‘Criminal Minds’ season 12: Is there a past with Penelope Garcia, Luke Alvez?

The bad news is that there is no new episode of “Criminal Minds” airing on CBS this week, which is something you can explicitly blame the latest Presidential Debate for. Of course, this means that you will get another episode down the line, and you probably don’t want to see the show be hit by the ratings buzzsaw that is Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton in the first place.

For the sake of this article, we don’t specifically want to discuss something that is coming up on the show so much as something that has been shown to date, and that is some rather-unusual tension between Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) and Luke Alvez (Adam Rodriguez). There’s been some awkwardness that has taken place between the two of them across several different scenes, including one where she was very quick to point out her relationship status. In general she’s come off as very standoffish to him, which is notable given that Garcia is one of those people who you can argue is the heart and soul of the BAU, and her spirit typically tends to lift everyone around her.

So why the behavior patterns here? We’ve got a few theories.

1. She doesn’t want to replace Morgan in her heart – This seems to be the one that makes the most sense. In many ways, you can argue that Garcia is a reflection of us as viewers, dealing with uncertainty due to all of the sudden change and having a hard time coming to grips with it. Yet, you have to assume and hope that eventually she will, and all will be made fine in the end as a result of it. While we miss Morgan, sooner or later we have to give Alvez a proper chance.

2. They have an unexplored past – It’s possible that they have a history, whether it be romantic or otherwise. There hasn’t exactly been a lot of time through the first few episodes of the season to really dive into anything here. It would certainly be fun to learn that there is a specific reason for the behavior.

3. Their personalities just don’t mesh – Hey, sometimes you don’t always get along with your co-workers. It could be as simple as that.

What do you think is going on right now with these two? We want to hear your thoughts below! Also, be sure to head over here to get some further news regarding the show’s next new episode on October 26. (Photo: CBS.)