‘Criminal Minds’ season 12: Could Thomas Gibson appear again?
Tonight’s “Criminal Minds” episode is going to be a difficult one to watch. This presumably is the final episode featuring Thomas Gibson as a series regular, and what is particular appalling is the lack of promotion CBS is giving it as anything special. There aren’t any video tributes or hype spreading through the media.
In a way, we imagine that the network is in a precarious position. After all, Gibson was fired from the show, and there may be a sentiment that you don’t want to give a whole lot of extra attention to someone who was dismissed from the show for a very specific reason in mind.
Yet, simultaneously it feels wrong to completely diminish or ignore the impact that Gibson had on the show over the past decade. Even if you want to take Gibson out of the equation for a minute, how about the Hotch character? It’s not entirely clear how they are planning to write him out; maybe they will reveal that tonight, or in the episode to come that is also featuring the return of Paget Brewster. It’s possible they kill Hotch offscreen, or they have him off on some long-term assignment elsewhere. We feel like the biggest struggle when it comes to this decision for the writers is simply this: Hotch doesn’t strike us as the sort of person who would willingly leave his friends behind and cut off communication with them. It’s one of those situations similar to what happened with Matthew on “Downton Abbey” or Derek on “Grey’s Anatomy.”
The question we wonder is if they don’t kill off Hotch whether we could see Gibson down the line. While it feels rather unlikely at the moment, anything’s possible. Maybe in a year or two’s time tensions could lesson and they could find a way to do something. Anyway, it’s a subject we want to get your feedback on in the attached poll below.
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