This is an episode review/analysis on the dream sequence in Criminal Minds’ Season 9, Episode 5: “Route 66”. In the beginning of this episode, Hotch suddenly collapses during a briefing and is taken to the hospital. The diagnosis is internal bleeding from his stab wounds from Foyett. The episode goes back in forth between the case, Hotch’s condition in the hospital, and the dream he has while under surgery. This review is only about the dream sequences.
The dream starts out with Hotch being driven to a theater by Rossi in his new car. Not only was the picture of Rossi’s car the last thing Hotch saw before he collapsed, but Rossi himself was the last face he saw with him in the ambulance before he passed out again. I’ve always liked this little detail- how Dream!Rossi is there with him during this transition, but stays silent the whole time he’s there. This is because everything from here on out is Hotch’s decision; Rossi can be there for him, like he always is, but he can’t influence Aaron’s decision.
And “decision” is the theme of this sequence- in fact, it is the only film title the theater displays (“Decisions, Decisions”). When Aaron enters the lobby, he is greeted by a red balloon (and a fantastic wardrobe change). Very simply, this balloon represents Hailey. He follows the balloon into the theater and it leads him to one of the rows and disappears because there sits the actual Hailey (well, the Dream!Hailey). They sit and watch the “movie” which are clips of Aaron’s life with Jack and Beth. Hailey expresses her liking of Beth and how good she is with Jack. Hotch responds that “she’s not you and I’m not enough”. This is just him and Hailey inside his head and there’s no need for Hotch to hide his emotions and insecurities like he so frequently does. Hailey retorts back that he is “a great dad” and “always has been”. He expresses that its hard “and I’m alone”. A close-up of Hailey in which she simply says, “no you’re not”. This is a comment that is another recurring theme in this sequence and is touched on again later (including when Hotch tells Hailey that Jack misses her, and she says that he should talk about her more).
The next time we see the rest of Hotch’s dream, he and Hailey are still quietly watching the movie together. Enter Foyett. He appears in a dark hoodie, noisily squeezing himself in Hotch and Hailey’s row, spilling popcorn everywhere. He sits down next to Hailey and removes his hood. Aaron, of course, immediately turns to him as the tough BAU Chief Hotchner and angrily asks what he’s doing there. To the audience’s (and I’m sure Aaron’s) surprise, Hailey says that she invited him. In fact, she seems completely unbothered by his presence and they act very friendly with each other.
In the comments section of a post about this episode on Pinterest (random, I know), I had a conversation with someone who questioned Foyett and Hailey’s “buddy-buddy” dynamic. I must admit, this is something that confused me too for a while. But after a couple re-watches over the years, I realized what it meant. For one, it’s not a comment on the afterlife and how relationships are there. Usually shows like Criminal Minds with no particular religious background seem to make “life after death” scenes up to one’s own interpretation about whether or not it was real, and this is no exception. What it is, is a comment on Aaron’s guilt and sadness over Hailey’s death. For example, while they’re sitting there together, Foyett turns and shoots Hailey in the stomach. This triggers flashbacks to the episode of Hailey’s death and Hotch hurriedly takes his jacket off and tries to apply pressure to her stomach. He screams for help as Hailey continues to watch the film, unperturbed. Hotch tells Hailey that he’s sorry and “this is all my fault”, thus confirming his feelings of immense guilt over her death.
Then comes the most crucial point in this sequence. Hotch, distressed, yells “I can’t stop the bleeding!” and Hailey turns to him in a close-up shot, as the music changes (signifying a pivotal moment in the scene), and says “It’s ok, you’re not supposed to.” He’s not supposed to stop her death; She’s already dead. He can’t let his anger over Foyett remain; He’s already dead too. This is why there is no animosity between Hailey and Foyett- because in order to move on with Beth and Jack, Aaron must let go of his guilt over Hailey and his anger over Foyett. This in no way tries to redeem Foyett’s character. That’s obvious by the blatant rudeness of his character and the crude way he speaks about Beth. Rather, the point of this is to show Hotch that his anger over Foyett is wasted on a dead monster.
Once the movie is over, Hailey’s wound disappears, and she tells Aaron that it’s time to go. He follows her into the lobby (as Foyet had gone to “take a leak”) and tells her that he doesn’t want her to go. He wants to stay with her. She reminds him that Beth and Jack need him and that he can’t always have his way. “Sometimes you just have to roll with it”. “I don’t know how” he says. She answers “happiness is a choice. So choose”. This all ties together in his decision he is supposed to make. Letting go of Hailey and Foyett, but still acknowledging that he isn’t alone, and that Hailey is always with him, is choosing to live a happy life with Beth and Jack.
Foyett meets back up with them, red balloon in hand. After saying goodbye, he leaves with it, symbolizing how he took Hailey’s life and that’s never going to change. After an emotional goodbye with Hailey, Hotch leaves with Rossi, who has been silently waiting to drive him back to the real world.
At the end of the episode, Hotch sits in his hospital bed where Jack and Hailey’s sister enter with Get Well balloons. As Hotch hugs Jack, he looks up at the balloons. In the center is the same red balloon that symbolizes Hailey, putting the theme of his dream sequence into practice- that she remains with them even while not there physically. This plays into the ending quote of the episode: “Life is a dream. Realize it.”
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