Trama

The team travel to Boise, Idaho where a serial killer is murdering the survivors of a high school massacre that took place exactly ten years earlier.

Ten years ago, Hotch and Rossi, as part of the BAU at the time, worked on a mass murder case in Boise, Idaho, where bright and well liked but narcissistic North Valley High School student Randy Slade killed thirteen of his classmates in a lunch hour shooting and cell phone detonated bombing in the school's cafeteria. He himself was also killed. As several of the survivors return to Boise to commemorate the ten year anniversary of the massacre, a copycat killer seems to be on the loose. The local authorities and media believe that Randy's then seven year old brother, sweet but impressionable Brandon Slade, now a student at North Valley himself, may be involved, which Hotch and Rossi, based on what they knew of Brandon ten years ago, don't believe. What the BAU glean early in this updated investigation is that Randy did have a hit list of people he wanted to kill, and that the latest victims are on that hit list. The list itself is comprised of popular students and students on the fringe, which strengthens the BAU's theory that Randy had a partner who went underground after the massacre. But when someone not on the list is one of the latest victims, the team have to look specifically at the massacre itself to see if there are any triggers from that day which may have set off these latest round of killings. Meanwhile, Hotch is trying to deal constructively with Jack in what looks to be a case of him being bullied at school. And Morgan and Reid embark on a game of oneupmanship on each other, all stemming from Reid knowing a little more about basketball than he initially let on.—Huggo

Survivors of a Boise high school massacre return to remember the event 10 years later, but the BAU team is called in when a new killer with a similar style targets the survivors. Also, Hotch is worried that his son, Jack, may be a victim of school bullying.—CBS Publicity

A principal looks sadly at newspaper clippings detailing a school shooting and bombing that took place 10 years ago in Boise, Idaho. A banner in the school reads "Always Remember." Later, the principal returns home and hears a strange beeping. It is his alarm clock -- and it has a bomb inside. He tries to run when BLAM! The principal is shot in the leg. A mysterious man appears, says goodbye to the principal and then disappears. "You can't leave me here!" the principal screams. Moments later, the house EXPLODES.

CUT to Hotch, who is having a parent-teacher conference. Turns out Jack is doing well at school, though his teacher warns that he is also being bullied. Hotch is concerned. No time to worry now, however. Back at BAU headquarters, Garcia explains that the principal was killed by a bomb modeled after the one from the horrific incident that took place a decade ago. "He wants to relive it," says Hotch of the killer. Rossi, who worked the case with Hotch, explains that the killer died in the attacks, but he always suspected that there might have been a silent partner. CUT to Boise, where the team arrives to find the press swarming the home of the infamous killer's younger brother, Brandon.

Turns out that Rossi befriended the then seven-year-old Brandon a decade prior. Now, Rossi questions the high school senior to see if he was involved in the recent murder. "I already told the police, I was watching movies on my computer," Brandon says. It soon becomes clear that Brandon found a "kill list" that his brother once made. So Emily and Derek search the room ... and soon find the list. "Principal Givens is on this list," Emily observes. J.J. calls: another alum has been found murdered -- and she, too, is on the list.

Back at police HQ, the team presents its theory to the team: the original killer had a silent partner, someone so inconsequential in the high-school social scene that he would have never stood out. "This unsub was the outcast that the outcasts rejected," Reid explains. Later, the team examines the kill list and discovers that two distinct "types" of students -- the popular kids and the burnouts. So each partner added his own names. Garcia then runs a search of students who were failing out, but didn't appear on the list. Lewis Ramsey is identified. He is soon taken into custody by Derek (at gunpoint, naturally).

Under questioning, Lewis admits that he helped the school shooter made a list of "loser" names, but that he didn't have anything to do with the actual killings. Emily, meanwhile, interviews Jerry, who was a student witness to the shootings and bombing. Jerry says that the killer was holding a black cell phone detonator ... but Emily points out that the recovered phone was gray. Jerry says he simply made a mistake. Hmm. Later, Reid examines the note and notices that losers is spelled "LoSeRs." LSR is Lewis Ramsey's initials. So Lewis IS the long-ago partner, but he still might not be the current killer.

Later that night, the team finds Jerry has been beaten to death in the high school hallway. "This unsub doesn't feel pain," Reid theorizes, noting that the mystery man punched through a glass display case BEFORE savagely beating Jerry. Hotch theorizes that the unsub never developed a sense of empathy because he has never felt pain. "It's most likely caused by an external factor ... like a bomb going off next to him," Reid says. A bomb like the one the original killer set off to kill himself? Exactly.

J.J. then examines the old yearbook and tries to connect the people on the "kill list." She has a revelation: each survivor on the list is a person, specifically selected by the principal, to do media interviews and visit schools after the killings. So the unsub, already an outcast in high school, is super angry that he survived only to be shunned again and not chosen to be a sort of ambassador of the tragedy -- and that's why the principal was killed first. Garcia does a search of survivors and only Robert Adams matches the profile. Turns out he just used his credit card at a local restaurant.

CUT to the restaurant, where a bomb EXPLODES. Sure enough, Robert soon emerges to confront the special survivor clique that has gathered for a dinner. He is, of course, armed. The cops, including the BAU team, gather outside. "I think I know what he wants to be recognized for," Emily tells her coworkers. Moments later, Emily, Hotch and Derek enter the restaurant to find Robert holding a gun to a woman's head. "Before tonight, they didn't know my name!" Robert rages. As it turns out, Robert was actually the one who looked the original killer in the eye -- a story for which Jerry had taken credit for the past decade. "Nobody got to find out that Bob Adams was a good kid, a brave kid," Emily says. Robert throws down the woman and sprints toward the boiler room.

Robert is about to shoot Hotch when the BAU agent SHOOTS him dead. Case closed. Later, on the plane ride home, Hotch explains that a kid is being mean to Jack at school -- and Jack didn't tell his dad. "He wants to solve it himself," Emily guesses. Hotch just wants to protect his boy ... from all the horrors of the world.