Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3, episode 3 continued the heartbreaking aftermath of Will LaMontange’s sudden death. It highlighted the cruel reality of grief and how everyone handled things differently. While everyone around JJ (AJ Cook) was either grieving or trying to help her, she stood strong in the face of her own pain.
The episode took place five days after Will’s sudden death from a rare thyroid aneurysm. While struggling to take care of her children, she also had her mom around, but she was reliving JJ’s sister’s death. Will’s mom was also being hard on JJ, especially when it involved looking for Michael’s last birthday gift from his father.
And after finding out Will never told his mom about his health scare the previous year, things only seemed to get worse. JJ and Connie ended up having an argument that led to her mother-in-law refusing to come to the funeral.
How did Criminal Minds: Evolution showcase the grief following Will's death?
Despite all of the chaos, JJ was surrounded by her friends and co-workers at the BAU. Emily and Penelope were never far from her side and both even gave moving eulogies at Will’s funeral.
Even though Tara and Dave were also working on trying to see whether Voit could get his memories back, they were also there for JJ in their own way. At one point, David tried to reach out to both Connie and JJ’s mom to help them, but it seemingly did not work, at least for Connie. However, while JJ was tearfully talking about her sadness at losing Will, she saw Connie come and be part of the funeral.
Another familiar face who showed up was Spencer, who Henry was sure would come to be there for them. Emily later told JJ that his supervisor allowed him the day off so he could come to the funeral. We may not have gotten much time for Spencer, but he was the quiet presence that JJ needed, especially after her husband’s burial.
One sweet note to add was we saw that there were floral bouquets sent to the team, via Aaron Hotchner and Derek Morgan. Despite the former members of the BAU not being there, it was touching to see they were mentioned after all these years.
By the end of the evening, JJ got some comforting words with Dave, who told her to never stop speaking out about her feelings so she could show the boys it was okay to talk about how they felt. She also made amends with Connie, who thanked her for loving Will and asked if she could visit the boys more often.
It was a touching moment between them and showed that even despite the grief, it was important for them to come together as a family. The mystery of Will’s gift was also solved, with Henry having found it days before. Will had made a book for Michael, like a how-to guide of doing things, such as making their famous frittata.
Will may have not been physically present, but his presence was felt throughout the episode. From anecdotes about him helping Penelope move into her place to his voice whispering to JJ, his memory was never far from those who loved him.
Even though we may not have gotten a lot with Reid, we enjoyed seeing him reunite with his colleagues and being there for JJ after Will was buried. Their friendship and bond has always been an important aspect to the series, and him being there for her was touching and sweet.
The next episodes may turn the focus back to Voit, but we hope there will be a focus on how JJ moves forward, both in her role as a mother and an FBI agent.
Criminal Minds: Evolution airs Thursdays on Paramount+.
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