Criminal Minds: What happened to Rossi in the woods?

Rossi chased the UnSub into the woods during Criminal Minds Season 15, Episode 8. What happened to him and what did he realize about himself?

During Criminal Minds Season 15, Episode 8, the BAU dealt with an UnSub who had some serious mental health issues. In the end, they had no choice but to shoot the UnSub, which is the way many of these episodes end. However, that was after a chase through the woods, which Rossi was part of.

As Rossi ran through the woods after the UnSub, he started to panic a little. It wasn’t enough to completely throw him off his game, but it was enough to make him realize something about himself.

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The last time he’d chased an UnSub through the woods, he almost died. He was after The Chameleon, who had decided to leave Rossi alive. Mercy? Oh no. It was clear that this was a game to The Chameleon, and Rossi knew that his life had been at the hands of a sociopath. And all that came back while he was chasing the latest UnSub through the woods in “Family Tree.”

At the end of the episode, Rossi admitted that while he knew all about PTSD and believed that it existed, he never thought he had it. This wasn’t something he thought he would ever suffer from. And I get it. We all never think that we’re going to suffer from something. There’s always that thought of “it will never happen to me.”

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For Rossi, he’s had the added effect of being focused on his work up to this point. We started Criminal Minds Season 15 with his focus on catching The Chameleon. He was forcing profiles to fit the serial killer he wanted to catch; the serial killer that had become personal to him. After that, he focused on the job; taking case after case. He’s not had the chance to sit back and think about how the events in the woods affected him.

“Under The Skin” — The BAU team investigates an UnSub with striking similarities to Rossi’s latest obsession, “The Chameleon,” a.k.a. Everett Lynch (Michael Mosley), who nearly killed him and then disappeared, on back-to-back episodes of the 15th and final season premiere of CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, Jan. 8 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured: Joe Mantegna as David Rossi Photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved /

Now he’s had that chance, and he’s realized that it has had a mental effect. Could this be a sign of what’s going to happen to Rossi at the end of the Criminal Minds series finale? Is he going to see through capturing The Chameleon and then decide it’s finally time to retire for good? He can still write and he’ll still have a connection with his team (partially because Matt Simmons is going to co-write fiction books with him), but he’ll have completed the last mission that will help him deal with the PTSD he realizes he has.

Out of all the characters, I’ve thought Rossi would be one of the ones to leave the BAU at the very end. He came out of retirement to join the team after Gideon left. It makes sense that it all ends with him going back into retirement, but completely on his own terms and in a positive way.

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What do you think of Rossi’s realizations during Criminal Minds Season 15, Episode 8? How do you think the series is going to end for him in particular? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Criminal Minds two-part series finale airs on Feb. 19 starting at 9/8c on CBS.

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