Evolution's latest death is another example of what the Criminal Minds revival is doing wrong

The second episode of Criminal Minds: Evolution’s third season—or eighteenth in total—ends with JJ (A.J. Cook) and her husband Will (Josh Stewart) at home, as Will complains of a headache before collapsing. Before the episode fades to black, the team hears the news and arrives at the hospital, where JJ emerges from the back to inform them that Will is dead. Is this death a surprise? Not in the slightest. It had been prophesied since Stewart abruptly announced his departure from Evolution in 2024 before the second season premiered. However, his appearance for this brief scene was a surprise. Regardless, there was no way to steel yourself for the loss of such a character and the show’s longest romantic relationship. Nonetheless, Will’s death is yet another major and troubling red flag raised about Evolution and the ultimate goal of this revival series.

Evolution has been and continues to be a far cry from Criminal Minds, chipping away at everything that worked so well for the original series and morphing it into something dramatically different to support this new, lackluster vision. Instead of evolving from the original into something that’s both new and honors what the show originally was, it feels as though we’re witnessing the steep decline of a desperate serial killer trying to hold onto their delusion as reality begins to sink in. From the very start of the revival, we’ve witnessed Evolution try to separate itself from the original, no matter the cost. It’s quite baffling given how beloved the original continues to be. When we catch up with the team again after a few years away, we learn they have been broken apart, forced to maximize their productivity and assistance by breaking off as individuals or pairs to deliver their expertise, something that essentially goes against the nature of the complex profiling the team specializes in. As a result, the group dynamic within the BAU has been all but completely absent, reserved for a few shared scenes per episode (more if we’re lucky).

Subsequently, the enormous role the entire team played in catching numerous bad guys over these many, many years has vanished, worsened by the ongoing presence of notorious serial killer Elias Voit (Zach Gilford), who took the spotlight upon joining the revival and hasn’t let go for going on three seasons now despite being well past his “best by” date. He continues to elude and taunt the team, even though they’ve identified and had him jailed for his crimes, causing the opposite effect of what the series intends (that he’s the ultimate villain) and instead making the team appear incompetent and ineffective. Though there have been other killers who’ve played major, even season-spanning roles in the show’s history, none have been series regulars and given the prominent role Voit has in the goings-on. There’s not even a break when the revival turns its attention to a new case, including with the current season’s whimpering return to the “case of the week” format, because every new killer must connect back to Voit in some way, shape, or form.

With each new episode, we stray farther from Criminal Minds and wade deeper into this miserable, dark cesspool that Evolution has become. What is the endgame here? Particularly as Voit continues to be an ongoing threat to the team and the world, there’s no feeling of success or ease at the end of a case (or even a season). It doesn’t feel like the team is making much of a difference in the world, as there’s not even a moment to reflect on stopping a serial killer before we’re thrust back into Voit’s world and the long list of killers in his network whom he empowered and gave means and intelligence to.

Will’s death is yet another successful and beloved aspect of the original show being stripped away. Yes, the profilers have experienced plenty of their loved ones dying over the years, but this death feels different. Meaningless. A device used to increase the suffocating despair in the revival’s miserable world and perhaps give JJ an arc to explore her grief (and, potentially, her children’s). But, despite the two years in between seasons, it’s only been about twenty episodes since the revival began with Rossi (Joe Mantegna) mourning for his wife Krystall (Gail O’Grady) — another unnecessary death but one that at least influenced Rossi’s obsession with Voit. (Unfortunately, the only aspect of the original that Evolution is keen to continue is the relentless focus on Rossi.) Whatever the behind-the-scenes reasons for the call, if there even were any, Will’s death is clearly one of TV’s infamous “just because” deaths, like we just saw with Bobby (Peter Krause) on 9-1-1. Done to create strife and conflict with no concern offered as to how this destroys this relationship we’ve watched develop since the second season of the show, way back in 2007, and the role it has played in JJ’s story and helped her cope with the work. It’s a terrible, disappointing end, no matter why it was done.

It begs the question: What is Evolution doing? As it strips away what the audience loved about the original and (arguably) twists characters into different people entirely, like Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness), it’s hard to imagine what anyone in the audience should be taking away from this experience. Though it may have the same actors, characters, and settings, it’s not Criminal Minds. There’s little joy or excitement to be gained from what it has become. No relief is delivered as the Voit story continues to be dragged out far longer than it should be and envelopes the entire world and pollutes nearly every piece of dialogue. The team hardly interacts, usually only to address the Voit elephant in the room, no longer feeling like the family they were before, aside from a few rare moments. Frankly, many of the main characters have been continually reduced into supporting players to prop up Rossi, Voit, and/or Tyler Green (Ryan-James Hatanaka), who has improved but should not be joining the FBI by any stretch of the imagination.

Depending on where this season ends, there’s a very real chance I will permanently remove Evolution from my watchlist. Will’s death is not a promising sign that there will be any improvement. Simply put, I want the real Criminal Minds back.