‘Criminal Minds’ season 9, episode 5 preview: This Thomas Gibson promo may make you cry

If there is a surefire way that you can pull at our heartstrings if you are in the world of television, all you have to do is feature the return of a dead character in some sort of ghostly state … especially if it is a loved one. This is what got us time and time again when Trudy appeared on “Monk,” even if it seemed constantly like there were a dozen people playing her.

On next week’s “Criminal Minds,” Thomas Gibson’s Hotch is going to get the opportunity to see his wife again, but only during a dream sequence. This may allow him to get closure on something that he feels like there was some sort of unanswered questions at the time that she was taken from him. Unfortunately for him, this is not going to be a completely pleasant dream, either, as memories of Foyet are also going to be rushing back into his head. Both Meredith Monroe and C. Thomas Howell will be reprising their roles, and on the other side the BAU will be watching Hotch try to stay alive.

This hour is entitled “Route 66,” and you can get an explanation as to why Hotch has passed out via the synopsis below:

“As Hotch fights for his life due to complications from his stabbing at the hands of George Foyet, a.k.a. ‘The Reaper,’ he experiences visions of his late wife, Haley, and his nemesis, Foyet. Meanwhile, the BAU searches for a missing teenager and investigate her estranged father as a suspect in her disappearance.”

This episode is just one of many that is being done this season to give you a greater sense of the past of some of these characters. AJ Cook’s character of JJ will receive some flashbacks during the 200th episode, but the difference here is that the man she has a past with in Mateo Cruz is still very much alive. (This is also the episode to feature the return of Paget Brewster, and if that alone is not a cause to get excited, then we don’t quite know what is.)

Are you excited to see this episode, and be honest: Did you cry while watching this promo? Be sure to share below!

Photo: CBS