Criminal Minds (TV Series)

Zugzwang (2013)

Matthew Gray Gubler: Dr. Spencer Reid

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Quotes 

• Dr. Spencer Reid : [opening, voiceover]  "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." - Lao Tzu

• Aaron Hotchner : Then I have to ask you, how do you know she's missing?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Because we always addressed our letters to our pseudonyms.

  Aaron Hotchner : And you're Dr. Joseph Bell?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : The real-life inspiration for Sherlock Holmes. And that codename is how I know she's in trouble. The voice on the phone identified himself as Adam Worth. That was the American criminal that Arthur Conan Doyle based the character of Moriarty on.

  Aaron Hotchner : And what did he say to you?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Zugzwang. It's a chess term. It describes the point in a game when a plyer realizes he'll inevitably be checkmated. He has to decide whether to resign or play through the bitter end.

  Aaron Hotchner : If you're right about this, then you're part of his victimology, too.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : I know. He thinks he'll get away with this, and... he might. I have a wealth of knowledge I should be applying to this case -- behavioral patterns of violent stalkers, tactical recovery strategies, victim survival odds -- but... right now I can't focus on anything for more than four seconds at a time, which makes me the dumbest person in the room, so... please help me. Help me find her.

• Dr. Spencer Reid : [to team]  Stay back! Stay back! Stay back! Sta... stay back, stay back! Diane, Diane, there's still a way out of this.

  Diane Turner : You never wanted me. Never! You lied!

  Dr. Spencer Reid : I didn't. Diane, I offered you a deal, and you can still take it. Me for her. Let me take her place.

  Diane Turner : You would do that?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Yes.

  Diane Turner : You would kill yourself for her?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Yes.

  Dr. Maeve Donovan : Thomas Merton.

  Diane Turner : Who's Thomas Merton?

  Dr. Maeve Donovan : He knows. He knows.

  Diane Turner : Who's Thomas Merton? Who is he?

  Dr. Maeve Donovan : He's the one thing you can never take from us.

  Diane Turner : No.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Wait!

• Alex Blake : When you think of Maeve, what's the first thing that comes to mind?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Thomas Merton.

  Alex Blake : What about him?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : In her letters, she would always sign off with a quote from one of her favorite philosophers. Camus, Voltaire, Plato. When we had the near miss at the restaurant a couple of week ago, she left me a book with a quote by Thomas Morton written inside. It said, "Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone. We find it with another."

  Alex Blake : Then... Thomas Merton was her way of saying goodbye.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Yeah.

• Diane Turner : I was hoping you'd figure out my riddle. I-I mean, I knew you would. The fun was just how fast you'd do it. All this and brains, too.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : It took me a long time. To be honest, I was distracted by your thesis.

  Diane Turner : You read my thesis?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : I did. You know, I think your writing could put you on the same plane as Jonas Salk. I've already sent it to the NIH.

  Diane Turner : Flattery is not gonna get you out of this. I know what's waiting for me outsides.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : I've arranged for your freedom.

  Diane Turner : The federal government doesn't make deals with people like me.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Not true. Nazi scientists were recruited for the Manhattan Project. Mafia bosses are regularly put into witness protection. If what you have is valuable enough, the federal government will work with you. And what you have is very valuable.

  Diane Turner : And what do I have, Doctor?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : You have a brain that doesn't play by normal societal rules. And I know that all your life the people you care about the most keep leaving. There's a part of you that thinks it's because of that brain. Well, I'm here because I'm not going to leave you. I'm here because... I just hope that I get the chance.

  Diane Turner : Chance at what?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : To be with you. Me for her. That was the deal, right?

  Diane Turner : You're choosing me over her?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Diane, how could it be anyone else?

  Diane Turner : Prove it.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : All right. How?

  Diane Turner : Say it again. This time say it to her face.

  [takes blindfold off] 

  Dr. Spencer Reid : I don't love you. Sorry.

  Dr. Maeve Donovan : I understand.

• Aaron Hotchner : Reid, I can't let you be a part of this takedown.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : We don't have a choice. If I don't go in there, Maeve is dead.

  Aaron Hotchner : And if you do, you're dead.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Hotch, we've known from the beginning she's on a murder-suicide mission, but we never stopped to ask why she's on that mission. We know now it's because she wants recognition, the type of recognition she thinks Maeve gets, and I can give her that.

  Aaron Hotchner : How?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : I'm gonna tell her that I love her.

• Derek Morgan : All right, kid, talk to me. I can tell you're having something up in your head. What is it?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : 2,412. It's the number of hours we spent communicating, counting ph-phone calls... and... letters.

  Derek Morgan : All right, that's about a hundred days.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : 100.5. What if that's all I get?

  Derek Morgan : Well, it's not.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : You can't say that.

  Derek Morgan : Yes, I can, 'cause when we find her alive, and you finally get to lay your eyes on her, what's the first thing you're gonna say to her?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : A couple of months ago, we were getting off the phone and... and she said "Bye. Love you." Just like that, "Bye. Love you." I know it was just a slip, but...

  Derek Morgan : But she said it, Reid. She said it. You didn't say it back to her, did you?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : I was waiting for when we finally met.

• Alex Blake : Did you guys ever compare lists, the different people you dated?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : November 4th, 3:46 p.m. I asked her if she dated a lot growing up.

  Dr. Maeve Donovan : [in Reid's recollection]  No way. Do you know how many Friday nights I had where it was just me and a microscope?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : I thought that was just me.

  Dr. Maeve Donovan : [laughs]  Oh, come on. Girls must have adored you in high school.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : I was twelve. It was kind of... confusing. Once I got a note from this girl I had crush on. She thought I was cute but would only meet me if I wore a blindfold. I did, and she took my shirt off. That's when I heard the laughter. Most of the senior class was in there.

  Alex Blake : Oh, sounds awful.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Maeve thought so, too.

  Dr. Maeve Donovan : When we finally meet, I'm going to make blindfolds fun again.

• Diane Turner : I don't need her anymore.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Kill her, and she won't have to live with the fact that you're smarter. Let her live with her irrelevancy.

  Diane Turner : I just want her to see one more thing.

  [kisses Reid on his lips] 

  Diane Turner : Liar. Liar!

• Dr. Spencer Reid : Hotch, did you ever identify me to Bobby Putnam's girlfriend?

  Aaron Hotchner : What?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Did you say my name to her? Did you call me "Dr. Reid" or "Agent Reid"?

  Aaron Hotchner : I never mentioned you at all. Why?

  Diane Turner : [flashback]  Excuse me, doctor?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : I think I know who the unsub is.

• Penelope Garcia : [after looking up Dr. Maeve]  Reid, I have a picture of her. Do you want to see what she looks like?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : No.

• Aaron Hotchner : How clear is your head?

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Not very clear.

  Aaron Hotchner : I want to talk to her parents but I want you to observe the interview.