Heartbreaking Hotch Scene Never Fails to Make Criminal Minds Fans Tear Up
"This scene has stayed with me for years. Absolutely wrecked me when I watched it."
This is just one fan's reaction to a tragic Criminal Minds scene, but this reaction is exactly what millions of viewers felt while watching the episode titled 100.
The episode title is no coincidence. This Season 5 episode marked the 100th episode of the series. And the creators made sure it was a memorable one, one that would haunt fans for years to come.
The episode focuses on one of the most dangerous unsubs the BAU has dealt with, George Foyet, aka The Reaper, who has a history with Aaron Hotchner. Determined to punish Hotch for refusing to stop hunting him, Foyet targets the agent's family. He breaks into the house where Hotch's wife Haley and son Jack are hiding from him, and lets Hotch talk to his family while holding Haley at gunpoint.
Hotchner tells his son, who is about 5 years old in the episode, to "work the case," a code phrase for Jack to hide in a storage bench. This turns out to be what saves Jack's life. Haley, however, is not so lucky. After hugging Jack – "Too tight. I gotta go, Mommy. I'm working the case." – and asking Hotch to tell Jack about her and their love – "I want him to believe in love." – she dies at the hands of Foyer. The audience and Hotch hear the gunshot that kills her.
"I'd lie in bed at night and have that scene in my mind. Downright haunted me," one of the fans wrote on Reddit.
And this reaction is shared by many fans, who can never hold back tears while rewatching the episode. But the first viewing is the most intense because neither Hotch nor the audience knows if Jack survived. Hotch comes into the house and brutally kills The Reaper. Only then does he check the storage bench. The tension leading up to that moment is palpable.
"The moments between him finding his dead wife and finding his son… I didn't even breathe," one of the fans described.
The second scene of the episode that has fans crying is when Hotchner finds Jack in the storage bench, alive and well, and the boy says:
"I worked the case, daddy, just like you said."
"You did a great job, buddy," Hotchner replies.
Cue tears.