Warning: Spoilers for the first three episodes of Criminal Thoughts: Evolution ahead.
friday night lights Fans, be warned: Matt Saracen is no more. Sometimes Zach Gilford comes in Outstanding+limited series, Criminal Thoughts: Evolution, may remind you of the sane, granny-loving do-gooder who stole our hearts in 2006. But beneath the surface is Gilford’s new character, Elias Voit, a cold-blooded killer, master manipulator and evil genius who spent his COVID-19 lockdown training a network of serial killers online. We’re only three episodes into the latest installment in the beloved crime drama, but it’s already clear that Elias is one of the most terrifying screen villains of the year — not just because he’s a creepy killer, but because he knows how to use the charm.
in the evolution‘s two-episode premiere, we learn that a series of brutal murders is being orchestrated by one man: Elias Voit. In Episode 2, we get some good Gilford screen time and see Elias bury “Kill Kits” to help his henchmen successfully pull off the murders. He writes anonymously to killers, enjoys a video of a man having his spinal cord severed, and heads to a secret underground lair where he tortures and kills people. The scenes are terrifying and gruesome, and without knowing much more about him it’s easy to assume that Elias is pure evil at all times. But a trip to the hardware store for suspicious $449.49 supplies proves he’s living a double life.
Chatting with the cashier, Tawny, Elias is a sweet, funny, and personable guy. But just as Tawny is about to befriend Gilford’s mysterious character, he snaps at her for asking him to join the store’s rewards program. Like Saracen, Gilfords evolution Character is quiet and withdrawn, but he also has a constantly simmering temper that can be triggered by the smallest offences. We get another glimpse of his inner rage as he berates one of his men for making a killing blunder, then tells him about his own suicide. It is later implied that Elias killed the innocent hardware cashier and stole her dog. And when he drives home, things get even scarier.
By the end of Episode 2, the Elias we knew was nothing more than a killer running a sickening operation. But when he enters his beautiful home in Seattle, his WIFE greets him with a kiss in the kitchen. She calls him the “best husband ever” and he tells her he’s going to make breakfast for THE GIRLS! What’s more terrifying than a serial killer teaching others how to kill? A serial killer who teaches others how to kill while hiding in plain sight and living a normal life as a kind, beloved husband and father.
Gilford’s past projects – from Post Grad and crazy kind of love to friday night lights and good girls – prove that he has more than mastered playing an effortlessly genuine gentleman. The guy played Taylor Swift’s boyfriend in a music video for heaven’s sake! He is sweet! Seeing Gilford use his classic do-gooder charm to cover up his character’s crimes and deceive people adds a whole other layer of horror to his very convincing performance, just like Jake Lacy does in A family friend.
in the evolution Episode 3, viewers get to know it both Pages of Elias a little better. When he’s not in kill mode, he’s an operations analyst for a global cyber security firm. He has a charming smile, wears cozy sweaters, and plays basketball in the driveway with his daughter. Normal dad stuff! He says “kiddo”, calls his wife “babe” and is never afraid to tell his loved ones that he loves them. But as he hides the family’s financial woes from his wife, we learn that he’s bottling his frustration, anxiety, and fears. He builds up his anger and stores it for the future, then bursts out when it’s time to take another life.
Elias is the type of guy who will spend money on a magazine subscription he can’t afford just to please a neighbor kid who knocked on his door, but he’s also the type of guy who introduces himself, the pushy one bludgeoning the child’s father to death with a rock – while remaining outwardly calm, cool, and collected. He frequently has visions of violence and flashbacks to past killings when he’s upset, and towards the end of the episode we see him smiling while a dog chains up an innocent man, Elias, just because he resembles the neighbor he hates.
At one point, Elias’ wife asks, “What happened to the guy I married who could have it all rolled off his back?” As Elias notes on his online profile, which he uses to connect to his network: “I wasn’t born like that. Someone saw what I could become and nurtured the beast in me.” Those words, coupled with the fact that his wife seems so clueless, leaves no doubt that Elias has far more skeletons in his closet than we have ever had to know. He is meticulous, concise and excels at staying one step ahead of the authorities. He’s a controlled killer with the intelligence, patience, and organizational skills needed to train an army. And the juxtaposition of his two realities – the warmhearted husband/maiden father vs. the unsympathetic monster with an urge to kill – makes an already harrowing storyline even more terrifying.
New episodes of Criminal Thoughts: Evolution can be streamed on Thursdays Outstanding+.