Criminal Minds season 13: Thomas Gibson’s Hotch written out further

Thomas Gibson's Hotch

Just in case Criminal Minds hadn’t written out Thomas Gibson’s character of Hotch enough, the season 13 premiere on Wednesday night basically ensured that the character will not be coming back in the future.

How did they do that? Well, the BAU finally took down Mr. Scratch once and for all, and the dilemma that the show found themselves in with this Hotch character was clear. They knew that they had tied his exit from the team to Scratch being out there, and unless that guy roamed around forever, they were going to eventually have to deal with the fact that he would eventually be captured or killed. Now that he has, the writers then had to figure out another way to write out Hotch. After all, he doesn’t need to hide anymore!

Ultimately, the show decided that Hotch is apparently happy being a father and away from the life of being at the BAU; therefore, he’s not coming batch and now the character is gone for good. We understand not wanting to kill the character off — he is beloved by many, and you don’t want to punish Hotch because Gibson was fired from the show — but it’s still a choice that should divide some fans.

In the end, the departure of Hotch from the show still remains a difficult thing to write about for a number of different reasons, with the biggest one being that there’s so much emotional attachment to it. Gibson is a great actor, and he brought this character to life so brilliantly over the years. Yet, he was let go from the show due to an incident that was well-documented, and it’s not our place to sit here and offer up opinions on an event we weren’t there to see. The parties involved made the decision that they thought was right in the moment and that’s it — and there were many parties involved. It wasn’t just a fly-by-night decision. We miss Hotch, but we do like the new cast of the show and are excited to see what’s coming up next.

The biggest thing that we do wish is that the show had found a little bit of a stronger way to pay tribute to someone who was such an anchor on their show and contributed so much great content. We knew that they wouldn’t be bringing Gibson back, but was there another way that they could have done this? It may be difficult, but it’s still important to celebrate characters who make your show what it is.

Do you think that Criminal Minds handled the exit of Thomas Gibson’s Hotch the right way, and what would you have preferred if anything on the subject? Share in the comments below!

Meanwhile, head over to the link here in the event you want to get our full review for the season 13 premiere; meanwhile, be sure to visit our CarterMatt Facebook Page to get more TV news. (Photo: CBS.)

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