Warning! Spoilers ahead for Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3.
This article contains mentions of a possible suicide attempt,as well as spoilers forCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3.
Criminal Minds: Evolution’s villain, Elias Voit, may be relyinfg on 1 BAU member for his success. Officially, the FBI does not recognizeVoit as Sicarius— his plan to use one of his acolytes as the fall guy worked, so his charges are minimal enough that Voit is potentially looking at a compassionate release. Voit suffered severe brain damage in theCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 2 finale, although scans show he has long-term damage as well. Even with amnesia, the BAU is convinced he is an extremely dangerous person.
Based on all the tests, Voit does seem to be a truly changed man, althoughthe main characters inCriminal Minds: Evolutionremain skeptical he isn’t somehow faking the behavioral changes. Only one person on the team expressed an interest in Voit’s humanity even before he awoke from his coma. If Voit wants to prove that he is now just a man and not a monster, Penelope Garcia might be the only person willing to believe Voit, but if the show follows its own patterns,the BAU’s resident tech analyst may be setting herself up to become Voit’s main target next season.
Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 3, Episode 1 Set Up A Garcia-Voit Relationship
Garcia Will Be The Only One In The BAU To Believe Voit Has Truly Changed
When Elias Voit was in coma during the six months betweenCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 2 and 3, apparently Garcia would sit by his bedside. Luke is concerned when he learns this, and he asks Garcia what she could possibly be thinking. Garcia references the intense stare-down she gave Voit in theCriminal Minds: Evolutionsseason 2 finale, and says she saw Voit’s soul, or “an ember of something.” She has been sitting bedside by Voit’s comatose body hoping to see something worth redeeming in the BAU’s most prolific serial killer.
Garcia didn’t say anything last season, so it felt like the show was laying the groundwork for something in theCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3 premiere, but then she has had no interaction with Voit since he regained consciousness. Everyone else in the BAU has a shared view of Voit as a monster beyond salvation, someone they want to lock behind bars and throw away the key. Dave Rossi has barely shaken his post-kidnapping hallucinations of Voit, and JJ is becoming paranoid about BAU-gate.
2-18
3-18
1-18
11-18
12-18
16-18
Former military intelligence officer, sister was an early Sicarius victim
Sicarius
But if Garcia believes Voit has a soul, he might be on a path to search for it, too. Voit is asking existential questions and his brain chemistry proves he can feel empathy. Voit’s season 3 arc so far has been about humanizing him, andGarcia is the most primed to be open to seeing and believing in that goodness in Voit- whether it’s ultimately an act or a real biochemical change.
We don’t know yet whether Voit was accidentally overmedicated or intentionally overdosed at the end ofCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3, episode 4, but either way, this will make him a more sympathetic figure to Garcia. If Voit hoarded his medicine to purposefully overdose, the BAU would see it as a confession of guilt, but Garcia could see it as a sign of remorse and regret. If Voit was so horrified by one memory of his former life that he tried to kill himself, having all the memories forced back would be detrimental to his mental health.
Alternatively, if Voit’s memories come back including the plan he set in motion, he might be able to partner with Garcia to bring down the Sicarius network for good.
Garcia might be the compassionate person on the team who sides against the BAUif she feels that the current Voit shouldn’t be punished for his past actions. Alternatively, if Voit’s memories come back including the plan he set in motion, he might be able to partner with Garcia to bring down the Sicarius network for good. However,Criminal Mindswould never allow things to be wrapped up so neatly, and it’s far more likely that Voit will have more interactions with Garcia and actually make her his next BAU target.
Why Garcia Is Voit’s Perfect Target In Criminal Minds: Evolution
Voit Has Already Targeted Dave Rossi & JJ
Before his injury, Elias Voit had a pattern of behavior: he fixated on a specific member of the BAU, forming a twisted psychological connection before launching a targeted attack. He played mind games so effectively that Rossi was eventually kept away from Voit. When JJ and Luke Alvez were sent in, Voit shifted his focus on JJ hinting at BAU-gate and knowing the personal and professional upheaval it would cause for her. Now, all signs point to Penelope Garcia as Voit’s next target.
Criminal Minds: Evolutionhas already been renewed for season 4.
Penelope Garcia is physically and emotionally the most vulnerable of the BAU, but she’s also one of its greatest assets with her technical prowess. Voit’s operation was one of the most technologically sophisticated the team had ever encountered. If given the chance, Voit won’t be able to resist trying to break her—both to assert his dominance and to prove his superiority. It would be devastating, but not shocking, if Garcia is the only one to see the good in Voit and he weaponizes it against her inCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 4.
