WARNING: The following contains SPOILERS for Criminal Minds: Evolution
Criminal Minds: Evolution and its latest batch of unsubs set up a proper endgame for the series. Criminal Minds began its very successful run back in 2005, and had a strong start with almost 20 million viewers in the first season alone. As with many long-running shows, fan-favorite characters, like Shemar Moore's Derek Morgan, left the series, and new actors were found to replace their roles. Viewership numbers began to dwindle over time, eventually going down to about 4 million for the last two seasons.
Shortly after Criminal Minds was canceled in 2020, it was announced that a revival season would take place that would stream on Paramount+. Despite numerous missing BAU members, the series marched on and introduced a new group of unsubs that have created a network of serial killers, all connected to one man: Elias Voit, aka, Sicarius. The new BAU has had a hard time tracking Sicarius' followers before they start killing, as they have a suicide pact once their murders are done. The BAU has a rough task on their hands, and these impossible-to-track unsubs seem more unbeatable than ever — which sets up a series endgame.
Criminals Minds: Evolution's Unsubs Show When It Will Need To End
With the serial killer network borderline undefeatable, it's clear that it's time for the show to end soon, because the Criminal Minds reboot season can't keep upping the stakes forever. Tracking them is an immensely taxing task, thanks to the nearly impenetrable network that Sicarius has created, and the suicide pact between the unsubs. Finding the kill kits has also proved near-impossible, with the latest endeavor seeing JJ and Luke going to Georgia based on claims made by Benjamin about "buried treasure." While they do find an underground bunker similar to the shipping container in episode 1, they also find a bomb that goes off and cuts off their bodycams.
While audiences have to wait until January to find out JJ and Luke's ultimate fate after the Criminal Minds revival mid-season finale, one thing that's been made abundantly clear is that these unsubs are near-impossible to catch. Criminal Minds can't keep upping the ante forever, as cooling down would only set the series up for failure. It's in this way that Evolution is setting up a proper series endgame. This could possibly be due to the Criminal Minds season 15 finale leaving too many questions unanswered, or perhaps studios witnessed the success of Dexter: New Blood and decided this might be the best way to correct a disappointing series finale.
Criminal Minds: Evolution Already Uses A Clever Villain Trick
By making this network of serial killers, Criminal Minds: Evolution is using a clever villain trick to set up a proper endgame. While the cast is doing their best to stay afloat, the series is relying on their unsubs and Elias Voit's dark endgame to keep the revival season intact, and so far, it's been working. However, there's no real way to introduce another set of villains so difficult to beat, so it's better to set the stakes as high as possible to go out on a bombastic note.
With the mid-season finale seeing JJ and Luke in peril, it's evident that the show is only going to raise the stakes from this point. It'll be intriguing to see how far this serial killer network goes, and how the Criminal Minds villain Elias Voit is caught in the end. Either way, the end is in sight for Criminal Minds, as this latest slew of unsubs simply can't be topped. It would be the perfect way for Criminal Minds: Evolution to go out, making up for the TV show's past mistakes and the arguably disappointing first go around at a series finale.