This is one Criminal Intent episode that will draw the viewer in and leave you emotionally drained. Mark-Linn Baker should have rated Emmy consideration for what he did. As for what he did in the episode only the eclectic mind of Detective Robert Goren could figure this one out.
Someone is killing the homeless of New York. But before doing that they are insuring them for some big bucks. That portion is found out almost by accident, but it sets Detectives Goren and Eames on a whole new line of investigation.
It all traces back to Baker who is a person with Asperger's Syndrome, a high functioning form of autism. When the CI detectives meet up with Baker, the scenes with the quirky Goren and the quirky Wally Stephens, Baker's character are some of the best ever acted in the show's history. Kathryn Erbe's comments about the relationship that is seeming to develop between Vincent D'Onofrio and Baker are some of her best lines in the history of the show.
Baker's breakdown at the climax is at once frightening and saddening. There are very few murderers you feel sorry for, but Baker is definitely one of them.
A must for fans of CI.