"Criminal Minds" episode eight for its eleventh season is called "Awake" and will find the BAU chasing an UnSub who is using all forms of torture to keep his victims awake until they eventually die.
Fans of "Criminal Minds" are familiar with the show's use of techniques that maximize the visual impact of every crime it portrays each episode. According to Entertainment Weekly, "Awake" is by far the season's most unsettling episode as far as visual effects, not to mention the disturbing theme. And like other episodes, a tied-in storyline about Garcia being the target of a group of assassins is included. Hotch decides to keep her on lockdown and away from her normal duties for the team to ensure that she is under protective custody the whole time.
While the BAU is busy trying to figure out how to catch the hit men chasing Garcia, they receive a call for help over two abductions in Phoenix. One guy named Steven is found dead while the other one named Lance is still unaccounted for. BAU arrives at the scene to find a grisly and totally messed up cadaver - Steven died a very horrible death and was tortured beyond recognition. There is no indication that the victims are in any way related which baffles the team.
In a report by Celeb Dirty Laundry, the team comes up with a profile of a white male in his 30s to 40s with PTSD and they warn the UnSub kills or abducts on compulsion. They eventually track down William Taylor whose daughter got abducted when he fell asleep on the interstate. He could not get over the loss of her daughter and blamed himself.
As a form of punishment, he kidnaps men and tortures them to keep them awake. He cannot stop himself so they end up dead. William said in his testimony for the police during his daughter's abduction that a man with a skull tattoo knocked on his window and took her away. Police think it is just his imagination but Lewis feels there is more to the case. They stop William and ended his agony.
