Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 3 Review: ‘Time to Say Goodbye’

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 3 attempts to balance the ongoing Voit drama with a moving, layered examination of grief following Will’s sudden death at the end of Episode 2. Overall, the hour succeeds about as well as can be expected. Each individual piece is very well done, with the obvious standout being A.J. Cook — who, basically, can do no wrong at this point — portraying a heartbroken JJ. Admittedly, though, there’s a fair case to be made for leaving the more consequential developments in our villain’s story for a time when it wouldn’t feel like a distraction.

But a whole FBI unit can’t completely shut down just because one of its own loses a loved one. So, really, even when the episode pulls the focus away from so much personal loss, it’s telling a realistic story of how life goes on — completely unfairly — for those left behind. With that context in mind, it’s easier to look at ‘Time to Say Goodbye’ not as two seemingly-unrelated stories that don’t totally fit together but, instead, as a single story of the BAU doing the two things they do best: the work and, above all, taking care of their own.

MORE: This isn’t the first time this series has explored grief. One of the very first things that stood out to us about Criminal Minds: Evolution was how it dealt with a personal loss for Rossi.

“What do you think happened?” “The worst.”

In Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 3, the team tracks down Ramona Havener, Voit’s only known survivor. The goal is to try using her to unlock some of Voit’s memories, and the plan works. But it was never a guarantee. Ramona is not in a good place (to say the least), so she initially doesn’t even agree to try. Kerry Knuppe is brilliant in this hour, particularly in the scene where Luke and Tyler first visit Ramona at home. The emotional response the character has to her trauma being brought up again — from the tears and head-scratching discomfort, to the difficulty breathing and getting lost in flashbacks — takes on a life all its own.

Later in the episode, when Ramona does choose to sit opposite the man who dominates all her worst nightmares, Knuppe’s quiet strength, underneath a markedly-less-quiet terror, is no less remarkable and really grounds the interaction. Here, the character has some control that she didn’t before, but she doesn’t even realize her own strength in the moment. Afterwards, the experience does seem to have helped her, at least. Which is definitely a good thing, considering. If I had to point to one thing that bugs me most about this episode it’s that the FBI is willing to use a victim like this in the first place. But as Dave says when he, Tara, and Rebecca try to decide if they should bring Ramona in, they’re stuck. So, at least there’s some small acknowledgement of how messed up it all is?

As for Voit…Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 3 sees him mixing up his own memories — but getting closer to them, just the same. With Ramona, he initially sees his wife. That makes some twisted sort of sense, considering he once used her as a test run for confessing all his misdeeds to Sydney. And when Rossi and Lewis press him to dig deeper and find everything he can remember about Sydney and the kids, some part of him recognizes that he’s lost his family forever. Yet, he simply can’t remember how or why. In fact, the fuzzy loss of his wife and kids even gets mixed up with the house fire that killed his parents. It’s shocking to watch, as the sobbing shell of what was once Sicarius recounts people “screaming” without him being able to help.

Also strange to hear him ask Tara and Dave, “is that what happened.” But…well. Nope. As everyone but Voit knows, that is not what happened. Not even close.

One might even argue that death may be an easier way out than this knowledge that the people you love are out there, somewhere, and you’ll never see them again because they know you for the monster that you are. Zach Gilford is about as good as ever — which is, um, quite good. Even on a bad day — in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 3. Despite knowing every horrible thing this character has done, Gilford makes it (nearly?) impossible not to feel for him as he breaks down, grieving a loss he can’t quite understand, unraveling more and more until he finally comes to the awful conclusion that Dave and Tara aren’t here to protect him. They are, in fact, protecting others from him.

For Rossi, of all people, to go to Voit in that moment and comfort him paints a disturbing picture. And yet…it’s also so very fitting. For better or worse — most often worse — these two people have a connection. And even though Voit has now realized that the guy he immediately thought was his dad actually isn’t, Dave’s still the only person he kind of “knows.” So, between having basic empathy for someone who’s suffering and a need to keep using that connection to push for more answers, it’s as if there’s nothing Dave can do but offer himself up as a shoulder to cry on.

It’s all so very sick and twisted, in its way. After all, this man has tormented Dave all this time and even nearly killed him once. But what a compelling thought, that maybe giving Voit that father figure now, as he starts to put all of the pieces of his memory back together, might change what all those pieces build back up to in the end.

Foolish? Probably. And yet.

MORE: Last season, Rossi and Voit squared off both in Rossi’s mind and in reality. Here’s what Joe Mantegna and Zach Gilford had to say about that relationship during our pre-season interviews. And here’s what happened when Voit got to take a ride on the jet with the BAU.

A.J. Cook shines in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 3

Anyone who has followed this series for even five minutes was probably afraid to see just how badly A.J. Cook was going to destroy us in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 3. Well. Right from the very first shot, that answer is “uh, as much as you might expect. And then some.” All a viewer needs to do is look in those eyes and know that not only is JJ stuck in her grief — she’s also at the stage in the mourning process where she’s just going through the motions to survive. In those first moments, she’s not even present and has to snap back to reality when her boys need her.

That’s a theme that plays out throughout the episode. We very rarely see JJ in there, but whenever it comes to taking care of Henry and Michael, to standing up for them, more of the person we know and love bleeds through. Otherwise, she tries to avoid her pain by going somewhere else (the flashbacks) or by staying task-oriented. Staying busy, too, is all about her kids — she’s desperate to find a birthday present Will hid for Michael. Eventually, in one of the absolute best moments of the episode (both for Cook and for her character), when Connie dares to put so much as the thought of something happening to those boys in her head, it ignites something in her that makes her fight. Not just fight, no, but unleash all the pain, and the anger, and the protective mama bear instincts inside of her.

The way Cook plays that moment, in control of the anger — yet just barely — as JJ shakes from the force of her emotions and gestures in the direction of her kids’ rooms, unloading on the other woman about the unfairness of it all, is so spot on. There’s the glimpse of our fighter we’ve missed this whole hour, and there’s such a clear picture of how deep this loss runs. Notably, the reaction isn’t about Connie. Not really, at least. Instead, it’s a reckoning with the very wrongness of the entire situation. And it’s a threat to the universe: “Do not dare hurt my sons any more than you already have, not now and not ever — or else.”

The conflict between JJ and Connie that dominates Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 3, and comes to an awful climax when Connie slaps JJ (anyone else want to reach through the TV and hit her back? Or are y’all normal?), isn’t just here to highlight A.J. Cook and Linda Lavin’s talents. (Though, uh, major shoutout to Lavin for her work here, as well.) It’s also a vehicle for showing the characters’ paths through the stages of grief. Those paths aren’t linear and certainly don’t have to be the exact same path for everyone, but looking at where and when the characters’ journeys intersect can tell us a lot about both of them.

Of note: It’s very interesting how these two women, who both loved Will in different ways, just so happen to land on the “anger” stage of grief in the same place and at the same time. They both ache so much and have lost the same person. Have they both lost the same relationship? No. But they share so much more than either character wants to recognize — including the rage at the injustice of it all. In a perfect world, Will’s mom and his wife would’ve been super close and could’ve immediately found solace in one another. But they don’t so much as realize that’s an option until after a lot of extra suffering on both of their parts.

MORE: We have to stop hurting JJ. Was last season’s BAU Gate reveal not enough?

“You’ve always been the glue.”

One thing Connie doesn’t have? People to lean on. Friends like Emily and Penelope. Which. Ok, confession time: I’m going to get super personal on main here and say that, as a longtime viewer who remembers when we lost them both, watching Emily be there for JJ in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 3 wrecked me. I touched a bit on A.J. Cook’s performance above, and it probably goes without saying that Paget Brewster has plenty of great moments in this episode, too. (But, well, here I am saying it. Read the words! She’s good. They’re all good!)

Outside of that, though, I just couldn’t stop thinking about what a journey it’s been. For the characters and the many times they’ve had each other’s backs, for viewers with all the times we lost one or the other — the worst being 2010 when they were both axed, plus the “series” finale years later — what a journey. So, I could make a joke here about “ok! Will’s out of the way! Time for Jemily!” right now, but it just wouldn’t feel right.

Instead, let’s focus on how Emily just wants JJ to take care of herself. Or, check out how the way Emily watches out for JJ and the way Penelope does are just different. And then, there’s what Emily shares at the funeral. It’s all about working with Will and the memory of when he told her he wanted to marry JJ. The standout line: “You and Will have a kind of love that comes around once. If you’re lucky. And my God, were you two lucky.” (Insert always-fascinating, trademark, emphasis from Paget Brewster here.) The thing is, even if Jemily never becomes that in canon, there’s something so very beautiful and so very them throughout this episode.

Oh. And don’t think anyone’s ever, in a million years, leaving Penelope Garcia out of this discussion. For anyone who’s ever said something along the lines of “I’m going to go watch my comfort show. [Puts on Criminal Minds],” that same feeling of being emotionally wrecked watching the JJ and Emily scenes also applies to anytime this episode highlighted Penelope’s friendship with JJ. It’s Penelope who has that wordless communication with her and swiftly changes course after she’d originally told Sandy she didn’t have to leave. Additionally, it’s Penelope who takes away Will’s phone — what a crushing thing to have to deal with, something as mundane as an appointment reminder — who calls JJ the glue, who makes sure the BAU boys are up to date on the Connie drama before the funeral.

Of course, when you put all three characters together, the experience is yet another kind of special. Perhaps the most appropriate thing to say is JJ’s “I love you girls.” Because, really, that’s all there is. Somehow, in the middle of all this pain, Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 3 honors the very thing that has made the series a source of comfort for so many of us — this family. It has grown, and contracted, and grown some more over the years. But by bringing our CM ladies together so Emily and Penelope could hold JJ up, then bringing in the rest of the current team and even giving us those nods to a few who are no longer around, the hour gets the most important thing right. Them.

TL;DR. It’s really difficult to at all be analytical about an episode like this one. I tried; I give up. Flowers from Hotch and Derek??!!!! And Spencer Reid was here! Fan service in places? Maybe. Can I find it in me to care? Nope.

MORE: The love goes both ways. In the Season 17 finale, the team rushed to save Emily.

More on Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 3

• All these flashbacks…nope. Not helping me survive this episode.
• “Don’t mind me if I, like, cling to you today. Ok?” Well. Guess that answered my question about whether Tara would run or dive in deeper with Rebecca after seeing JJ’s life turned upside down.
• …and thank you for the fun moment. (But as a short person, I’m team “no short jokes.”)
• “At least we’re distracted by cases. And Voit.” Yes. Thank you, Tyler Green, for realizing Voit’s a distraction in the middle of *gestures*.
• “Apparently, we’re not related, but…it feels like we should be.”
• “Things just pop up when he’s around.” The childlike glee Gilford gives us here.
• Wild how I can love Agent Rossi and know he’s the BAU dad…but be so instantly terrified of him when he gets in a certain kind of mood. That intimidating posture as he stalks toward Voit like prey after the “camping” line. Joe Mantegna, folks. Wow.
• Might be the first time the quote of the week has hit me so hard on first watch. Regardless of whether or not there’s another time I’ve forgotten, the way A.J. Cook brings that building and breaking emotion to Maira Kalman’s poem…just again gonna be like wow.
• “Just like when we lost Roslyn.” BRB. Screaming.
• “Girls. I just love seeing you — I just hate why.”
• Can we talk about Kirsten Vangsness’ voice? The pitch when Penelope starts trying to convince Sandy to leave but, like, gently and in that oh-so-Penelope way of hers?
• Emily and Penelope looking at each other like “oh, sh—. This is bad-bad.”
• Emily helping JJ off the floor. Literally lifting her up when she needs it!
• The Paget Brewster emphasis strikes again: “I am just trying to help you to take care of YOU.”
• Screaming at “anything.” Jemily lives!
• “It is what it is. Am I annoyed? H—. Yes.” Me at life.
• I just can’t even tell if Adam Rodriguez and RJ Hatanaka are acting in that car scene or just playing (complimentary). Always here for a moment of relief in the middle of so much darkness. Then, you add the back-and-forth about the “bespoke suit” with Garvez being married and Tyler being “poetic” in there. Hm. Yes. Thank you, Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 3 for the break. Does so much lightness feel very wrong with what JJ’s going through? Yes. But that’s what makes it so very right. Life after someone you love dies is exactly that jarring.
• Plus, much like in real life, the grief situation is never that far away. See also: “Well. She says she wants distractions, but she’s serving avoidance and is really quiet.” Penelope’s answering the question about JJ — again, during the same phone call as all the Springsteen funsies — and also, kinda, giving the audience the distractions and avoidance of which she speaks.
• “Michael doesn’t even know it exists, but we do — we all know. WE owe it to him. That’s what’s killing me. Killing me…gotta think of a better way to say that.” Ouch.
• Tag yourself. I’m Emily and Penelope standing in the background, looking more and more horrified, uncomfortable, and protective of JJ by the second. Like, I get why Connie’s upset, but JJ’s my girl.
• “I could’ve visited more.” In which Connie gets to the “bargaining” stage of grief.
• “Oh. JJ.” Penelope’s small voice.
• “You’re grieving who you were. And a life that doesn’t exist anymore.” I don’t know why Tyler Effing Green had to read me like this.
• “I mean, I want to curl into the fetal position watching all this. But here you are, you’re…you’re holding everyone else together.”
• “We love you.” <3
• Gorgeous, gorgeous shot of JJ watching the girls leave. One of seemingly endless moments from A.J. Cook in this hour that is an absolute stunner. It’s like JJ can’t break until they’re gone, but she also doesn’t want them to go, but, but, but…
• The way her mouth moves just the slightest bit. Perfect embodiment of that bitter grimace we often make when we’re trying so hard not to cry but know we’re losing that battle.
• After the vulnerability JJ shows, and the way viewers see her working herself up to even ask for help getting through the day, for Connie to throw that back in her face and make it about her…awful. I get it because this woman has not only just lost her son but also learned he hid a health scare from her. But. Awful.
• “I’m going to need you to either grow the F— up or get the F— out!” Lookit: I support Jennifer Jareau’s rights and wrongs.
• Ummm she just slapped a federal agent in the presence of two others. Jail!
• “Are you nervous?” “No.” “Scared?” “Not at all.” Voit’s doing his wannabe profiler thing again, y’all. The way Gilford delivers the “not. at. all” response is a super way to show viewers that Rossi’s rival (of sorts) is very much alive and well.
• “Auntie P.”
• OMG JJ with her baby.
• “I look at you, and I see someone else, too.” No, but I really needed some Dr. Spencer Reid, explaining exactly how Voit’s little threads of memory are frayed and repairing themselves in these fascinating little ways.
• “I’m not afraid anymore.” “I’ll be the voice for everyone he silenced.” Girl, this ain’t the SVU chatbot. (If you didn’t suffer through this past season, don’t ask.)
• What’s worse? Someone you love dying? Or you, basically being dead to them? That seems to be, in its own serial killer with amnesia way, what Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 3 wants us to ponder.
• “I have a family; I want to see them.” “Elias. That’s never gonna happen. You’re never gonna see them again.”
• “They always said with age comes wisdom, but they left out the part about all the loss.” Absolutely everything about Rossi’s monologue is gorgeous. The words, Mantegna’s delivery, the emotion, the moms’ responses…all of it.
• “Oh, stop telling me God has a plan, Sandy. How can there be some greater good to taking a man away from his children, from his wife, from me? Will should be burying me. What have I done to deserve this? Outliving my son? How can any god be that cruel? I…I don’t know how to do this.” OMG. THIS.
• “Those are from Hotch, and the ones in the middle are from Derek. And those ones..are from Spencer.” Whatever you do, don’t pay too much attention to Baby Girl’s look of pride when Emily mentions Derek. Can confirm, it’ll break you.
• “Spence.”
• The way they faked us out with Emily saying she didn’t even get to talk to him and only got a text, though.
• This is calm. And it’s Doctor.
• (I am very much not calm…but he’s Doctor Reid.)
• …anyone else feel like not letting him have a crack at Voit was a wasted opportunity, though? Grateful for every single second with The Dr. Spencer Reid, regardless, and I’m sure Matthew Gray Gubler’s schedule had to at least partially dictate what was and wasn’t possible, story-wise, but I just love the thought of him picking that man’s brain.
• Anyone else absolutely lose it over Henry, who dressed up as his favorite profiler for Halloween when he was a tiny little thing, being all “told you he’d come”? Because, oh, wow, did the tears just start falling. Talk about a show that knows its history and the moments fans remember and love the most.
• THE GROUP HUG????
• THIS FAMILY SEATED ALL TOGETHER LIKE THAT.
• Paget Brewster, y’all. Oof.
• “And he was so cherishing of all of my, admittedly sometimes ridiculous, home decor.”
• Kirsten Vangsness, friends. Oof.
• “…which is why I know it would just destroy him if he saw us all holding our broken hearts right now.” Lovely.
• Zero words for what A.J. Cook does during JJ’s eulogy. I’ve tried to break it down…but it’s impossible. The frantic energy on “I don’t know how to do this,” the battle against her emotions with the halting delivery on the buildup to it, the anger on the “we were in this together” line, all unfathomably good. And there’s so much more in there!
• The notes…what a detail to include. It’s always those silly, little signs of love that are the hardest to live without. (And ouch!)
• I’m crying, you’re crying, we’re all crying. FML.
• “I still can’t believe you made it.” “Always here when you ask.” If only.
• HIS LITTLE SMILE COMING OUT AND HUGGING HIS EMILY AND PENELOPE AND THE KISSES ON BOTH CHEEKS FROM DAVE LIKE SPENCE IS HIS LITTLE SON (he is).
• Seriously, how can anyone blame Lee Duval/Elias Voit for wanting to believe Dave’s his dad when we know how he takes care of his BAU kids?
• Whatever you do, when you see him hugging Emily like that, don’t think about “Emily?” from alllll those years ago when we lost her. Trust me: The results will not pretty.
• Kind of losing it here. Look away (unless you get me).
• Like, all the hugs have a different energy because each and every relationship is different????
• What a gift having Matthew Gray Gubler here for this.
• Emily, those sunglasses? Life’s not a fashion shoot!
• Look at how JJ reacts to getting the flag. (Or don’t. It’s painful.)
• Spence having very little to say…hm. Interesting.
• COME BACK. DON’T LEAVE.
• It’s ok, Tyler. I couldn’t find the words either.
• JJ gets a moment with all her people here. Pitch perfect.
• “Do you need anything? Water, or…?” “Got any of those cheese puffs?” “Oh. I don’t. I’m sorry.” “Oh, I’m kidding. I’m kidding…I can’t numb myself.” “I mean, you can.” Get you an enabler like Emily Prentiss.
• (And, of course, she means those cheese puffs, not the standard “Cheeto breath” reference.)
• Dr. Lewis just makes it impossible for folks not to open up to her, huh? I don’t know that JJ could necessarily be that honest, in that exact way, with anyone else. Again, every single relationship on this show is unique and meaningful.
• Loved Dad Dave giving JJ that advice about death opening her up to a new relationship with Will. I hate that that man’s been through so much, but specifically because he has, he’s the perfect last (BAU) voice to bring comfort to JJ. Nobody else could do what he does for her. Or for anyone.
• “Do more of what you did at the church. You say what you feel. Whenever you feel it. Because it shows the boys that it’s ok to let it out.” !!!!!!!!!!
• “Ok. I love you, Dave.” “I love you more, kid.” Dave Rossi’s voice? Breaking? Help.
• You know Connie stopped in that doorway to tell JJ she loved her because of what JJ said at the funeral, and when you do realize that, it’s time to shatter once again.
• Poor Henry.
• “Taking care of you boys was his life. Being gone was his worst fear. Looks like this was his way to always be around.”
• …and one, final opportunity to sob.
• Do I at all like that they put JJ through this? No. But what a showcase for this cast.

Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 3 ‘Time to Say Goodbye’? Leave us a comment!

New episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution stream Thursday on Paramount+.