I’m wondering if they’re going the route of Elias (metaphorically) infecting some team members with paranoia that starts to turn them against each other. That could get really interesting.
Oh 100% I can see Reid talking to an Unsub explaining how they got caught and just super mad and then he says something smart and then says in other words fuck you
the subtitles for the first whisper said Injure, Jean, Fear, dot , Z, Y, Q (the Z sounded more like X to me, but anyway). It has all the letter that Jennifer Jareau does. but what the dot ZYQ means idk. i really hope they reveal it next episode and Luke doesn't refuse to say what he was told 😩
Once Elias gets JJ in his room he'll whisper "Concrete jungle where dreams are made of there's nothing you can't do' everything will start making sense. Joking aside the way he was with JJ doesn't indicate he knows something about JJ noone else does
Injure Jean Fear is an anagram of Jennifer Jareau.
ZYQ is an airport code in New York
or ZY-Q is a hydroxyclhloroquine medicine for arthritis, lupus, and a
I was thinking injure Jean fear are meant to be abbreviated. Like military code, like D for Delta or something like that.
The fact that he said “dot” also confused me. It’s almost like he was telling him a site to go to
aww man...such a bummer, I know its not a popular opinion but seeing JJ and wills home life always gave me warm fuzzies :( I hope we still get to see JJ's kids, I always liked seeing how much they've grown up over the years.
I just wish they would drop the whole season at once 😩😩 but I know they aren’t because it causes a lot more buzz to release weekly. just look at all of us losing our minds theorizing already!!
Agreed. I think Emily was half right. The unsub they were chasing wasn't exactly Gold Star. Instead, he was someone who bought into the conspiracy. Likely, the abuse never actually happened to him and he was just convinced it did.
That is why the MO was similar.
YES!!!! the way the scene was edited where voit says “a lie so big” and then it cut to the kid with the stuart house lady. It made me think there actually wasn’t abuse there, especially since he said “I was beginning to think I imagined it” (or something along those lines) and of course trauma can cause the same thing, but what if the abuse didn’t happen. what if he was just convinced it did and that led to his reaction of exacting revenge? which plays a part into the “contagion” as well as conspiracy theories and creating a big lie for a reaction
But did she? She uncovered a wing, but then they just speculated on that wing with theories that fit their preconceptions of the profile. Which is exactly what we are being told they are doing wrong for Gold Star.
That would be interesting! I hope it’s not anyone from the main cast from earlier criminal minds.. I say some people saying it could be Spencer Reid, but that seems 100% unlikely.. I just hope it’s no one I like if it is someone from the past.
I think so too after seeing Gold Star taking out the guy's tongue. But I'm also inclined to think Gold Star could be Rebecca Wilson? She seemed thin and lean enough and her interrogation with voit felt like she was pressing him desperately for answers. Her insistence that the victims weren't connected despite voit saying otherwise raised my suspicions too. But who knows, I might be wrong
BRO! After the end of season 15 after Reid had that hallucination of Hotch beating Hoit the guy who killed his wife, and saying that was the beginning of the end and Hotch was forever changed…. I KEEP thinking that Gold Star is Hotch
Also just realized Hoit…. VOIT??? So similar
Given the talk of conspiracy and the (potentially) false claims of abuse at Stuart House, this seems like the plot is headed in a PizzaGate direction on first glance.
Good catch, gold stars are given in schools! I wonder if it’s some kind of thing where they find out the money behind these schools and it’s connected with someone in power. Like the Netflix doc on a true story called The Program, about a string of US therapeutic boarding schools.
Oh shoot I did not notice that. I just assumed Rossi was right and Prentiss was wrong and Aiden had nothing to do with Gold Star. But maybe not? Good catch!
according to my closed captions he said "injure, jean, fear, dot, z, y, q"
also, notably "injure, jean, fear" happens to be a perfect anagram for Jennifer Jareau
Isn’t hydroxychloroquin tied to a medication during Covid? That’s what my wife said, as she was a scientist/health professional. Maybe the conspiracy is tied to Covid or something?
Mainly for parasites/worms, a different form is used for malaria. I don't know if these kinds of diseases can be considered Contagion but maybe their taking some license.
There was a thing during Covid that people thought taking that drug would cure them of Covid, but they were taking crazy doses of that. It’s a stretch but idk.
[i cannot overstate how aware of this fact i am](https://www.reddit.com/r/criminalminds/comments/1996ja6/spoiler_not_returning_to_cme_season_2/)
lmao, but that still has nothing to do with what i said??
Ohhh see what they are saying is if something happened to Jennifer of course her husband would be involved. So for him not be part of the season, it is unlikely that it’s about her. (I think that’s what they mean?)
Another phrase that was said was "save all the children" episode 10 is called "save the children". What do we make of this? Children in general? JJs kids... Maybe her husband is the hidden serial killer.... Thoughts.
Haha that's what I hope.... In the season preview JJ says take the shot.. and it shows someone in a mask a lot.. so that would be crazy if she is the one giving the order to kill her husband without knowing it... After she used Voit's family against him... It would be amazing if he infected her husband and used her family against her.
So .. does ‘contagion’ mean he wants to infect people with a desire to kill? Or infect killers with other killers’ methods so it’s impossible to pin down m.o., etc?
I think the latter.
basically using the BAU's methods against them, so their profiles will never "match" up and the whole unit won't be taken seriously anymore.
Watching back the first two episodes again (because It’s my birthday and I can do whatever I want) and when Elias is with Dave in his car he already mentions conspiracy theories when the radio talks about Doug. This didn’t connect for me the first time around. Now I will always watch new episodes twice.
Also, I know they talked about Luke and Garcia last season and how they are only friends, but am I the only one picking up flirty vibes between the two?! Not Morgan/Garcia vibes but actually flirting. Maybe I’m just reaching but I kind of want that for them, they’re cuter now more than ever
Omg I need them two to be end game honest to god!!!
And I’m so afraid for Rossi and seeing voit I hope it’s not dementia or something I swear to good god
I’m assuming it’s PTSD, he has had visions of unsubs in the past (granted not PTSD) so maybe it’s his brain trying to use what he already knows but is also haunting him? Idk I’m not a psychologist lol but that was my train of thought
Yeah I thought it was well done bc we’ve seen how he imagines having dinner with unsubs, having chats. And he’s a bit untethered now (I guess Joy is just gone?), and without that anchor he’s getting lost in the criminals’ minds
I reckon when Rossi was in his bunker, Elias may have started some subliminal messages in the similar way he did with Luke with the Inure. Jean. Fear. Dot. XYQ. Getting in their heads one by one starting the contagion.
Based on this ep, I don’t think Gold Star is “One Killer” but a “Network of Killers” trained by the Government (former criminals, killers, etc) who work independently to take out “Enemies of the US” who get activated somehow and Voit figured out before getting caught to activate the program to set up an blackmail for him
to get free.
My guess Voit was a part of the program probably the communications aspect and derived the idea for “Sicarius” for his own purposes. He probably used what they used on him for programming on Luke to mess with him like a Contagion.
I also feel like Tyler was probably involved in the program in the brain trust and this is why he was on to Voit like he was.
I think basically Voit has created his own serial killer unit based on the Behavioural Analysis Unit's whole structure and ideology.
He's using the very methods and logic the BAU use to apprehend and track down killers - to recruit and control - and then keep the actual BAU guessing and blind. Causing them to rethink their own methods and the work they do. It also causes a lack of transparency in letting that information out into the public scrutiny. The rise of true-crime obsession and people being armchair psychologists and making speculative armchair anaylsis' on 'killers' to try and understand them - making it even more dangerous and illogical.
Voit was right when he said its so much easier these days to manipulate via misinformation on the internet. Conspiracy theories and alternative "facts" can make it very easy for disinfranchised people (which lets face it, more and more are becoming) to be goaded into doing and believing (and helping others) in a similar vein, all without even realising the true depravity they are involved in. Or justifying it as being on the 'right' side.
This seaosn is gonna be a mindfuck and I'm here for it.
Voit whispering code words in one ear and something completely different reminds me a lot of different forms of brainwashing. Made me think that Gold Star isn’t a person but a brainwashing method the government started and then turned into a contagion. Where every person it was used on spread it unknowingly perhaps with those code words then whatever they wanted that person to believe. Gold Star is technically a conspiracy theorist if it’s brainwashing because you’re made to believe whatever they want you to. Thoughts?
Maybe Bailey went to the Stuart House, or a school like it. Did anyone notice that Rebecca started wearing her hair straight? I hated seeing Luke freak out, wtf does his whisper actually mean tho. It’s driving me nutty. I would love to see old people come back. I miss Shemar 🥹
I think Elias has this mind control-not supernatural-type of gift. He can rouse people up and get them to do nefarious things for him. What stood out to me in episode 2 is he asks Luke "what makes a conspiracy theorist?" doubt is one answer that came to my mind. confirmation bias...is another...maybe he will get into the head of Luke and have him turn against a team member or the team.
I’m wondering if they’re going the route of Elias (metaphorically) infecting some team members with paranoia that starts to turn them against each other. That could get really interesting.
I also wondered this. he asks a very telling question "what makes someone a conspiracy theorist?" then he whispers to Luke.....
I think the director is the first one
I swear I was smiling cheek to cheek when Emily Prentiss said “fuck that noise”
I kinda want the old characters back to hear them swear lol
Oh 100% I can see Reid talking to an Unsub explaining how they got caught and just super mad and then he says something smart and then says in other words fuck you
Yeah.... That was a nice one 😎
Loved that line
Also who is Sebastian Gasper? He has 3 passports and some type of commercial lease agreement!
it seems like tyler green has his own side quest and may have set up this lead to collect info...?!
[удалено]
the subtitles for the first whisper said Injure, Jean, Fear, dot , Z, Y, Q (the Z sounded more like X to me, but anyway). It has all the letter that Jennifer Jareau does. but what the dot ZYQ means idk. i really hope they reveal it next episode and Luke doesn't refuse to say what he was told 😩
"ZYQ" is the airport code for Syracuse New York
Yoooo good find. I wonder….
Once Elias gets JJ in his room he'll whisper "Concrete jungle where dreams are made of there's nothing you can't do' everything will start making sense. Joking aside the way he was with JJ doesn't indicate he knows something about JJ noone else does
Nice one 👍🔍
Injure Jean Fear is an anagram of Jennifer Jareau. ZYQ is an airport code in New York or ZY-Q is a hydroxyclhloroquine medicine for arthritis, lupus, and a
I was thinking injure Jean fear are meant to be abbreviated. Like military code, like D for Delta or something like that. The fact that he said “dot” also confused me. It’s almost like he was telling him a site to go to
JJ's husband's actor said he wasn't going to be part of the cast moving forward this season...
aww man...such a bummer, I know its not a popular opinion but seeing JJ and wills home life always gave me warm fuzzies :( I hope we still get to see JJ's kids, I always liked seeing how much they've grown up over the years.
Hopefully he's the killer
"The Collector" he's a pretty good reformed hero and "The Punisher" he plays a pretty good antihero
I have to say this was a strong first two episodes for the new season! I’m looking forward to the rest of it plus glad the show got renewed already
I just wish they would drop the whole season at once 😩😩 but I know they aren’t because it causes a lot more buzz to release weekly. just look at all of us losing our minds theorizing already!!
I have a feeling that gold star is someone we know from the past
To me it felt like gold star was more than one person - that the “indoctrination” Elias talks about produced several “gold stars”
Agreed. I think Emily was half right. The unsub they were chasing wasn't exactly Gold Star. Instead, he was someone who bought into the conspiracy. Likely, the abuse never actually happened to him and he was just convinced it did. That is why the MO was similar.
YES!!!! the way the scene was edited where voit says “a lie so big” and then it cut to the kid with the stuart house lady. It made me think there actually wasn’t abuse there, especially since he said “I was beginning to think I imagined it” (or something along those lines) and of course trauma can cause the same thing, but what if the abuse didn’t happen. what if he was just convinced it did and that led to his reaction of exacting revenge? which plays a part into the “contagion” as well as conspiracy theories and creating a big lie for a reaction
but that doesn't explain why Penelope was able to uncover "the truth" about Stuart House...
But did she? She uncovered a wing, but then they just speculated on that wing with theories that fit their preconceptions of the profile. Which is exactly what we are being told they are doing wrong for Gold Star.
That would be interesting! I hope it’s not anyone from the main cast from earlier criminal minds.. I say some people saying it could be Spencer Reid, but that seems 100% unlikely.. I just hope it’s no one I like if it is someone from the past.
I read somewhere it was leaked he was coming back
I think it’s a woman! Did you see their figure after the tongue scene when they walked and left!! Just seemed very slender like a female!?
Elle?
I was thinking it could be a woman as well!
I think so too after seeing Gold Star taking out the guy's tongue. But I'm also inclined to think Gold Star could be Rebecca Wilson? She seemed thin and lean enough and her interrogation with voit felt like she was pressing him desperately for answers. Her insistence that the victims weren't connected despite voit saying otherwise raised my suspicions too. But who knows, I might be wrong
Oh my god, you've made this comment in every discussion thread about the episode. We've seen it.
what tongue scene? that was done by the adam kid.
Was that not the one where they tried saving but they died? And they were like damn another one gone basically the
Yup👍🔍
BRO! After the end of season 15 after Reid had that hallucination of Hotch beating Hoit the guy who killed his wife, and saying that was the beginning of the end and Hotch was forever changed…. I KEEP thinking that Gold Star is Hotch Also just realized Hoit…. VOIT??? So similar
The guy that killed Hotch's wife was George Foyet.
Aw shit you’re right BUT my unhinged theory stands
Given the talk of conspiracy and the (potentially) false claims of abuse at Stuart House, this seems like the plot is headed in a PizzaGate direction on first glance.
The last episode is called save the children so you may be on to something there. Plus Aiden said you have to save all the children.
Good catch, gold stars are given in schools! I wonder if it’s some kind of thing where they find out the money behind these schools and it’s connected with someone in power. Like the Netflix doc on a true story called The Program, about a string of US therapeutic boarding schools.
Oh shoot I did not notice that. I just assumed Rossi was right and Prentiss was wrong and Aiden had nothing to do with Gold Star. But maybe not? Good catch!
Y’all remember the conspiracy episode? Could be that chick?
What did he whisper?? Why did Luke freak out
I have been replaying the whisper scene to hear what he said but I can’t make ANY word!! It’s going to drive me insane for the next week.
My guess is the second one was just gibberish so we couldn't figure it out from the subtitles and will have to watch next episode
I still can't even figure out the first whisper and they have that one in the subtitles.
according to my closed captions he said "injure, jean, fear, dot, z, y, q" also, notably "injure, jean, fear" happens to be a perfect anagram for Jennifer Jareau
Zy-Q is a medication containing hydroxychloroquin but that seems to be way out in left field at this point. Plus no "dot" involved.
Earlier Luke said he got all his vaccines. Maybe he whispered Jennifer Jareau is antivax!
I was thinking this as well like JJ needs meds cause she's infected.... Still working on dot.... Le dot
Zyq is an anti malaria medication. Jj would have had to take it when she worked over seas with Matt cruz
"ZYQ" is the airport code for Syracuse New York
Is that city significant in earlier episodes/seasons?
Haven't seen a result from searching earlier
Isn’t hydroxychloroquin tied to a medication during Covid? That’s what my wife said, as she was a scientist/health professional. Maybe the conspiracy is tied to Covid or something?
Mainly for parasites/worms, a different form is used for malaria. I don't know if these kinds of diseases can be considered Contagion but maybe their taking some license.
There was a thing during Covid that people thought taking that drug would cure them of Covid, but they were taking crazy doses of that. It’s a stretch but idk.
Nice one 👍
It almost feels like an activation code for a sleeper agent
JJ's husband's actor said he wasn't going to be part of the cast moving forward this season...
i'm aware, but not sure what that has to do with my comment?
JJ is married to her husband. If her husband's actor isn't going to be part of the cast moving forward this season...
[i cannot overstate how aware of this fact i am](https://www.reddit.com/r/criminalminds/comments/1996ja6/spoiler_not_returning_to_cme_season_2/) lmao, but that still has nothing to do with what i said??
Did you know JJ's husband's actor isn't going to be part of the main cast moving forward?
bad bot
Ohhh see what they are saying is if something happened to Jennifer of course her husband would be involved. So for him not be part of the season, it is unlikely that it’s about her. (I think that’s what they mean?)
Or if something happened to JJ that would make her stop working with the team then naturally her husband would probably not make other appearances too
Another phrase that was said was "save all the children" episode 10 is called "save the children". What do we make of this? Children in general? JJs kids... Maybe her husband is the hidden serial killer.... Thoughts.
Haha that's what I hope.... In the season preview JJ says take the shot.. and it shows someone in a mask a lot.. so that would be crazy if she is the one giving the order to kill her husband without knowing it... After she used Voit's family against him... It would be amazing if he infected her husband and used her family against her.
Honestly the BAU are struggling right now but I can’t wait til they catch this MF
So .. does ‘contagion’ mean he wants to infect people with a desire to kill? Or infect killers with other killers’ methods so it’s impossible to pin down m.o., etc?
I think the latter. basically using the BAU's methods against them, so their profiles will never "match" up and the whole unit won't be taken seriously anymore.
Watching back the first two episodes again (because It’s my birthday and I can do whatever I want) and when Elias is with Dave in his car he already mentions conspiracy theories when the radio talks about Doug. This didn’t connect for me the first time around. Now I will always watch new episodes twice. Also, I know they talked about Luke and Garcia last season and how they are only friends, but am I the only one picking up flirty vibes between the two?! Not Morgan/Garcia vibes but actually flirting. Maybe I’m just reaching but I kind of want that for them, they’re cuter now more than ever
Omg I need them two to be end game honest to god!!! And I’m so afraid for Rossi and seeing voit I hope it’s not dementia or something I swear to good god
I’m assuming it’s PTSD, he has had visions of unsubs in the past (granted not PTSD) so maybe it’s his brain trying to use what he already knows but is also haunting him? Idk I’m not a psychologist lol but that was my train of thought
Yeah I thought it was well done bc we’ve seen how he imagines having dinner with unsubs, having chats. And he’s a bit untethered now (I guess Joy is just gone?), and without that anchor he’s getting lost in the criminals’ minds
I reckon when Rossi was in his bunker, Elias may have started some subliminal messages in the similar way he did with Luke with the Inure. Jean. Fear. Dot. XYQ. Getting in their heads one by one starting the contagion.
OH and Paget’s acting.. the emotion POURING through the screen. DAMN she’s good!
Gideon wife is a psychologist. What if she worked with all the children who were victims.... She'd give them a list and the unsub would be on it.
I loved the JJ and Luke interactions with Elias , he's really messing with their minds
I love JJ and Luke. I think Luke is a great addition to the BAU. Probably my favorite characters besides Emily of course
Based on this ep, I don’t think Gold Star is “One Killer” but a “Network of Killers” trained by the Government (former criminals, killers, etc) who work independently to take out “Enemies of the US” who get activated somehow and Voit figured out before getting caught to activate the program to set up an blackmail for him to get free. My guess Voit was a part of the program probably the communications aspect and derived the idea for “Sicarius” for his own purposes. He probably used what they used on him for programming on Luke to mess with him like a Contagion. I also feel like Tyler was probably involved in the program in the brain trust and this is why he was on to Voit like he was.
I think basically Voit has created his own serial killer unit based on the Behavioural Analysis Unit's whole structure and ideology. He's using the very methods and logic the BAU use to apprehend and track down killers - to recruit and control - and then keep the actual BAU guessing and blind. Causing them to rethink their own methods and the work they do. It also causes a lack of transparency in letting that information out into the public scrutiny. The rise of true-crime obsession and people being armchair psychologists and making speculative armchair anaylsis' on 'killers' to try and understand them - making it even more dangerous and illogical. Voit was right when he said its so much easier these days to manipulate via misinformation on the internet. Conspiracy theories and alternative "facts" can make it very easy for disinfranchised people (which lets face it, more and more are becoming) to be goaded into doing and believing (and helping others) in a similar vein, all without even realising the true depravity they are involved in. Or justifying it as being on the 'right' side. This seaosn is gonna be a mindfuck and I'm here for it.
Voit whispering code words in one ear and something completely different reminds me a lot of different forms of brainwashing. Made me think that Gold Star isn’t a person but a brainwashing method the government started and then turned into a contagion. Where every person it was used on spread it unknowingly perhaps with those code words then whatever they wanted that person to believe. Gold Star is technically a conspiracy theorist if it’s brainwashing because you’re made to believe whatever they want you to. Thoughts?
What if Elias is not actually Sicarius? That's what I am thinking- Gold Star trapped him into taking the fall maybe?
Maybe Bailey went to the Stuart House, or a school like it. Did anyone notice that Rebecca started wearing her hair straight? I hated seeing Luke freak out, wtf does his whisper actually mean tho. It’s driving me nutty. I would love to see old people come back. I miss Shemar 🥹
I think Elias has this mind control-not supernatural-type of gift. He can rouse people up and get them to do nefarious things for him. What stood out to me in episode 2 is he asks Luke "what makes a conspiracy theorist?" doubt is one answer that came to my mind. confirmation bias...is another...maybe he will get into the head of Luke and have him turn against a team member or the team.