This article contains mentions of a suicide attempt,murder, and violence, as well as spoilers forCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3, episode 5, “The Brutal Man”.
Criminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3, episode 5 makes some major moves that set up an interesting development for the back half of the season. While episode 4’s case of the week was a welcomed breather from the intense focus on Sicarius, episode 5’s case features Elias Voit’s biggest acolyte yet. JJ continues to unravel afterWill’s tragic funeral inCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3, episode 3- even throwing herself into the line of fire - but one of her oldest friends is there to help her through her grief.
Voit continues to be a major part of the show, although his brain injury and personality changes give him a radically different relationship withthe characters inCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3. In episode 5, Voit’s brilliant neuropsychiatrist Dr. Julia Ochoa (Aimee Garcia), makes a breakthrough in his recovery not a moment too soon, as the BAU is finally able to bring in one of his followers alive.Criminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3 continues to grow more convoluted, but the cliffhanger endings make it impossible not to come back the next week.
Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 3, Episode 5 Unsub & Case Explained
The Brutal Man Case Investigation Felt Underbaked - Which Was The Intention
The cases of the week inEvolutionhave suffered due to the focus on Elias Voit/Sicarius.Criminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3, episode 4’s casewas an exception that provided some relief from the concentration on Voit’s machinations, but at the same time, JJ was investigating a new video posted on BAU-Gate featuring The Brutal Man. JJ, still in mourning over Will’s unexpected death, is convinced that Voit is The Brutal Man in the video.
JJ’s investigation becomes the case in episode 5, which definitely proves Voit is not the Brutal Man. JJ is acting erratically in her determination to solve the case, throwing herself in front of a local officer’s raised weapon to stop him from shooting the person in the mask. This was a concerning but lucky call by JJ, as the person is not their unsub, but the sole survivor of a family annihilation. The Brutal Man left the mask for her to commit suicide by cop - living up to his brutal name.
2-18
3-18
1-18
11-18
12-18
16-18
Former military intelligence officer, sister was an early Sicarius victim
Sicarius
The Brutal Man’s case felt unusually underserved. We’re almost at the climax before Penelope Garcia finds a connection between the two families targeted - both used the same locksmith, Ronald Graber. Checking for connections between any victims is usually Garcia’s first line of defense. The BAU is literally about getting into the minds of criminals, but the episode curiously withholds any information about Ronald’s background or mental state.
The BAU needed to catch one of Sicarius’s followers alive since the price of admission to the network includes promising to die before capture, and JJ is able to get Ronald to drop the knife he holds to his throat. However, Ronald’s chilling cackle and admission he is just doing this because he wants to means that the case may be solved, but the BAU is far from done with Ronald Graber.
JJ Reaches Out To Voit’s Doctor To Help Process Her Grief
Dr. Ochoa And JJ Use Her Trauma To Influence Voit
“The Brutal Man” uses a framing device thatCriminal Mindshas used before for JJ-trauma-specific episodes, such as season 12, episode 2, “Sick Day”. JJ seeks out Dr. Ochoa, Voit’s doctor, to talk about the Brutal Man case, so the action is interspersed with meaningful pseudo-therapy conversations. JJ is not ready to share everything yet - bluntly refusing to discuss BAU-Gate - but she admits that she came back to work too soon afterWill’s death inCriminal Minds.
Of course JJ is struggling, but the episode ends in a beautiful space where Dr. Ochoa convinces her that if she can’t help herself, she should help someone else - specifically, Elias Voit. Using JJ’s grief as a tool to get Voit to understand his guilt over his resurfacing memories is a surprising but poignant twist. JJ threatened him at the end of the last episode, but now she is willing to see the human side of him - and use him for the Brutal Man case.
Using JJ’s grief as a tool to get Voit to understand his guilt over his resurfacing memories is a surprising but poignant twist.
JJ going to Dr. Ochoa could have felt awkward, if not problematic, with HIPAA—but connecting her pain to Voit’s makes it meaningful enough to overlook the logistical awkwardness. It seems impossible to imagine Voit would ever hug a BAU member in earnestness - and when he first embraces JJ, she does tense up, as does Dr. Ochoa - but it’s compelling to see JJ channel her bereavement into something positive.
Emily Prentiss Is JJ’s Rock After Will’s Death (And Share A Truly Bonkers Story To Relate)
JJ Can Rely On Her BAU Family With Her Biggest Support System Suddenly Gone
After Will’s death, JJ finds herself adrift, but Emily Prentiss anchors her. Their bond, one of the BAU’s longest-standing friendships, deepens as Emily steps in not just as a friend, but as JJ’s boss. It’s a delicate line to walk. Emily gives JJ the space she needs, showing empathy rather than enforcing boundaries when JJ does things like showing up on the jet against direct orders.Emily’s leadership of the BAUis rooted in trust and care, letting JJ discover on her own that it’s too soon to be in the field.
However, in an otherwise poignant bonding moment, Emily shares a distracting story about why she broke up with the boyfriend she had in theCriminal Mindsseason 15 finale- he kept pushing for a threesome. Emily eventually gets to her point - that she threw herself back into the job, but solving a case doesn’t fix a broken heart. Whether it was meant to be intentionally funny, it was a distracting detail to drop inside a scene with a lot of emotional weight after JJ’s panic attack.
I’m gladCriminal Minds: Evolutionis not rushing JJ’s grief.
While the scene doesn’t work perfectly for me, Emily is the right person to comfort JJ after her panic attack. I’m gladCriminal Minds: Evolutionis not rushing JJ’s grief. Instead, there’s a realistic mix of anger, sadness, lashing out, and confusion, held up by Emily and her family at the BAU. JJ and Emily’s friendship remains a quiet strength in the chaos, and she will need Emily’s support as she heals.
Dr. Ochoa Unlocks The Key To Recovering Voit’s Memories (But It Won’t Be Easy For Voit)
Voit’s Memories Are Now Triggered By Being In A Person’s Physical Presence
Voit’s recovery has a new twist: Voit is able to instantly remember his past when - and only when - he is in the physical presence of someone he formerly knew. The science may be murky - Dr. Ochoa calls Voit’s healing a “miracle” - but the impact is undeniable. Voit’s memories were returning in fits and starts, but now when he sees a person, all connected memories come flooding back. However, as Sicarius, he never felt guilt or remorse, but now Voit feels horrifying self-awareness.
Voit is no longer the calculating killer—he’s a man crushed under the weight of what he’s done. The remorse is so intense he tried to die by suicide, but ultimately channels his anguish into action. He agrees to help the BAU with The Brutal Man case as penance to undo the destruction he put into place. However, with each new familiar face more memories return, and each one will compound the horrors he’s already recalled.
Recovery, if it can even be called that, will be a painful process. Dr. Ochoa may have unlocked the key to his past, but it’s Voit who must now endure the consequences - even if he is legally a free man, Voit will have to live with the knowledge of the harm he’s caused.
Is Criminal Minds: Evolution Setting Up Ronald Graber aka The Brutal Man To Be The Next Sicarius?
We Don’t Know Ronald’s Past Or End Goal - Which Makes Him Much More Sinister
Criminal Minds: Evolutionis positioning The Brutal Man to be the next Sicarius. Season 3, episode 5 deliberately withholds key information about Ronald’s background, an intentional move that creates an unsettling sense of mystery. We don’t know Ronald’s triggers, but given that he is a family annihilator, it likely has to do with his family. Ronald’s diabolical laughter when JJ tried to connect with his pain and his eagerness to talk to Sicarius himself make Ronald stand out as more insidious than the average case of the week unsub.
Ronald doesn’t just massacre families, he plays psychological games - giving them a fake choice and false hope, and sadistically leaving one survivor alive. Ronald has talked to Voit on the phone, but likely never met in person. The cliffhanger ending hinges on whether Ronald realizes Voit is not the psychopath he once was. If Ronald senses a power vacuum within the network of killers, he might attempt to fill the void.
Criminal Minds: Evolution has already been renewed for season 4 by Paramount+.
Rather than rush to explain his motives,Criminal Minds: Evolutionis planting seeds for Ronald to emerge as the next Voit: not just a killer, but a symbol of a larger, more insidious threat. His willingness to cooperate on the condition of meeting with Voit is a dangerous sign of what his real intentions are. He’s not just the next unsub, he’s being groomed as a legacy villain, and that makes him far more dangerous inCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 4.
