

Thankfully, some interesting arcs help prop these episodes up. The idea that "Criminal Minds" could replace JJ with another woman was the biggest mistake of the season, and it was a decision that continued to reverberate for many seasons. Fans were not happy with this replacement, however, and Nichols was let go after only one season. Sure enough, producers brought on newcomer Ashley Seaver (Rachel Nichols) to replace JJ.

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It's not a bad way to do a finale, but it does make one wonder what the season would have been like had CBS ordered more than 15 episodes.īrewster told the AV Club that she felt they were fired because executives wanted new women on the series to keep it fresh.


Interestingly enough, Season 14 actually ends on a rather joyful note, with Rossi (Joe Mantegna) remarrying his ex-wife Krystall (Gail O'Grady). The problem with this season is mainly that you can tell why the show is doing this, rather than it feeling like a natural progression of the story. It makes sense for a show with over a dozen seasons under its belt to start looking backward, and these episodes aren't unwelcome in a series that can sometimes breeze past all of the terrible things the agents have endured. One mid-season episode also delves into Emily's past with a case related to one they worked on many years ago, leading to, once again, even more flashbacks. We also learn more about some of our team members, especially JJ, who, in one of the best episodes of the season, revisits the trauma of her sister's suicide while working on a case. The disconnect in dates is likely due to scheduling, as both shows released new episodes on Wednesdays.The season begins with Garcia once again traumatized (it's no wonder she left the BAU in Season 15) in the wake of a kidnapping. Ironically, or perhaps intentionally, the Season Eight finale was released exactly 104 weeks (2 years) after Stabler's final appearance, the Season Twelve Finale of his respective show (vs May 15, 2013). This may be a reference to Elliot Stabler, a detective and main character in NBC's Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. During Strauss' funeral, a number of BAU members pass by a grave that reads "STABLER".Mark Hamill and Joe Mantegna, the actor who portrays Rossi, previously guest-starred together in a 1998 episode of the long-running animated sitcom The Simpsons.Also, the possibility of the show not being renewed for a ninth season if the negotiations failed was too real and, in that case, CBS and ABC Studios wanted for the series to have a real series finale (although the show was indeed renewed for a ninth season).
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The idea was dropped due to the fact that five out of the seven main actors' contracts ended with the season, plus the showrunner Erica Messer's and all the writers'. There was an original plan to have the episode end in a cliffhanger with the team trapped in the room where Blake was held captive, and that the Season Nine premiere episode would focus on capturing the Replicator.She also portrayed Kelly Shane in the two-hour Season Four finale " To Hell. Lily Kershaw previously sang the ending song of the two-hour Season Seven finale " Hit" and " Run", "As It Seems".Aaron Hotchner: "The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life." - Richard Bach.David Rossi: "Affliction comes to us, not to make us sad but sober not to make us sorry but wise." - H.G.Jayne Atkinson - FBI Section Chief Director Erin Strauss.The team must now struggle against his endgame as the stakes grow higher. The Replicator zeroes in on the BAU when the killer targets one of the team as the next victim.
