PREVIOUSLY ON... | The Replicator who taunted Hotch's team throughout Season 8 -- an FBI wonk who had turned to the Dark Side -- was hunted down and killed via his own homemade booby trap -- but not before he snuffed unit chief Strauss.
COMING UP NEXT | Picking up months later, "Hotch has been very busy" filling Strauss' shoes, show boss Erica Messer notes. But that changes in Episode 3 when Esai Morales (Caprica) debuts as Matt Cruz, a new unit chief who arrives possessing a mysterious "caring" relationship with JJ. "People will wonder, 'Did they have an affair? What's going on?'" Messer says. "And all of that will pay off in our 200th episode, when we deal with the time JJ was away [during Season 6]." Guest stars on tap for Season 9 include Camryn Manheim (The Practice), David Anders (Alias), Eva La Rue (CSI: Miami) and Sarah Jane Morris (NCIS).
TVLINE BONUS SPOILER | "A present day case where she's up against her old hacker world" will tee up an origin story for Garcia, taking us back to 2004, when she first met Hotch. During that tale, Messer shares, "We'll finally meet the guy who owned her heart long before we met her."
RETURN DATE | Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 9/8c (CBS)