‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Season 17 Episode 10 Review: “Save the Children”

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17 Episode 10 “Save the Children” is exactly what a season finale needs to be — and an excellent one at that. The episode wraps up the season-wide arc in style, putting us on the edge of our seats from start to finish and even throwing a couple more twists in along the way. And the performances, even in a season full of great ones, are just utterly and completely mind-blowing. If we may take a moment to be extra nerdy here since this episode comes out right when many of us are watching the 2024 Olympics, Paget Brewster deserves a gold medal for this one.

We’d say she deserves a gold star, but um…we can’t go quite that far. Because, in the context of this season, this case, and where we find Emily Prentiss in this finale, that…can get kinda awkward. Besides, who wouldn’t want to have an Olympic gold medal in dramatic acting and giving yet another giant f*ck you to everyone who once thought it was at all a good idea to do this show without you?

“They’re here. Right on time.”

One thing this series has taught us, and that Voit and the Gold Stars thought they’d learned, is that this team is a family that will always show up for each other. Just look at the very beginning of Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17 Episode 10. When Tara rescues Dave, his very first thought is to ask “where’s Emily.” Then, as Tara fills him in on Dana’s status, he asks again, this time with even more concern. What does he get in return? Wordless grief and remorse, a sense of loss and being at a loss, followed by confirmation that Tara just doesn’t know. Aisha Tyler completely nails it here, bringing every ounce of emotional gravity to the situation that it deserves. This is news Lewis absolutely does not want to deliver, least of all to a Rossi she just rescued and who has such a long history with their missing comrade.

That interaction sets the tone for the entire episode. Not only does it kick off our nonstop feeling of desperation for the team to reach our girl in time, coupled with everyone’s selfless determination to put saving Emily above all else, but it also just…starts the trend of one great performance after another. Although Joe Mantegna is great in that early scene, he’s at his best later on, and so is Agent Rossi. We particularly love the way he delivers Rossi’s not-at-all-veiled threat to Director Madison, plus that intense extra beat of just…staring the man down. Obviously, as a general rule, openly threatening your boss (who also happens to be the FBI’s Director) is a terrible idea; but if you think we didn’t cheer when Dave did it…well, you must be new here.

“I agree…but this is Emily.”

“We can’t afford to say no.”

Oh! And speaking of intense looks…when the team gets stuck working with Voit again — or, rather, when everyone puts everything on the line because he might be their only hope for saving Emily — that man gets more than he bargained for. And, like, good. Perhaps Lee Duval should’ve read up on The Black Queen a bit because he is, quite clearly, disturbed when Penelope takes off her glasses and just…refuses to break eye contact. Kirsten Vangsness is always such a delight as our brilliant ray of sunshine, and there are many times throughout Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17 Episode 10 where all that heart and soul she always brings to the role really gets us in the guts because of her fear for Emily’s life. But dear God is she utterly and completely terrifying when Garcia gets tired of that man’s BS and ends him with a look.

How about a spinoff series, starring Vangsness, where she gets to be that version of everyone’s favorite hacker?

And, while we’re taking a meandering sort of approach to discussing the plot (and trying to get to some kind of point), that brings us to one more noteworthy scene from another one of our CM Ladies: JJ getting the last word against Voit. He tries so hard to get under her skin, to trigger her by bringing up BAU Gate, and all it does is backfire. Because now, JJ has the upper hand. Now, Voit poking the bear results in the mama bear attacking him. But not physically, no. Although, something about A.J. Cook’s movement quality as her character stalks the prey that is Voit…certainly brings with it a threat of her just daring him to give her an excuse.

“Elias. You better pray that anything with my face on it? Stays hidden better than one of your little bunkers. Yeah?”

Even if a mention of a “deep fake” earlier in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17 Episode 10 may have triggered a little bit of a trauma response (notice Cook playing with that necklace and directing her energy inward in that moment), Voit doesn’t get to win here. JJ has worked through this thing and found a way to beat him. That’s huge, both for the character and for the many viewers who love her. And talk about a full-circle moment for the season overall. “Jenny” (how dare he call her that) was the first one to go head to head with Voit and show him her “smartass” side, and she’s the last member of the BAU to get to confront him directly. Additionally, she’s the one to remember his little finger gun salute and fake wishes of “good luck,” which kind of saves the day.

But that brings us to the point we started this section with, though. The team shows up. They save Emily, and they do it together. In this season finale, every single team member — and, yes, that definitely, fully includes Rebecca and Tyler now — contributes. Whatever was in Voit’s little BAU fanboy collage/conspiracy board for the Gold Stars, it wasn’t enough. At times, it seemed like it might be. But no, you can’t summarize this team and all its talents, much less all the ways these people will put themselves on the line for each other, simply by compiling facts about old cases.

Yes, there’s a pattern. Because they know it’s only a matter of time before the cavalry comes, Peter and Jade think ahead and rig the building. Sure, that shows they get the pattern and all. So, well done to them and to Voit’s little obsession. But no, it’s not enough and never can be.

“Before I plead, I need to know what the charges are.”

To reiterate what we said in the intro, Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17 Episode 10 may feature great performances from the entire cast, but the clear and obvious winner is Paget Brewster. Hands down. No one is doing it like her in this finale. From start to finish, she is the it girl. Which, of course, is fitting considering this whole season has really been all about our very own Emily Prentiss. Truly, what a time to be alive and loving television.

So, from the very first moment we see Emily, there’s this sigh of relief — she survived the blast — but it’s immediately followed by this growing sense of dread and urgency as we have to worry about whether or not the team is actually going to save her on time. Part of our doubt that a happy ending is possible comes from knowing this series has “killed” her off before. (And no, we don’t care that they did the right thing and walked that back. It was still just wrong. Never getting over it, actually.) The main cause of our concern, however, comes from Brewster’s performance. Without her selling us on every part of Prentiss’ journey, we might — just might — have been more along for the ride during this finale. Instead, we spend a lot of it hanging on for dear life.

As in, she takes a good finale with a good storyline, great pacing, and excellent work from her costars…and elevates all of the above.

At the beginning of Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17 Episode 10, Prentiss is basically…Prentiss. She’s kinda scoffing at Frank Church’s completely idiotic comment about sparing them (“she didn’t spare us”) and maybe has a bit of healthy fear. But she’s still working on a way to get herself out of this and believes she can. Even as she’s resigned after Jade kills Frank and leaves, only to come back and then charge her with some unknown crime. Things kind of start to break down from there, though, and it starts with her sense of alarm when Jade…reminds Emily, and us, of a ton of things we’d all like to forget.

The next time we see her, she’s rolling those eyes, and frustrated, and tough til the end — standing her ground. Just…not literally — but she’s also starting to get a little bit desperate. Profiling isn’t going to work to help her get through to Doug Bailey’s brother (!!!), yet she just keeps trying. Check out the emphasis on “because it serves his interests,” followed by the sheer anxiety when Peter latches on to that and gives it the wrong meaning. Then, we leave her for a while, only to come back to an Emily Prentiss who is utterly and completely exhausted. It’s at this point that Jade begins to torture Emily. And, make no mistake, Brewster makes us believe she’s really, truly in the worst kind of pain imaginable every single time her character gets zapped.

But, she still has those flashes of grit. Like when she’s completely unbothered while spitting out blood (and maybe a bit of tongue) before this gem:

“Your boyfriend’s dead because you shot him, babe. AND YOU KILLED HIM FOR NO REASON.”

The grief and the passion with which Brewster plays Emily when she tells her “truth” about Doug Bailey, though…now, that is next level. By that point in the finale, it’s like Prentiss is just wrung out, worn down, and broken. Do we like using that word — broken — for the character? Absolutely not. And yet, not much else fits here. While we’re at it, as long as we’re talking about things that broke during this episode (besides us), how about the way Brewster’s voice breaks in the moment where Emily realizes exactly why Jade and Peter are delaying her sentencing?

From there, it’s the big push to the finish. And, of course, Brewster wows us (yet again). This time, it’s with the immense amount of empathy Emily displays when she reminds Jade that Mila is alive because of her. Just, truly, what a gift to get to see this level of work. Both from the real-life Brewster and the fictional Prentiss.

More on Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17 Episode 10

• Penelope’s dropped jaw and Rebecca’s “oh, God” are basically both me.
• “I’m just here to keep you company while you die.” Dave really thought he was going to die, is what I get from this.
• Which, um. ABSOLUTELY NOT AN OPTION.
• The way Aisha Tyler’s voice shakes when Tara is screaming for Dave…
• “All I ever wanted was to save the children.” …and he barely gets it out before Jade ends him. Girl has done a lot of things wrong, but this isn’t one of them.
• That “oh no. She’s injured” doesn’t even sound like Garcia. Someone hug her.
• Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17 Episode 10 also does some really nice work with flashbacks. Some give us brand new information. Others just remind us about things we already knew. And all of the above increase the emotional impact of everything that occurs in the present. That can sometimes be tricky to manage. Not so here.
• “Supervisory Special Agent Prentiss. Abducted and interrogated by Benjamin Cyrus in 2008.” Hm. So, I was right to think about that episode recently? “Abducted and interrogated by Ian Doyle in 2011.” What if we just all agreed none of this ever happened? “Abducted and interrogated by Peter Lewis in 2017.” Rude, rude, and rude.
• ”I am allowed certain inalienable rights. Or are you no better than the deep state you claim to hate?” The derision on “deep state.”
• “There’s been a conspiracy following Emily this whole time.” The intelligence Dave has…
• Thank you for giving me a chance to say “this show is a comedy,” even during this finale. Love Dave’s “goddamnit” and the general “??” reaction from the team when Ghost!Voit repeats his “do you ever think if I’d just kept my mouth shut…” musing from the opener.
• Awwww, Lee missed his idol.
• Emily’s pain when she figures out who Pete B. is, right as Dave’s confirming the same.
• “Does this body language tell you anything?” And here we have Voit grinning like the cat that got the canary and pointing at himself, just delighted.
• “It’s nice to know where your loyalties finally lie, Ms. Wilson.” “Maybe I’m tired of people dying because they’re not on a need to know basis.” Probably helps that her girlfriend is BAU, too. (This is me complimenting Rebecca, whether it sounds like it or not.)
• “Let me make something clear: If we lose Prentiss because of this, no classification in the world is gonna save you.” I am Dave. Dave is me.
• (Real FBI, please do not take this seriously.)
• “I’m not threatening your career. Ray.”
• “He would’ve been here an hour ago, but…he wanted to have comfy clothes.” “Wait. This asshole’s coming here? Again?!” In that moment, we were all Tara.
• I legitimately hate how much I love Zach Gilford in this role. He’s so much fun at being such a jerk??? I know I’ve said this a lot this season, but he just keeps giving me reasons to repeat myself. Like, the cackling when he shows up, just in time to hear how mad Tara is about him being here…
• Plus, whatever this is: “Let’s do this! Back at it. Like a crack. Addict.” The rhythm, the clapping hands to go with it. Like, hello???
• “Can I get a signed photo of you guys to take back to prison??? My new buddies don’t believe me when I say I know the FBI. Who is excited? I’m excited.” 1) We know he wants that signed photo for himself, weird fanboy that he is. 2) Everyone staring at him like “this MF” has got to be one of the funniest things all season.
• All of this could’ve been avoided if Lee Duval just, like, joined stan twitter or something.
• “If I’m wrong, then I’ll admit I’m wrong. Dougie, what if you’re wrong? God forbid you end up on that wall.” Thanks, I hate it. Not only is Pete wrong, but “Dougie” did wind up on that wall. And the rest, as they say, is (10 episodes of) history.
• “We find Pete, we find Prentiss, we can smell you later.” Love the throwback to Penelope’s whole “you stink” thing from earlier in the season.
• “And if I say no?” “Voit doesn’t go. And Emily dies.” And in that moment, you can see the second Tyler basically decides, “welp. Gotta go then.”
• …but he did come up with a good backup plan: “Just as a thought experiment: What if I hurt Voit? In the field.”
• Ty-Ty and Jenny. I can’t.
• No but seriously. The hateful look from Garcia. Still not over it. People could have died!
• “Sure ya do.” Get him.
• “And he had a drive that was…I used to have it.” I might actually drop dead.
• The way she just sobs with that tape over her mouth.
• Have I mentioned that Paget Brewster owns this episode.
• “Jade. I don’t mind dying, but I’m not dying over a lie.” And after all of that, he’s so gentle when he releases Emily. Unreal.
• “Will you listen to me? This time?” “Yes. We will.” If you’re not crying…
• Anyone else want to see Emily’s “passive aggressive” report?
• “Was it worth it?!!!”
• Can we talk about how this cast is so good, and these characters are already so well loved, The Clark Gregg doesn’t even really stand out?
• “Everybody thinks they know what it takes to be a leader. They don’t. Not really. Not like we do.”
• “No. Not when your valor depends on my discretion.” What. A. Queen.
• The Jade/Mila hug. Sobbing.
• Love that this season finale brings the family together at Penelope’s, especially since Emily gets to be there this time. Not only another full circle moment, but one that’s just…joy. For us. As fans.
• Also: I would like a “Hooray you’re alive!!” cake.
• Tiny little Garvez nugget there with Luke teasing Penelope over the cake, too. Tasty!
• Actually, come to think of it: I feel like, if I needed more of anything out of this finale, it’s…something more for Luke. Didn’t have to be Garvez (but, yeah, preferably that). Just, something?
• Tara’s Black Sabbath shirt. Her and Rebecca being in loooove and cute AF. Yes, yes, yes.
• Anyone else worried about Voit getting himself attacked on purpose just so he can point back to that time Dave “threatened” him or.
• Kinda hope they don’t bring Voit back and that was really supposed to show he died because, really, how long can they keep the “must work with and/or against this one guy” thing going? But also will not exactly be mad about more of Gilford in this role, should it happen.
• Could’ve called this finale “Save Emily.” Just saying.

What did you think of Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17 Episode 10 “Save the Children”? Leave us a comment!

All 10 episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17 are now streaming on Paramount+.