08E17 - The Gathering

The BAU is disturbed by their finding that the Replicator has had such intimate access to all the team members. However, Strauss gives a directive for them to put that case aside since there are no new leads which may give them some perspective over time of who the Replicator is, and focus their attentions on their regular cases. That next case takes them to Saint Paul, Minnesota, where women have been stabbed to death, but more disturbing have had their tongues pulled out pre-mortem. They know that the tongue removal is the key to understanding the motivation of the unsub. The disparate set of women victims is seemingly chosen at random until the team discovers one common bond: that they all have a very strong on-line presence, their deaths telegraphed by stories in their own on-line blogs, messages or texts. To catch the unsub, they may have to dig a little deeper into the world of on-line chatter and who else may be sharing stories about violent deaths. Meanwhile, Kevin catches Garcia with a man who he learns she has dated, so far only casually, which makes him feel uneasy. Kevin and Garcia have to come to a decision if they can truly be friends while not being lovers.