The most recent episode of Criminal Minds: Evolution, season 3, episode 3, "Time to Say Goodbye," hit home with audiences, the characters, and cast alike. The episode, which aired Thursday, May 22 on Paramount+, was one of the most heartbreaking episodes in the show's history, both the original run and the newer revival. The previous episode ended with Will LaMontagne collapsing in the kitchen on JJ, and her informing the team that he had ed.

The most recent episode dealt with the aftermath, namely the funeral and JJ's grief, but also how she and her mother-in-law, Connie, have to navigate a new normal and repair their fractured relationship now that Will is gone. While the entire Criminal Minds: Evolution cast is present - including a brief return by Matthew Gray Gubler's Spencer Reid - and the main storyline involving Voit's amnesia moves forward, the episode is JJ's to carry, and that's exactly what she does.

Screen Rant spoke with JJ actor AJ Cook about the intensity of filming Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3, episode 3, how Will's death will impact JJ in Criminal Minds moving forward, and saying goodbye to cast on the show and in real life.

AJ Cook Sass Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 3's Funeral Scene Was Really Intense To Film

"This One Was Hard Because It Really Hit Home."

Screen Rant: This episode was so intense in a way that most Criminal Episodes aren’t. It was all down to you, especially the funeral scene. Do you find there’s extra pressure when you know that it’s you having to carry an episode and be the emotional core?

AJ Cook: Well, for an actress, especially on a show like this, we don’t always get to play the big emotions. For me, as an actress, that’s where I come from. I come from drama, indie film - drama, tears, emotion, that’s my wheelhouse. That’s what I do. And they know that about me, so I think that anytime there’s an opportunity to do that, they get excited. But this one was difficult. This one was hard because it really hit home. This was something that we never wanted to do and had to really struggle with, and, I think in turn, that made it even more real. Yeah, it was an intense one, for sure.

Screen Rant: I was definitely bawling.

AJ Cook: Me too, sister!

JJ Is Definitely Going To Go Through Some Things In The Wake Of Will's Death

"She’s Grieving, And We're Gonna See Her Maybe Not Make Some Great Decisions."

Screen Rant: We saw so many characters reminding JJ, “You need to let your feelings out, you can’t hold it all together and be everything to everyone. She started to at the funeral, but because JJ is who she is, she might still revert to her 'I can handle it' nature. Do you think that she has truly taken the first step toward healing, or will the bottom fall out for her later?

AJ Cook: Yeah. We’re going to touch on all the levels of grief because there are a lot of them, and you’ve gotta go through them, no matter how white-knuckling you are with it. You can’t do that forever. So we definitely touch on - we’re gonna see her maybe be unhinged a few times, which, rightfully so. But yeah, she’s really going to struggle with that work/home balance, because her job is a huge part of her identity. It’s almost her happy place in a creepy, strange way. It’s like okay, I can help other people, so I don’t have to focus on myself.

But she also has these boys at home, and all she wants to do is just hug them and protect them from everything. So the pressure on her, as far as that goes, is immense and really weighs on her. She’s grieving, and we’re gonna see her maybe not make some great decisions. But I think that’s the beauty of storytelling. We’re gonna get to see JJ struggle with some things.

Screen Rant: That has to be a lot of fun for you, too, playing a character who has traditionally been the one who keeps it all together when everyone else is making pretty bad decisions. How do you think it will impact the team when JJ may no longer be the one they can count on? As Penelope said, you’re the glue.

AJ Cook: Well, that’s the thing with working with a bunch of profilers - they know where you are five steps before you’re even there. You know that. So this whole game of chicken, it doesn’t really exist. I think there’s almost a relief in not having to try to cover it up, because I know that they’re five steps ahead of me in any way. Everyone’s on high alert when they’re around JJ, making sure she’s okay, but at the same time, giving space for her to grieve, because that’s what they want more than anything. They just want her to let it out.

There are quite a few beautiful scenes with Paget, with Prentiss and JJ, where that comes up. Definitely, Prentiss is the mom in this situation where she’s like, okay, no, you need to slow down. Let’s sit down right now and talk about this. So she’s a really great sounding board. And obviously, Penelope, who is just the heart. She’s been one of JJ’s best friends through thick and thin through all of this. There’s just going to be a lot of really touching character-to-character, human-to-human moments in playing through all this grief.

Cook Is Thrilled With The Extra Time They Get With Streaming For Scenes Like The Funeral Scene

"It's Been An Absolute Gift To Finally Let These Characters Breathe A Little More."

Screen Rant: With Criminal Minds: Evolution moving to streaming, you get a few extra minutes every episode because you don’t have to work around ad breaks. Even though it’s only 5-15 minutes, that can make a lot of room for new stories and deeper character development. What has it been like for you as an actress to be able to have that extra space?

AJ Cook: Oh, it’s been a gift, an absolute gift, to finally let these characters breathe a little more. I think that’s been the biggest part of the new streaming format - we’ve been able to dive into these characters’ lives a little bit more and see not just them at work but see what happens when they’re not at work and how they compartmentalize everything and try to maintain a quote-unquote “normal life.”

It’s been, for me, so beautiful, not just as an actress but as a director, too! You get to really play on those beautiful, breathy moments where you don’t have to cut away so soon. There’s this one scene in episode 3 where [Penelope] says, “You’re the glue,” and they’re standing at the door, and [JJ] is trying so hard to hold it together, and, yeah, it’s a big day tomorrow so she’s trying to hold it together. And just as soon as you see that door close, you slowly start to see JJ break because she knows, “Okay, they’re gone, I can kind of let my guard down.”

Joe’s decision to shoot it that way was so brilliant. There are just those moments where there are never words involved, it’s just a look, it’s just pure emotion. I find the most heartbreaking thing is when people are trying to swallow emotion, but they can’t anymore, and it’s just coming up. It was just one of those moments that was really human and heartbreakingly beautiful.

Cook Reflects On The Gift Of Welcoming Back One Former Cast Member While Saying Goodbye To Two Others

"You Don't Get To Choose When Someone Dies."

Screen Rant: The scene between JJ and Connie was very intense. What was that like to film that scene, and will that emotional reconciliation be a bigger storyline - in some way - moving forward?

AJ Cook: Well, that’s what we were hoping. Linda Lavin was just so beautiful and one of the most giving actresses ever, and it was such an honor to get to work with her. But she ed. She ed away. That was her last. The fact that I got to be slapped by Linda Lavin before she ed away was every actress’s dream.

She and I just had a really great dynamic together. There are just some actors where you’re just sort of on the same wavelength in how you approach a scene, and it really works. She and I together, we just loved working together. She made it so easy, so effortless.

So I was really looking forward to maybe getting her back and seeing that, but, sadly, such is life – and that’s sort of what we’re dealing with [in the episode]. You don’t get to choose when someone dies. In the blink of an eye, it can just be done, and you’re just left there with the pieces to put back together. So this episode is so special and impactful for us on so many levels.

Obviously, there’s Josh [Stewart] - I love him and will miss working with him terribly. But the fact that we lost Linda Lavin, she’s gone as well. We did a memorial to her at the end of the episode. It’s just one of those very special, sort of standalone Criminal Minds episodes for us.

Screen Rant: We also saw Spencer return briefly in this episode, which was wonderful, but it’s been a few years since you’ve acted with Matthew Gray Gubler. Did you find it was like picking up right where you left off, or was there any rust?

AJ Cook: No, that’s like riding a bike. I was just so happy to have him there. The fact that I called him and was like, ‘Hey, this is what’s happening. It would just feel really weird if Spence wasn’t there.’ And he was like, ‘Absolutely, I’ll be there.’ So the fact that he came and showed up for us and for his friend just felt like a homecoming. Loved having him on set. and I’m so grateful that he decided to come and play with us again.

About Criminal Minds: Evolution's Latest Episode

Season 3, Episode 3, "Time To Say Goodbye"

The team mourns LaMontagne following his death from an aneurysm. Alvez and Green visit Ramona Havener, Voit's only known survivor, to see if they can find a way to unlock his memory.

New episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3 are released Thursdays on Paramount+.

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