The Attorney General may have closed the case, but she's going to have egg on her face when the reality of that decision strikes her.

Someone came forward with information that backed the BAU's assessment of the situation, and Elias admitted aloud the number of people he's killed. This is not a man we want to ignore for lack of evidence.

In the face of the BAU's professional and Elias's personal setbacks, Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 1 Episode 8 has Elias at his worst and Rossi at his best. That combination will be lethal for Elias Voit.

Is there anything better than Joe Mantegna when Rossi's in the zone? We saw him there during the premiere, but he cooled his jets for a while afterward.

When the AG shut the door on the Sicarius case, Rossi took it as an invitation to prove the BAU's value to the world at large, and anyone who tries to stop him will live to regret it.

Elias struggles with the two sides of his life on a good day. On a bad day, he kidnaps a woman not unknown to him and makes the mistake that will be his undoing.

I'm not going to lie. I really enjoyed Elias Voit's very bad day.

Elias was already a mess before he killed Cyrus, but in the wake of that act, he's becoming even more unhinged than usual.

As I noted in my Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 1 Episode 7 review, Elias thought killing Cyrus would free him. He placed blame at his uncle's feet for the man he'd become.

We now know Cyrus only encouraged behavior he suspected after Lee's parents died in a home fire. Lee likely set that event in motion, and that's got to be eating away at Elias now.

To be fair to the lunatic, he does recognize how close he came to killing his family and left them for their own protection. Maybe.

Kidnapping Ramona to act as his wife in a terrorizing play for her life suggests he knows he's been an awful partner and parent, but his mere actions prove he doesn't understand how to correct it.

Elias: I know this is scary, but I need you to know what I'm capable of. I killed 61 people.
Ramona: [catches her breath] Oh God!
Elias: Ramona. Ramona! [snaps his fingers] Hey. Pay attention. We haven't even gotten to the important part yet.
Ramona: You're showing me your face. Oh God! I know what that means. You're showing me your face! I don't want to die.
Elias: Nobody does. Nobody does. So, you want a chance to live?
Ramona: Yes. Yes, I do.
Elias: OK. Good. Then you need to help me.
Ramona: Help you?
Elias: Mm-hm. I need you to help me save my marriage. And then I'll spare your life.

• Permalink: Mm-hm. I need you to help me save my marriage. And then I'll spare your life.

Just like he placed the blame for his murderous bent on Cyrus, he's going to place the success of his marriage on Sidney's acceptance of his, uh, way of life.

Ramona was all in trying to save herself and her family by giving Elias exactly what he wanted from her -- a reasonably honest depiction of how she'd react when faced with the facts he was going to present to his wife.

Elias: Tell me something, honestly. Would you give your life in exchange for your husband's?
Mona: No.
Elias: But for your children's?
Mona: Without a doubt.
Elias: I guess we shall see.

• Permalink: Would you give your life in exchange for your husband's?

Elias gives himself a little too much credit. Ramona was acting to save herself, not being genuinely honest. Please, oh please, let us see how it will play out between Sidney and Elias.

I'm eager to see if she plays it much like Ramona to save her and the kids or if she'll be so gobsmacked by what he's telling her that she'll struggle with the right answer.

Elias has prepped her by telling her he's been untruthful, but until you wake up duct-taped to a chair, I don't think the reality of what he might say to her would come to mind.

Enter Dave Rossi, man on the street.

By the time he knocked on the Voit household's door, Ramona had been saved, and another of Elias's followers was dead.

Elias messed up big time by letting her live, even if it was only long enough for someone else to torture and kill her. Oh, who am I kidding? He messed up long before that.

Here's a man who jams every signal before he steps in front of it but uses his real name to attack his victims. With Cyrus's death, he had to know that it was only a matter of time before he'd be connected to the dead man.

Maybe he's not as bright as we're giving him credit for being. Perhaps he really has waited all this time for someone to stop him, leaving breadcrumbs of his existence for the right people to take him down. Well, the BAU is the right group, and his time is running out.

After the FBI officially closed the case, evidence started pouring in to the contrary. Cyrus's death started it. Using the name Lee enhanced it. Saving Ramona's life cemented it.

This team will pour everything they have into taking down Elias, no matter who tries to stop them.

Rossi is poised to ask Sidney Voit if she knows the man in the photo or knows of a man named Lee. She will recognize Elias but not Lee. She won't open herself to Rossi's inquiry, but Rossi will spot her reaction nonetheless.

Elias will return home to a wife already alarmed at Rossi's questions, which will not be good for Elias's plans to let her in on his life. It puts him at a disadvantage. He can't pace himself when he tells her because she'll already be aggravated.

With only two episodes remaining for Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 1, the heat has turned way up on the action as the plan to stop Sicarius begins to yield fruit.

If all goes well, Elias will not increase his number of kills from 61.

The side story from "Forget Me Knots" featured JJ and Will feeling comfort that they'd passed a big hurdle with Will's heath but realizing the error of their ways for not sharing that news with their eldest son, Henry.

Being a parent is hard enough without the jobs they do or health scares, but they've been so preoccupied with those things that they failed to see how worried Henry has been for his safety.

It's easy to think that maybe a kid would feel safer if his parents caught bad guys for a living, but it also makes them more aware of cases they might not otherwise waste time worrying about.

Their family scenes this season have added a nice layer to the series, and I hope that dynamic remains for Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2.

The cast has had a hand in directing a good number of episodes this season, and A.J. Cook helmed this one. While she was excellent with JJ's family scenes, her knowledge of the cast was felt elsewhere, too.

One standout scene was between Rossi and Garcia as he hovered over her, urging on her quest for information as she plucked away at her keyboard. Their relationship has always had a fun dynamic and never fails to entertain.

The other welcome scene came when Alvez and Tara realized Garcia was "gettin' some." Those moments of levity are so important when the episodes are heavy on darkness.

But Cook's best work was directing Zach Gilford and guest star Kerry Knuppe as Ramona performed for her life at gunpoint as Elias became increasingly unhinged. We've not had the benefit of many of those scenes in the Criminal Minds universe because spending much time with one unsub has been rare.

This streaming experiment in the Criminal Minds universe at Paramount+ has been incredibly successful. Who else is excited about what the final two episodes will bring?

How do you think the conversation will go between Rossi and Sidney and then between Sidney and Elias?

I'll be surprised if his family doesn't find themselves fighting for their lives before it's all over.

Hit the comments with your thoughts!

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.