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"Extreme Aggressor" is the first episode of Season One of Criminal Minds and the first of the two-part season and series premiere.

Summary[]

Jason Gideon is called back from a six-month leave from the Behavioral Analysis Unit to profile a killer. Meanwhile, the team flies across the country to Seattle when another young woman goes missing at the hands of "The Seattle Strangler", another serial killer.

Full Summary[]

The team is called to Seattle to profile a killer and rescue his latest victim after kidnapping her. This case will also be the first for SSA Gideon after a six-month absence; colleague Aaron Hotchner is asked to assess Gideon's mindset. They are joined by Special Agent Derek Morgan and Dr. Spencer Reid. They land in Seattle, investigate, and interview people close to the latest victim. After figuring out what the unsub does to attract his victims, they deliver the profile. Gideon concludes by stating that the police have already investigated a suspect.

Special Agent Elle Greenaway joins, eager to join the BAU in questioning their suspect, Richard Slessman. After talking with him, the team discovers a dominant partner, while Richard is the submissive partner. Morgan and Reid examine Slessman's computer, while Hotch, Elle, and Gideon question the people to whom Slessman was apparently connected during his incarceration. They discover that a prison guard is the Seattle Strangler, Tim Vogel, who protected Slessman during his detention. Hotch manages to get Slessman to confess where Vogel is keeping his victims: a shipyard.

Elle and Gideon arrive, and Gideon taunts Vogel to the point that Vogel grazes Gideon's arm. Elle shoots him, saving the victim. Hotch and Morgan agree that Gideon saved a woman's life, but they will keep an eye on him; Gideon knows he is being watched by Hotch. In a flashback, Gideon pulls into a gas station. The subtitle reads "DUMFRIES, VIRGINIA." The gas station attendant has photographs like the ones the trail killer Gideon told the FBI interns about left on his victims, drives an American-made truck, and stammers. The man notices his gun and follows him as Gideon leaves the gas station. Gideon sees him cocking a gun in a mirror.

Guest Cast[]

Credited[]

Uncredited[]

  • Leanne Adachi - College Student #1
  • Kirsten Alter - Brick Agent
  • Kwesi Ameyaw - SPD Police Officer #1
  • Trevor Beeby - SWAT Agent
  • Artine Tony Browne - SPD Detective Holmes
  • Joe Forbes - SPD Police Officer #2
  • G. Michael Gray - Imaginary Unsub
  • Jeff Hephner - Boy in Image
  • Natalina Maggio - College Student #2
  • Jamie Mayo - Sister
  • Alonso Oyarzun - FBI Student #1
  • David Pearl - SPD Police Officer #3
  • Malcolm Stewart - Warden
  • Lisa Anita Wegner - FBI Student #2
  • Joanne Whalley - Karen Donovan

Referenced Criminals[]

Music[]

  • "Penitentiary" by Citizen Cope
  • "In The Air Tonight" by GodHeadSilo
  • "Enter Sandman" by Metallica
  • "Hold Back" by The Living Sisters
  • "Rock Music" by The Pixies

Bookend Quotes[]

  • Jason Gideon: Joseph Conrad said, "The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary. Men alone are quite capable of every wickedness."
  • Jason Gideon: Emerson said, "All is riddle, and the key to a riddle is another riddle."
  • Jason Gideon: Winston Churchill said, "The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you will see."
  • Jason Gideon: Nietzsche once said, "When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks into you."

Trivia[]

  • "Extreme Aggressor" is a term referring to a strategy type for Go, which Reid remarks is “considered to be the most difficult board game ever conceived”. This is because of the near-endless possibilities: there are more permutations in Go than there are atoms in the universe, and the game ends when both players agree it should, because it would take hours for players to exhaust all possible moves. Reid further notes that the "extreme aggressor" is smart, because this is a difficult strategy to use.
  • This episode marks the most times a different bookend quote was recited in a single episode, with a total of four, all recited by Gideon.
  • The Metallica CD found in the laptop of Richard Slessman is the soundtrack to Some Kind Of Monster, which does not include "Enter Sandman", the song that allowed Reid to solve the laptop's password.
  • This episode marks the first appearances of Jason Gideon, Elle Greenaway, Aaron Hotchner, Dr. Spencer Reid, Derek Morgan and Penelope Garcia.
  • Hotch introduces Morgan to the Seattle PD as an “expert on obsessional crimes”. Also in this episode, he introduces Reid as “Special Agent Reid”. After being corrected by Gideon, he refers to him in future episodes as “Dr. Reid”.
  • The book Gideon pulls off Slessman’s shelf is the fictitious “Journal of Applied Criminal Psychology”, which includes an article by Gideon himself.
  • Twice, the name “Gideon” is taken to mean “mighty warrior”. However, this is not attributed anywhere else: “גדעון” is a given name or surname which translates directly into “feller” or “hewer”, someone who cuts down wood or stone. This information appears to be a factual inaccuracy.
Criminal Minds Episodes
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