Based on all the tests, Voit does seem to be a truly changed man, although the main characters in Criminal Minds: Evolution remain skeptical he isn’t somehow faking the behavioral changes. Only one person on the team expressed an interest in Voit’s humanity even before he awoke from his coma. If Voit wants to prove that he is now just a man and not a monster, Penelope Garcia might be the only person willing to believe Voit, but if the show follows its own patterns, the BAU's resident tech analyst may be setting herself up to become Voit's main target next season.

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 3, Episode 1 Set Up A Garcia-Voit Relationship

Garcia Will Be The Only One In The BAU To Believe Voit Has Truly Changed

When Elias Voit was in coma during the six months between Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 and 3, apparently Garcia would sit by his bedside. Luke is concerned when he learns this, and he asks Garcia what she could possibly be thinking. Garcia references the intense stare-down she gave Voit in the Criminal Minds: Evolutions season 2 finale, and says she saw Voit’s soul, or “an ember of something.” She has been sitting bedside by Voit’s comatose body hoping to see something worth redeeming in the BAU’s most prolific serial killer.

Garcia didn’t say anything last season, so it felt like the show was laying the groundwork for something in the Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3 premiere, but then she has had no interaction with Voit since he regained consciousness. Everyone else in the BAU has a shared view of Voit as a monster beyond salvation, someone they want to lock behind bars and throw away the key. Dave Rossi has barely shaken his post-kidnapping hallucinations of Voit, and JJ is becoming paranoid about BAU-gate.

But if Garcia believes Voit has a soul, he might be on a path to search for it, too. Voit is asking existential questions and his brain chemistry proves he can feel empathy. Voit’s season 3 arc so far has been about humanizing him, and Garcia is the most primed to be open to seeing and believing in that goodness in Voit - whether it’s ultimately an act or a real biochemical change.

We don’t know yet whether Voit was accidentally overmedicated or intentionally overdosed at the end of Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3, episode 4, but either way, this will make him a more sympathetic figure to Garcia. If Voit hoarded his medicine to purposefully overdose, the BAU would see it as a confession of guilt, but Garcia could see it as a sign of remorse and regret. If Voit was so horrified by one memory of his former life that he tried to kill himself, having all the memories forced back would be detrimental to his mental health.

Garcia might be the comionate person on the team who sides against the BAU if she feels that the current Voit shouldn’t be punished for his past actions. Alternatively, if Voit’s memories come back including the plan he set in motion, he might be able to partner with Garcia to bring down the Sicarius network for good. However, Criminal Minds would never allow things to be wrapped up so neatly, and it’s far more likely that Voit will have more interactions with Garcia and actually make her his next BAU target.

Why Garcia Is Voit's Perfect Target In Criminal Minds: Evolution

Voit Has Already Targeted Dave Rossi & JJ

Before his injury, Elias Voit had a pattern of behavior: he fixated on a specific member of the BAU, forming a twisted psychological connection before launching a targeted attack. He played mind games so effectively that Rossi was eventually kept away from Voit. When JJ and Luke Alvez were sent in, Voit shifted his focus on JJ hinting at BAU-gate and knowing the personal and professional upheaval it would cause for her. Now, all signs point to Penelope Garcia as Voit’s next target.

Penelope Garcia is physically and emotionally the most vulnerable of the BAU, but she’s also one of its greatest assets with her technical prowess. Voit’s operation was one of the most technologically sophisticated the team had ever encountered. If given the chance, Voit won’t be able to resist trying to break her—both to assert his dominance and to prove his superiority. It would be devastating, but not shocking, if Garcia is the only one to see the good in Voit and he weaponizes it against her in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 4.

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Release Date

September 22, 2005

Network

CBS, Paramount+

Showrunner

Erica Messer

Cast

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  Kirsten Vangsness

  Penelope Garcia
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  Matthew Gray Gubler

  Dr. Spencer Reid

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Directors

Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Rob Bailey, Matthew Gray Gubler, Joe Mantegna, John Gallagher, Douglas Aarniokoski, Guy Norman Bee, Larry Teng, Nelson McCormick, Alec Smight, Charles S. Carroll, Rob Spera, Charles Haid, Diana Valentine, Rob Hardy, Tawnia McKiernan, Bethany Rooney, Karen Gaviola, Sharat Raju, Thomas Gibson, Aisha Tyler, Anna Foerster, Gloria Muzio, John Terlesky

Writers

Bruce Zimmerman, Virgil Williams, Edward Allen Bernero, Janine Sherman Barrois, Chris Mundy, Simon Mirren, Debra J. Fisher, Kimberly A. Harrison, Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin, Karen Maser, Oanh Ly, Stephanie Sengupta, Aaron Zelman, Kirsten Vangsness, Erica Meredith, Andi Bushell, Holly Harold, Alicia Kirk, Jeff Davis, Randy Huggins, Edward Napier, Jayne A. Archer, Chikodili Agwuna

Franchise(s)

Criminal Minds

Creator(s)

Jeff Davis

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