost word to word) to a tagline for the film Natural Born Killers, which this episode is based from: "They're young. They're in love. And they kill people."
- Robert F. Lyons, the actor who portrays Paul Donovan, previously appeared on Criminal Minds, starring as a murdered bartender in the Season Five episode "Hopeless."
- Meegan Godfrey, the actress who portrays a schoolteacher, previously appeared on Criminal Minds, starring as Nicole Wegener in the Season One episode "Charm and Harm," and as Samantha Rush in the Season Five episode "The Internet Is Forever."
- Reid exhibits a knowledge of addiction support meetings and twelve-step programs. This may be because of his former addiction to Dilaudid, for which he sought help in a support group for law officers with addicts.
- One of the convenience store victims name was shown on Garcia's screens was "Apu, N.", an Easter-Egg for Simpsons fans. However the first and last names were reversed because Apu is the first name of the owner of Springfield's Kwik-E-Mart.
References[]
- ↑ Credited as "Mr. Donovan"