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episode recap
"... A THOUSAND WORDS"
airdate: May 5, 2010
written by: Edward Allen Bernero
directed by: Rosemary Rodriguez
episode synopsis
The BAU team must profile a serial killer covered in tattoos who commits suicide, but leaves clues to the whereabouts of his last victim.

Set in: Tallahassee, FL

Read the full episode recap ►

Episode quotes


Said By: Quote: Author:
Rossi "A sincere artist tries to create something which is, in itself, a living thing." William Dobell, painter
Hotch "I have seen children successfully surmount the effects of an evil inheritance. That is due to purity being an inherent attribute of the soul." Mohandas Gandhi



Criminal Minds Quotes

The Turning Point in the Investigation

episode unsub
  1. Robert Matthew Burke (Bob) kept his victims for a year before murdering them. He would wait for their bodies to be found before taking another woman.
  2. He was a convicted rapist that met Juliet, his future wife, in prison while she visited her father
  3. His wife kept his last victim with the intention of fulfilling her husband's wishes but dies giving child birth before she can do this.
  4. He was scheduled to undergo an interview with the authorities but chose to give himself up, committing suicide to protect his wife and unborn son
  5. He was covered in tattoos each depicting an image of his victim and the year she died, except for one open space on his back which hides a secret tattoo visible only under ultraviolet light.


  • Best Moments
    • The team is at the tattoo parlor and the artist curiously asks if there's any chance he could see the Unsub's body. Rossi says, "None."
    • When Prentiss beats Reid at cards and Reid is completely befuddled.
    • Detective Barton's simple but moving testimonal to Hotch, very eloquently voicing the emotional trauma that the man on the street feels when faced with such senseless violence.
    • Emily's red dress
    • Hotch congratulating Barton on his commitment to the job which led them to not only rescue Becky but close nine other unsolved murders.
    • Prentiss and Morgan convince Reid to read the journals.

    Best Lines
    • Morgan: Hey Prentiss, Sin to Win.
    Prentiss: I'm sorry, what?
    Morgan: Come on now, I gotta know, what the hell is a Sin to Win weekend in Atlantic City?
    Prentiss: Derek, I have a tremendous amount of respect for you, but there are some questions that if you have to ask them, it means you probably couldn't handle the answer. (gets up and walks away)
    Morgan: There is a whole other side to that women.
    Reid: I never lose.
    Morgan: Whole other side

    • Garcia: Emily don't get ahead of my dramatic telling.
    • Rossi (to troopers as to why female suicides are not messy): Women worry about who has to clean up. Men don't give a damn.

    Episode Guest Stars

    • Greg Jennings (Tech Jennings)
    • Dean Norris (Detective Barton)
    • Jolene Andersen (Juliet)
    • Holland Roden (Rebecca)
    • Kimberly Van Luin (Police Dispatcher One)
    • Dana Lyn Baron (Police Dispatcher Two)
    • Tina Lifford (Nora)
    • John Thaddeus (Unsub/Man)
    • Fred Cross (Trooper Pasternak)
    • David Stranbra (Trooper Creighton)
    • Jason M. Roberts (Deliveryman)
    • J.F. Pryor (Tommy)
    • Reginald Mayo (Paramedic)

    Episode trivia

    • According to Reid, at the turn of the 16th century rose tattoos were put on men who were sentenced to death and if they escaped it served to identify them.
    • The Illustrated Man is a 1951 book of eighteen science fiction stories by Ray Bradbury that explores the nature of mankind. A man is on a walking holiday in Wisconsin, it's a hot day and he meets a guy who has his clothing buttoned up tight as if it is winter.... They camp down for the night, and the guy takes off his thick shirt. His body is covered in illustrations, (not tattoos), and they are beautiful, they move, and have tiny voices. He tells how he met an old witch who looked a thousand years old one minute, and twenty one the next, and after she illustrated his entire body with her magic needles, she disappeared. Believing her to be a time-traveller, the man has spent his life trying to hunt her down. The series of short stories are linked by the other man seeing the actions take place within the illustrations. (review by Alan Burridge)


    • Discussion Topics

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      EPISODE VIDEO


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      Episode Links
      episode next
      • Exit Wounds - Garcia plays a crucial role in a case when she travels to Alaska with the BAU team to investigate the murders of several members of a small town.




      Bekah702
      Bekah702
      Latest page update: made by Bekah702 , May 23 2011, 2:53 AM EDT (about this update About This Update Bekah702 Edited by Bekah702

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      Started By Thread Subject Replies Last Post
      smallboyonherbicycle *Chat about A Thousand Words here* (page: 1 2 3) 48 Sep 18 2011, 12:07 PM EDT by Special_Agent_Marta
      Thread started: May 5 2010, 3:42 PM EDT  Watch
      Is it just me, or did we have to wait way too long for a new episode?
      0  out of 1 found this valuable. Do you?    
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      CowGrl69 Season 5 Episode 20 - A Thousand Words 0 Jul 17 2010, 12:57 PM EDT by CowGrl69
      Thread started: Jul 17 2010, 12:57 PM EDT  Watch
      Where can I find a full episode of this Episode?
      Season 5 Episode 20 - A Thousand Words
      Do you find this valuable?    
      teamREID What was the name of the book they talked about in the episode? 4 May 9 2010, 8:33 PM EDT by allskate
      Thread started: May 6 2010, 6:00 PM EDT  Watch
      i forgot to write it down and my cursed midterm made me forget ):
      Do you find this valuable?    
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