This article contains mentions of a suicide attempt, as well as spoilers for Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3, episode 5, "The Brutal Man".

Criminal Minds: Evolution got to take fan-favorite characters from the first 15 seasons and bring many of them into the revival. JJ (A.J. Cook) and Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) are the only two characters still on the show from the first season, but Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) ed just a year later in season 2, while Dave Rossi (Joe Mantegna) returned to the BAU in season 3 to replace Jason Gideon. Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler) and Luke Alvez (Adam Rodriguez) were introduced to Criminal Minds in season 11 and season 12 respectively.

While much of Tara’s relationship with Rebecca Wilson, but Garcia’s characterization in particular is suffering. Garcia has always been the quirky bright spot in Criminal Minds, but the revival hasn’t figured out how to use her properly yet in season 3.

Penelope Garcia’s Quippy Phone Call For The Second Episode In A Row Highlights How Underutilized She’s Been In Season 3

Garcia’s Quirky Brand Doesn’t Fit With The Darker Tone Of Criminal Minds: Evolution

Last week, Penelope Garcia had a flirty phone call with Tyler Green that reminded longtime viewers of Garcia’s Criminal Minds relationship with Derek Morgan. This week, Garcia has a similar call with the whole BAU team where she gives her classic repartee, cheekily saying, “It makes me hot when I’m so many steps ahead.” This is the type of sparkling banter that Garcia used to be given every episode during Criminal Mind’s original run, but with the overall darker tone of Evolution, Garcia has been toned down in general.

Garcia is a technical genius whose skills haven’t been overly necessary yet in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3. Garcia has the biggest heart of anyone in the BAU, yet she has not had a real moment to connect with JJ after Will’s unexpected death in Criminal Minds earlier this season. Her wardrobe remains a literal bright spot in the show, but generally, Garcia’s screen time has been ceded to newer characters, like Elias Voit and Rebecca Wilson.

The show seemed to be setting up a connection between Garcia and the comatose Voit in the Criminal Minds season 3 premiere. This storyline was seemingly resolved once Voit woke up, but this could be setting up Garcia to have a more important role in Evolution season 4.

Garcia Is Finally Out Of Her Awkward Romantic Triangle, But Criminal Minds: Evolution Has Not Given Her A New Storyline Yet

The BAU Is Overall More Tech-Savvy Than In Early Criminal Minds Seasons

Criminal Minds: Evolution seems to want to forget the Garcia-Tyler Green-Luke Alvez love triangle, which is for the best, but the show hasn’t given Garcia another storyline to replace it. In Evolution season 1, Garcia and Tyler were drawn together in part because it was forbidden. Then, in season 2, Tyler had to earn Garcia’s forgiveness after lying to her to pursue Sicarius himself. While Garcia shouldn’t jump into another love interest, it would be nice to give her some type of personal arc.

Part of the problem with finding Garcia’s niche is that everyone in the BAU is much more technically savvy than they were in the early seasons of the original Criminal Minds, so the skill set of a Technical Analyst is less necessary than in the days when Jason Gideon demanded paper files. Garcia has always been the most sensitive member of the team - which makes sense as the one without FBI training - so I wish the show would give her more to do in the vein of helping survivors, since that was a ion of hers before.

Garcia Should Help Voit Dismantle The Sicarius Network With Her Tech Analyst Prowess

This Could Be The Redemption Garcia Was Hoping To See In Voit In Criminal: Minds Evolution Season 3 Premiere

After Voit’s breakthrough in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3, episode 5, Voit is getting his memories back as he encounters more people from his past. However, he now carries all the remorse and horror he didn’t have before the accident. To keep from feeling suicidally guilty, Voit wants to help undo the damage he caused as Sicarius. In the short term, that means meeting with The Brutal Man, but in the long term, this could mean working with Garcia to dismantle Sicarius’s online network of killers.

Criminal Minds: Evolution has already been renewed for season 4 by Paramount+.

Voit has targeted of the BAU in a predatory manner before, and perhaps Garcia is setting herself up to be his next mark. However, Garcia and Voit working together would be an interesting payoff to her earlier claim that she was looking for something worth redeeming inside Voit. This would be a perfect use of Garcia’s technical genius, and potentially close the Sicarius case for good after a long three seasons of Criminal Minds: Evolution focusing almost exclusively on Voit.

New episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution stream on Paramount+ Thursdays. Season 3, episode 6, "Hell is Empty..." will drop June 12, 2025.

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