Criminal Minds season 15 spotlight: The future for Emily Prentiss
If you missed our piece all about Matthew Gray Gubler’s Spencer Reid, you can check that out over at the link here — today, we’re casting our focus over to the BAU’s wonderful leader in Emily Prentiss. It’d be easy to call her fearless, but when you really think about, fear is an important part of this job. You need to be afraid sometimes to really understand what you are up against; nonetheless, you also need to be brave enough to move past that initial fear and tackle it head. Prentiss is highly knowledgable, extremely capable, and well-respected as the unit chief. As we move into this final season, her impressive legacy will likely be cemented further.
If you missed it… – Check out our video below for some more thoughts regarding the season 14 finale! To make sure you don’t miss any of our coverage in the future, be sure to subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube! We also have a full Criminal Minds playlist to make finding videos on the show all the easier.
Take a look below for all of our suggestions in regards to Paget Brewster’s wonderful, and deeply-layered character.
Test her more than ever before – Obviously, no one wants to see something terrible happen to Prentiss — the idea of this character being hurt or killed off before the series finale is the sort of thing that would send Twitter into total bedlam. What needs to happen instead is that you put this character in peril, or put someone she loves in such danger that we see a different side of her than ever before. In this final season we’re all about Erica Messer and the writers playing all of their best cards and giving the cast some Emmy-worthy moments; we want to see them in the trenches, isolated from their team and with the odds of survival limited. We want enormous tests of heroism and survival that give the cast some of their most memorable days on set and give us more reasons to cheer them on.
Her relationship with Mendoza – At the end of the season 14 finale, it was clear that they were still together — even if he didn’t turn up on-screen. Season 15 is a chance to explore that a little bit further, and maybe get the relationship to a point where they attend weddings together and prepare for a long-term future. What makes the two of them strong is their ability to share their flaws; because they both are within the same world, they understand what each other go through the way few other people can. There are times when you need to talk out your day, and also times where you need your space. The writers should address these highs and lows; this is the best way to see if they are truly made for each other.
More of Emily the friend – Some of our favorite Paget scenes on this show are the ones where it’s just her and another actor, talking through some personal issues. More of these! If Everett Lynch is still on the run, she can be a shoulder for David Rossi in addition to a boss; she could also help JJ with her current personal dilemma, provided that JJ wants to open up about it to another member of the team. Prentiss is empathetic and knows her and Spencer so well that she could see things from both perspectives. Emily is tough when she needs to be, but she also has a warmness that can be played up even more.
What is Emily’s future? – Is she destined to stay with the BAU the remainder of her career, or will she embark on another stint elsewhere? We don’t expect the series finale to give you a dissertation on her future, but it would be nice to get a larger indication of what she wants for at least the next few years of her life. Basically, we want to leave the show feeling great about where Prentiss is and that there are so many wonderful things lined up before her. There are always going to be struggles — life is full of them — but you can take stock in them knowing that there are many victories on the other side. There are always reasons to smile and for Emily, that’s what we want to imagine her doing years down the line.
What do you want to see for Emily Prentiss on Criminal Minds season 14?
Be sure to share some of your thoughts on the subject below! (Photo: CBS.)