Woo-hoo! Criminal Minds season six is going to have more of the backstory and character development us die-hards drool over. Star Thomas Gibson tells us, "I think that one of the things that [show runner] Ed [Bernero] wants to explore this year is the theme of secrets. Everybody has a secret, and I'm curious to see what they are. The secrets that I've heard through the grapevine sound like an interesting mix—especially how they play off of each other."
Will any of those intersecting secrets include the reveal of a smouldering romance between Prentiss (Paget Brewster) and Hotch?
Gibson says, "I can't tell you, but there are things we don't want an audience to say, 'Oh, that doesn't make sense.' There are things we want them to understand and say, 'Oh my gosh, I should have seen that coming,' but they didn't see it coming." So let's all keep our eyes peeled for little Hotch-Prentiss developments that might build up to that big reveal. (Who knows, maybe wishing could make it so?)
Also coming up for Hotch this year is some closure on the murder of his ex-wife Haley (Meredith Monroe). Gibson tells us, "We will explore how denial or his delay of the grieving process might manifest itself. You can't not go through the process in some way."
We might even get a little squishy Hotch this season. But just a little. Says Gibson, "There are moments where there's a chink in the armor. Certainly you see it in the relationship with Jack, his son. We'll spend some more time with Jack this year as well."
As for Hotch's other family, his coworkers at the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, they'll be tighter than ever this season, when one of their own needs help. We asked about rumors that Reid's (Matthew Gray Gubler) genetic heritage of schizophrenia might become manifest this season, and Gibson told us, "There's some interesting stuff that's going to come up regarding that—it's definitely part of what we deal with this year as characters. One of the themes that Ed [Bernero] has written over the years is the idea of this group as a family. It's what we connect with, and hopefully what an audience connects with—the fact that they are there for each other and that they are all very, very connected. They don't finish each other's sentences for no reason. It's going to be an issue like it would come up in any family and how a family would deal with it."
Get well soon, Reid. You're our favorite boy supergenius. And bring on the squish, Hotch. We love you stalwart, but even you have to feel your feelings sometime.
OK, fans. You said you wanted your T.Gibs, so prove it wasn't just talk. You've got to click on this story a lot, Facebook-like it, tweet it and comment as much as possible, or our bosses will try to tell us there's no market for Criminal Minds coverage! Prove 'em wrong, OK? (Oh, and don't forget to watch Criminal Minds every Wednesday at 9 p.m. on good ol' CBS.)
