What Really Drove Criminal Minds Assassin Maggie Lowe To A Life Of Crime

Unlike many of the unsubs featured on the series, Maggie Lowe's early background is never revealed. For her, the path to committing multiple homicides began during her college years when she first met fellow Juilliard student Lila Archer (Amber Heard). The two became friends, even sharing a dorm room for a weekend when the heat in Archer's place went out. While never stated explicitly, it's heavily implied in the episode that the two friends engaged in some sexual experimentation during that weekend, an experience which is later revealed to have meant much more to Lowe than to Archer. After college, the two remained friends as Archer pursued her acting dreams with Lowe in tow as her production assistant.

Prior to the events depicted in the episode, an obsessed Lowe had begun stalking Archer, watching and tracking her movements. Lowe's "love" for Archer grew, leading her to take fatal revenge against a producer who passed Archer over in favor of another actress, Natalie Ryan. That first murder soon led to a second, this time an actress Lowe viewed as a threat to Archer. Less than a month later, Lowe again murdered out of love-tinged revenge. She killed Ryan, as well as the actress' fiancé, who stumbled upon the gruesome murder scene. It's at this point that the members of the BAU are called in.