By: Mariah Thomas
Another chapter has closed in the “Criminal Minds: Evolution” series. In comparison to the original show, each season of “Evolution” has felt similar to a stand alone novel. Though there has been the string of Voit (Zach Gilford) to connect them all, the seasons have vastly differed. This approach could keep this spinoff going for much longer than anticipated. Season 19 widely improved on viewer’s interest in the unsub of the season. While Season 18 was phenomenal, many viewers felt the reveal of Tessa was too rushed and random. With “The Fan” (Justin Kirk), many seeds were planted from as early as episode one and given the time to properly bloom. By the finale, I was so invested in the story, I forgot I was watching an episode of “Criminal Minds” until our beloved profilers showed up again. The show has finally found its perfect formula to compete in the streaming era while also keeping the elements fans loved of the original run. It took time to get there, but each season of Evolution itself has continued to evolve.
Each season it’s the cases keep viewers interested, but it is the profilers that keep fans tuning in week after week. The 1ten episode count limits how much we are able to dive deeper into their inner workings, but what we have seen this season has been incredible. It is safe to say the profilers have evolved along with the show. This season Adam Rodriguez gave stellar performances as Luke Alvez, translating what the impact of losing a beloved pet can be. With the introduction of Luke in Season 12, viewers also met his service dog, Roxy. She has made appearances from time to time and was widely mentioned for the duration of the original run. In Season 19, Luke abruptly loses her to cancer and grapples with guilt and lack of guidance. He opened up to an unsub about how Roxy saved his life in the depths of his PTSD. While it is a heartbreaking choice from writers, it is also an honest one.
While we didn’t get to see much of Tara (Aisha Tyler) and Rebecca (Nicole Pacent) as a couple outside of work, Pacent’s performance as Rebecca was given much more time to shine this season. Rebecca is an Assistant US Attorney and a Department of Justice lawyer who serves as a liaison between the DOJ and the BAU. With the focus on Voit this season, her presence makes sense and is appreciated for communion moments between the team and Voit. It was also nice to continue to follow up with Rebecca even without other team members present to see more of what she does. Based on post mortem interviews with the cast and showrunner Erica Messer, it doesn’t seem like Rebecca’s role will be as prevalent in Season 20. However, with Voit gone, that makes sense plot wise. In direct comparison to the other big cases of the season, this year the pacing was immaculate. There was enough time to build the suspense to the finale naturally without it feeling rushed in the final two episodes like it has previously. The small interwoven moments of The Fan’s story being revealed helped the finale hold a greater impact. This also slightly brings back the joy of uncovering the unsub alongside the BAU like in earlier seasons. While we do see who The Fan is before them, there is enough time to speculate and profile as a viewer before.
Zach Gilford was an incredible addition to the “Evolution” era of “Criminal Minds” and I’ll admit that it feels nice to finally say goodbye to Voit. The plots he brought each season were intriguing; however, the heavy focus of a serial killer’s redemption began to throw fans off. Knowing Season 19 is an intended conclusion (for now) for the character allows looking back at his story to be more impactful. In the end, he had become changed but still was aware of the pain and suffering he caused. His final sacrifice was for his daughter Holly (Allison Nordahl). To him, he was able to rewrite his own past by hopefully allowing her to get the help needed after the emotional turbulence of killing someone. The ultimate scene with Holly leaves room to revisit the character; possibly as an unsub.
A year out from the loss of Will (Josh Stewart), A.J. Cook also beautifully portrays JJ learning to live with her grief. It is clear Will’s sudden death still haunts her but she has been able to move forward for the sake of her boys. AJ Cook’s real life sons, Mekhai and Phoenix Anderson, star as her on screen sons, Micheal and Henry. This makes the moments between Henry and JJ this season all the more emotional as she gears up for her eldest to go to off to college. AJ and JJ heavily mirror each other in how proud they are of their boys.
For some time it seemed as if Garcia (Kirsten Vangness) lost the confidence viewers watched her build over the last twenty years. Thankfully, this season it is back in full force. For a moment the boy crazy nature began to bleed into how she seemed to see herself. There were many moments in Season 19 where she not only stands up for herself but also for what she knows she brings to the team. Vangness is a delight and no one else could have ever brought this magnificent character to life. Vangness gave one of her best performances of the show to date in Episode 7 of this season.
As mentioned earlier, in the evolution era of the show we haven’t seen much of Emily’s (Paget Brewster) personal life outside of work. Season 17 focused on her obsessive web piecing together the “Gold Star” case and learning to let others in to help. While it was an incredible season, it had a disappointing end. Season 19 finally had the moments I anticipated for the end of that of Season 17. There were a handful of times she got to reclaim her power. One of my favorites being her introducing herself as “Unit Chief Emily Prentiss” when a sheriff mistakes Rossi (Joe Mantegna) for being the Unit Chief. Episode after episode we got to see her remind the audience why she was Hotch’s choice to be his replacement back in Season 12. In Episode 9 Emily also reflects on her technical death back in Season 6. This moment is an exemplary reminder of just how incredible Brewster is as an actress. The Unit Chief mask slides off but for only a moment. She expresses the fear she felt to Garcia and Rossi and there is a haunting look in her eyes as she relives the moment but she quickly snaps out of it to get back to the case.
Starting off as a potential unsub himself, the character Tyler Green (RJ Hatanaka) has seen the most transformation on the show. This season was filled with moments of him finally coming into his own while learning what it means to be a profiler. Rossi has been an incredible and encouraging mentor to Tyler. We watch as Rossi seems to go out of his way to steer Tyler away from holding onto the trauma of cases like he has and still does. It is clear how much the initial version of Voit we met still haunts him. However, he finally seems to close that chapter in the finale.
This season “Criminal Minds” also emphasized the importance of Dr. Tara Lewis beyond her title. In these sessions with Voit, viewers get to see her thought patterns and go deeper into the psychology of each unsub. Aisha Tyler has been an incredible addition to the show since her arrival back in Season 11. Though I would love to see more substance to the character outside of her work like we began to see in Season 18’s version of Tara, I am enamored with Aisha’s performance this season.
While this season was quite a standout, there were some areas that I felt faltered a bit. For as monumental and important as it is, the relationship between Tara and Rebecca felt as though it was not being handled with the care it deserves. With a show as action packed as “Criminal Minds,” it is harder to fit in those slower and more personal moments. However, they have shown us it is possible. Last season there was time for many beautiful moments between the two as they navigated their work and personal lives. In a day and age where LGBTQ+ relationships are still under attack, it almost becomes the reasonability of media formats such as “Criminal Minds” to invest more time in their LGBTQ+ characters. Early in the season we find out Tara and Rebecca were married from the mouth of Voit in a moment that is quickly brushed over. In my opinion, the reveal to the audience should have been bolder and more centered on them – not Voit. This also rolls into my other major complaint of the show. Though it is an ensemble, it is not always treated as such when it comes to the breakdown of personal plot points. Last season both Tara and JJ faced major traumas. Yet this season only one was mentioned. JJ seems to be the only character with a consistent personal arc. While beautiful and necessary, it opens up the question of why aren’t the other characters just as focused on? Early on this season was said to feature a big Luke storyline and while it did, like Tara, it was restricted to individual episodes. At least five, if not more, episodes this season carved out time for JJ to reflect on the major life changes she’s going through. Now compare that to Tara and Luke and the lack of consistency with their personal arcs. It is also worth noting the Voit and Rossi centered screen time this season. At times it felt unnecessary when an extra minute could have been dedicated elsewhere. We also saw Prentiss (Paget Brewster) face a tumultuous amount of trauma in Season 17 yet by 18 it was completely forgotten. There wasn’t a personal moment for her until Episode 9 of this latest season. My only hope going forward is the show finds a better way to balance the small glimpses we see of these characters. Already limited to the focus of episodes being on the case and now whittled down to only ten episodes a season, there needs to be more intention on character growth for all.
All in all, it is clear “Criminal Minds: Evolution” listens to its viewers and continues to evolve in their favor. Post Season 16 many viewers loved the darker twist on the show but didn’t appreciate how much the darkness of the lighting. Thankfully, by Season 18 this was fixed. After the first two seasons, viewers missed the weekly cases from the original run. Seasons 18 and 19 have been able to find a balance of diving deeper into an individual case across the season while also highlighting new unsays every season. Season 20 is expected sometime in 2027 and I’m certain viewers can anticipate a plethora of positive changes. All we officially know of the season is that there will be another year’s time jump and the era of Voit has officially come to a close.