Criminal Minds is always a pretty tumultuous series, filled with some of the worst criminals in TV history and featuring plenty of victims who don’t make it to the end of the episodes. However, Season 11 has been particularly rough on our band of heroes, as we saw Spencer Reid get held up by a date and saw Derek Morgan get kidnapped and shot before ultimately leaving the BAU. Season 11 has been relentless on the main characters and the finale doesn’t look as if it will slow up at all. Here’s what the official logline for the final episode this spring looks like:
The BAU is shocked when SWAT apprehends Hotch (Thomas Gibson) and accuses him of conspiracy. As the team scrambles to prove his innocence, they suspect a larger plot is on the horizon. Guest stars include Frances Fisher as convicted serial killer Antonia Slade, and Sheryl Lee Ralph as Rossi’s ex-wife, Hayden Montgomery.
We’ve actually known for a few weeks now that Frances Fisher will be appearing on the show as a deranged serial killer who may or may not have preyed on unsuspecting teenagers in the past. That guest stint sounds wild, but it's not the only thing that should be unusual about the episode. Between dealing with a particularly rough killer like Antonia Slade, working down a man since Derek is now out of the picture and now having to deal with this Hotch stuff, the finale sounds incredibly busy. I feel a lot of empathy for poor Hotch just looking at the logline for the finale, as well.
Working at the BAU has a lot of cons. Not only are our heroes constantly in danger while out in the field, oftentimes those who work on Hotch’s team are targeted by dangerous criminals when not out on the job. Years ago, this is why Agent Hotchner’s wife was killed off of the series. This season, it’s why Penelope was targeted by that expensive for-hire ring of criminals. And since I doubt that Hotch is actually involved with a conspiracy of any sort, I’m assuming he has been targeted during the Season 11 finale, as well.
We won’t have too much longer to wait to find out. The finale for Criminal Minds will hit the airwaves on Wednesday, May 25 at 9 p.m. ET, only on CBS. That’s not too far away, but it does mean we will have a few more episodes of the hit drama to catch before the finale eventually does air. Hopefully, it won’t mark an end to the long-running series. Although ratings have been pretty good, CBS hasn’t made a decision about whether or not to bring Criminal Minds back for the 2016-2017 season. This is a little unsettling, because CBS has already made renewal decisions about most of its other veteran dramas. We’ll let you know as soon as CBS makes a decision about Criminal Minds. In the meantime, here’s what the networks have coming up this summer.
Photo courtesy of CBS.
