Trama

The BAU search California's Angeles National Forest after a number of bodies mysteriously turn up in the mountain lakes there. Also, Rossi struggles with an agonizing decision regarding his ex-wife.

The BAU is called to 1,000 square miled Angeles National Forest, California after three bodies are recovered from its Ridge Canyon Lake, a popular recreational area. The victims are all dark haired, muscular men. While those three bodies are being recovered, some boaters observing the police recovery team see their friend on shore, Nick Skirvin, being beaten and abducted by an unknown white male. Nick is later found dead alongside the forest's adjacent Lake Banter, but he doesn't fit the victim profile in that he is more slight and blonde, and the body was not found in the lake itself. When more victims are later found, the team notice that they are getting physically smaller. The team knows that the unsub is local and knows the area well, and the water burial has some significance to the ritual. After autopsies of the first four victims are conducted and some personal evidence is found on one of the latest victims, the team figures out why the unsub is killing, why there are signs of attempted revival and why the victims are getting smaller with each successive kill. Meanwhile, a distracted Rossi has to figure out what to do about the request from his first wife Carolyn, who is rapidly deteriorating from ALS.—Huggo

We open in 1996 on a lake a California. A father and son do some night fishing, but it's hardly a touching moment. Dad is drunk and the son is a smart mouth. Before too long, dad HITS the teen in the face and then begins whipping him across the back with his belt. Fast forward to the PRESENT DAY. A camper is watching as police boats pull bodies from the familiar lake. Suddenly, a man approaches and STRIKES the camper in the face with a large stick before dragging the body into the woods. Uh oh.

CUT to BAU headquarters, where the gang notices that Rossi appears to be withdrawn and distracted, but refuses to admit that anything is bothering him. Later, Garcia explains that many bodies have been found weighed down at the bottom of a popular lake. Worse, a camper as kidnapped in broad daylight after being struck from behind. There are a few witnesses that saw the attack from a distance. Time for the BAU to start investigating.

FLASHBACK! The young man sits at the dock with his drunk dad, who has just finished whipping him. The teen then tells his dad that he knows the REAL reason mom left: dad's "rod was broken." Well, that just makes dad FURIOUS. He punches his son, who falls into the water. Flash forward to PRESENT DAY. The grown unsub winces at the memory and then looks over at the body of the kidnapped camper -- the dead body.

Sometime later, Garcia informs the team that the camper's body has been found near the lake. Rossi, meanwhile, interviews the dead camper's friend, who witnessed the attack. He paddled his boat as hard as possible to reach his friend, but couldn't reach shore fast enough. Turns out that the group of friends partied hard on the beach the night before -- and could've met the unsub then. Rossi theorizes that the unsub is a relatively young man who could blend in with the overnight lake guests. CUT to Spencer and Emily, who visit the morgue. They discover that all of the victims found at the bottom of the lake had damage to their sternums. They had all undergone CPR, according to the attendant. The verdict: the unsub drowns his victims and then tries to resuscitate them. But why?

CUT to the unsub, who drains the gasoline out of a jet ski ... then watches from the shore as a pretty young woman rides the device until it sputters to a stop. He then offers to give her a ride back into town. Moments later, we see that the young woman has been drowned and dragged back onto the shore. The unsub, Chase, is furiously pounding on her chest, screaming "Wake up! Wake up!" He then has a FLASHBACK, seeing himself lying on the dock while his father attempts to revive him.

Later, Spencer and Reid are back in the morgue to look over the body of the dead young woman. Emily notes that the victims are getting weaker and less connected with each other. She theorizes that the unsub is getting "desperate." The attendant then points out that blood was found on the body -- blood with a very low white blood cell count. Perhaps the unsub is sick and knows that he is running out of time. Hotch then gives the profile to the local PD. "We believe he is local to the area," he explains. "He's definitely experienced in CPR ... He has accelerated his attack schedule."

CUT to Rossi, who sits alone in a dark office. Emily enters and Rossi explains that Carolyn has ALS. "What do you need?" Emily asks. Explains Rossi: "Carolyn is already suffering and she doesn't want to go out that way. She wants to die on her own terms. And when this case is over and we get back, she asked if I would help her do it." Emily doesn't know what to say. CUT to Chase, who drives down the road and stops when he sees a middle aged woman walking alone. She explains that her car broke down and her young son is waiting a mile or so away with the car. Chase offers to give her a ride.

Back at police HQ, the results from the blood test have come back. The unsub is definitely dying of blood cancer. Garcia then informs the team that the first male victim found in the lake famously survived a near death experience -- dying for four minutes after an ATV accident before being miraculously revived. Later, of course, he was killed by the unsub. A coincidence? Probably not. Hotch theorizes that the unsub is attempting to explore his own looming death. "Is he bringing these victims back so he can talk to them?" he asks. FLASHBACK. We see the young unsub digging himself out of a shallow grave. Turns out dad failed to revive his boy and just decided to bury him.

Back at police HQ, the team discuss the strong possibility that the unsub is drowning and reviving people just to see if they experienced anything in the interim. Derek suggests that the unsub might have had his own near-death experience -- and it was a bad one. Perhaps he is trying to see if others had the more clichéd "white light" encounter. Of course, doing this over and over again to a victim usually results in their permanent death. CUT to a dock, where Chase successfully revives the mother, demanding to know what she "saw." She becomes unresponsive, so he throws the bound son into the water.

The team then gets a call: a woman and her son have gone missing. Spencer theorizes that the unsub is taking his victims to the coldest parts of the lake so that they won't die as quickly. Garcia then calls with news: a 16 year old boy was buried alive by his father, but escaped. Dad later died by his son's hand. That same son was also diagnosed with caner. Seems as if the BAU team has found its man. "He has been haunted his whole life by whatever he experienced that night," Emily observes. CUT to the unsub, who has a coughing attack while attempting to drown the kidnapped teen. The teen manages to get free and swims to shore before running deep into the woods. The unsub follows.

Second later, the BAU team arrives at the dock to find the unconscious mother. They then hear the boy scream "HELP!" The team races toward the cry just as the teenage boy is taken down by Chase. Chase drags the teen into the water -- and Hotch and JJ arrive with guns drawn. "I need answers!" the unsub screams. After a few tense moments, Chase releases the boy and then plunges himself into the lake. We see the unsub walking toward a white light and get a final FLASHBACK of young Chase BASHING his father in the head with a shovel. CUT to the unsub gasping water. He has been revived by the BAU team and is off to jail. The teenage boy, meanwhile, is reunited with his mother.

Case closed, but not the episode. Rossi returns to Carolyn's home to find her very fragile. "I lost you once, I don't want to lose you again," he says. "Life is worth fighting for." Carolyn disagrees. "I want to go out as I am," she says. "As I've lived." Rossi explains that he can't help his ex wife. What she is asking is just too much. Carolyn accepts his answer. "You're the best man I've ever know -- that's why I wanted you to be with me tonight," she says. Turns out that Carolyn has taken a whole bunch of pills. Rossi weeps as he holds Carolyn. She convinces him not to call the ambulance, but just be with her.

Finally, we see Rossi sitting at Carolyn's grave. It is next to another grave -- of a son named Rossi who was born and died on the same day.