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"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[]

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[]

  1. Credited as "Mr. Donovan"


Criminal Minds Episodes
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