Criminal Minds: Evolution - Episode 4

Oh wow, this episode felt SO much better! This was a classic Criminal Minds episode. I loved how familiar this episode was. They brought in aspects from when the show was on the air while also still making it new. We had little bits of the unsub, left off with cliffhangers, introduced new aspects/twists into the plot but got to see the team solve a case.

This was another episode directed by someone on the cast - I wonder how many of these episodes we will have in this mini season. I am not complaining though, it is interesting to see the various styles from each actor. You can tell that Adam wanted to stick to more classic Criminal Minds style with his own bits of twist whereas Joe wanted to include more horror aspects - both very good.

The focus on JJ and Will in the past few episodes, especially with an insurance agent interrupting them was very loud foreshadowing for that twist at the end. As obvious as it was that something was going to happen, I was still quite pleasantly surprised at this build up for a dramatic reveal as opposed to last weeks episode where it felt lackluster.

I loved, LOVED how this episodes case had nothing to do with Sicarius. The team was so tunnel minded on catching him, they assumed it had to do with him which added a complex layer onto this. I appreciated that they didn't add too much into this episode by also battling the brass - there was enough going on without it lacking plot or it being too much that storylines couldn't be explored.

I hope in the coming episodes we get deeper into other characters stories like Luke and Emily. We haven't heard a lot about them in these episodes besides some base level things. This episode made me excited again about this season!

Director: Adam Rodriguez

Writer: Jeff Davis and Christopher Barbour

Favorite Moments: Penelope going off on Tyler

Rating: 9.4/10