“I’ve been thinking a lot about Cain and Abel, you know, if they were the only descendants of Adam and Eve. And Cain killed Abel…well, you know what that means, don’t you? We’re all descendants of a murderer.”
In case you didn’t catch the first hour of the crossover with SVU, here’s what you missed…
While it’s clear Yates is trying to taunt Erin and possibly get her alone, Erin refuses to believe it. It’s not long before Yates begins his killing spree again, claiming four victims (all nurses) within the first few minutes of the hour. The strange thing is, the four victims don’t match his MO. After hearing about the triple homicide, Olivia and Fin are on the next flight out.
Olivia and Erin talk with Nellie and discover Yates is obsessed with “home”. When she hears Nellie’s maiden was Williams, making her given name Penelope Williams, she makes a connection. That name was searched by Yates. Ruzek soon finds, “Nellie grew up Penelope Williams to parents Susan and Michael Williams here in Chicago…they also had a son by the name of Gregory.”
Antonio and Halstead talk with Susan, who tells them that Greg as a child was just as disturbing as Greg as an adult. Out of fear for their yet-to-be-born daughter Nellie, Susan and Michael gave Greg up for adoption. Susan is who Greg keeps “killing” when he kills each of his victims: a mid-twenties brunette.
While the team makes the connection and prepares to go to Susan’s house, Yates finds his birth father, Michael, and kidnaps him. Everyone except for Erin heads out to Susan’s house, but just after they do, Erin and Nellie get another video chat from Yates back at the district. He has his dad at their childhood home, obviously. This was weird to me, because for these detectives who are usually on point, I didn’t understand why going to the childhood home wasn’t their first thought. It’s the place tied to Yates, unlike Susan’s current home. Of course, this misdirection allows Erin to go out and meet Yates on her own, exactly what she wanted.
So naturally, Erin goes alone against Voight’s orders. Her confrontation with Yates is a tense one as Michael’s life literally hangs in the balance. He confesses to her that the pregnant fiancé he had who was murdered was not the trigger for him to begin killing, but rather his first kill. Yates extremely intelligent and never confessed until now. Much like Benson said earlier in the hour, that makes me think he doesn’t plan on making it out alive. Sure enough, Yates lets Michael fall, which kills him, and he approaches Erin, taunting her.
“You, my lovely, you get to tell this story. You write my name down in a police report. You talk to the press, you testify in court. You are my balladeer singing the song of Gregory Williams Yates over, and over, and over.”From just outside the room, Voight hears the gunshot and enters to see Yates dead on the floor.
I was thrilled when I first heard they were bringing back Greg Yates. One of my biggest (and only) complaints regarding this show is that cases and storylines are typically wrapped up within one episode. I love when cases aren’t closed perfectly, when they last a few episodes, or like this week, when a past case comes back. And out of all the criminals to make a reappearance, I’m glad they chose Yates. He’s terrifying and one of the worst they’ve dealt with, but he sure is fascinating. Props to Dallas Roberts and the fantastic job he did bringing this character to life.
The most interesting part of the case this week for me was the dynamic between Voight and Lindsay. It’s no secret they have a father/daughter relationship, but we typically see that outside of work. This was the first time we saw Voight treat her like a daughter to this extent on the job. He doesn’t leave her side in the field, and it doesn’t take long for him to restrict her to the district.
What did you think of the episode? Did you enjoy revisiting a past case? How will this affect Erin? Share your thoughts below!
