Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 4 Review: ‘I’m Fine. It’s Fine. Everything is Fine’

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 4 ‘I’m Fine. It’s Fine. Everything is Fine’ is another hour in which JJ is anything but fine — and understandably so. That makes this episode yet another opportunity for A.J. Cook’s performance to destroy us, to the point where just about everything else pales in comparison. That winds up being both a strength and a weakness here. The case of the week most assuredly has its strong moments, and it might even serve as a terrible sort of warning about what kind of dark place a person can go after an unspeakable loss.

But from the moment JJ’s unexpected return to the office interrupts the team’s briefing, right through until the end when she goes after Voit, it’s simply difficult to care too much about much else. Because of that, I almost wish that the Tucson case just wasn’t there. Why waste a strong guest cast, a gutting ending, and some advice from Mother Prentiss on an episode that’s already got more than enough going on? After all, we can’t cut the Voit stuff out. Not only does it connect to JJ’s arc in a big way (to say the least), but it’s also the series’ macro storyline up until this point.

So, back to the question of why we need a third thing to worry about. The answer seems to be somewhere between “because we can” and “because we have too much story to tell in too little time.” Much like Cook’s performance being so incredible, that last answer is both a blessing and a curse. Having a lot of story is a good thing…but given the time constraints…it can get rough. Somehow, though, ‘I’m Fine. It’s Fine. Everything is Fine’ works out to be more than just fine.

MORE: This season has already had some creepy AF UnSubs. The Zookeeper was particularly dark.

“You helped me quite a bit. And I’d very much like to return the favor.”

Without the JJ of it all, Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 4 becomes this twisted pairing of narratives. One piece involves a father doing unthinkable, evil things in his quest to restore his daughter’s skin and make her look like herself again after a horrible accident. The distorted mirror image of that is Agent Rossi’s work, with Agent Lewis and Dr. Ochoa, to recover Elias Voit’s memories. In the case of the week, Dr. Malcolm Ramsey seeks to erase the outside evidence of trauma and return Ariel to her normal, beautiful self. But in the case of Voit, it’s about seeking out and awakening the monster — the ugliness inside.

Oh, and both sides of this episode’s narrative twist the very sense of what it means to be a hospital patient into its most grotesque form. It’s just that, with Voit, the scariest bits are locked inside of his injured brain and therefore only begin to come back to life through dreams — nightmares — and some less-than-gentle nudging from Rossi. Along the way, there’s also a fascinating callback to when Rossi couldn’t stop talking to his inner Voit, seeing the ghost of the man everywhere until he had no choice but to confront the real deal. Again, the episode presents a twisted mirror image: Unlike with how the case of the week parallels the larger arc, this reflection is all about role reversal.

Now, Voit’s having nightmares about Rossi trying to drill into his head. But Rossi’s not actually trying to kill him. (Eh, not really, at least. But nobody’s exactly going to claim that Dave would mind being rid of the guy either.) Instead, he’s trying to make Elias remember who he is, thus killing this fantasy narrative he has about himself being some kind of innocent lamb.

“A while back, somebody said to me that what I was imagining was a totem for something that my subconscious was trying to repress. I think your subconscious is doing the same thing,” Rossi tells him. That should be pretty straightforward, considering the combination of the nightmare, the video that sparks it (and the memory of Voit liking it when he drilled into a guy’s head), and those things combined with Rossi being a major character in Voit’s story. But during that same conversation in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17 Episode 6, Rossi immediately told Voit nothing is worse than him. And Voit jumped on that (as he does with tiny opening any member of the BAU, especially Dad Dave, gives him).

Because it might provide some insight into their reversed roles in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 4, it’s worth repeating what Voit had to say to Rossi back then. “…unless your repression is so deep, you’d rather lie to me than face the truth.” In this episode, now, with Elias being the one whose imagination is doing a lot of work here, and trying to make Dave out to be the worst possible thing on Earth, viewers again have to start asking some important questions. Top of the list, I really wonder: How much is Elias Voit lying — to himself, to Dave, to his doctors — as a way of avoiding facing the truth about himself?

Furthermore, is he purposely trying to keep his mind closed off to what he knows, deep down, and slow the process of returning to his original, hideous self? Is it not easier for him to see Dave as the bad guy, out to get him, than it is to see himself as the man in that flashback? The answer, especially considering he’s somehow tricked Dr. Ochoa and hoarded enough pills to overdose, is screaming a definitive YES. Rossi isn’t the man in the mask — if JJ’s right, Voit is. (And let’s be real: JJ’s probably right. There’s been some kind of catch here all along. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be Criminal Minds: Evolution…and it most certainly wouldn’t be Voit.)

To quickly return to how Voit’s case has much more in common with the case of the week than may initially meet the eye: It’s obvious Dr. Ramsey’s lying to himself — and most definitely dishonest with his daughter about what’s really going on — throughout his entire experience. Because he’d rather not face the truth: Not only can he not save Ariel, he probably also likes all that killing and torturing more than he’d ever want to admit.

MORE: So…does Voit have a soul? Penelope told Luke she saw an “ember of something” in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 1, so that has to mean something…right?

“I’m fine”

Spoiler alert! Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 4 may be called ‘I’m Fine. It’s Fine. Everything is Fine,’ and JJ may tell her friends how “fine” she is (more than once!). But, in case it’s not obvious: She is not, in fact, fine. And nobody should expect her to be either. Even before we actually see her, the entire team’s reaction to something off camera tells us exactly what they’re looking at — and exactly what type of shape she’s in. From the way Paget Brewster trails off when Emily starts to tell the Tyler and Luke “wheels up in thi—…” to everyone else’s stunned and immediately sympathetic expressions, we just know. It’s obvious. Painfully so.

And yet.

No amount of knowing can prepare viewers for the JJ we see in those first moments, much less what we see as Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 4 unfolds. Again, to be a broken record (not at all sorry about it): A.J. Cook is just too good. For plenty of proof, just look at that very first scene. When Emily oh, so carefully says JJ’s name and walks toward her to squeeze her hand, JJ bravely tries for a smile…but it doesn’t even pretend to try to reach her eyes. Her walls are up, so strong that even Penelope’s usual warmth seems to shock her. And underneath all that sadness, and that self-protection, Cook gives us a JJ who is nervous. She doesn’t really make eye contact with anyone until directly addressing Dave and Emily (“you two”) to tell them she needs to talk.

…and then, of course, what she tells them sets off that whole discussion we had up above about Voit and Rossi. Once again, before JJ actually gets to the big reveal, Cook plays a very anxious character. One who’s in pain, yet avoiding something else on top of that — afraid to admit she’s been “obsessively checking BAU Gate.” (Insert timid look in Emily’s direction here.) Then, there’s the wordless communication between Emily and Dave — nice, subtle work from Brewster and Mantegna here — before Jemily does Jemily things Emily provides JJ with the type of support she can give.

MORE: Read our Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17 Episode 3 review for more on JJ and BAU Gate.

JJ’s friends take care of her in their own ways in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 4

That brings us to the Jemily scene, which then leads to the JJ/Penelope scene, in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 4. Much like last time we checked in on our girls, ‘I’m Fine. It’s Fine. Everything is Fine’ gives us a really lovely look at two very different, yet just as strong and just as loving, relationships. After Dave leaves the office, all it takes is Emily slowly sitting down and giving JJ this long look, the two of them saying so much with that wordless communication that elevates everything they do together, for viewers to know that not only does Emily not buy JJ’s “I’m fine” act — she’s not hiding that truth from her either.

Emily’s not going to play pretend, not going to sugarcoat it. In fact, she reminds JJ she told her she didn’t want to be protected last time BAU Gate came up. (Love that little nod from Cook here.)

It’s not just the wordless communication between these two that’s everything, though. Case in point: “Well, right now, I want to protect you by telling you to go back home and promising you that we will take care of all of this…but that’s not honest. So, tell me how to help you.” Emily is so very open and honest here, and Brewster puts that normal emphasis we’re used to hearing from Emily into it. But she is so much softer on “that’s not honest,” then again on the “tell me how to help you” part. And Cook stays present in the moment, reacting in such a way that JJ’s expression is one of acknowledgement that, yes, she’s in so much pain. But she also knows Emily sees her — and appreciates that she does.

So, what does JJ need from Emily? She wants to talk to Voit. (Cue the reaction shot that screams “Well F—. Not that. Anything but that.”) Instead, Emily tells JJ she can “work the video angle” with Penelope. But on one condition: “You prioritize yourself. If you feel like you need to take time off, take it. You want to come into my office and scream? Do it.” Of note: Emily would give JJ anything within her power to give…as long as JJ takes care of herself. Get you someone like that!

During this entire exchange, Cook gives us a JJ who is holding back tears, looking away when she thinks they might get the best of her. And her tiniest of smiles — brave, yet nowhere near fully genuine — when she responds “deal” to Emily’s conditions…might or might not have broken at least one viewer. (Hi. I am the viewer.) But that’s not all we get out of Jemily in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 4. Before Emily leaves for Tucson, her heart is on her sleeve as she asks JJ if she’s sure she’s ok. (Readers, she is not.) And, of course, JJ lies: “I’m fine. Everything’s fine.” It’s devastating, both to watch and for the other person in the scene — the one who was just open and honest with her, pleading almost.

Then, there’s Penelope. To loop back to the beginning of JJ’s return to work, it’s Penelope who gives her that sad hug. And then, she looks into her soul, unable to stop looking until Luke has to call her name to get her attention. In her space — a space that’s safe for Penelope and now, slowly becomes safe for JJ — Garcia’s able to coax the tiniest of grins out of her when she responds to that self-deprecating quip about an arrow key with “you sure are!” And, when JJ initially gives her the “I’m fine” on her real talk, she takes a different approach. Comes at it sideways: She asks JJ about the boys.

This, JJ can talk about much more easily. She can talk about the two pieces of her heart that live on the outside of her body — she doesn’t have to hide behind walls to talk about how much she loves Michael and Henry. And, as Penelope knows will happen, it helps JJ be more honest about her own feelings. She “doesn’t mind it” that Michael wants to sleep in her bed with her. (Insert that adorable, loving smile from Kirsten Vangsness delivers as Garcia’s response to that here.) Similarly, much like Henry wants to know “how any of this is fair,” she wonders about that every day herself. Penelope may provide the details — a reminder that Voit‘s alive, whereas Will isn’t — but we all know JJ’s thinking something similar.

As JJ tells her, Penelope is “the best.” And sure, she knows that — but it’s nice to hear. Even nicer: That hug from behind. Those walls just peel away from JJ when she has that tiny extra layer of protection, of Penelope not actually looking at her. But she can hide behind Penelope and feel safe showing how she really feels. Penelope can be the protective one in a way she won’t let anyone else be. That bright smile from Vangsness, and the closest thing to a real smile we get from Cook all episode, and just the break from all the horrors are all so incredibly valuable. And just…beautiful. (Lots of “OMG LOOK AT THEM” moments while I watched this episode, basically.)

Does “the best friend” and the additional vulnerability from JJ, in any way, imply that what she has with Emily is somehow…less? No. Of course not. Anyone who’s followed this series and fallen in love with these characters knows better. It’s just…different. And the way Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 4 highlights and honors those differences, with Cook, Brewster, and Vangsness all giving such strong performances as it does, is such a gift. Every extra minute we get with them is a gift.

(Now, could we please get the three of them out and about, making men look pathetic again sometime? Y’all remember the “FBI Agent” who hit on them and got put in his place without me linking to the video, right? Right.)

MORE: Still not ok after Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 3? Because same.

The man in the mask

So, we have “very not fine” JJ. We have “still not fine, yet kinda might be fine one day” JJ. And then, right there at the end, Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 4 gives us “I support Jennifer Jareau’s rights and her wrongs, but also: She is sooooo not fine…and kinda scary” JJ. Perhaps, even, one way to put it is “omg. Dark JJ Dark JJ Dark JJ?!!!” as my notes say. Because, um. That look Tara gives her at the end with the “hey. Seriously. Are you ok” is um…wary. At best.

It’s so interesting to think about how JJ knew, when Emily asked her, that the way to help her was to give her the opportunity to confront Voit. She might not have had the whole picture at the time, or if she did, she didn’t know she did. But Emily allowing her to work with Penelope caused her to come to the realization that the masked dude toying with them in the video was the same one who’d been toying with them all along. Voit. Notably, it’s unlocking her own memory — an interesting parallel to what the BAU’s trying to do with his mind so far this season — that brings her to that conclusion.

And, in making that connection, JJ comes alive in a way she hasn’t been in weeks. She is so tough, so determined, and so lethal as she storms into that hospital, demanding to see Elias. When Dr. Ochoa starts with the boohoo he’s been through enough nonsense, she just gives her a look and keeps going.

And then, there’s the moment where she goes into full attack mode. It doesn’t matter that Elias Voit has, apparently, overdosed on hoarded medication. She’s making sure he gets her message. “Come on. Wake. Up! Hey. Do — do you. Remember me? Do. You. Remember. Me. You don’t get to die. No. And this — this — is why you’re still alive. Yeah. I got you. You’re stuck with me, you piece of sh—.” If A.J. Cook’s performance in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 4 is top notch until this point, there might actually not be words to describe the fury, the hatred, the determination, and the threat she brings to this moment.

If the last image we see of JJ is her enjoying watching Voit suffer, the scene abruptly cutting as she tries to lie to Tara and say she’s “fine” one more time — that word, fine, being cut off when she’s barely formed the “F” in the word — well. Can’t exactly say as I blame her for enjoying it. Really, all JJ’s doing is presenting the perfect portrait of what a lot of us have thought, at one time or another. I mean, even Dave has not-so-subtly hinted at preferring a catatonic Voit to a fully alive one.

But will the combination of anger at Voit and anger at the world over what she’s lost turn JJ into something…else? It’d be interesting, especially on a series that’s repeatedly shown us exactly how monsters are made. A.J. Cook could certainly do that sort of story justice, as well, but I don’t know if we’ll go there or if it would at all work for the character we know and love. So, if that’s where the story goes, I’m both seated…and very much going to cover my eyes and ears and pretend it’s not happening. And if it’s not where the story goes, can’t say as I’ll complain.

MORE: Check out what A.J. Cook shared with us about JJ and Voit’s big meeting in Season 17.

More on Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 4

• “You got a blue raspberry Slurpee?” “No.” “Then, you can F— right off.” Queen.
• …but Coke Slurpees are the best. I said what I said.
• “Headless, handless, and to complete the horrifying trifecta…skinless.” Love the way Vangsness delivers this. The inflection on skinless is like…Penelope can barely say it, even after alllllll her years of doing this job. There’s this slight lift like she’s asking a question? But not quite that. I also enjoy the jerky hand motion. She could’ve just pushed a button, but that’s not how Penelope Garcia would do it. And so, we get more.
• “Do not worry your gorgeous silver head.” I LOVE HER.
• Dave and Emily’s tiny reactions to hearing Dr. Ochoa’s “adamant” she’s there for the test…They’re probably thinking what I’m thinking. Just saying. Something’s weird about how much she coddles that man. I can’t pinpoint it. Just. Weird.
• “Which we don’t. We don’t.” Blink and you’ll miss it, but Mantegna’s telling us a tale here. Dave would absolutely not mind if this MF went catatoni—…ugh. Fine.
• WHEELS UP.
• At one point, my notes had something about “shades of BAU Gate reaction but much worse” in them. Well. Right after I finished jotting that thought down, I got to the point where JJ told Dave and Emily about obsessively checking to make sure the site stayed dead. So, good job to me for picking up on that clue! And, uh, wow to A.J. Cook.
• Oh, they had fun shooting that spooky AF masked dude video, huh. Love letter to horror, even in such a short clip. All that use of shadow, the tilted perspective, the slow moving in…fun. But, like, fun in a spooky way. Obviously.
• “He has amnesia.” “F—ing bullsh—. I want him to give me some godda— answers.” I LOVE HER.
• “How is Voit doing anyway?” “Well, I hate to tell you this, but…better than you. Just barely.” Uh, ouch.
• Fascinating that Voit focuses on asking if the little girl in that video is ok.
• “Dad. Sorry. Dave…Um. Am I a bad person?” “Get some sleep. We’ll talk later.” May or may not have laughed at how well Rossi followed the whole “if you don’t have anything nice to say…” rule here.
• “I’m sure his victims are truly upset about his bloody nose.” Said by a David Rossi who does not give one iota of a F—. (Cracked up at this, too, obviously. Mantegna is great with how casually done Dave is in all of this.)
• “Do you know what I’ve had to do for you?” Narrator: She does not, in fact, know.
• Anyone else spend a lot of time during Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 4 being like “ok but why do I recognize Dr. UnSub,” only to look up Derek Webster and realize he was in a handful of your shows? Or are your brains less TV-rotted than mine?
• “Am I always gonna look like a monster?” Wait until she sees that a monster looks weirdly like her doting daddy.
• Webster is so freaking creepy in these scenes with the victims and then just so perfectly loving, yet somehow also off, whenever Dr. UnSub’s in the room with his daughter. Incredibly well done here.
• “Roadkill.” Just awful.
• “Thank you. For your donation.”
• I hate how good Zach Gilford is in this role. It’d be so much easier to be like “OMG GO AWAY VOIT. ENOUGH OF THIS” otherwise. Truly.
• The shot of that drill coming in, like we’re Voit in that moment. NOPE NOPE NOPE.
• Goodbye to all his beautiful hair…
• …but also, LOL: “Is that why the, uh, snip-snip?”
• I found something very interesting about how Aisha Tyler and Aimee Garcia played the scene where Ochoa gives Lewis her “conditions.” Much like that little reaction Emily and Dave had to Tara telling them Ochoa was “adamant” about being there for memory recovery earlier in the episode, it has me thinking something’s off. And they know it. Either that, or something’s not off, and they’re luring me into a trap. Either way!
• “Will you stay with me while I do it?” “The entire time.” Rossi’s his emotional support SSA.
• Gah. The slightly hunched over, agitated nail biting from Gilford.
• The effects on those inkblots are, like, they kinda feel like a little throwback to the early-early Criminal Minds days? Which I kinda love?
• If that Penelope/Tyler phone call doesn’t give you classic Penelope Garcia-flirting-with-coworkers, I don’t know what does. So. Much. Fun. (Do I think it Means Something™? Absolutely not. But it’s fun. I love the way she loves her job, I love the way she demands people say please, I love Tyler’s little smile. And I LOVE Garcia spilling tea!)
• “I miss seeing the stars at night.” This poor girl.
• Tayler Buck, much like everyone else on this show, throws down a super performance here.
• It’s the maniacal thrill on “one more” from Dr. UnSub for me.
• “How can I be sure you’re not the man behind the mask?” “Because I know who I am, and I know who you are.” This, right here, should’ve alerted Dave that he knew who it was.
• Lookit. That flashback to Voit in his evil element? Kinda dug it. I miss that dude, in a very weird sort of way.
• “August 8, 2018. I’m drilling into his head. And I like it. Why would I like that?” A question.
• “Am I a killer?” Uh. About that.
• It’s the walk through the spooky-lit abandoned hospital and discovering that bloody AF table for me. Again, feels like a love letter to the horror genre.
• The quiet, save for those screams of agony though.
• “Why are you hurting her?” And the mayor from Castle Dr. UnSub just keeps rambling away in his own, little world.
• Also would love to know what autoimmune disease would kill a girl that quickly after leaving her “clean” room, but I guess based on how she looks throughout this hour, it’s more likely she had an infection/fever all along that wasn’t being treated?
• …did not see that coming.
• You know it’s bad when you shock The Emily Prentiss.
• UGH. Poor Tyler. That little look to Emily for help, and she looks about as sad about all of this as I feel.
• HE CARRIED HER OUTSIDE TO SEE THE STARS. AND SO GENTLY.
• “Do you think I’m a monster?” “No. But you killed a monster. You’re safe now.” (Very sweet, but maybe don’t tell the girl what she already knows about her dad being evil.)
• “It’s about loss. Loss isn’t a part of the job — loss is the job.”
• Mother is Mothering.
• …but again, this whole conversation on the jet deserves its own time to shine. Which is really difficult to do in an episode where A.J. Cook is doing that, and JJ’s girls are there for her like that.
• “I mean, you profiled him as being a dumb-dumb who is using obvious symbolism to convince himself, and his audience, that he’s a smarty.”
• “It’s F—ing Voit behind that mask.” The way she spits that out, though.
• “Behavior — he can’t hide that. And he sure as H— can’t resist repeating.”
• HER HAND ON HER FACE. LOOK AT THEM.
• “Will it hurt?” “It’s not going to feel good.”
• Tag yourself. I’m whatever Aisha Tyler’s face is shouting when Tara sees Dark!JJ.
• At least Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 4 takes the whole thing where strong female characters lying about how “fine” they are and tells its audience everyone knows “fine” never means anywhere even close to actually fine.
• “I’m f—…”
• She’s effing angry.
• DARK JJ?!

Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 4 ‘I’m Fine. It’s Fine. Everything is Fine’? Leave us a comment!

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