While the first victims suffered facial disfigurement, the third victim, Tricia Smoots, had her tongue surgically split into a forked shape—a "gift" from the unsub who whispered, "We are now the same" .

In a refreshing twist, the unsub is revealed to be a woman, (played by Doris Morgado). Desi’s rage is fueled by a deep-seated "mother wound." Her mother, Laura, a successful realtor, was physically and emotionally abusive, famously locking Desi in a shed with snakes as a child.

Unmasking the Beast: A Deep Dive into Criminal Minds [S13E7] "Dust and Bones"

While the case was the main course, "Dust and Bones" gave us some fantastic character moments:

We get a deeper look into Luke’s life as he supports his former partner, Phil, who was paralyzed in a previous line-of-duty incident. The episode ends on a high note with Luke (and a little help from Garcia) gifting Phil a therapy puppy named Lu.

From snake-venom abductions to the extreme world of body modification, here’s our breakdown of the episode that gave every viewer a serious case of the "heebie-jeebies."

The unsub subdues victims using venom from an Eastern Brown Snake , which incapacitates them without killing them.