Criminal Minds: Evolution has continued the BAU’s journey on the 2025 TV schedule, and, like the original show, it's been heartbreaking and intense. However, the revival also has some pretty big differences from its predecessor, most notably the NSFW language it can use because it's available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription, and its focus on one unsub for a whole season. There are still some things that will never change, though. And one of those things is Garcia’s ability to flirt whenever things get too intense, and I love Kirsten Vangsness’ take on it.
Those who have seen all 18 seasons of Criminal Minds know that Vangsness’ Penelope Garcia likes to flirt quite a bit, especially when it came to Shemar Moore’s Derek Morgan and him calling her "baby girl." Obviously, it was in a playful way, and she does it with basically everyone, especially now when it comes to either Luke (Adam Rodriguez) or Tyler (RJ Hatanaka). To that point, Vangsness talked to TV Insider about all the flirting her beloved character does, and she had a pretty great take:
It is an intense season. It is 10 episodes. I think we take what we can get. I think we make up stories outside of what’s happening in front of you. I think that there’s so much going on, and the season before was all about Garcia kind of being more sure of herself. Now, she’s trying to put romance in her friendship and friendship in her romance. And she’s working a lot, so there’s not a lot of time for things. But she’s Garcia, she’ll get in some flirting wherever she can.
Garcia is known for trying to keep things light, whether it comes to flirting or decorating her desk with colors and knick-knacks. There’s only so much that can be included in one season of Evolution, so her flirting whenever she gets the chance shows her how comfortable she is and how much she loves her colleagues (possibly even more than just platonically, but that’s for another day).
It's no secret that Criminal Minds is filled with plenty of darkness, especially recently with what’s going on with Voit, BAU-gate, and Will’s death, just to name a few. So it’s hard to keep that lightheartedness up, but Garcia flirting makes it so there’s at least one bright spot to the day. Personally, I really hope she doesn’t stop, because it’s what makes her all the more lovable.
Meanwhile, Garcia has had a more than complicated love life on Criminal Minds, as she's currently basically juggling Tyler and Luke. Whether anything will ever come out of either relationship is unknown, but fans have been hoping for a while that Garvez will finally become a thing. As Season 18 continues, fans will just have to wait and see what happens between them, and now that Season 19 is officially a go, I'm looking forward to seeing how this all evolves long-term.
In the meantime, fans can continue to look forward to Garcia’s flirting, which always makes a dark episode better. Since Criminal Minds: Evolution is a bit more disturbing than the original, a few small bright spots are needed.
New episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution drop on Thursdays on Paramount+.
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