Criminal Minds Evolution (2×05) Conspiracy vs. Theory Review

For our review of the last episode of Criminal Minds: Evolution, click here.

For a season that has been a little all over the place, as dictated by the story, it’s nice to see things more focused this time around, at least for the most part. Now at the halfway point of the season, this week’s episode proved that it still has a few tricks up its sleeve. With two antagonists jockeying for position in whatever the endgame may be, opening the door on the Gold Star conspiracy and Voit using it as a way to escape set up an interesting episode as each were set for a confrontation where fireworks would inevitably ensue. Though as far as Voit was concerned, one can only assume that there had to be more going on for which the outcome remains to be seen. Either way, finding an exciting albeit somewhat predictable way to bring them together worked here while giving Zach Gilford more to do. Playing into his hands, the desperation of the BAU meant that they did not have a choice but to use Voit to communicate with Damien. Planning to use him to trap Damien and the other Gold Star operatives, they knew who they were dealing with, therefore Rossi was not going to let him get away. However, Damien was no ordinary adversary.

Before we get there, Voit’s reunion with the BAU was just as awkward and uncomfortable as one would expect. He didn’t waste any time pressing buttons and generally antagonizing everyone in sight (Zach Gilford continues to relish in the role). Voit knew he had the upper hand and was merely boasting. Not part of the reluctant greeting party, Rossi’s relationship with Voit was a little more complicated than the others. Something was clearly going on with him and the rest of the team were also picking up on it. Regardless of how he may feel and how they may feel, Prentiss’ drama with Brian led to her self-benching, thus putting Rossi in charge of the case.

Never a stickler for the rules, Voit skirted with that line to get the job done but was that all he was doing? A conspiracy fueled by conspiracy theories, the line between both grew increasingly blurred as the team tried to make sense of what was happening. The five members of Gold Star, five young adults whose psychological reprogramming could be traced back to the Utah facility, were made into soldiers by using conspiracy theories they were most susceptible to to break them down. Enticing Damien to agree to a face-to-face meeting through a suspicious coded message, Voit’s argument that it was meaningless maybe wasn’t so convincing. However, pushing the line even further, it still got him a spot in the field. That being said, Rossi was not going to let him out of his sight and he made sure that Voit didn’t forget it (and the subtext of Rossi regaining control was also a satisfying one and the best part of the episode).

As the BAU operation officially began within a Davenport, Iowa public park, Voit continued to put his fingerprints on all of it under the guise of offering his expertise. Looking like nothing was going to happen, the operation took a tailspin as Damien and Jade sent them a bomb to diffuse. Racing to diffuse the bomb, Voit remained cool and confident. Insistent that this was not going to be the end for him, he believed that Damien and Jade still needed more from him. Perhaps what was meant to be a distraction to allow him to escape, Rossi’s watchful eye made him reconsider trying to escape. In the end, Damien still found a way to get a conversation in with Voit. While whatever they talked about is still a mystery, the latter came out even more confident than before (so whatever he may or may not have planned appeared to have worked out). Meanwhile, Prentiss had a side mission of her own, dealing with Brian. Whoever was orchestrating Brian had their fingers on the pulse of what was going on. What was surely a plan to get her off the case, it may very well have been successful.

Easily the best episode of the season so far, Conspiracy vs. Theory was a well-written and acted episode that drove the season’s central mystery forward in exciting fashion.

still courtesy of Paramount+

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.