Criminal Minds: Evolution Episode 7 Recap: What Doesn’t Kill Us…

Image Credit: Michael Yarish /Paramount

‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ is effectively the 16th season of ‘Criminal Minds,’ though there are dissimilarities. Some crucial members of the original show are missing, and the format is less episodic, with the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) trying to catch arguably the most efficient killer the team has ever hunted. However, there are episodes when the team focuses on other UnSubs. After all, even though the BAU is busy with Sicarius, that doesn’t mean that other killers across the country have stopped killing. That is what happens in episode 7, titled, ‘What Doesn’t Kill Us…’ A part of the team deals with a case involving the kidnapping and murder of a man and the kidnapping of two young women. Here is what you may want to know about the ending of ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ episode 7. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Criminal Minds: Evolution Episode 7 Recap

The episode begins by depicting a young woman regaining consciousness and finding herself trapped in the air-vent system of a building. We later learn that her name is Ashley. The scene then shifts to the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. and Deputy Director Doug Bailey states the customary ‘Criminal Minds’ quote: this one is from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Having kissed Tyler in the previous episode, Garcia knows that she must speak to Prentiss about it but decides to postpone until the other woman’s meeting with the Attorney General and Bailey is over. The AG wants to close the case with the presumption that Reeves is Sicarius, but the BAU members disagree with this conclusion and believe that the real Sicarius is still out there. The AG makes a compromise and tells them to solve a case in West Virginia to prove themselves to her. After that, the AG assures she will consider whether to keep the Sicarius case open.

Image Credit: Michael Yarish/Paramount+

Because of the bad breakup, Tara seems distracted, so Rossie tasks her to find where the microchip they had found on the second shipping container came from. It turns out it belongs to the dog Elias used to kill the person who looked like his neighbor. Meticulous as he is, Elias killed the dog as well afterward. Tara finds the dog’s owner — the young woman Elias encountered at the store he visited in one of the earlier episodes. Tara ensures that the BAU has all the footage that the store CCTV recorded on the day the dog disappeared. As the episode ends, Rossi finds the footage showing Sicarius. Although Elias is careful as always and doesn’t show his face to the camera, this is the first image the authorities have of the serial killer. Meanwhile, Elias imagines himself killing his family multiple times before deciding that it will be best to put some distance between him and them.

Criminal Minds: Evolution Episode 7 Ending: Who Killed Terry O’Brien? Why Were Grace and Ashley kidnapped?

As Tara is otherwise busy, Prentiss lets Bailey join the team. Despite spending his entire career behind a desk, Bailey proves himself to be a surprisingly efficient agent who knows his strengths and freely uses them. The only dead victim, in this case, is Terry O’Brien, a teaching assistant at Camdale College in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. O’Brien went missing, and his body was discovered on the campus a few days later. The case has been brought to the BAU because a woman named Grace has gone missing from the same area. Bailey finds out that a second woman has also been abducted, and that’s Ashley.

Image Credit: Michael Yarish/Paramount+

Luke and Rossi visit the medical examiner’s office to check the body and realize that O’Brien was severely tortured. The killer made O’Brien crawl for days before whipping him to death. Moreover, the number 314 was branded on the victim’s forehead. Rossi thinks that the killer is referring to PI and is about to call Reid, but Luke believes that this 314 refers to Genesis chapter 3, verse 14: “On your belly shall you crawl all the days of your life.”

Bailey convinces O’Brien’s uncooperating parents to reveal that their son sold some of his prescribed OxyContin to Grace. As for Ashley, she enabled her friend’s addiction. The killer turns out to be Frank Scelsa, a superintendent at Camdale. His daughter, Kelly, overdosed after buying drugs from a fellow student. Her roommate knew about it but didn’t tell anyone. All the people who were involved with this were either expelled or arrested. So, Scelsa pointed the rage still bubbling inside him toward others. He is eventually arrested, and Grace and Ashley are saved. However, even though BAU solves the West Virginia murder, the AG officially closes the Sicarius case.

What Is the Meaning of the Mid-Credits Scene?

Not all the episodes of ‘Criminal Minds’ have a mid- or post-credits scene, making ‘What Doesn’t Kill Us…’ really special. After learning that Garcia has kissed Tyler, Prentiss tells her in no uncertain terms that she has to end things with Tyler because he is a witness in a case. However, in one of the final scenes of this episode, Tyler comes to Garcia’s apartment to drop off her keys, and they sleep together.

Image Credit: Michael Yarish/Paramount+

In the mid-credits scene, a concerned neighbor knocks on Garcia’s door after hearing a noise, but she assures her that everything is fine. Afterward, the camera shows Tyler stretched across the countertop, with books covering his private parts and a blissful look on his face.

Read More: Is Luke Alvez Dead? Is Adam Rodriguez Leaving Criminal Minds: Evolution?

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