Criminal Minds: Evolution 17.6: Gideon, Morgan, Hotch

The best part of the excellent episode 17.6 of Criminal Minds on Paramount Plus is the conversation between J. J. and Emily in Emily's apartment, both stoned.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Emily asks J. J. to think about everyone who has come and gone at the BAU since she and J. J. met -- "Gideon, Morgan, Hotch".   Why did she pick those three?  Well, Gideon was the first head of the unit we met, all those years ago.  Hotchner was there the longest.  And Morgan I don't think was ever head, but he was a major player.

But I wonder Emily didn't include Spencer in her reminisce.  It would have been easy to add a fourth name.   I'm pretty sure I heard someone mention Spencer's name earlier this season, but the stoned conversation in Emily's apartment would have been a good time to say it again.

Spencer was on the show for 324 episodes, from 2005 through 2020.  Showrunner Erica Messer says scheduling conflicts kept Matthew Gray Gubler from coming back for the first season of Criminal Minds: Evolution, and this may be the case for the second season, but his desk remains, as is the possibility that he'll be back in some future episode or season (see Screen Rant for more).

With a serial killer like Voit behind bars but still very dangerous, and the big reveal at the end of 17.6 that the BAU's historic leaders amy be North Star, related in some way to Gold Star, the BAU could certainly use every bit of Spencer's brain power it can get.

See also Criminal Minds: Evolution 17.1-17-.2 The Elusive Profile ... 17.3: "BAU Gate" ... 17.4: Progress

And 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

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Some reviews of episodes from earlier seasons:

Criminal Minds 8.12: Spencer's Burden

Criminal Minds 7.1: "The Is Calm and It's Doctor" ... Criminal Minds 7.3: Meets House and The Unit

Criminal Minds in Sixth Season Premiere ... Criminal Minds 6.2: The Meaning of J. J. Leaving ... Criminal Minds 6.3: Proust, Twain, Travanti ... Tyra on Criminal Minds 6.13 ...Criminal Minds 6. 17: Prentiss Farewell Part I ... Criminal Minds 6.18: Farewell Emily ... Criminal Minds 6.19: Fight Club Redux Plus ... Criminal Minds 6.20: Emily's Ghost ... Criminal Minds 6.21: The Tweeting Killer ... Criminal Minds 6.22: Psycho and a Half ... Criminal Minds 6.23: The Good Lie ... Criminal Minds Season 6 Finale

Criminal Minds 5.22 and the Dark Side of New New Media

 

The Lazarus Project 2.4: 2018

An excellent little pocket of an episode 2.4 of The Lazarus Project, in which just about everything takes  place in

[Spoilers ahead ,,, ]

2018.  Even though our band of heroes were trying to get back to 2012 to meet Dr. Kitty Gray, the inventor of the true time machine.

My favorite delightful drama in the 2018 pocket are the two Georges and two Sarahs, one of each knowing what's going on, the other not, mixing and matching at the corner of true romance.  I've thought throughout both seasons of this series that their true love story and its time travel tributions would in and of itself have made for a compelling time travel television series.

As it is, The Lazarus Project has many other riveting stories to tell. Rebrov is an excellent character in any stage of his education about the complexities of time travel, and he pulls some significant triggers -- literally -- in episode 2.4. Of course, when time travel loops are involved, death isn't what it is in our off-screen world, in which as far as we know there is not a way to redo anything, certainly not life and death.

Since this second season is the final season, I can't help wondering who will live happily ever after at the end.  I'm hoping that George and Sarah, Rebrov and Janet (and Becky), and Archie and Zhang will go on to live and prosper, but that's probably too much to hope for.

See also The Lazarus Project season 2.1: Shades of Gray ... 2.2: Shag in the Alley ... 2.3: The Plane Outside the Loop

And see also The Lazarus Project season 1: Time Travel Done Superbly Right

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