Criminal Minds
After fifteen years , Criminal Mindsended its recollective term of office with a ten - sequence last season . Few telecasting shows have had such extended and successful escape asCriminal Minds . The show was thefifth longest - runningAmerican procedural TV show and the third longest - operate procedural show on CBS .
With so many seasons , one would hope that there would be few loose goal to link up up , butCriminal Mindshad a habit of introducing dangling storylines and unexpectedly writing out characters . It is bound to be frustrating for fan who have been dedicated watcher of the show not to get cloture on some plots . Now thatthe show has endedand viewer can binge it in its entirety , it is light to fleck the storyline that never quite panned out .
Elle’s Storyline
Elle Greenaway was an original fellow member of the BAU form , but she never quite tick with the squad or the show ’s consultation . Her character was finally replaced with Emily Prentiss , who would go on to lead the BAU in the show ’s later seasons . After murdering an unarmed suspect and planting grounds , Elle is forced to take the air away from the squad and , seemingly , any sound reverberation .
Elle is cite several time by the team in reference to her killing the defendant and she appears to Spencer when he is dreaming of " ghosts " after an injury , but viewers never regain out exactly what happened to her after she give the BAU . It might have been interesting if the character was revisited asone of the team ’s " unsubs"in a belated season to give some closure to her storyline .
Garcia’s Place On The Team
Kirsten Vangsness wasoriginally only theorise to playPenelope Garcia for the first episode of the series . Due to her undeniable on - screen and off - concealment connection with the plaster bandage , particularly Shemar Moore , the character was made a recurring feature for the first season and was promoted to a series steady in the second .
It ’s a good affair , too , because Garcia offers much - needed light to the otherwise acute content of the show and more serious personalities of the other character . It is hard to imagine what the show would have been like without Vangsness as a witty and charming gain to the group .
Spencer’s Headaches
In time of year six , lover - favorite character Spencer Reid depart experiencing painful and debilitating headaches , an ill that continued to be a trouble for him for much of the second half of the time of year . For a while , it seemed like this would be a major consequence for his character , maybe even being an early symptom of schizophrenia , butnothing ever total of the condition .
The rationality behind this was that the worry were introduced as a subplot when Matthew Gray Gubler was thinking of leaving the show . Once contract bridge negotiation were adjudicate , there was no want for the plot line .
Gideon’s Storyline
Mandy Patinkinabruptly leftCriminal Mindsat the beginning of the third season . His character is rather unceremoniously write out and not see from again , besides flashbacks of his younger self , until his off - screen door dying in season ten . Gideon ’s berth as headspring of the BAU is fill by Aaron Hotchner and his place on the team is filled by David Rossi , who had been partner with Gideon when they originally founded the BAU .
Though the character is mention over the class ofthe rest of the show , Mandy Patinkin never reelect to act as him . It was surprising and unsatisfying for the buff to fall behind Jason Gideon as the leader of the BAU , but the resulting dynamic of the show was nothing to be disappointed in .
Morgan & Garcia
From the very first , the dynamic of Derek Morgan and Penelope Garcia entertain fans and drew them in . Many hoped that all the witty , flirtatious banter between these two would finally pay off and they would get together . However , Morgan ’s going from the show featured him leave to take care of his married woman and baby while he and Garcia remained closemouthed friends .
It turns out , a romantic relationship wasnever the purpose of their moral force . The give-and-take was introduced by the writers after seeing the fashion Moore and Vangsness , Morgan and Garcia ’s actors , interact at one of the first board reads . It was always the goal to depict a unique , male - femalefriendship between the two .
The Character’s Plans In The Finale
Despite most of the members of the BAU being offer positions outside of the team inthe series finis , the only one who elects to leave is Penelope Garcia . All of the positions seemed uniquely suited to the individual squad members , making it surprising that no one else take their pass .
Even after Reid almost die , he does not pace back from the team to take on a larger teaching part . Theshowrunner cites the reasonfor this being that the writers wanted the squad to continue together in everyone ’s minds , so they decided to keep almost everyone at the BAU instead of give birth several characters leave .
Hotch’s Storyline
Thomas Gibson leftCriminal Mindsat the rootage of time of year twelve afterbeing fired for ingeminate disagreements and altercationswith other crewmembers . On - screen , Aaron Hotchner and his son enter Witness Protection for the oddment of the twelfth time of year . The squad officially says Hotch will not be fall back in season thirteen , even after the death of"Mr . Scratch , " the killerwho had been threatening him and his son .
This is another deterrent example of an important character being compose out with very little fanfare , but in this character , there was not the option of the doer returning to complete the type ’s story arc .
Reid & JJ
After years of solid friendship and chemistry between these two fibre , Jennifer " JJ " Jareau confirms her love for Spencer Reid in the terminal sequence of season fourteen . The two had go on a exclusive date in the first season but had remained best friends for the legal age of the show .
The confession puts them both in an awkward position as Spencer also hump JJ , but she is married with two fry . Many fans hop that their friendship would eventually blossom into a human relationship , but the character ultimately choose to stay friends , leaving the storyline feeling unrealised and unneeded . One good affair to come out of the situation is that Reid get a sense of closure that grant him to build up a relationship with his time of year fifteen love interest , Max .
JJ & Emily’s Replacement
Season seven ofCriminal Mindssaw the roster of the team shaken up with the departure ofJennifer Jareau and Emily Prentiss . This was due to the actresses ' contracts ending and other off - projection screen drama that haslong been cause for surmise . New profiler Ashley Seaver was insert as the replenishment for the female characters , namely JJ . Her backstory involved being a recent FBI academy alumnus and the daughter of a in series killer who was formerly caught by the BAU .
Seaver endure for less than a season , being transferred in between time of year to another task force , and JJ ultimately come back to the squad in season eight . While JJ seemed like the effective fit for the squad , Seaver ’s story arc might have been interesting to explore if she had stuck around longer .
Spencer’s Addiction to Dilaudid
In time of year two , Reid is kidnapped , tortured , and drugged by one of the unsubs the squad is hunt . In the process of recovering from this trial by ordeal , he starts using the prescription medicine botheration medicament Dilaudid . He quickly becomes addicted to the medicament , but only for a few episodes .
After his team encourages him to get help , he is seen attend a single " dependency in law enforcement " support group . Apparently being resolve , his habituation is seldom ever referenced again . There was no official reason for why the subplot was dropped , butsome root citethat Matthew Gray Gubler did not like the storyline and felt it did n’t conform to with the character .
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