"Awake" is the eighth episode of Season Eleven and the 241st overall of Criminal Minds.

Summary

The BAU hunts an unsub in Phoenix who is abducting victims and depriving them of their sleep. Also, Hotch and Garcia deal with the threat from an underground hitman group who have targeted the Dirty Dozen, a name Garcia realizes they are using to refer to her.

Guest Cast

• Akira Akbar - Daughter
• Sandy Bainum - Karen Coleman
• Guile Branco - Stephen Jackson
• Tommy Dickie - Manager
• Leah Garland - Doctor Pat Lewis
• Troy Jones - Skull Tattoo Man
• Lexy Kolker - Tatiana Taylor
• William Langan - Lance Coleman
• Todd Lowe - William Taylor
• James Morosini - David Whitfield
• Aisha Tyler - Doctor Tara Lewis
• Gloria Votsis - Agent Debbie Webster
• Danette Wilson - Mother^[1]

Referenced Criminals

• Gary Lee Sampson

Music

• "You Are My Sunshine" by Leah Andreone

Bookend Quotes

• Jennifer Jareau: "You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind." — Mahatma Gandhi
• Jennifer Jareau: "Guilt is perhaps the most painful companion of death." — Coco Chanel

Trivia

• The episode bears striking resemblance to the 2014 horror film The Laughing Mask, involving a serial killer revealed to be a man who was traumatized by the loss of his daughter and both believed instead his daughter was kidnapped and sublimated that he knew his daughter died until he put on a masked persona and went out for violent revenge.
• Despite being credited in the opening sequence, Matthew Gray Gubler, who portrays Reid, doesn't appear in the episode. This is actually the 13th of 29 episodes in which characters are credited despite not appearing in the episodes. The others are:
  • Season One
    • "Broken Mirror" - A.J. Cook is credited even though JJ doesn't appear. Penelope Garcia, portrayed by Kirsten Vangsness, also doesn't appear.
  • Season Four
    • "Masterpiece" - A.J. Cook is credited even though JJ doesn't appear.
    • "52 Pickup"- A.J. Cook is credited even though JJ doesn't appear.
    • "Brothers in Arms" - A.J. Cook is credited even though JJ doesn't appear.
    • "Soul Mates" - A.J. Cook is credited even though JJ doesn't appear.
    • "Bloodline"- A.J. Cook is credited even though JJ doesn't appear.
  • Season Six
    • "25 to Life" - Thomas Gibson is credited even though Hotch doesn't appear.
  • Season Eleven
    • "The Witness" - A.J. Cook is credited even though JJ doesn't appear.
    • "'Til Death Do Us Part" - A.J. Cook is credited even though JJ doesn't appear.
    • "Outlaw"- A.J. Cook is credited even though JJ doesn't appear.
    • "The Night Watch"- A.J. Cook is credited even though JJ doesn't appear.
    • "Pariahville"- A.J. Cook is credited even though JJ doesn't appear.
    • "Internal Affairs" - Matthew Gray Gubler is credited even though Reid doesn't appear.
    • "Future Perfect" - Matthew Gray Gubler is credited even though Reid doesn't appear.
  • Season Twelve
    • "Taboo" - Aisha Tyler is credited even though Lewis doesn't appear.
    • "The Anti-Terrorism Squad" - Aisha Tyler is credited even though Lewis doesn't appear.
    • "Profiling 202" - Matthew Gray Gubler is credited even though Reid doesn't appear.
    • "Seek and Destroy" - Matthew Gray Gubler and Aisha Tyler are credited even though Reid and Lewis don't appear.
    • "Hell's Kitchen" Aisha Tyler is credited even though Lewis doesn't appear.
  • Season Thirteen
    • "Dust and Bones" - Aisha Tyler is credited even though Lewis doesn't appear.
    • "Neon Terror" - Matthew Gray Gubler and Aisha Tyler are credited even though Reid and Lewis don't appear.
    • "False Flag" - Matthew Gray Gubler is credited even though Reid doesn't appear.
    • "Submerged" - Matthew Gray Gubler is credited even though Reid doesn't appear.
    • "All You Can Eat" - Matthew Gray Gubler is credited even though Reid doesn't appear.
    • "Mixed Signals" - Matthew Gray Gubler is credited even though Reid doesn't appear.
  • Season Fourteen
    • "Broken Wing" - Matthew Gray Gubler is credited even though Reid doesn't appear.  
    • "Flesh and Blood" - Matthew Gray Gubler is credited even though Reid doesn't appear in present day and is only shown in flashbacks. 
    • "Sick and Evil" - Matthew Gray Gubler is credited even though Reid doesn't appear. 

References

Criminal Minds Episodes

Season One Extreme Aggressor • Compulsion • Won't Get Fooled Again • Plain Sight • Broken Mirror • L.D.S.K. • The Fox • Natural Born Killer • Derailed • The Popular Kids • Blood Hungry • What Fresh Hell? • Poison • Riding the Lightning • Unfinished Business • The Tribe • A Real Rain • Somebody's Watching • Machismo • Charm and Harm • Secrets and Lies • The Fisher King, Part 1 Season Two The Fisher King, Part 2 • P911 • The Perfect Storm • Psychodrama • Aftermath • The Boogeyman • North Mammon • Empty Planet • The Last Word • Lessons Learned • Sex, Birth, Death • Profiler, Profiled • No Way Out • The Big Game • Revelations • Fear and Loathing • Distress • Jones • Ashes and Dust • Honor Among Thieves • Open Season • Legacy • No Way Out II: The Evilution of Frank Season Three Doubt • In Name and Blood • Scared to Death • Children of the Dark • Seven Seconds • About Face • Identity • Lucky • Penelope • True Night • Birthright • 3rd Life • Limelight • Damaged • A Higher Power • Elephant's Memory • In Heat • The Crossing • Tabula Rasa • Lo-Fi Season Four Mayhem • The Angel Maker • Minimal Loss • Paradise • Catching Out • The Instincts • Memoriam • Masterpiece • 52 Pickup • Brothers in Arms • Normal • Soul Mates • Bloodline • Cold Comfort • Zoe's Reprise • Pleasure Is My Business • Demonology • Omnivore • House on Fire • Conflicted • A Shade of Gray • The Big Wheel • Roadkill • Amplification • To Hell and Back, Part 1 • To Hell and Back, Part 2 Season Five Nameless, Faceless • Haunted • Reckoner • Hopeless • Cradle to Grave • The Eyes Have It • The Performer • Outfoxed • 100 • The Slave of Duty • Retaliation • The Uncanny Valley • Risky Business • Parasite • Public Enemy • Mosley Lane • Solitary Man • The Fight • A Rite of Passage • ...A Thousand Words • Exit Wounds • The Internet Is Forever • Our Darkest Hour Season Six The Longest Night • J.J. • Remembrance of Things Past • Compromising Positions • Safe Haven • Devil's Night • Middle Man • Reflection of Desire • Into the Woods • What Happens at Home • 25 to Life • Corazón • The Thirteenth Step • Sense Memory • Today I Do • Coda • Valhalla • Lauren • With Friends Like These... • Hanley Waters • The Stranger • Out of the Light • Big Sea • Supply and Demand Season Seven It Takes a Village • Proof • Dorado Falls • Painless • From Childhood's Hour • Epilogue • There's No Place Like Home • Hope • Self-Fulfilling Prophecy • The Bittersweet Science • True Genius • Unknown Subject • Snake Eyes • Closing Time • A Thin Line • A Family Affair • I Love You, Tommy Brown • Foundation • Heathridge Manor • The Company • Divining Rod • Profiling 101 • Hit • Run Season Eight The Silencer • The Pact • Through the Looking Glass • God Complex • The Good Earth • The Apprenticeship • The Fallen • The Wheels on the Bus • Magnificent Light • The Lesson • Perennials • Zugzwang • Magnum Opus • All That Remains • Broken • Carbon Copy • The Gathering • Restoration • Pay It Forward • Alchemy • Nanny Dearest • #6 • Brothers Hotchner • The Replicator Season Nine The Inspiration • The Inspired • Final Shot • To Bear Witness • Route 66 • In The Blood • Gatekeeper • The Return • Strange Fruit • The Caller • Bully • The Black Queen • The Road Home • 200 • Mr. & Mrs. Anderson • Gabby • Persuasion • Rabid • The Edge of Winter • Blood Relations • What Happens in Mecklinburg • Fatal • Angels • Demons Season Ten X • Burn • A Thousand Suns • The Itch • If the Shoe Fits • Boxed In • Hashtag • The Boys of Sudworth Place • Fate • Amelia Porter • The Forever People • Anonymous • Nelson's Sparrow • Hero Worship • Scream • Lockdown • Breath Play • Rock Creek Park • Beyond Borders • A Place at the Table • Mr. Scratch • Protection • The Hunt Season Eleven The Job • The Witness • 'Til Death Do Us Part • Outlaw • The Night Watch • Pariahville • Target Rich • Awake • Internal Affairs • Future Perfect • Entropy • Drive • The Bond • Hostage • A Badge and a Gun • Derek • The Sandman • A Beautiful Disaster • Tribute • Inner Beauty • Devil's Backbone • The Storm Season Twelve The Crimson King • Sick Day • Taboo • Keeper • The Anti-Terrorism Squad • Elliott's Pond • Mirror Image • Scarecrow • Profiling 202 • Seek and Destroy • Surface Tension • A Good Husband • Spencer • Collision Course • Alpha Male • Assistance Is Futile • In the Dark • Hell's Kitchen • True North • Unforgettable • Green Light • Red Light Season Thirteen Wheels Up • To A Better Place • Blue Angel • Killer App • Lucky Strikes • The Bunker • Dust and Bones • Neon Terror • False Flag • Submerged • Full-Tilt Boogie • Bad Moon on the Rise • Cure • Miasma • Annihilator • Last Gasp • The Capilanos • The Dance of Love • Ex Parte • All You Can Eat • Mixed Signals • Believer Season Fourteen 300 • Starter Home • Rule 34 • The Tall Man • Innocence • Luke • Twenty Seven • Ashley • Broken Wing • Flesh and Blood • Night Lights • Hamelin • Chameleon • Sick and Evil • Truth or Dare Season Fifteen Under the Skin • Awakenings • Spectator Slowing • Saturday • Date Night • Ghost • Rusty • Family Tree • Face Off • And in the End...