Criminal Minds Is Going Super Dark For An Upcoming Episode, According To Adam Rodriguez

Criminal Minds

When you dig into the psyche of twisted serial killers, don't be surprised if you reach nothing but darkness. The very nature of Criminal Minds is that the show sometimes has to go to some pretty dark places, so can you imagine what an episode must be like for someone to single it out solely for its darkness. Actor Adam Rodriguez recently teased that an upcoming episode in Season 12 of Criminal Minds is going to one serious nail biter.

According to TV Insider, actress Tatum O'Neal will guest star in an upcoming episode of Criminal Minds, which has been described by one of the cast members as "super dark". O'Neal, who won an Academy Award when she was 10 for Paper Moon, will play a distraught mother whose son is a depraved serial killer. She'll work with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) to try and stop her son from committing his next murder. That already sounds like it could be pretty emotional, and Adam Rodriguez revealed some more details about the complicated mother-son bond.

The case [in the episode] is super dark. It's basically about this mother trying to connect with her son and her son is just too far gone. This damage that was done, he blames her for it, she couldn't protect him from it.

Adam Rodriguez joined the series last fall in the role of Luke Alvez, and has a number of scenes with Tatum O'Neal. It's his character's job to form a bond with the mother, and to try and better understand her son. Luke Alvez must start a rapport and dialogue to get O'Neal's character to open up about her relationship with her son (which doesn't sound too good). Even the most irrelevant details could help to bring her son to justice, but the BAU may not want to understand this killer too well. As Rodriguez goes further on to explain, he was surprised by the dark subject matter of the episode; this killer may be more monster than human.

The episode is the most gruesome that I've seen in my time on the show. It's a tooth grinder. You'll be watching it and cringing with every part of your body.

Well doesn't that just sound delightful? Criminal Minds has never been lacking in the twisted department, but the show might actually top itself in its twelfth season on television. Why this killer is so horrifying is anyone's guess (maybe Rodriguez was being literal, and the killer rips the teeth from his victims and grinds them down), but it should make for an exciting episode of television.

As for why this episode will make you convulse uncontrollably, you'll have to wait until it hits the air. Criminal Minds releases new episodes at 9 p.m. EST on CBS.

Matt Wood

Matt has lived in New Jersey his entire life, but commutes every day to New York City. He graduated from Rowan University and loves Marvel, Nintendo, and going on long hikes and then greatly wishing he was back indoors. Matt has been covering the entertainment industry for over two years and will fight to his dying breath that Hulk and Black Widow make a good couple.