There is no new episode of “Criminal Minds” this week, but the police procedural drama TV series will come back next Wednesday for the season’s 17th episode entitled “The Sandman.”
The CBS series has taken a week break in lieu of the network airing “The Victoria’s Secret Swim Special” fashion show on Wednesday night.
The upcoming episode will air next Wednesday, March 16, and is directed by Joe Mantegna, who portrays David Rossi in the TV series. Interestingly, episode 18 will be directed by Matthew Gray Gubler, who plays Dr. Spencer Reid.
Thomas Gibson, who plays Aaron Hotchner helmed episodes 5 and 16 which makes the current season as having the most number of episodes directed by its cast members.
In the upcoming episode, the BAU will hunt down an UnSub who kidnaps children in the dark of the night while their unsuspecting parents are asleep.
International Business Times notes that the episode’s title is a reference to a mythological creature from European folklore. The Sandman apparently grants children’s dreams or their nightmares in some cases.
Meanwhile, Shemar Moore’s Derek Morgan will try to figure out who was behind the attack on him last time. Fans would remember that during episode 16, Derek was abducted and tortured by a group of armed men.
He almost met his demise but was able to survive only because of the hallucinations featuring his late father. By the episode’s end, he was finally rescued by the BAU team.
Derek’s father, police officer Hank, was portrayed by actor Danny Glover. The character died when Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan was only 10 years old after helping an old woman who was being mugged at Derek’s prodding.
In his hallucination, Hank encouraged his son to treat his kidnapping as any other case — by profiling himself as the victim.
Critics say that episode 16 was one of the best episodes of the season all thanks to Moore’s spot-on acting. It definitely served as a tribute to his beloved character given that the episode was eponymously titled for him.
The best part in the recent episode was definitely when Morgan proposed to Rochelle Aytes’ Savannah and she said yes. She also delivered another good news — her pregnancy.
However, the Ecumenical News reports that neither Derek’s abduction nor the children’s kidnapping cases will be solved by the episode’s end.
The outlet added that the episode is just the first part of a two-episode storyline and will continue on until episode 18 entitled “A Beautiful Disaster” where all loose ends are expected to be tied up.
CBS still hasn’t released a promo video for the upcoming episode but the official synopsis reads that the BAU will be heading to Wichita, Kansas in search of The Sandman.
Unfortunately, it seems as if the team has no sort of clue regarding the UnSub and it is likely that they will need to build an entirely new profile in order to put a stop to his deed.
The upcoming episode will be exciting to watch as child abduction is still prevalent nowadays and most cases end up with the child being molested before being killed.
It will also be interesting to witness the parents’ greatest nightmare of having their child taken away from them in the middle of the night.
Speaking to TV Line, showrunner Eric Messer reveals that The Sandman sprinkles sand in the eyes of his victims. Messer adds that that’s not the worst part of his modus.
The executive producer can only describe the upcoming episode as pretty brutal but at the same time amazing.
The March 16 episode is also something fans will look forward to as FBI forensic psychologist Tara Lewis, played by Aisha Tyler, will finally return.
Tara was last seen in episode 13 entitled “The Bond,” where she went off to prison to interview serial killers for her research.