‘Criminal Minds’ season 9 spoilers: Reasons to fear the Reaper … again

Is the Reaper suddenly going to be coming back to “Criminal Minds”? It looks like it, but it is not exactly like the character, played by C. Thomas Howell, is going to return from the dead. Instead, he will appear in a series of flashbacks on the fifth episode of the show’s upcoming ninth season as we start to see more and more of Hotch’s backstory.

So how do these flashbacks come about? It is in some ways a dream sequence, but for the time being, the only scoop that showrunner Erica Messer is offering on it is the following comment to TV Guide:

“It starts with flashbacks [to Hotch’s stabbing] and then it turns, as dreams do, into this really interesting sequence where he sees both Haley and Foyet alive.”

Now that we are nine years into the show, one of the real treats of it is getting the opportunity to say that we know these main characters rather well; then, we can take a few looks back and somehow find out something else new that surprises us. This is part of the intriguing thing about this episode, and it is one of many character-focused flashbacks on the show this year. AJ Cook is going to be front and center in another one that happens this season.

As for getting to see the Reaper come back on the show, we’re mostly excited; we just hope that the story ends up living up to the hype.

Do you want to take a deeper look at one of the upcoming “Criminal Minds” episodes? If so, just be sure to head on over to the link here. The new season starts up on Wednesday, September 25 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Photo: CBS