Criminal Minds – A Beautiful Disaster – Review: “Goodbye”

You okay out there, “Criminal Minds” fandom?

Been kind of a tough week, hasn’t it? A beloved character leaving a show is always a sad thing to deal with. I’m sure everyone can point to their own emotional examples from other shows. This episode is no exception, as we had to say goodbye to one of the show’s most notable and popular characters.

Viewers of this show are well used to team members coming and going, of course. There’s been numerous female team members who’ve been in and out over the years, some of whom temporary fill-ins, others who became new official members in their own right for a brief time. Then there was the whole back and forth with Emily Prentiss and JJ, as well as Jason Gideon’s exit.

But at least we had some stability with Morgan, Reid, Hotch, and Garcia. Those four were in a very small club, having been here all eleven years, from the very start of the show’s run. At most, some of them might’ve missed an occasional episode here and there, but none of them have ever been gone an entire season, or left the team completely.

Until now.

Last summer, it was announced that a regular team member would leave this season. But who? JJ was absent at the start of the season because of maternity leave. Perhaps, after her return, she might’ve ultimately decided she wanted more time at home with them. And Reid’s mom is getting worse with her illness. Maybe, during his time in Vegas late last year, he was considering the idea of moving back home to be closer to her, and that would ultimately lead to his exit.

Then there was Morgan. At the end of the season premiere, he voiced a determination to take down the Dirty Dozen gang that was the season’s “big bad”. Once he’d found out Garcia was in danger from them, that only further fueled his determination. What better way to go out than protecting those you love?

There was also Reid’s sentiment in an episode about the two of them being friends for hundreds of years, which seemed to imply that his time with Morgan might be much shorter than he realized, and occasional pestering from the team about when Morgan and Savannah would get married. So the hints have been there for a while. Plus, with Gibson, Mantegna, and Gubler directing episodes in this recent Morgan arc, and Kirsten Vangsness co-writing this episode, it seemed like a joint effort by the cast to say goodbye to Shemar Moore.

But how would he be written out? That was the big concern. Morgan had his life and that of his family’s put in danger, thus setting him up for a final, potentially deadly showdown. Add in the fact that Emily Prentiss was “killed off” in the Gubler-directed “Lauren” a number of years ago, that the people who wrote this episode wrote last season’s “Nelson’s Sparrow”, in which former teammate Jason Gideon was killed off, as well as the ominous implications in this episode’s title, and we weren’t sure what to expect. Surely something bad was coming, right?

Well, thankfully, I am pleased to state that we’re not going to be prepping for any funerals, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief about that. Unfortunately, it is also a fact that a team member did indeed leave, and everyone’s suspicions as to who it was were correct. Derek Morgan is officially no longer a member of the BAU.

Kinda weird to read that sentence aloud, isn’t it? It’s even weirder for me to type. But thanks to some beautiful writing from both Kirsten Vangsness and Erica Messer, and sharp direction from Matthew Gray Gubler, the cast managed to craft a send-off that was both intense and incredibly moving. So let’s dig into the events of “A Beautiful Disaster”.

The Case:

We pick up right where we left off from last week’s episode, with Morgan barreling into the hospital, Savannah in his arms, as he begs for someone to help her. She was the one who was shot at the end of the previous episode. He stays by her side as long as he can, but once she gets wheeled past the surgery doors, her survival chances are completely in the doctors’ hands at that point. Gazing at the blood coating his arms and hands, however, his panic only grows.

As Morgan tries to make sense of the craziness that’s just happened, a doctor comes by to ask if there’s someone they can call to be there with him. Of course he goes with his first choice, which is Garcia and the rest of his team. She’s still at the office when she gets the horrifying news, and immediately runs to tell JJ and Reid what’s up. The three of them then run off, and eventually the remaining team members join them.

When everyone arrives at the hospital, they’re greeted by a very anxious and angry Morgan, who’s demanding answers. Rossi reports that a casing and a rifle were found on the rooftop, but that’s it in terms of physical evidence so far. Reid asks Morgan where he and Savannah were standing. According to Morgan, he was the most vulnerable one, because he was facing towards the shooter. Yet they shot Savannah, who faced away. It doesn’t make any sense.

Rossi and Garcia then lead Morgan to the waiting room to try and calm him down, with Rossi assuring him a law enforcement official will be outside Savannah’s door at all times to guard her. Garcia, meanwhile, is getting access to security cameras, and Tara’s off donating blood, because she happens to be a good match for Savannah (aw). Garcia does her level best to reassure Morgan everything will be okay, but he snaps at her, telling her he’s not in the mood for her “blind optimism” right now. Oof.

Then Hotch comes in with even more upsetting news. Morgan is officially off the case. He’s a material witness, and emotionally involved. Needless to say, Morgan does not take this well, pointedly (and rightly) reminding Hotch that he didn’t back off when Foyet targeted his family years ago.

“And how’d that turn out?” Hotch replies. Oooooooh, snap.

Morgan’s not swayed, though. He can’t bear the thought of sitting there and not doing anything to help his wife and child, and while I very much understand Hotch’s reasoning for removing him from the case, I can’t say I blame Morgan for wanting to disregard orders here, either.

Meanwhile, the team is getting frustrated with their examination of the security footage, because there’s nothing showing anything that happened on the rooftop. They’re running facial recognition, though, in hopes of maybe getting a lead there.

It’s soon revealed that this isn’t the first time Hotch has ordered Morgan to stay out of anything related to this case. Apparently, he also didn’t want Morgan getting involved in the investigation into his attack six months prior. But of course, Morgan didn’t listen. He wasn’t alone in his search, either; the rest of the team had quietly conducted their own investigation as well.

And Morgan’s hard work paid off – there is indeed a connection to the shooter. John Bradley, one of Morgan’s main torturers, was hired by Giuseppe Montolo’s family. Remember Giuseppe? He was the brains behind the hit man group for the whole Dirty Dozen arc, and was taken down in the season premiere. He was also eventually killed in prison, having been poisoned by a guard. Apparently the Montolo family was heavily involved with Morgan’s abductors in a huge crime syndicate sort of setup. This thing ran way deeper than anyone realized.

The team scans the outline Morgan crafted of the crime organization’s “family tree”. Fortunately, it seems most of the organization has been defeated. Giuseppe’s branch of the tree is small, but pretty easy to tackle. He was the only child of Chaz and Rosemary Montolo, and his mom died when he was just a boy. Afterward, Giuseppe went to live with family in Italy, while Chaz turned his focus to forming and expanding his criminal empire. He ran the entire operation up until his death in a bank fire in Germany last year. There’s even a newspaper article announcing his death, complete with photo.

Thing is, though, his death happened exactly one week after Giuseppe’s murder. Hotch is pretty sure that’s not a coincidence, so either the same person murdered both Montolos...or Chaz faked his death in the hopes of avoiding suspicion. Garcia extends her facial recognition search to include supposedly dead people...and whaddaya know, there’s a man walking out of the hospital who fits the image of Chaz Montolo seen in that article. Aha. They immediately turn their focus to tracking his whereabouts.

Reid stays with Morgan while the others work other aspects of the case. Morgan’s no dummy, though – he knows Reid’s real reason for being there, which is to make sure he’s emotionally and mentally stable. Reid does not deny this, and goes into a long scientific explanation of all the little physical tells that indicate his friend’s anxiousness. As a result, he’s the latest team member to bear the brunt of Morgan’s anger and impatience.

Reid’s not even remotely fazed, though. He then proceeds to give a beautiful, touching speech about how he knew when Morgan was in love with Savannah, detailing all the physical tells Morgan gave off when talking about her and being with her. That’s the other reason Reid stayed behind – he wanted to remind Morgan that the team loves him, and that their reasons for keeping him off the case are genuine. They know how much he loves Savannah, and they just want to keep both her and Morgan safe.

Morgan does pick up on something Reid says in his speech, though: “A paternal instinct is a deadly bias.” That, to him, is a very subtle hint about Chaz’ motivation for targeting Morgan. He wants to take away those Morgan cares about, just like he thinks Morgan did with his son. Tara’s got her own theory regarding the shooting, too. She thinks it wasn’t a coincidence Savannah was shot in front of a hospital. Chaz wanted her to live for some reason.

While all this is going on, JJ and Garcia notice another shocking aspect to the security footage. When Morgan was in the hallway after Savannah got wheeled away, there was an old man standing nearby at one of the pay phones. As Garcia looks at the man, she notices his resemblance to Chaz. She also remembers that when she got the call about Savannah being shot, it was right around the time listed on the time stamp of the hospital video. Chaz had faked being a hospital worker to call her! Eesh. JJ goes to investigate the pay phone to see if it would reveal any other clues as to Chaz’ whereabouts.

A short time later, she calls Morgan away to talk privately. She completely disagrees with Hotch’s decision to pull him off the case. They’ve all done what they needed to do in the past to save their loved ones when they were in danger, after all, and a baby’s life is at stake here, too. That detail hits JJ particularly hard, having suffered a miscarriage at the hands of an unsub a few years ago herself. I liked this little moment between these two – they’ve both always been the more particularly defiant team members, and now that Morgan’s got a family of his own, this is a good way for him and JJ to connect.

It’s then that she brings out a note she found tucked into the pay phone’s change slot, which consists of a very cryptic, short message: “How does it feel? Do you see red? I see red.” JJ asks Morgan if that means something to him. He tries to deny it, but it’s obvious that he’s lying, and JJ senses it. He won’t tell Hotch what the note means, either.

Reid thinks that note contains a very specific clue, one Chaz knows Morgan will understand. Despite what the team believed, Morgan hasn’t adjusted as well as they think he has these last few months. He’s still struggling and still itching for a showdown. And with that note, Chaz is betting on that fact.

At one point, Morgan goes to see Savannah, who’s still out, and lets forth a tearful apology for all he’s put her through. He should be the one in that hospital bed, not her. And he’s going to take care of this, once and for all.

Shortly after, a doctor comes looking for Morgan. Upon learning Morgan’s not in the area, they take another look at the security footage, and to their horror, they see Morgan leaving the hospital. He knows where Chaz is, and he’s going to him. Uh-oh. Hotch calls Morgan, begs him to tell the team where he’s going, but Morgan doesn’t want to put the others in danger. He ends the call on a rather concerning, final-sounding note by saying, “Goodbye, Aaron” and gets rid of his phone. Needless to say, the others are now freaking out.

Next thing we know, Morgan’s entering a house. It’s darkened and virtually empty, save for a stack of TVs showing security footage from the hospital. All of a sudden, Morgan finds himself with a gun to his head. Chaz informs him that he’s got agents set up around the hospital that he checks in with every five minutes. If they don’t hear from him, then they’ll go on their own killing spree. So if Morgan doesn’t want any of his team or Savannah to die, he’ll do as Chaz tells him.

Course, he could be lying about all of what he’s said, too, just to further gain control of Morgan. Is Morgan willing to take the risk of doubting him, though? Evidently not, as he removes his weapon and sits down.

Chaz immediately begins blaming Morgan for his son’s death. Morgan continues to deny his guilt, but Chaz isn’t buying it. He continues to taunt Morgan by making a couple more calls on a landline phone, and then starts rambling on about the importance of choices, and fate. In his mind, every choice he and Morgan made throughout their lives led them to this moment this night. It was destined to happen.

“I’m gonna give you some fatherly advice, something you missed out on as a kid, am I right?” Damn. This episode is pulling no punches with the harsh words. He tells Morgan to “find his stillness”, whatever that means, and Morgan’s definitely going to need that. Why? Because Chaz then proceeds to play a deadly round of Russian Roulette with him. He also makes another call, and reminds Morgan that he made the choice to give Savannah a chance to live by shooting her where he did. Just how far is Morgan willing to go for his family?

Back at the hospital, the team continues their frantic search. Reid doesn’t believe Chaz left the city, noting that he passed by a bus stop that would take him out of town. Hotch, meanwhile, is thinking about the fact that Morgan specifically called him “Aaron”. Foyet called Hotch “Aaron”, and also attacked him in his home. The thing is, though, Morgan’s home isn’t red, inside or outside.

Some of the properties he renovates are, though. Morgan has eight homes he’s been working on, and he’s been working on them for quite some time as well – all the way back to shortly after 9/11. Garcia digs through records of the houses, and finds one that’s been rented to a C.R. Joseph. The name is telling, and Reid figures out why. Joseph is the English translation of Giuseppe, “C” is for Chaz, and “R” is for Rosemary. And when they look at the house...it has a red door. Bingo. And they’re off.

Back at the house, Morgan starts trying to talk to Chaz, explaining the difference between the two of them. He wants to make life better for his family, give them all the things he missed out on and struggled with as a child. Chaz could’ve had all sorts of chances to change his life and make a better one for his son, but he didn’t. He claims to care about his son, but his actions over the years have proven otherwise.

Obviously, Chaz doesn’t respond well to Morgan’s judgment of his character or parenting skills. He’s done playing. It’s time for Morgan to die. Before he kills him, though, Chaz decides he’ll give Morgan a gift he didn’t get with his son: a chance to say goodbye. He puts Morgan on the phone with Garcia, and Morgan tells her to patch in the rest of the team, who are currently barreling down the road towards the house. If he’s going to share his final words, he’s saying them to everyone.

The team listens with bated breath as Morgan tearfully talks to them for what may be the last time ever. He tells the team he made the decision to come here, and that they should not blame themselves for any of this. He also begs them to look after Savannah and the baby. The gun continues to click…

...and there’s a gunshot, and Garcia frantically calling Morgan’s name. It’s at this point I flipped out and cursed every commercial in the break that followed.

Thankfully, we needn’t have worried. Morgan’s eyes tear away from the gun for a moment to notice the phone, and it’s then something occurs to him. How can Chaz be making calls on a landline phone when this house isn’t wired for that? Turns out that Chaz has been faking those phone calls the entire time, and the team never was in danger at all. This revelation gives him the renewed strength he needs to fight back (hence the gunshot, which was targeted away from the two men), and now it’s Chaz facing down the barrel of a gun. Chaz eggs him on, ordering him to “be a man” and shoot him, for Morgan won’t rest if he knows Chaz is still alive and out there. For a moment, Morgan really looks like he wants to do just that.

In the end, however, he doesn’t follow through. He’s not going to give Chaz the satisfaction. And so the case ends, with the team getting there just in time to arrest their unsub and lead him away. It’s over. At long last, it’s all finally over.

Overall, I liked the case aspect of the episode. It was incredibly intense and action-packed, and the nods to Foyet and Hankel were an excellent touch. This episode mirrored “100” in quite a few ways – wife and child in danger, final showdown between the father/husband and the unsub, entire team effort. The main difference, of course, was in terms of the outcome.

This episode was also a good example of Matthew Gray Gubler’s ability to direct an action-heavy story. Normally, the episodes he directs tend towards a much more surreal, mind-bending vision. “Heathridge Manor”, “The Lesson”, and “Mr. Scratch” are a few notable examples of that.
But he also proved with “Lauren” that he could handle directing an episode that played more like a high-octane action film, and “Beautiful Disaster” is another example of his ability to work with that kind of story. Going with a more straightforward approach lent itself well to the overall storyline for this episode.

That said, of course, there were still moments that made it clear we were watching a Gubler-directed episode. The unsub fit the type of eccentric-looking people he often likes to cast. The empty, darkened house was a nod to his love of creepy, horror movie-related scenes. The camera shots allowed us to imagine ourselves seeing things through characters’ eyes. And the hazy focus when Morgan looked at the blood covering him, or the frantic nature of the opening scene where he rushed Savannah into the hospital, heightened the urgency and drama of the moment. Gubler’s an old pro directing episodes for this show, and this was yet another example of his unique talent.

I also liked the suspense and overall feeling of uncertainty that ran throughout the episode. Even after Chaz was taken away, I couldn’t help wondering if the scenes of Morgan celebrating his son’s birth at the hospital were some sort of dream, or if something would happen as Morgan was leaving at the end to take him out. I couldn’t quite see the show going there, but given Gubler’s penchant for surprise shocks and twist endings in his episodes, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

My main critique with the case is that it seems odd and sort of anti-climatic that the entire Dirty Dozen storyline would boil down to a personal vendetta between Morgan and Montolo’s dad. I do like that the people who kidnapped Morgan a couple episodes ago wound up being tied to the whole Dirty Dozen gang, rather than being a new threat unto themselves, but we’d only just gotten started learning more about them. They basically got glossed over this episode, and I kind of would’ve liked to learn a little more, or maybe had one of them escape and come back to finish what they’d started. I get why the focus was on Chaz Montolo, of course, to connect to Morgan’s impending fatherhood. But I just feel like it was an awfully simple resolution to a story arc that had built up to be so complicated and twisty.

And since Chaz was arrested, I can’t help but wonder, yet again, if this is really it for the Dirty Dozen arc, or if there’s still somebody who’ll come along and pick up the slack. Hopefully this is the official end of that story, but I suppose time will tell.

Ultimately, though, while I did like the case this episode, it wasn’t where my main focus lay. I sense the show itself knew that, too, which is why they kept their focus more on the team and family interactions throughout. And with good reason, too, because that’s where this episode really shone.

Meanwhile, on the personal front…:

It takes a while before we see Savannah after her initial rush into surgery, but throughout the first part of the episode we get a glimpse into how things are going through updates from the doctors. At first, she’s in an induced coma, and things seem pretty touch and go for a while.

But then a miracle happens. She wakes up! Yay! She may just make it yet. She’s not entirely out of the woods, however, because the doctors need to perform an emergency C-section to save her baby. As worried as Savannah is for her baby and Morgan, though, luckily, she’s got Garcia there to stay by her side and keep her calm.

Fortunately, the case wraps up just in time for Morgan to make it back for his child’s birth. And it’s a boy! Morgan now joins the “sons” club alongside Hotch and JJ. His son’s a bit premature, but he’ll be all right. Celebrations all around!

Later on, Hotch and Morgan bond over the joys of fatherhood. Hotch gives a deeply touching little speech about how Morgan can now feel what he felt with Jack, and you can practically SEE memories of a newborn Jack floating through Hotch’s mind at that moment. His eyes are shining, too, and he’s smiling, and it’s one of the sweetest Hotch moments ever.

This scene is also a lovely contrast to the tense back and forth the two men had earlier in the episode. In this moment, we can see the deep respect and admiration they have for each other. They’ve shared a lot in common: they’ve both been unit chiefs, they had eerily similar showdowns with brutal unsubs, and now they’re both fathers. Throughout the series we’ve seen the ways in which Morgan learned from Hotch, both personally and professionally, and we know he’ll take those lessons with him going forward.

As their conversation wraps up, Hotch reassures Morgan that he can take as much time as he needs to be with his family. Morgan’s response, however, indicates there’s more to this “time away” thing that he wants to talk about with him. And we know. We know exactly what he’s going to say.

But before we delve further into the outcome of that conversation, we also get another sweet, albeit brief, parenthood moment, this time between Morgan and Rossi. It was lovely to hear Rossi talk about the things he’d learned in the short time he’d reunited with his daughter Joy, and I loved Morgan reassuring Rossi that had he known about Joy back when she was born, he would’ve been there for her from the start. I very much agree with that sentiment, and I’m glad he got to tell Rossi what he deserved to hear.

Soon after this happy hospital celebration, we’re back at the BAU. Morgan’s sitting at his original desk he had in the early years, getting one last reminder of his past, and JJ stops by to give him a gift. It’s a photo of the entire team, plus Savannah and the baby, at the hospital. It’s her parting gift to Morgan. Yes. Parting gift. It’s official: Morgan’s leaving the team for good. JJ can barely hold back the tears as she reassures him that she’ll always be there, a sentiment she proved in spades this episode. They’ve forged their own special bond over the years, and it’s nice to see them get a moment here.

Seeing JJ getting so emotional was enough to kickstart the waterworks for me at this point. I knew full well this episode was bound to make me cry, because goodbye episodes always get to me, but I’d thought I’d done my best to prepare for moments like this.

Then Morgan and Reid’s conversation happens.

“I know you hate goodbyes, kid. And change.”

As Morgan finishes up his moment with JJ, he looks over to see Reid standing in the doorway, looking all awkward and sad. He tries to duck away before Morgan sees him, but he’s not fast enough, and Morgan finds him in the conference room a short time later. Not only does he want to say goodbye to his longtime friend, but he also has a gift of his own to share with Reid – a birth announcement. With his son’s name on it.

The baby’s name? Hank Spencer Reid. “Hank”, of course, in honor of his father, and “Spencer” for, in Morgan’s own words, “the best little brother anybody could ever ask for”. All together now, everybody: AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

“I can’t imagine this room without you,” Reid says then, breaking everyone’s hearts into pieces. He also tells Morgan that he doesn’t want him to stay because he has a good reason for leaving, and that’s one of the most bittersweet sentiments ever. He’s still on the verge of tears, though, and frankly, if you aren’t crying your eyes out as well, I’m convinced you are made of stone or lacking a heart. Morgan can’t hold back, either, getting all choked up as he tells Reid he wants him to be an awesome “big brother” to Hank, to teach him to play chess and all that good stuff. I honestly don’t know how to fully express how much I adored this conversation, and how it aptly demonstrates the deep friendship and brotherly bond between these two. Seriously, this part of the episode flat out wrecked me.

Anywho, so yeah, there’s tears galore from them and from me, and then Morgan and Reid share another hug reminiscent of the one they shared at the end of “Entropy” a few months back. Instead of merely implying how much they love each other this time, though, they actually say it out loud, and it’s wonderful. Morgan then proceeds to show off photos of Hank to Reid, and it’s a fitting way to wrap up this special moment between them.

We’re not done yet, though! There’s one very important person left on Morgan’s goodbye list. His Baby Girl. His Goddess. The woman he’s shamelessly flirted and bantered with for eleven years. Penelope Garcia. When he comes across her, she’s busy packing up the last of the stuff in his office. Considering she was the one who helped set it up back when he was taking over as unit chief during the Foyet case, having her take it all down is a great way to bring that part of things full circle.

Obviously, though, her cleaning out his office is also a good way for her to distract herself from the realization that this man who’s been such a special, important part of her life is leaving. Their conversation winds up being a heartwarming demonstration of how they’ve complimented and brought out the best in each other over the years. He makes her feel brave, while she makes him feel safe, and Morgan feels her “big ol’ heart” of hers rubbed off on him, and softened him. In true Garcia form, she also tries to keep things light to the very end by telling him she’s glad he didn’t have a baby girl. Morgan reassures her that she’ll always be his original Baby Girl, and that’s never going to change. This is the last time we’re going to hear that flirty banter and special nickname. Sigh.

And so, with all his goodbyes and final conversations squared away, Morgan walks out of the BAU building for the final time, and steps into the elevator, ready to start a new life. Before he leaves for good, though, he takes one last look up at the conference room. His team is gathered there, and he just wants one last glimpse of them. Since Reid and Morgan have apparently decided they haven’t broken our hearts nearly enough thus far, though, the two of them just have to take that moment to share one last lingering gaze with each other, and a final goodbye nod. Gah, my heart cannot take this sadness.

As the episode wraps up, we see Morgan step into the elevator to leave, and to our delighted surprise, the voiceover quote has Morgan echoing Emily’s parting words from “Run”, aka her last episode as part of the BAU team. It’s a perfect callback and nod to another beloved former team member.

I was really pleased with this aspect of the episode. As I understand it, Kirsten Vangsness was responsible for the final section of the episode, with the team’s parting moments, and I can believe that judging from the nature of those goodbye scenes. She knows Shemar and the rest of her cast mates better than probably even the show’s writers do, so therefore, it seemed very fitting that she be the one to pen those scenes.

As a result, the goodbyes were genuine and heartfelt, and the emotion very real and palpable. This cast has always been especially close. It wasn’t Reid or JJ or Garcia crying, it was Matthew, AJ, and Kirsten. Despite the emotional ending, everyone managed to add a touch of sweetness and humor to their talks. Morgan got a chance to tell Reid and Garcia, his two closest friends, just how much they meant to him. Hotch and Morgan parted on good terms.

And the best part? Nobody died! Obviously I’m thrilled Morgan survived, because if he hadn’t, that would’ve made this episode positively devastating. But I’m also glad that Savannah survived. I was seriously worried the show would have Morgan join Rossi, Reid, and Hotch in the “dead significant others” club, and I truly did NOT want them to go that route yet again. Thankfully, they didn’t.

I also like that his family is the reason Morgan left the team. We all know how much he struggled growing up without a dad, so it’s perfectly understandable he doesn’t want to put his own child through that pain. He saw the toll this job took on Hotch’s family life, and even commented on it in “Mayhem” (“The guy has to take a personal day just to have a conversation with his own kid.”). He also saw the other men all lose the women they loved. Now that Savannah’s got a second chance at life, no way would he want to risk losing her again.

And his decision to leave because of his family also shows just how much he’s matured and changed over the years. The man who said he’d “stick to practicing” when asked about having a kid of his own someday way back in season 1, who was known as the ladies’ man and a total flirt, is now thrilled to be a father, and is happily settled down with a wife. I’m pretty sure most fans wouldn’t have predicted that back at the start of this show’s run!

If I do have any nitpicks at all, it would be that I do wish we could’ve had a little more time to delve into Morgan’s talks with Hotch and Rossi, Hotch in particular. I loved them bonding over the joys of fatherhood, of course, but I really would’ve loved to hear Hotch express his admiration for Morgan and all he’s done for the team over the years, as well as hear Morgan acknowledge all the things he learned from Hotch. It also would’ve been fun to see them kinda joke about their tendency to butt heads, and touch on the serious reasons why they did so.

It also would’ve been nice to hear Rossi and Morgan talk about what they respected and admired in each other professionally. In the early days, Morgan was bothered by Rossi’s tendency to work alone, but he’s been the same way. Commandeering that ambulance in “Mayhem”, confronting Billy Flynn without backup, and everything with Chaz here. Their personalities seemed to match, too, with both of them being realistic, blunt, cocky, and skeptical (if not downright cynical) a lot of the time. Where Hotch and Morgan’s similarities often led them to collide, Rossi and Morgan’s similarities seemed to bring them together. Add in the fact that they were on opposite ends when it came to the issues of faith and religion, and I think all of that could’ve made for a fascinating final conversation between them.

But those are the only critiques that come to mind. Otherwise, this was a truly wonderful send-off, and a great way to see just how much these people have meant to each other, and will always mean to each other.

So that’s it! Morgan’s gone. To say it’ll be a weird adjustment is an understatement. It’s hard to say how this’ll impact the show going forward, but for now, we can at least take comfort in the fact that there’s still five other regular members hanging around. I also sense it’s only a matter of time before we hear about Morgan popping in to say hi and visit when possible, so that helps ease the sadness a little as well. Still, though, here’s hoping the only time we’ll have to go through this sort of goodbye with any other team members again is whenever the series wraps up for good.

In the meantime, as yet another team member departs, another familiar and beloved face returns – Emily Prentiss will make a guest appearance next episode! After the emotional roller coaster we’ve been on this month, I think I can safely speak for much of the fandom when I say that reunion will be sorely welcome.

What did you think of this week’s episode? Did you like the nods to previous notable episodes like “100” and “Revelations”? Did the unsub’s connection to the Dirty Dozen case work for you? Do you think that storyline is finally done once and for all now that Chaz Montolo’s been captured? Did you enjoy the one-on-one goodbyes between Morgan and his friends? How do you think the team will fare going forward? And finally, how much will you miss Morgan? Share your thoughts in the comments!

About the Author - Angela

Angela resides in the state of Iowa, in the town that was the inspiration for the Music Man. She loves to read and write, and enjoys a wide variety of music. She also enjoys various TV shows, including ""Criminal Minds"", ""Community"", ""Sleepy Hollow"", ""Bates Motel"", and ""How to Get Away with Murder"", as well as older shows such as ""Frasier"" and ""The Twilight Zone"". She will be reviewing ""Criminal Minds"" for SpoilerTV.

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