Criminal Minds season 9 introduced Mateo Cruz as the BAU's new section chief in episode 4, "To Bear ...

1. 'Criminal Minds' 'To Bear Witness' Recap: The Past Comes
Back to Haunt Them
Criminal Minds season 9 introduced Mateo Cruz as the BAU's new section chief in episode 4, "To
Bear Witness," and he joined them as they hunted for an UnSub (played by David Anders) who left
his victims unable to communicate.
JJ was out for a morning run with Cruz,
and he said they should talk about things over breakfast. They obviously knew each other pretty
well. Before the team gathered to go over the case, Rossi found Reid and Blake ("Happy Wednesday,
my nerds," he greeted them) having fun with a crossword (Reid did it faster). As for the case, a man
was found, ligature marks on his wrists, and without an ID. There were puncture wounds in the
corners of his eyes, and the UnSub had to have medial training and wanted his subject to survive the
lobotomy. Something was also put behind his eye. Then Cruz walked in and met the team as their
new section chief. Once they were alone, he told JJ he found out minutes after their breakfast.
Meanwhile, the victim woke up in the hospital, but there was a problem: He couldn't speak.
"Someone I loved once gave me a box Immigration Lawyers full of darkness. It took me years to
understand this too was a gift."
While those in the car with Cruz were discussing the case, those in the other car were talking about
him. Morgan didn't want a babysitter, and JJ claimed to have just heard his name.
Morgan went to the hospital to speak to the victim (Sam) using the blinking method, and found out
the UnSub was a man and working alone. However, there was another victim, a girl (Dana), verified
when JJ and Rossi found where Sam was being held and found women's clothes. Speaking of Dana,
the UnSub put her in a doctor's chair. And they weren't his first victims, as Garcia learned thanks to
a call to Emily. There was an incident in Berlin, and when Sam heard Morgan mention Germany, he
tried to get his attention. Dana was from Germany, though he couldn't communicate that through
blinking. Then the doctor found the camera in Sam's eye, and it was something Cruz had heard of,
an ocular nanotech implant. The German victim hadn't had a camera, but had survived the lobotomy
before being shot in the head. Berlin had to hold some significance to the UnSub. Perhaps he was
visiting the US. JJ also recognized the camera, used in foreign counterintelligence.
They were finally able to ID Sam Carter, a grad student, and a variation of Dana's name (Dani)
before Morgan wrote a message for the UnSub and held it up: "We know who you are." However,
then Kevin called Garcia to tell her Morgan was everywhere; the UnSub had posted it online, it was

2. going viral, and she couldn't shut it down. They could only watch once the UnSub put a camera in
Dana's eye and the feed went up and they saw him lobotomize her.
With no sexual component to the torture, they considered a familial one as the UnSub led Dana
outside as Garcia was able to identify her. She was on a student visa from Berlin. Her father was a
partner at a real estate agency, and he converted warehouses in port cities. He owned one nearby,
and the team sped off as the UnSub put her in a van. The UnSub was very arrogantÂ--and also
Dana's older brother, Anton. It was a case of classic abandonment issues and the little sister doing
much better than the older brother. They found Dana in the van, and Hotch and Cruz found Anton
inside in his room. It turned out Anton had a camera in his own eye, recording everything, but Hotch
told him they shut down the transmission. Anton said his father sent him away because he
humiliated him, but it was because he wanted to protect Dana. His father was on his way, just what
he wanted and why he showed his face online. He figured his plan worked. What he did was
extraordinary, something his father and Dana could never forget. With thatÂ--and the bluff that they
had shut down the feedÂ--Cruz could see why they didn't want Hotch out of the field.
But that wasn't the end. Sam and Dana were reunited in the hospital, and Anton was going back with
them. In the car, he asked Blake and Cruz if they had kids (no and yes). He said his father named his
Anton because it meant invaluable. Did he believe that? That was a question for his father.
"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside of us while we live."
Mr. Harris had diplomatic connections and wanted Anton extradited, but Cruz called in a favor from
the State Department.
Speaking of Cruz, he joined JJ at the elevator, and she did not like lying to the team. Plus, she knew
that they'd pick up on something; they were all profilers, after all. She knew why they couldn't tell
them, and the case could stay open for many years. It had already been three. Just what had they
been working on together? He insisted he didn't take the position because of her and explained he
was told to come there immediately. Someone put it on the fast track, so clearly, something was up.
"This, us, we're good, right?" He asks. Yes. He asked if she wanted to meet for a run in the morning,
but she was making breakfast for her boys. When Rossi joined them, it got awkward, and she told
him she was good in the elevator, but it's just a matter of time before the others figure out
something's up.
What did you think of Criminal Minds season 9 episode 4 "To Bear Witness"?
Photo: Richard Foreman/CBS
© Meredith Jacobs 2013
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