Criminal Minds: Evolution is back on Paramount Plus with the first two episodes of its new season (17, if you count the original Criminal Minds on CBS). I saw them last night and they were excellent.
[Spoilers ahead ... ]
The story picks up two weeks after the events in the Season 16 finale. Elias Voit, the mastermind networking serial killer from last season is in jail, but his capture has taken a toll on our heroes. Rossi is hallucinating conversations with Voit, Emily's on a razor's edge, but the BAU is mobilized to the find the Gold Star killer, whose moniker was introduced at the end of last season.
The only thing that's clear about who and what Gold Star is, well, is that Voit is not Gold Star per se. Or, to be more precise, he couldn't be the person who actually killed any of the victims in the first two episodes of this new season, because he was behind bars all the time. Emily thinks Gold Star may be a killer out West, but when she says we're ready to deliver the profile, Rossi tells her no, we're not. As always, the BAU is rent with disagreement, as well as the FBI Director wanting to get rid of them, but they manage to move forward.
As in the last season, the use of explicit language is refreshing and realistic. I could do, though, without the explicit gore, but that's just me. And as long we're talking about how streaming has liberated television from network prudishness, a little nudity -- for our living characters -- wouldn't be bad, either, just sayin'.
The serial killer -- in this case, Voit -- being a necessary but ever dangerous ally of law enforcement is of course something we've seen already with Hannibal Lecter. But Zach Gilford as Voit was a great addition to the show -- even though every time I hear or write the name I think of Chicago PD -- and it's great to see him back in this new season.
Speaking of which, I'm hoping to see Spencer back before this season is over as well.
See also Criminal Minds: Evolution 16.1-16.4: Outstanding! ... 16.5: Assessment of What Could Have Happened at the End ... 16.6-16.8: Better Than Ever on Paramount Plus ... 16.9: Elias Voit and David Rossi ... 16.10: Gold Star
Criminal Minds 5.22 and the Dark Side of New New Media
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