Criminal Minds season 15 spotlight: What’s next for Joe Mantegna’s Rossi?
For the sake of this spotlight, why not focus the lens in on David Rossi for a moment? Joe Mantegna has been nothing short of wonderful as this character from the moment he debuted in season 3 and has been a constant source of wisdom for those around him. He knows the early days of the BAU, and how to profile and analyze cases with the best of them. He’s highly intelligent, very resourceful, and also flawed which we loved about him the most because it makes him relatable. His multiple marriages paint a picture of a complicated past, one where his commitments to work often outshone his commitments to his home. Yet, we’ve seen the evolution of this man leading up to his marriage to Krystall at the end of season 14. He’s a different person now, impacted by not only the rigors of this job, but also some of the people who are around him.
So what should be coming up next for this wonderful character through the final arc of this season? Check out some of our suggestions below.
Check out the video at the bottom of this article for our recent thoughts on the season 14 finale! Subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube to make sure you don’t miss any other updates. We also have a full Criminal Minds playlist that is absolutely worth checking out.
How’s married life treating him? – Obviously, Criminal Minds is not a show that spends a substantial amount of time on anyone’s home life, mostly because there just isn’t a whole lot of room for it! You have to show the UnSubs, police-work, how it all comes together and so much more in every episode. With that said, it would be rather nice to get some evidence that this marriage is treating David and Krystall a little bit better this time around. That means allowing for a chance to see him and Krystall at home, spending time together, or maybe even on a honeymoon! We realize that a ten-episode final season doesn’t offer up a whole lot of time, but a wedding is hardly the end of a story for a couple.
The saga of Everett Lynch – He seems to be the Big Bad for the remaining episodes, someone who can be the Joker to Rossi’s Batman. He’s already tested Rossi in a way he hadn’t been before and there needs to be more tests coming. This is a metaphorical chess-game between the two, and we do think that there need to be some moments where Rossi is close to losing the game. Can he avoid a check-mate?
Put Rossi in peril – Obviously, we don’t want to see the character killed off, but to go along with the psychological struggle we want to see a physical struggle especially since he was struggling with some of that this past season with Everett. Give Mantegna some difficult, challenging material where he realizes that everything he loves is about to be stripped from him. Put him through his paces! Make him question more of his future! The more danger that you can surround this character with, the better that the series may be as a whole.
Give us some great Rossi friendship moments – We need some great ones in the final season, especially with some of the long-running characters! We want to see him spend some time with JJ and beyond that, have a few good conversations with Emily Prentiss. We’ve always loved the bond that he and Penelope have, and of course, Reid scenes with anyone are always coveted. Rossi means a lot to ALL of these people and when we see him giving advice and a shoulder to lean on we embrace those moments as a viewer.
What comes next? – What does Rossi’s endgame look like? Does he got out on book tours, or stick with the BAU in his current role? This is a character who came back to the BAU after some time away and with that, we know he’s capable of other things and different challenges! Present the character with broad horizons and throughout the final season, we can have a chance to see where he lands.
Vote for Criminal Minds in TV Madness!
If you missed it, earlier today we posted the first battle of the season featuring Criminal Minds — if you want to vote for it now, you can do just that by visiting the link here.
What do you want to see for Rossi during Criminal Minds season 15? Be sure to share now in the comments. (Photo: CBS.)