Finale Forecast: Could ‘Criminal Minds’ season 11 conclude with Hotch fighting for his freedom?

We’ve been asking for there to be a big Hotch story for quite some time on “Criminal Minds,” and with that, we suppose that we should be really happy to see that this is coming on the season 11 finale airing in early May. Typically with some of these Finale Forecast stories that we’ve done over the course of the month, we have not been blessed too much with the gift of details about what’s actually happening in advance. Here, it is a little bit of a different situation. We know some of the details, and this is about trying to fill in the cracks.

Note that the only spoilers ahead are the ones that have already been released by CBS; the rest is mere speculation.

What could happen – We know that Thomas Gibson’s character will be front and center in a conspiracy plot that could lead to him being accused of some things that he did not actually do. In term, this looks as though it is going to set up a race against time, one in which he will have to do just about everything that he can in order to ensure that he does not get accused of a crime he did not commit. In turn, the other members of the BAU could work to assist him further. This episode is entitled “The Storm” for a reason; it’s something that Antonia (Frances Fisher) hinted at to Hotch during the end of this past episode.

What should happen – We’d actually be fine with Hotch’s storyline carrying over into season 12, since he is the sort of character who could use some new challenges. What if this takes many episodes to clear his name? What could his absence do to the BAU? We’d like to see a little more of a shakeup provided that Hotch eventually comes back. We’re hoping that in addition to this, there are also some personal updates on some of the characters, especially those in Reid and JJ who have not had too much of a spotlight in that capacity for some time.