Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for the season finale of Criminal Minds: Evolution.On this season of Criminal Minds: Evolution, a revival of the long-running CBS drama, Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster), David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), Jennifer “JJ” Jareau (A.J. Cook), Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler), Luke Alvez (Adam Rodriguez), and Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) have faced off against one of the most notorious and nefarious serial killers they have ever seen: Elias Voit (Zach Gilford) a.k.a. Sicarius, who has amassed a body count of over fifty (that they know of) since 2005. As they’ve worked through his network of serial killers that he created during the pandemic, they’ve caught several other killers, but he has eluded them. At least, until the penultimate episode of the season, where one of the profilers finally catches a big break.
After discovering a second storage container and the remains of Moose the dog, who Voit stole from a girl he met at a hardware store earlier in the season, Rossi finally puts together the pieces. From there, he travels to Seattle, having an area to canvass after tracing a call that Voit received on camera in the hardware store. When Rossi arrives at Voit’s home to ask Voit’s wife Sydney (Kiele Sanchez) a few questions, Rossi sees a picture, and it is confirmed: Voit is the killer. However, Voit interrupts their conversation, confirming this. From here, Rossi and Voit go head-to-head until Rossi ends up kidnapped, tied up, and left for dead in an underground storage container — something particularly disturbing for Rossi after his wife Krystall (Gail O’Grady) died, and he was unable to stay at the funeral to see her casket put in the ground. Headed into the finale, Voit has gone on the run with his family and demanded that the Behavioral Analysis Unit let him go, which will then save Rossi’s life. So, can they stop this horrifying killer and save Rossi? Let’s break down the episode.
Rossi Being Trapped the Container
Down in the bunker, as the team searches for him, Rossi begins to try to find his own way out. Given what Voit has used the container for in the past, and the unceremonious nature of how this all went down, there are plenty of Voit’s supplies left for Rossi to sift through. As time goes on and the oxygen levels lower, Rossi begins to formulate a plan for his escape, but first he must address the video feed that Elias is receiving. Following the wires from the camera, Rossi manages to hijack the wireless connection to make the feed go live to his team again, giving them just enough to work on in his coded message. When Voit cuts off the live stream, Rossi retaliates and cuts the video feed entirely.
Then, with the supplies, Rossi builds two bombs. After attaching them to the door of the storage container, he flips a metal table to crouch behind and ignites them, blowing the door right off of its hinges. Unfortunately, given the container is underground, the blast has one major consequence: The ground begins to fall around the container. Rossi is being buried alive. With the team nowhere in sight and oxygen levels continuing to fall, Rossi begins to hallucinate his late wife Krystall and finally works through his unending grief over her death. When he tells Krystall he’s ready to go, accepting his death, she tells him that part of the reason she loved him was that he never quit. Not at work, and certainly not in life. Even though it’s in his head, this gives Rossi a chance to apologize for not being present when she was buried and express his feelings — to loving feedback that should ease his conscious — about not being able to prevent her death. However, this question remains: Can the team find him in time?
The BAU Discovers Voit’s Plan
After securing Rossi in the container, Voit returns to his wife and daughters to bring them to a remote house. He continues to feed them lies about people being after him over some shady business with his late job, but his wife Sydney is struggling to fully believe him. As they get settled, Voit’s temper is short, and he yells at his daughter for trying to use her phone, which we obviously know could be used as a way for the team to track him. Stepping outside, Voit live streams Rossi to the team cuts the audio and demands to speak with Director Bailey (Nicholas D’Agosto). Prentiss tries to cut in, but he insists that Bailey will be the only person he speaks with. When Bailey arrives, Prentiss and Tara attempt to coach him to make sure he doesn’t say the wrong thing. They are convinced that, if it comes down to it, Voit will kill his wife and daughters before they have the chance to find out who he really is, so everyone must proceed with extreme caution. They still haven’t figured out where Voit is, so this is their attempt to get him to slip up too. As Voit and Bailey have a dialogue, Voit mentions something that causes Bailey to have a noticeable reaction, but it’s unclear what exactly happened. Prentiss notices the shift, but they continue the call.
Meanwhile, at the Seattle office, Garcia, Luke, JJ, and Will are making their own attempts to find Rossi by trying to create a geo-profile of where the container might be based on Voit’s actions. As they continue to pore over Rossi’s words in the short clips from the live streams, they get an idea from Rossi repeatedly using Voit’s actual name for Garcia to trace Voit through his parents. With a quick search, Garcia finds Voit’s biological mother, her family, and a house that is currently owned by an untraceable relative — a.k.a. Voit with an alias. With a location for Voit, and hoping he’ll lead them to Rossi after his capture, they begin preparing for the mission at hand. However, everything is thrown off when Bailey demands they wait for him to fly from Quantico to Seattle, so he can speak directly with Voit.
Gold Star
After Bailey’s phone call with Voit earlier in the episode, Prentiss and Bailey discuss the Voit situation with Attorney General Louise Davis (Monnae Michaell) and Rebecca (Nicole Pacent). Prentiss tries to fight back against what the AG wants to do in the matter, which she believes would put Voit’s family at risk, and Rebecca offers a compromise that both sides can live with. Prentiss makes her way out of the AG’s office but glances back to see Bailey in a heated discussion with both women. In the office, Bailey mentions the “gold star” reference, and they are all stunned about how he could know about something this confidential. While they don’t confess what it is, they must decide on their own how to proceed. Do they let Voit go, as he wants, to keep his mouth shut about Gold Star? Or do they kill him to eliminate the threat as an extralegal measure? Ultimately, the AG wants to keep things legal, so they plan to let him go. When Bailey announces this decision to Prentiss, it doesn’t go over well, as Voit is their only chance of finding Rossi alive. When Garcia finds the house that Voit and his family are at, Bailey’s hands are tied, and he demands they wait for him.
Meanwhile, as the police begin to arrive at the scene, Voit is devolving inside. His wife confronted him about Moose’s collar and has started to ask questions, even attempting to steal his burner phone. His daughters are caught in the middle but are clearly on their mother’s side. So, when he sees a police cruiser outside, he pulls a gun and locks them in the bedroom. When Bailey arrives, he decides to confront Voit himself to give him the chance to divulge Rossi’s location and safely turn himself in. Voit brings Bailey inside where the two bring up Gold Star once more, but Bailey overestimated his importance and Voit shoots him in the head.
Outside, Will and JJ have managed to secure Voit’s daughter, but Voit bursts in as Sydney tries to climb out of the window. There’s a shoot out and Will takes a shot to the shoulder, thankfully blocked by his vest. When everyone stops firing, Voit realizes he’s trapped, turning to his wife. He holds the gun to her head and pulls the trigger, but the magazine is empty. As Sydney realizes the truth about her husband, Luke comes in to arrest Voit. But, the fight isn’t quite over. With Voit in custody, time is running out for Rossi. They hope he’s managed to escape, but they still have to find the storage container. Their only hope is for Sydney to speak with her husband and get him to tell the truth, as he does truly care for his family in his own twisted way. In the interrogation room, the two talk about their lives together and what his capture means for Sydney and the girls’ future, but Voit does give up the location, and help arrives just in time to pull Rossi from the container.
What’s In Store on ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Season 2?
After his surgery, Garcia goes to the hospital to see Tyler (Ryan-James Hatanaka). She gives him a heartfelt goodbye and warm wishes on his future as she accepts that she cannot let him hurt her anymore, but she also cannot be there as he tries to pull himself together now that Voit is in custody. Back at Quantico, we catch up with the team after Bailey’s memorial service, where they praise Prentiss for her heartfelt words. However, they still haven’t made peace with what has happened, particularly that Bailey would put himself in the position to be killed over the “Gold Star” mention. When they tell Rossi, he can’t quite figure it out either. And, when Tara confronts Rebecca over it, she is unwilling to divulge details, leaving Tara to give her an ultimatum about their relationship. Will Rebecca betray the Attorney General for Tara?
As the episode comes to a close, a team of armed officers exits the elevator and clears the floor at Quantico. Then, they bring in Voit and get him situated in an interrogation room. But, as the door opens and his visitor steps in, the episode fades to black. Who is it? Likely the Attorney General, but I suppose they could surprise us when Criminal Minds: Evolution returns for another season if the show decides to remain serialized. For now, we must wonder who it is and what Gold Star could be that would warrant letting potentially the most notorious serial killer in history walk free.
Every episode of Criminal Minds: Evolution is now streaming on Paramount+.