Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Episodes 1-3 of Criminal Minds: Evolution.
Criminal Minds: Evolution, a revival of the CBS series that ended after 15 seasons back in early 2020 has shaken things up for the profilers we know and love. While Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) and Matt Simmons (Daniel Henney) are no longer around, due to the actors’ availability and willingness to continue, the remainder of the team — Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster), Jennifer “JJ” Jareau (AJ Cook), David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), Luke Alvez (Adam Rodriguez), Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness), and Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler) — continue to fight the good fight, stopping serial killers before they can cause any more harm, which they are now tasked with doing on a grander scale than ever before.
One of the major changes in the series with a new life on streaming is the serialized story of killer Elias Voit (Zach Gilford), who has created a network of fellow serial killers where he gives a select few the tools and tips they’ll need to get the job done. A few other changes include more time spent on the profilers’ personal lives, a great deal of swearing which feels blessedly representative of the real world and reintroducing us to one of the profilers on a different path in her life than we saw during her five seasons on the show.
Tara’s New Romance Is Long Overdue
In the second episode of the revival series, Prentiss faces off against an infuriating superior at the FBI that seemingly wants to dismantle and destroy the Behavioral Analysis Unit. In an effort to assist and protect her BAU family, Tara calls a friend who works at the Department of Justice, Rebecca (Nicole Pacent), for information on Director Bailey (Nicholas D’Agosto) that could turn the tides of this bureaucratic war. When Rebecca arrives at Quantico to deliver what she has learned in person, it takes about two and a half seconds before Prentiss realizes Tara and Rebecca are a romantic item. Tara confesses, saying that she has dated women before (something never divulged when the series was on CBS) along with her known relationships with men, but that she has never been this happy in a relationship before. When Rebecca returns with more information for the entire team at the end of the episode, Prentiss reveals this bit of information to the other team members, particularly JJ, in a quick moment as they head to the meeting.
In the third episode, suddenly we have skipped a million steps in Tara and Rebecca’s relationship as Rebecca, essentially, invites herself to move into Tara’s place. Rebecca needs to move out of her own place, it’s closer to work, and that’s where they are spending the majority of their time anyway, so she phrases it as a very practical solution to the issue at hand. This takes Tara by surprise, causing her to hesitate when Rebecca brings it up in the elevator at Quantico. She agrees to think about it. After an anxiety-filled case in which Tara thought a couple of her friends could have been blown up, she admits to Rebecca that she froze up due to some issues she has from past relationships and eagerly admits she would love to live together.
Let’s Get to Know Rebecca First
Where’s the fire? As much as I am loving Tara and Rebecca as a couple, especially as the first main queer couple in Criminal Minds history, it feels a bit rushed for these two to already be discussing moving in together when we only just met Rebecca in the episode prior — and not even until, like, halfway through the episode. We haven’t even seen them on a date yet, nor have we seen them outside of work. The very personal conversations about moving in together took place in the Quantico elevator and in the BAU office, meaning we have no idea what they are like when they aren’t in a professional setting. It feels like we’re skipping quite a few steps in this relationship, which is ultimately disappointing. I want to see this relationship flourish. I want Criminal Minds to finally offer queer representation, especially as it is long overdue. But, I want to see it written at a natural, healthy pace. We should be able to get to know Rebecca on her own, see what their relationship is like outside of work, and be fully thrown into their lives, much like we have watched with the other couples over the years. There are so many unknowns. Do they even work as a couple, for starters?
As Tara herself confesses in Episode 3, she has some issues — namely trust issues — from past relationships that she hasn’t exactly worked through. It makes sense, especially with what we have learned of Tara’s life in previous seasons. She was married before, which ultimately fell apart because he was an addict and left Tara emotionally scarred after their marriage. She had a fiancé when we first met her back in the eleventh season, and their relationship broke apart after just a couple of episodes because Tara always put her career above her personal life. Because we didn’t see Tara in a romantic relationship otherwise during her time on Criminal Minds, these are things she has yet to work through, and admitting it to Rebecca is just the first step. These are things that, in addition to letting the audience get to know Rebecca, felt like they needed to be addressed before the couple decided to move in together. It’s too fast, too soon, and it doesn’t quite fit with who we know Tara to be. She’s highly logical, yet guarded, and she doesn’t make quick decisions like this.
Overall, Criminal Minds: Evolution is just getting started. While we may be familiar with the profilers, the other players in some of their stories, like Rebecca, are newcomers that need time devoted to exploring and fully fleshing out. This advancement in Tara and Rebecca’s romance happened not even a full episode after we met the latter, making it feel like it’s happening far too soon. It could and should have been saved for a later time, letting us get back in the swing of things and come to understand exactly how everyone has changed and what their lives are like before throwing in even more changes. This relationship should definitely be in the spotlight, but it shouldn’t be moving forward so quickly just for the sake of checking boxes off on a list about what the writers “should” be doing with the couple. None of the relationships on Criminal Minds have ever moved this quickly, without us even getting to know the other person, so why is this one?
Criminal Minds: Evolution airs Thursdays on Paramount+.
