Thanks to its first trailer, the Criminal Minds reboot confirms the most important character in the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). FBI's specialized unit using profiling to track down criminals will make its return on the small screen via the Paramount+ revival. Essentially Criminal Minds season 16 except for a couple of changes including the storytelling format, the show will see the original BAU team reconvene for a new case. This time, the group are tracking down a network of UnSubs led by Zach Gilford's Elias Volt, who is the ringleader of this group of murderers. In order to take him down, BAU chief Dave Rossi needs to reach out to his most trusted profilers — including its best one.
Paramount+ releases the Criminal Minds reboot trailer that shows the BAU tracking down Volt and his s. Initially, they were set on figuring out the case without Penelope Garcia, who left the FBI at the end of the CBS series, but the team immediately realized that they cannot crack the mission without her help. There has been an assumption that Doctor Spencer Reid is the BAU's most important member because of his intellect - not to mention his eidetic memory, which has been very useful in the unit's job. That being said, with the SSA confirmed not to return for the Criminal Minds revival and the expectation that Rossi and his team will eventually catch Volt, this effectively proves that Garcia is actually more integral to the squad than him.
Why Penelope Garcia Is BAU’s Most Important Member & Not Reid?
Officially titled Criminal Minds: Evolution, the Paramount+ project has long confirmed that Mattew Gray Gubler won't be in the project, as well as, Daniel Henney who plays SSA Matt Simmons. While no one is as inherently smart as the cell's golden boy, the BAU has solved cases before without Reid. In addition to that, everyone can eventually come together to figure things out. Granted that it will take a while compared to when Reid is around, but the rest of the squad can do it. Penelope, on the other hand, is a tech whiz, and she's the only person that can do what she does in the whole of BAU. She has been integral to every case that they've tackled, and the team become severely disadvantaged in their cases when she isn't around.
Will Garcia Return To BAU Full Time?
Garcia revealed that she accepted a different job in the finale, causing her to leave the BAU after 15 years of being its tech specialist, but the Criminal Minds revival is retconning that by bringing her back in. The question now is if she's set to the team again full-time. For context, the Paramount+ series is only guaranteed for a 10-episode first season, with its future hinging on the public response to the reboot. Given this, it's still difficult to say if Garcia will leave her current employment and reunite with her former co-workers. It's worth noting, however, that the Criminal Minds: Evolution trailer has revealed that she will step back into the FBI offices and reclaim her old office, even for a while.
For now, the BAU will have to do without its boy genius, although there’s still hope that Reid returns to Criminal Minds in the future, and establishing characters like Penelope Garcia as more integral work to create a zero pressure environment for any potential extra returns. Aside from seeing the majority of the crew back together with Garcia back, it should also be interesting to see what her relationship with Luke Alvez may now look like after the pair started a romantic connection following her resignation from the FBI. Depending on how Paramount+ crafts their narrative, it's possible that the Criminal Minds reboot makes up for the controversial love line of Reid and Jennifer Jarreau.
Criminal Minds: Evolution will premiere on November 24 on Paramount+.
