Criminal Minds
AsCriminal judgment : Evolutionseason 1 derive to a finis , AJ Cook opens up about her reaction to the finale and JJ ’s own eccentric ontogenesis . Over the course of 10 episode on Paramount+ , the hit onetime CBS procedural has upped the stakes with a time of year - long case that found the Behavioral Analysis Unit tracking the mastermind of a serial killer connection . Criminal creative thinker : Evolutionconcludes with a tantalizing tantalization that Elias Voit ’s ( Zach Gilford ) level is n’t over yet , even though he is now in FBI custody .
Though that thread remain up in the tune , after a season of twists and turn , Cook ’s Jennifer Jareau has emerged unscathed . Criminal brain : Evolutionhas seen JJand her husband Will ( Josh Stewart ) present some of their trickiest problems yet , such as a health scare and a close call with a bomb calorimeter set by Voit . JJ was in the field of operation when the BAU brought in Voit and , like the rest of her team , she ’s been leave alone in the darkness about his true connector to the mysterious Gold Star enterprise .
Related : Criminal Minds : Evolution Cast & Character Guide
Screen Ranthad the pleasure of chatting with Cook aboutCriminal Minds : Evolution ’s various twists . She opened up about her reaction to the stopping point ’s terminate , JJ ’s many brushing with death , and the type ’s very peculiar discharge .
AJ Cook Talks Criminal Minds: Evolution
Screen Rant : congratulation , first and first off , on this entire time of year . I ’ve been a grown fan for a really tenacious time , and I think it ’s really awesome to see how you guy rope were capable to change affair up in your shift to streaming . The total time of year really put JJ through the wringer , between Will ’s cancer panic and Voit ’s bomb calorimeter , and even Will getting shot in short . By the destruction of the finale , were you at all shocked to see that she and Will were okay ?
AJ Cook : You get laid , these two have been through so much together , it ’s really quite amusing if you step back and look at the full show of Criminal Minds to see what all of our persona have been through . Yeah , inadequate JJ ’s been in peril so many times , just as the other characters have too . Spence[r Reid ] has been in bother so many times and Kirsten [ Vangsness ] - Garcia . I intend we ’ve all been killed a duo of times and come back to life . It ’s just the nature of being on such a long - running show . We do kind of laugh about it on circle . It is what it is , but I love that stuff . As an actor , it ’s fun to switch it up a little bit and really settle your teeth into the cloth .
These two ? They ’ve been through it . They have their ups , and their downs , and their sideways , and their diagonals , and all the things . That which does n’t belt down us makes us stronger . We ’ll see what the future holds for the LaMontagne - Jareau family . It ’s been a journeying , for trusted .
I love how Byzantine JJ ’s home life was throughout the time of year . You really fetch to see this other side , and it ’s such an important part of her fictional character . One of my absolute favorite episodes is JJ and Will ’s wedding , so it ’s been nerveless getting to see them together . What was it like for you to revisit that on a mysterious level for the revival ?
AJ Cook : It ’s been really endearing . I think that what is a handsome part of the success of our show is the audience really has a love life for these characters because we have been able to see them develop over time and grow up on our screen door and become fuller characters . I really think that ’s a big part of why the show has survive as long as it has . It ’s never a leaden moment , shooting the show .
And it ’s been so fun to see how JJ has emphatically evolved a batch , as I have as a human . As we all have . It would be eldritch if she did n’t ever shift in these almost twenty years of doing the show . She ’s probably evolved a little act more than some of the other fiber , but that ’s because she did n’t jump out as a profiler . She left and then came back , and we really saw a big displacement in JJ when she make fraught and had her Kyd . I reckon that ’s when we got to see the mama bear come out a little bit more , which is standardized in my life too . It ’s been fun to find like AJ and JJ kind of had this parallel journey . It ’s been really cool . I kind of look at JJ as this sister I really look up to , and I ’ve all slip her strength in my own life when I ’ve need it . And vice versa , we ’ve stolen things from my animation too and given that to the character as well . As all of our characters have .
I think Erica Messer , our showrunner and one of our writer , is so good about doing that ; add in sprinkling of real life into the show and into our characters . It ’s been a hell of a ride . Just when I think , " What are they peradventure going to do next ? " they come up with something that I was not expecting , and they always just bodge me out . I ’m even starting to listen about some estimation for next season , and I am so aroused . I ’ve never been bored bring JJ , and that ’s something to say when you ’ve played a character for as long as I have .
I ’m not josh , I have in my note a very specific question about JJ ’s evolution . I ’ve been a big buff of her break from media intimacy to profiler to even being consider for Unit Chief . It ’s mean a lot to me personally too , seeing her as one of the more soft - spoken single but still finding strength in her benignity .
AJ Cook : Oh , I do it that you just said that ! Thank you , that ’s so sweet . That ’s what it ’s all about , right ? I screw to see stuff like that because , like I said earlier , I ’ve drawn so much strength and motivating from her , and I know that audience members have as well . I think it ’s so cool that we have been able to see her journey ; the ups and the downs , and the highs and the lows , and the bother and the tears and the joy . We ’ve been able to see it all .
I ’ve grown so much as a person , and I just think it ’s cool to see a part that we get to put into our living way go through that and then be okay . That ’s been really exciting and fun for me , to see that she ’s okay . She ’s struggling , but she ’s okay . And I somehow draw strength from that in my own life . [ Laughs ]
It makes total sense to me . If you see the solid multitude shinny when you ’re struggling , it feel nice to see the balance ; to see role models in the same status . I have to ask , what was your reaction to the finale itself and that end that suggest there ’s more to the narration ?
AJ Cook : Oh , yeah . I know . I ca n’t hold off to hear hearing reactions to it . I think there ’s go away to be a lot of curse word going around . Like , “ Are you effing pull the leg of me ? That ’s how you ’re going to allow for us , going to pull up stakes us hanging like that ? ” It really does spawn a lot of conversation of who you cogitate is opening that door and where this is going to next . The account is not over yet .
I ’m unrestrained . I ’m really frantic , and I kind of know some things that has gotten me really frantic for next season . We kind of thought it was going to be one thing , and then it turned into another thing . Part of me [ did n’t acknowledge ] until I watched it myself . I did n’t know because I ’ve heard so many dissimilar end . I ’ve never been part of a show like that ! That had such a top secret termination or idea as to what is hold up to take us into the next season . It ’s pretty cool . It feels all very classified .
I had aCriminal Mindsblanket wrapped it around me , and when my laptop went black , I was like , “ Wait , what ? What ? What ? ” I ’ve always find it awesome to be enthrone in a TV show that makes you do that ; you ’re that aroused to know there ’s more . Is there anything at all whatsoever that you could possibly twit about season 2 ? Or season 17 ?
AJ Cook : Oh , God . I love that ! Like , " Where are we right now ? " It ’s crazy . I think I ’ll just say you ’re not going to be disappointed . hope us . bank us on this . I know the hearing is , like I enunciate in the first place , pissed off . Just like , “ What ? How is it end like this , and you ’re going to make us wait ? ” I ’ll just say it ’s going to be deserving the wait . menses . Exclamation point . Stick with us , folks . We ’ve go some really nerveless thing in store .
About Criminal Minds: Evolution
In the new CRIMINAL MINDS exclusively come to Paramount+ , the FBI ’s elect team of deplorable profilers issue forth up against their greatest threat yet , an UnSub who has used the pandemic to ramp up a web of other serial killers . Now , as the public spread out back up , the internet goes useable , and our squad must hunt them down , one slaying at a time .
Check out our otherCriminal creative thinker : Evolutioninterviews here :
Next : Why Are n’t Spencer Reid & Matt Simmons In Criminal Minds Season 16 ?
TheCriminal Minds : Evolutionseason 1 finale is now stream on Paramount+ .
