Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Criminal Minds: Evolution season 1.Criminal Minds: Evolution nearly killed off a major character, and their survival was the right decision for the continuation of the show. The Criminal Minds high-stakes, crime fighting team returns to the small screen after two years and since the cancelation of the original series. Criminal Minds originally aired on CBS for a lengthy 15 seasons, but has been brought back by streaming giant Paramount+ offering viewers the opportunity to once again see their favorite agents together in action, including David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster), Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness), and more favored faces.
The Behavioral Analysis Unit is met with a particularly challenging antagonist in Elias Voit (Zach Gilford), a serial killer spearheading a network of murderers during the Covid pandemic. Despite that, the BAU's principle dilemma becomes that Voit is not only extremely intelligent but carries a secret that entangles him with classified government secrets, and Voit's advantages keep him a step ahead and talented with leverage. The Criminal Minds: Evolution villain storyline traps a member of the BAU in one of the stickiest situations yet, and their death tease very well could have determined the trajectory of the rest of the renewed series.
Criminal Minds: Evolution Was Better Avoiding Killing Rossi
Elias Voit targets BAU member Agent David Rossi during his calculated campaign to escape the crimes that he committed, and traps Rossi in an underground container full of explosives. The dilemma Agent Rossi is set to face is further complicated by how much he's aged and his compromised will to live since the death of his wife. In the face of David Rossi's especially vulnerable reveal, Criminal Minds: Evolution resolves not to let Rossi succumb to the tight situation Voit places him in, and this season finale survival decision is indeed the proper solution, especially for close followers of the series.
Agent Rossi's near-death experience is quite thrilling, and to a large extent because viewers have forged a relationship with the treasured BAU member since the original Criminal Minds season 3. The Criminal Minds: Evolution renewal allowed viewers to continue wistfully witnessing the whole of the Behavioral Analysis Unit again in action, and to kill anyone off in the first season could have majorly displeased audiences. Evolution season 1 has taken on the torch of expanding viewers' relationship to the Criminal Minds characters, and any death in the reboot would have felt too tragic and unfair.
Does Criminal Minds: Evolution Need To Kill A Big Character Off?
As Criminal Minds: Evolution is set to start filming in April 2023, the question stands if any major character will be killed off in the coming future. The death of a BAU member does seem eerily eminent, for the team of Criminal Minds cast and characters continue to grow older, and the series has been known to see major players exit in the past. To this day, viewers are still hoping to see a Criminal Minds reappearance in Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), a fan-favorite agent who is sorely missed in the reboot.
If Dr. Spencer Reid was to be reintroduced, audiences would definitely rejoice at the sight of the more complete BAU team they have come to love. At least for now, though, Criminal Minds: Evolution works best operating around an alive and well Behavioral Analysis Unit. Until audiences have had the chance to enjoy the reconnected team they lost in cancelation two years ago, Criminal Minds: Evolution is absolutely right in keeping shock-inducing deaths away from the major characters like David Rossi.