Keaton (Brent Sexton) gets a lead on Colter’s cold case. A lead that ties to a missing young woman and back to Frank Whales (Ryan Dorsey) and to the truth about The Teacher,.

I have to be honest with you I have very little idea what to make of this one. It’s a pretty definitive (it seems) conclusion to the cold case plot, but it somehow manages to feel cursory and rushed. It’s startlingly grim, ground that the show has covered before better than it does here. It’s got two very talented guest stars and it gives them both almost nothing to do. Most of all, it just feels off in  way the show honestly hasn’t before.

A big part of that is Keaton, and the ambiguity over both his actions and their intentionality. Brent Sexton is great, bringing ‘retired gunslinger’ energy to the role and giving the always excellent Hartley an older brother figure to push against. But in the space of one episode Keaton goes from working a case with Colter to straightfacedly suggesting they murder one or two people. And Colter is surprisingly okay with that. On its own it would feel like a clash of styles. With the weirdly rushed conclusion of this weirdly sketched in plot, it feels suspicious.

That plot is where the episode really falls down. The pacing of this arc seems to jump from first to fifth gear in the space of two episodes as we find out the truth about who took Gina Picket is revealed and resolved. It doesn’t help either that the person responsible feels like a middle of the pack Criminal Minds villain. The Teacher has a gimmick but no personality, and is given so little space to develop that we’re robbed of context and catharsis as he’s brought to justice. The episode deserves better. So does the actor involved.

Verdict: I don’t know whether or not this plot is finished. If it isn’t, then this is a frustrating middle stage. If it is then this is a deeply weird, staccato conclusion and the first real stumble the show has had since it started. 5/10

Alasdair Stuart