Spoilers ahead for Episode 3 of Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 3, called "Time to Say Goodbye" and available streaming now a Paramount+ subscription.
Criminal Minds: Evolution dealt plenty of heavy blows to the BAU team over the course of the first two seasons, but Season 3 in the 2025 TV schedule didn't waste time in killing off a familiar face. Will died suddenly in Episode 2, and it wasn't due to a serial killer like Voit. JJ's husband died due to natural causes, and while that was a devastating twist, it also opened the door for a long-awaited event: the return of Matthew Gray Gubler as Spencer Reid. A.J. Cook, who plays the newly-widowed JJ, opened up about the reunion.
Will's death seemed like it could bring some former major characters out of the woodwork to support JJ, and both Hotch (Thomas Gibson, who got a shout out last season) and Morgan (Shemar Moore) send flowers in lieu of appearing. That seemed to be the case for Reid as well, until he arrived – purple scarf and all – with hugs for JJ and his two godsons. It was Matthew Gray Gubler's first appearance as Spence since the CBS series finale back in 2020.
His return had been teased months earlier without giving away the tragic context, and according to A.J. Cook, she was the one who reached out to her former co-star to see if he could come back after conversations with showrunner Erica Messer. On the subject of what it was like to be back on set with Gubler, Cook told EW:
It felt like a homecoming. It was really wonderful. I was so happy that he came back to do this with us. When we were in the conception of this episode, Erica and I kept going back to the idea of Spence having to be there. It would feel like a huge piece of the puzzle is missing if he couldn't be there. I called him up and I was like, 'Hey, bud, what are you doing? Do you want to come do this?' And being the gracious human that he is, he agreed. When I told him what was happening [with] Will, he was like, 'Are you kidding me? I will absolutely be there.' It was a short appearance, but so impactful. It meant the world to me and to our cast and I know it meant a lot to him, too.
Reid didn't come back to join any investigations or even speak with his friends on camera, but he was there for JJ when she needed her best friend. Everybody's shock at actually seeing him raises questions about what's been happening off-screen since that Reid Easter Egg in Season 2 and mention that he was on "sabbatical."
When Matthew Gray Gubler initially revealed his return as Reid to Ansa.it, he said that he'd "filmed a new episode of Criminal Minds," which suggests that Episode 3 was his one and only episode this season. The Evolution team had a lot to do without a lot of screen time, especially in light of the later CBS seasons toying with a "Jeid" romance between JJ and Reid.
A.J. Cook addressed that potential complication of "having him come back at her husband’s funeral where these characters have said that they love each other," then went on:
It was a fine line. We did not want to give off that vibe at all. We wanted it to be like, this is your best friend showing up for you in your time of need. So that's why it was a sensitive thing. It was like, do we hug? Do we not hug? What are the people going to think? It's so polarized when it comes to [the JJ and Reid shippers]. Everyone is allowed to have a fantasy and think what they want. We were very careful about that. And Erica did let the public know that yes, he's coming back, but I think her quote was, 'He's a small part in a really big episode,' which is true. But you can’t please everybody. We do our best.
In a very sweet moment, Spencer did give JJ and her sons a big hug that they probably needed. He didn't have a huge part to play in the episode, but certainly a memorable one. It also gives me hope that we could see Matthew Gray Gubler back as Reid again in the future, even if he'll never return to series regular status.
For one thing, Criminal Minds: Evolution has already been renewed for Season 4, so Gubler only filming one episode of Season 3 certainly doesn't mean that was his one and only chance. For another thing, the actor's new CBS show that was originally intended for the 2025-2026 TV season has been delayed to the 2026-2027 TV season. Could Gubler have some unexpected free time to come back as Reid while Einstein is temporarily on ice?
Plus, "Time to Say Goodbye" proved that it's possible for Reid to pop back into the mix for personal reasons to support his friends, allowing for another one-off appearance rather than joining the latest case. I'm going to optimistically view this first return of Spencer Reid as a sign that we shouldn't give up hope to see him again in Season 4.
For now, just keep checking out new episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution releasing on Thursdays on Paramount+. You can also find the fifteen CBS seasons as well as the first two Evolution seasons on the streamer.
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