If there is one show that has given us the power of female friendships, it’s Criminal Minds: Evolution. Even going all the way back to the initial Criminal Minds episodes, the women have supported each other through thick and thin.
That should mean that current events will help characters navigate the current situation. JJ spent the entire episode of Criminal Minds: Evolution on Thursday, June 20 needing to speak with Prentiss. JJ went to the porn website that Luke told her about to see all the AI generated images of her. To say JJ was shocked was an understatement.
Prentiss knew about this. What’s not clear is exactly how much Prentiss knows about those images. Luke had seen them, but does that mean Prentiss went through them all. Technically, she should have done, but she could have just seen a couple and decided that was enough. JJ is her friend as well as her team member.
Did Prentiss do the right thing to protect JJ in Criminal Minds: Evolution?
Luke and JJ debated Prentiss’s actions when it initially came to the deepfake images. Prentiss had to make a call that would best protect her team. Sometimes not telling the team everything is the right thing to do.
I always say that it’s not worth telling someone something if there’s nothing they can do about it. That’s especially the case when you’re in a position of power.
JJ understood that. She wasn’t angry that Prentiss had kept the information to herself. It was only when she learned that the images were all her—that Voit and his cronies had made her their focal point—that it affected her.
Yet, there was nothing Prentiss could do. Telling JJ about this wasn’t going to change anything. In fact, it could have affected her ability to do the job. While the UnSubs know what they think they know—how many believe the deepfakes are real?—JJ didn’t know that. She wasn’t questioning every look the UnSubs gave her, and she didn’t need to question whether she could sit in front of them knowing how they were looking at her.
Will JJ understand Prentiss’s decision in Criminal Minds?
Right now, a conversation needs to happen. JJ needs to talk to Prentiss about the entire situation.
It’s clear that JJ isn’t angry toward Prentiss keeping this from her. JJ isn’t always the best at hiding her feelings, especially anger. She wouldn’t have allowed Prentiss to go tackle other important situations, because let’s face it, for JJ, this is important. It needs to be addressed.
So, I have a feeling that this incident isn’t going to affect their friendship. It’s going to affect Prentiss’s trust in Luke though considering she gave him a direct order. But JJ will remember that it's not like Prentiss brushed her off when she said she needed to talk. Prentiss wanted to make time for her, and JJ was the one who said to deal with other stuff to do with the case. The case had to come first. JJ didn't appear conflicted in saying that or angry that her boss and friend wasn't paying attention to her needs, suggesting that JJ already understands but would like to talk about it.
What it could affect is JJ’s relationship with Will. Is it possible that we’ll see them separate because of this? JJ will be so focused on what’s out there and that’s going to affect JJ and Will’s intimacy. This could be the way to write out Will from the series.