Only one episode is left of Criminal Minds: Evolution’s second season in the 2024 TV schedule, and the penultimate episode ended on quite a cliffhanger. As Prentiss and Rossi entered the training center/compound where Jade had been turned into a killer, Jade flipped a switch and seemingly blew up the building to end her own life and the lives of anybody else inside. While fans have yet to see the aftermath, Paget Brewster spoke with CinemaBlend ahead of the Season 2 finale to talk about Prentiss’ journey, including her revelations with JJ.
Now, it seems like a safe bet that the Season 2 premiere isn’t going to open with the reveal that Rossi and Prentiss died in the explosion, but the detonation was a doozy of a way to end the penultimate episode and we definitely shouldn’t assume that anybody is out of danger. For her part, while Prentiss was warned to stand down rather than go past the armed guards and enter the training center, she ultimately decided to go in.
When I spoke with Paget Brewster, I asked if Prentiss could have ever really stood down at the end of Episode 9 when she knew how much was at stake, and the actress shared:
I mean, she was willing [to stand down]. She was toying with standing down in Episode [6], when she and JJ were stoned. But I think that episode proved to Prentiss that she can’t, that she’s going to scrap as hard as she can to maintain that role and stay with her team. I can’t envision a world where Prentiss just walks or says, ‘Okay, it’s been tough. We lose. People come and people go, and I can’t take it anymore, and I’m going to leave.’
Even if Prentiss hadn’t had that edible-induced breakthrough with JJ earlier in the season, it’s hard to imagine her staying outside of the compound when there was a girl who (as far as she knew) needed saving within and the BAU had a warrant. Brewster went on, explaining why Prentiss’ professional dedication has caused problems in her personal life:
I think it’s probably why she’s not romantically involved with anybody. It’s that the job and that team is her life. [laughs] I think we become aware of that after [Episodes] 8 and 9. I think it’s clear she’ll fight to keep that job and to keep that team together.
Whether she can keep the team together after the events of Episode 9 really may depend on what Episode 10 reveals about the aftermath of the explosion! Hopefully nobody will be permanently out of the action, but the first season of Criminal Minds: Evolution proved that all bets may be off when it comes to finales.
All bets were off in a different way a few episodes back in Evolution Season 2, when Prentiss was seemingly on the verge of losing her job with the BAU and was mulling her fate with the help of some edibles. That was how JJ found her, and the result was a scene of Paget Brewster and A.J. Cook performing a heart-to-heart between their characters who were stoned off of pot-infused snacks. I asked Brewster how revelatory the experience of getting stoned with JJ was for Prentiss, and she shared:
I love it for the fans, and it was not just a funny thing to have happen. It’s rooted in pain, right? Prentiss thinks she’s going to be fired, so she’s just going to quit first. And when she needs clarity, she depends on… the Cheetos with the chopsticks. She uses edibles. You can tell how much I know about pot right now by I’m talking about this [laughs]. But it’s from pain. She’s trying to be introspective. Not probably the best way to do it, but her response is, ‘I’m going to quit.’
Criminal Minds: Evolution could have played Prentiss and JJ getting stoned together as a joke, and there was humor in it, but the show didn’t make light of what she was going through. It was also particularly meaningful that the conversation happened between these two women, after JJ learned earlier in the season that Prentiss was keeping BAUgate a secret from her and then had to endure being around Voit. Brewster went on to address how important it was for Prentiss to hear from JJ in this moment:
And JJ’s response, even when JJ is stoned, is to say, ‘You can’t do that, because we need you and I need you.’ And she forgives her for keeping BAUgate from her, even though she knew. She doesn’t hold it over Prentiss’ head and she dealt with it on her own. She’s a grown woman and she knows how to handle herself. So it was revelatory in that I think that stoned journey led to Prentiss [realizing] she has to be a part of that team, that’s that’s in her bones.
Fortunately, there was no melodrama between the two women about Prentiss keeping BAUgate secret despite how hard it hit JJ to learn about it. Paget Brewster’s character seemed to have more of a clear head after their afternoon with edibles as well, including when she reached out to Jill Gideon despite Rossi forbidding her from doing so.
So, what else can happen for Emily Prentiss before the final credits roll on Season 2? You’ll have to stream the second season finale of Criminal Minds: Evolution with a Paramount+ subscription after it releases on Thursday, August 1. The series has already been renewed for Season 3 – which will be Season 18 of the show overall if we’re accounting for the fifteen seasons on CBS – so the BAU’s story will continue.