Recap / Criminal Minds S 2 E 18 Jones

Jones

Katrina washed away a lot of evidence on a serial killer case in New Orleans, so they start to start mostly from scratch, which is punny in that the officer who was working the case scratched the word "Jones" into his wall before the hurricane killed him. His son, William LaMontagne Jr., takes over the case and calls in the BAU, who figure out that the UnSub is a woman modeling her kills on those of Jack the Ripper.

This episode contains examples of the following tropes:

• Beware the Nice Ones: William La Montange Jr is a good cop and a nice guy...who threatens his late father's former partner with being thrown out of the police unless he gives up the information the B.A.U. needs.
• Broken Bird: Sarah wanted revenge for when she was ignored when she said that she was raped, being told she was "asking for it".
  • She even breaks down when she sees that the one person who believed she was raped died during Hurricane Katrina, not even knowing he was trying to solve the case in his final moments.
• Death Seeker: When Sarah is caught in the midst of torturing her latest victim, she asks the BAU to kill her.
• Dying Clue: Will LaMontagne Sr. was struck on the head during Hurricane Katrina, and lived just long enough to carve 'Jones' on the wall before he died. His son initially thought it was the suspect's name, but eventually realizes it's actually the name of a bar where she was raped.
• Horrible Judge of Character: The detective who knew one of Sarah's rapists said that he was a "good kid".
• Ironic Echo: On a broader level, Sarah's entire MO... the bad cop and her rapist claimed that she was eager for sex and lured an innocent man into debauchery. This becomes her method of luring actually innocent men to their deaths. The more typical version occurs when she's torturing one of her victims, and echoes back some of the misogynist rhetoric that was said to her.
• Jack the Ripoff: The UnSub is a copycat of the original Jack the Ripper.
  • Historical In-Joke in that one of the theories regarding the original was that the Ripper was actually a woman, like the copycat.
• Karma Houdini: Sarah's rapists got away scot-free due to one of the investigating detectives knowing one of the rapists personally. However, the team threatens said rapist with the fact that his rape victim is likely making her way back to him.
• "Not If They Enjoyed It" Rationalization: The rapist that the BAU interrogates says that Sarah was "asking for it, and maybe even liked it".
  • Mocked by Sarah when she's in the process of killing her last victim. In fact, her letters to the police include expressions of "He was asking for it" or "He wanted it", which Reid eventually realizes ties back to her what her rapists said.
• The Only One I Trust: The BAU are certain that the UnSub is sending letters to Will LaMontagne Sr. for a particular reason. It eventually turns out he was the only one who believed her when she said she was raped. Tellingly, the revelation that he's dead causes her to break down.
• Rape as Drama: It is revealed that Sarah Danlin was raped in the titular bar, and this led to her Start of Darkness when she started killing innocent men of ages similar to her rapists.
  • Rape as Backstory: The BAU theorize that she had sexual abuse in her childhood as well, but that's never confirmed.
• Samus Is a Girl: Morgan realizes the UnSub must be a woman, since she gets men alone on boys' night out.
• Ship Tease: JJ gets some with Will LaMontagne, Jr., the lead cop on the case. This comes back in later seasons.
• Smug Snake: Sarah's rapist initially exudes this when being confronted by JJ and Prentiss. He abruptly loses it when they show him photos of her previous victims and point out her hatred of him likely makes him her priority target.
• Straw Misogynist: The bad cop and Sarah's rapist are both rather blatant and a little over-the-top with their misogyny, especially considering they're talking to the FBI.
• Sympathetic Murderer: Sarah (the UnSub) started killing innocent men due to being unable to get justice for her rape in the bar "Jones".