When it comes to Criminal Minds: Evolution, you don’t really know what you’re getting in a good way. Showrunner Erica Messer brought another powerful season, and this one certainly had more heartbreak than the rest.
The main focus for the BAU was Gold Star. It started with the team thinking they were dealing with one UnSub. Then they realized it was a program, and soon they realized that they were dealing with manipulated children and the BAU was being blamed for it all by these young adults.
However, there were a couple of one-off storylines as well. The most heartbreaking came in Season 2, Episode 7 with the UnSub Roger Song. I talked to Erica Messer about the way the show proved that it’s not always black and white.
Showing an insight into the minds of killers in Criminal Minds: Evolution
Messer talked about how the show has always tried to show that not everything is black and white. There are times that viewers will have some sympathy for the UnSubs, and that was certainly the case in this season.
"“I feel like even Damien, who was Gold Star and doing horrible things in the premiere, by the time Felicity Huffman’s [Dr. Jill Gideon] talking him down, I just want to cry for him. I feel so bad.”"
Messer also brought up Roger Song’s story. This was the heartbreaking one of the man who didn’t realize that his wife and child had died. He was caring for them while getting what he thought was revenge for his wife.
"“I don’t even know if he realized what we realized, which is nobody’s alive in that house. It’s devastating. When you break down those UnSubs, yes, it’s a win, we caught the bad guy, we saved the doctor from being hurt, but it’s a massive loss.”"
That episode certainly broke me, so I wanted to know how the writers could do that to us. How could they do it to themselves? Where did this idea come from?
"“We had the idea in stages. So the first was ‘what if this man is killing men he thinks assaulted his wife.’ And that story was sort of the fastball down the middle. Then it was ‘what if all of that is a delusion?’”"
This wasn’t just about Roger believing that the infertility treatments were assaults. It was also the belief that his wife and child survived.
"“We had all those sweet scenes with him being a caring person. It was really hard to know that that wasn’t real.”"
Garcia starring Voit down in the Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2 finale
Garcia is usually the one character to shy away from the gore of the crime. She doesn’t even look at the pictures on the screens, and she isn’t comfortable when the UnSubs are close to her. We saw multiple times how she felt with Voit being in the same room as her.
And yet, Garcia was the one to make Voit feel uncomfortable in the Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2 finale. She starred him down until he backed away a little. Where did that idea come from?
"“We call her our sunshine or light in the dark. It just felt right with all these boys in the hallway. It was a testosterone game, right? We’ve got Voit, Alvez, and Tyler. For her to take those glasses off and march right up to the darkness, and that’s something normally she would not want to do…to stare him down and to make him uncomfortable was such a win, right? I loved it.”"
Who was responsible for it? We can thank writer Breen Frazier for that one. Messer believes that it was his pitch.
Bringing out a different side of Emily Prentiss in Criminal Minds
We’ve had Prentiss in the series for almost 20 years now. Even when she wasn’t in the series, she still held an important place in our hearts. This season certainly brought a side or two of Prentiss that we didn’t know existed. It also put her through a lot.
"“It was really her journey even from the premier of this season knowing that she’s been working the case of Gold Star all by herself. She didn’t want to bring the team in; she feels guilty over Doug Bailey dying’ she’s certain it’s associated with Gold Star. It turns out she’s right.
To get to that satisfying ending, she really gets pulled through the mud. She’s set up by Garrity falsely accusing her of something. Her mugshots on Politico. She’s up against it with the director…She just can’t catch a break, and so we wanted to really play that.”"
In the end, the moments with Prentiss and JJ stoned in Episode 8 was all about evolution, which is what this series is about in the title.
"“It’s a nice acknowledgement to the history of the show.”"
Take a look at the full interview with Erica Messer about Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2 below: