Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 19 Episode 6 Review: ‘Proxy’

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 19 Episode 6 “Proxy” is the kind of episode that’s really good if you don’t think about too much…not quite as great if you do. In this hour, the team investigates two different cases. The first, the ongoing mystery of The Fan, has some forward movement but is far from being a “case closed” type of situation. And then, there’s the case of the week—guy who kills cam girls and forces a very specific amount of money down their throats. For a while there, this latest UnSub has enough in common with The Fan that he could be the same guy; but, ultimately, we all learn that he isn’t. But that doesn’t mean Tara can’t use those commonalities during the big arrest scene to keep the situation from getting even worse. All of that works well enough, in a standalone procedural hour way.

Additionally, any fans—not to be confused with Fans—of the whackadoodle antics of Brian Garrity (Paul F. Tompkins) should definitely be satisfied after watching Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 19 Episode 6. After the reboot of his (too recently canceled for a reboot) podcast The Sicarius Files ended the previous hour with Lance Kingston’s torture and possible murder, Brian decides to end the podcast and all his conspiracy-spreading once and for all. Again. Just…not before he gives Prentiss one last giant WTF—this time in the form of barfing in her trash can while he restlessly paced, desperately waiting for news.

But, just like the last time, the podcast (and Brian) won’t be gone for long. This time around, it’s because Lee Duval—aka Voit, aka Sicarius, aka what is even happening at this point—somehow makes a phone call to Brian’s ex and has her listening to the show. She’s such a fan, in fact, that she wants to buy the very sign that Voit beat the sh** out of during his allegedly(?) grudging first interview. That leads to a really interesting battle of wits between Garrity and Voit—Tompkins and Zach Gilford are both great here—and Brian, ultimately, delivering an SD card with Voit’s message for The Fan straight to the BAU.

The episode ends with what’s supposed to be some kind of big question about whether or not Voit’s newly-found empathy has been fake all along, as well as what’s supposed to be a shocking reveal about a BAU member giving character testimony at his sentencing. And, well, that’s where Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 19 Episode 6 goes wrong. Or, to return to my very first point, that’s where it goes wrong if you actually think about it.

MORE: The final moments of Season 18 hinted at Voit still having certain urges in spite of how much he’d changed—not, seemingly, because it was all an act.

Voit sends a message to The Fan

I have a lot of questions about where the Voit story’s going at this point, especially with the way Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 19 Episode 6 ends. What I don’t have a question about is how compelling Brian Garrity’s visit with him is.

Tompkins is reliably hilarious with Brian’s unserious bumbling from one conspiracy to another, but while his actions are probably pretty ill advised to the point where we could say they’re foolish, he’s actually deadly serious here. Brian’s also oddly sure of himself—or, at least, able to hide his fear much more easily than during their first meeting in Episode 2—when he reminds Voit that “wives are off-limits. Wives, children, exes—estranged or otherwise. Don’t act like you don’t know how this works all of a sudden.” Tompkins nails that, as well as the tense game of mental chess (or cat-and-mouse, or whatever) in this hour. It’s a pleasant surprise, seeing him get to play a totally different dynamic.

Then, there’s what Zach Gilford brings to Voit. He continues to be a very interesting character to try to read. I’d argue that, in Episode 2, Voit was absolutely trying to scare Brian and his listeners off by acting as much like “Sicarius” as possible without totally meaning it. Now, Voit’s more difficult to pin down. As he tries to relate to Brian about wanting to look better in certain people’s eyes, he just comes across as a little bit too innocent—especially given that, at the same time, his old attitude’s well and truly back. But we’re seeing the character through the eyes of a guy who’s known for wild theories and has just learned Sicarius tried to manipulate him by contacting the one that got away. So…grain of salt?

This whole meeting is very much a setup—and, clearly, Voit playing games—but…does he go about things this way because he knows it’s the only way? I honestly don’t know. Do I fully believe every bit of smug arrogance, the obvious belief he’s way smarter than anyone else—Garrity by a longshot, even the BAU by quite a bit—though? Yes. Voit makes that reality clear by trying to control the story, all while claiming he knows that’s how he messed things up in the first place. And Gilford absolutely hits every bit of snark and pure disdain for the BAU as well as ever. He also does some really interesting moving in that chair, without letting it get too big since Voit’s in prison and can’t do much, as Voit emphasizes that neither he nor the BAU can stop The Fan.

But then, Brian asks Voit if he wants to know what he thinks. And that, um. That fake smile and “please” are both quite a lot. Garrity playing it all cool, calm, collected and in control…is another surprise.

The scene ends with Voit slipping the message to Brian, who looks about as sick as it gets when he realizes Voit’s right about the “cooling off period” coming as a result of his podcast distracting The Fan. But along the way, it’s like you can feel the tension through the screen, and it’s never clear how this is going to end. It’s also not clear that Brian hears Voit’s “you can” as a manipulation that he thinks he can turn on its head by going to the BAU with the message. Is he actually outsmarting Sicarius, though? Or is this exactly what Voit knew he’d do?

Furthermore…the message itself…definitely feels like some kind of trap. Then again, we know Voit does still have voices in his head—the devil on Voit’s shoulder being…Rossi. If he’s telling the truth about evolving and learning to control his urges, that doesn’t necessarily mean he can’t also be lying through his teeth to The Fan. But to what end? Does he have to be the hero to prove something to himself? Does he really believe what he says about making things right this way? Or is some sort of weird vigilante justice his preferred way of handling his addiction to death? There are options here that keep Voit as a character whose trajectory is going somewhere—without coming full circle in the most boring and predictable way possible.

That’s compelling. The idea that nothing about his evolution is true, on the other hand? No thanks. Let’s not.

MORE: Should we even trust the same nut who set a trap to get Emily arrested not that long ago?

The team member who helped Voit

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 19 Episode 6 ends on kind of an odd note. Brian Garrity explains that his podcast, which he quit for maybe all of five minutes earlier this season, then brought back in Episode 5, now quit for all of five minutes again—before Voit got him thinking maybe he should revive it to manipulate Voit by being manipulatable (a mouthful!)—was always about the “larger question” of whether or not Voit’s transformation was fake. “And if it is a sham, how does it affect the team member who helped him?” Here, the majority of the team is about as shocked as it gets. Which actually surprises Brian, meaning maybe at this point, he ought to rethink Voit’s “they have a tendency to screw sh** up” snark.

It doesn’t take long for a tearful Penelope to confess. And it’s a great moment for Kirsten Vangsness, who plays every bit of that fear of how everyone will react, regret over hiding something from her people all this time, and that awful sense of dread over how it’ll affect Dave specifically—among other kinda heartbreaking things to watch such an eternal ball of sunshine go through—very well. Additionally, that wounded, betrayed, disappointed, and ultimately angry exit from Joe Mantegna is great. But…how is any of this a surprise to literally anyone? And what’s it even supposed to mean?

At this point, why would anyone be surprised Garcia would be the one to give that kind of statement in support of Voit? Before he ever woke up, before Dr. Ochoa ever ran all those tests, before anyone even guessed he might suddenly have a conscience, Penelope was spending time in his hospital room and confessing to Luke that she’d seen Voit’s soul. Then, there was the unnervingly cute little back and forth when they built a computer together and nerded out over code. What about visiting him after the Tate Andrews case, doing a little cleanse, and having a chat about turning over new leaves? Falling asleep in Voit’s room?

I could probably find even more examples, but more to the point, it would be more out of character for her not to believe in that “ember” of a soul and fight for it. So, like…is this really brand new information???

Furthermore, Elias Voit is much, much more interesting if he did, indeed, suddenly evolove but still has certain instincts or needs. He’s best as a complex hybrid, not an evil to the core con artist, if you will. If it was all an act, that makes every single “hero” of Criminal Minds: Evolution look gullible AF and calls their ability to do their jobs into question. Majorly. It’s also a major “what was the point in keeping him the focus of everything for so long if he’s not unique” mess. Additionally, in that kind of scenario, Penelope would look worse than everyone combined. Let’s just say that won’t go over well with at least one longtime viewer.

Also, what would event be the point? Voit just as easily could’ve outsmarted them all some other way, and confessing to murders he didn’t even commit would look, uh, less than smart. At best.

Then, there’s the other—though, admittedly, less serious—issue. In Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 19 Episode 6, Penelope is adorably exhausted and overwhelmed. For most of the hour, the logical reason for that would be that she’s having a difficult time juggling both learning as much as possible about The Fan and investigating the cam girls’ murders. That’s a tough workload that would keep most people up! She also has (had?) JJ and the boys staying with her, which likely interrupts her routine—no matter how much she loves them. And then, let’s not even get into the busy social calendar. So…I mean, if she’s been carrying this secret around for all this time, and has “been so restless” because of it, there should’ve been…more, I don’t know…development?

So, yeah. That ending is great, if you’re looking at the way Vangsness plays Penelope’s struggle to get the words out, the depth of emotion that comes through in her voice—especially on the “I wanted to tell you” part, for me—or even everything that sniffle and sharp, little nod after “it was me” manages to convey. Certainly, that very last shot is, um…very rude to me, personally, actually. But as far as looking into what this means for the larger arc or the way the others react to the news goes…eh. I guess we have to see how it all plays out, but as of right now? I think the biggest twist is that anyone is suddenly acting like they met Penelope yesterday. And that’s not the good kind of twist. At all.

MORE: We struggled a bit with the Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 19 premiere, but Penelope helping JJ move was one of the best parts.

More Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 19 Episode 6 reactions

Visually, the cold open was very cool. In terms of time management, with everything else going on in this hour…I’m not sure. Like, ok. The bright lights shining into that dark storage unit and little technical things like that? Amazing. The amount of time and suspense building, just to get to a conclusion that was, unfortunately, spoiled ahead of time based on how Connor Storrie’s guest role was promoted? Not so much. Still, dude going from barely alive, to jerking upright and screaming in pain like that so quickly: Kinda a nice way to cut to what, in the good ol’ days of broadcast TV, would’ve been a commercial break.
Surprised Garrity didn’t wear a hole in that carpet and fall to some kind of Quantico pit here at the beginning.
I need that “oh, thank God” to be a reaction gif.
“…right before she left me, she said, ‘you’re going to get somebody hurt!’ And then, it came true! She was right! I don’t know how it happened, but she was right!” Such a fun line reading from Tompkins, especially with all the, uh, high-pitched, overwhelmed endings to every single sentence.
And here we have the melodramatic screaming into the pillow moment that most definitely also needs to be a reaction gif…and is a giant mood lately. I also really like the time he takes with collecting himself and slowly pulling that pillow away to place it down, just so.
But this is all the type of stuff, from both Paul F. Tompkins and a Paget Brewster who’s in classic “Emily dealing with Brian Garrity and regretting every single life decision that led her here” mode, that we know is going to be great before we even see it.
“I’ll find a way to be fine again.” Again with the mood.
“…wait. Did you throw up in here?” “I was literally sick with worry.”
I’m still not entirely sure where this is all going with Lance, but what I will say is watching Connor Storrie take the character from giant, entitled A-hole in his first appearance, to the pure terror to end Episode 5, to what we see in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 19 Episode 6 has made for some good TV. The trauma response we see here is very well done. There are a lot of little details—the shaky voice, the initial questions about not feeling his burns where Lance sits there and kind of…doesn’t seem to feel much of anything (detachment!), the kind of broken way he asks if it was all because of Laura, and even the halting way he explains why he asked that question at all. The writing makes the character’s evolution believable, and then, Storrie delivers well enough to make it land.
Also: “Maybe I was pathetic. Maybe I still am. But I don’t deserve this.” Like, he’s so self-loathing and small here. Such a contrast to when we first met the character. And, while we’re at it: What a statement.
That oh, so quiet “no, you don’t” from Tara in response is such a moment for Aisha Tyler.
“And you can show him how not pathetic you are on the witness stand.” Yep.
“We got another case. Doesn’t stop.” “Of course we do. Where’s this one?” TARA IS DONE.
In which the editing makes it look/sound like Penelope’s answering Tara’s question right then and there, as opposed to back at the BAU!
“…now, let’s jump to conclusions.”
Ok but Garcia sounds like she’s turned on at even the thought of being asked to handle both cases.
“Uh, hi.” That little wave! “I’m Penelope Garcia. This is what I live for! I mean, I know the gaggle of you is the John, Paul, and George of crime fighting. But I. Am the Ringo. You know his birthday is July 7? That means he’s a Cancer, and I’m a Cancer Rising. So. We’re the same personnnn! And Iiiii’ve got this!” The rush through this and the bright tone on the end, like she’s singing it, and YEP, that’s my girl. Never change, Penelope. You keep doing you.
Emily out here side-eyeing Penelope, as if she didn’t know exactly what kind of response she’d get to that question. Girl, blink twice if you’re in distress.
I…didn’t need the detail about the victim vomiting into the money. Yikes.
“The fan. Is that Mr. Pathetic?” Luke looks amused AF here. And honestly? Same.
Just watch Vangsness go. SO much fun.
“Uh, typewriter bars? The things that make the…click-clacky. On the paper? You know the…” THE WAY SHE’S MIMING THE VERY SLOW TYPEWRITER USE AND FOLLOWING HER FINGERS WITH HER EYES AND GETTING DISTRACTED…
…annnnnnd more acting it out after she trails off, before Dave gets her back on task by saying he knows…
Imagine solving a single one of these cases without her.
BAU Dad: “Good work, Penelope.” Penelope grins that big ol’ proud ray of sunshine smile. Me: PROTECT HER.
It’s the anxious stuttering for me. Girl is a bad liar. She did not do that other job, and honestly? I don’t blame her.
Even better than the silly typewriter motions: The way Vangsness basically does a box step and dances right on out of there. Makes a big show of it!
“Didn’t you beg me to play this game with you because you suck at it?” And dude’s eating Cheetos. Was that…the real Cheeto Breath? Given how little Jemily there has been as of late, I’m starting to wonder.
“Call me Princess, and I’ll do whatever you say…Zaddy with a Z.” If I comment about a certain actor from a certain other franchise but don’t name names…
I just think that Rebecca Wilson’s wife…
“It seems our UnSub’s type has expanded.” Fun line reading from RJ Hatanaka.
I love everything about this back and forth*: “Feathered hair, bellbottom jeans, the kind of wet t-shirt look favored by Jacqueline Bisset in The Deep.” “…that a 70s movie?” “I will kill you, and no one will ever find your body” She doesn’t even turn to look at him, doesn’t take off the aviators, yet we know she’s staring deada** under there. Tyler Green with his boyish charm, all “my point is, we know 1976 is important to this UnSub.” And all he gets is that unimpressed “mmmhm.” Amazing.
(*Except the part where Tyler basically calls Tara old. Rude.)
…I volunteer to help Tara hide that body, to be honest.
“I need to get, like, celestially high to stop thinking about this.”
“Stop grilling me with your eyes.”
We don’t have enough JJ in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 19 Episode 6 for my liking, but AJ Cook and Adam Rodriguez are hilarious AF with those “how did I get here” looks during that whole scene in Garcia’s lair. I…still don’t necessarily think I like whatever is being implied by putting JJ and Luke together in so many scenes, but…otherwise.
“Is this…coffee? Did you switch from tea to coffee?” “No. I switched from coffee to triple espresso.” A GIRL AFTER MY OWN HEART. (And I love that biiiiiig yawn in her voice as she says it!)
Can we talk about JJ basically being the mom in the room here? That kinda warning tone when she asks when Penelope last slept, coupled with that slight head tilt when Penelope talks back…yeah. Mother.
“Overrated! It is overrated for me. right now. And look—I mean this—it’s gonna sound mean, but with allllllllll the love in my heart, get out of my face right now. Please.” Ok but Garcia’s crashing out, and Alvez is just grinning away because she’s cute when she’s mean. I’ll take it!
Brewster cutting herself off so abruptly and her facial expression doing some heavy work when Prentiss suddenly sees Garcia (and the outfit she never changed after yesterday).
The exaggerated shock when Penelope looks down at her dress!
“Did you go to bed last night?” Ok, BAU Mom Number 2.
She is…the tiny voice? The fear? Baby.
“Yeah. I—Some…I don’t—I’m fine.” (Narrator: She didn’t sleep, and she is far from fine.)
“Why do we have to change every day?” She is rushing out of there and, like, whining?
“Ahhh. I see what you’re saying. Almost like I’m a copycat of you. Right, Dave?” There isn’t a single time Gilford and Mantegna have done…this that it hasn’t been great. “Proxy” absolutely does not break the streak.
“Dave. You said yourself, I’ve grown a conscience. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize your trust.” These two have the best timing for drawing that tension out and maintaining that oh-so-difficult relationship. Case in point: The pause before Rossi steps closer to Voit is loaded. “Yeah. You’ve studied me, and I’ve studied you. So. Whatever you did, I will figure it out.” The problem is, in retrospect, Voit is trying a little bit too hard to be purposely blank and innocent here. So, yeah. He lied about the recording, but…does that really mean we lose all the nuance and shades of gray to go back to “Big Bad Sicarius”? Because. Meh.
…annnnd another long wait as Dave just studies him and makes him squirm a bit.
Imagine putting that sign in bubble wrap after what it’s already been through. Hilarious.
“You listen to me, you little sh**…” Made me think of one of my all-time favorite Ghostface lines: “no, you listen, you little bi**h. You hang up on me again, I’ll gut you like a fish. Understand?” Anyway.
This is…strangely sweet between Brian and Sheila?
Also, Yvette Nicole Brown!!!! So good.
“I guess I’m realizing that you taking care of me probably got in the way of you taking care of yourself.”
“Lee…Duval?” “Yeah. That’s it. Do you know him?” “Yes. I do.” Tompkins is great as a Brian who’s trying very hard not to give anything away or scare Sheila, while internally, those wheels are turning. And then, as soon as Sheila turns her back—boom—there’s the realization and horror.
“I, too, know what it’s like to lose the person whose respect you want more than anything in the world. I, too, know what it’s like to want to do anything to look better in their eyes. And I know how you can do that.”
“They have a tendency to screw sh— up.” “You screwed s**t up when you insulted The Fan.” “You’re right—I did. I tried to control the story—I tried to control what people thought of me, but I only made things worse. Because it’s not my story anymore, it’s yours.” Hear me out: The one way I’ll take “Voit was always evil AF” and enjoy it is if this comes back to haunt Brian somehow. This, right here. Is Voit setting him up??? That could be a fun “what if” to explore.
“I think you see me as an easily manipulatable patsy. Someone you can get to do your bidding with a little ego boost. Or, if that doesn’t work, you throw in a little…’oh, Brian. We’re not so different, you and I.’ Am I close?” I love the voice change for the “oh, Brian…” part. And that “am I close” is very “checkmate.”
…but Voit is, uh, purposely blank. Except for the part where he’s clearly frustrated AF.
“And that is the difference between you and me. I can’t stop him from in here, the BAU can’t stop him from anywhere, but…you. can.” It’s the way he points his finger at Brian for me.
“What? I got good at mental math from playing darts.” …and 20% is…not hard.
But JJ’s the best, so whatever.
In which Penelope passes out and Emily has to wake her. Adorable.
Neat camera angle there, too.
“The average Social Security benefit is just under $2000.” Imagine expecting seniors to live on that.
That…is Muncy from SVU. Totally just undercover as “Cora Sault,” huh.
“Allons-y with alacrity for the 411 on Jace.” Ok, Tenth Doctor.
“That’s what happens when you hit ‘agree” to the terms and conditions without reading the terms and conditions, people.” She has a point. And yet. Who has the time?
“I talked to him because you didn’t. He just wanted company.”
Men will really go on killing sprees and waste perfectly good bills (and coins!) by shoving them down people’s throats instead of talking to their lonely old dads or—God forbid—going to therapy, huh?
Aisha Tyler’s just really good in that arrest scene. I…don’t know if I particularly care for some of those lines about how Tara’s partner will just have to shoot and all that, but she sells the moment in a way I can just ignore the words and understand Dr. Lewis is trying very hard to get through to this dude and isn’t entirely sure she’s going to.
“Brian what are you doing back here.” Disgruntled. AF.
When her head whips around, and she’s all, “you did what.”
No but how did he get his hair done just so for this?? In federal prison??? And where’s the orange jumpsuit?
“Well, I’m evolving, too. And I’ve learned that you don’t have to give into your urges. I’ve been where you are. Talk to me. I can help you keep the monsters at bay. I’m—…I’m trying…” That exhale! “…to make right with some of the people I’ve hurt, and I think by stopping you from becoming me is how I can do that.”
“There is the Voit that we know and love.”
“Is this news to you all????” That, too, was my reaction.
Again going to have to point out that the last we see of Penelope is rude to me, personally.