Criminal Minds Fans Want Less Will (And More Death) in Season 17
Filming for Criminal Minds Season 17 is about to begin, and fans are hoping that JJ's home life will be less of a focus.
The next season of the Criminal Minds revival is expected to premiere this fall, about a year after the long-awaited Season 16. Fans can't wait to see the continuation of the beloved behavioral analysis unit's story, but there are some changes they hope the creators will make to the plot.
The revival changed a few things about the show's formula. Instead of the monster-of-the-week format, viewers got the season-long storyline with one big bad guy whose arc will continue into the next season. This allowed the writers to focus on the personal lives of the profilers, which was a welcome change. But there was at least one storyline that left viewers confused.
Instead of dividing screen time equally between the personal lives of all the characters, the writers seemed to focus on one family in particular.
Jennifer "JJ" Jareau and William "Will" LaMontagne are the longest-running couple on Criminal Minds. They first met in Season 2, and since then they have gradually become romantically involved and married.
They have two children, Henry and Michael, played by A. J. Cook's real-life sons, and they seem to be the most stable couple on the show. And the most boring for many fans, especially since Season 16 gave them too much screen time.
While some agents' personal lives were not shown at all, JJ's private life with Will got several storylines last season. There was Will's health scare when JJ thought she might lose her husband.
There were issues with the kids being afraid of the season's main bad guy. There was the raid in the last episode where Will was injured. All of this created suspense and led many fans to believe that something tragic was going to happen to the family. But the suspense led to nothing. And it sent fans to social media to voice their concerns about the writing decisions.
"They way overdid it with the domestic scenes and [Will's] health scare this last season. Would prefer he has much less screen time next season," a fan wrote on Reddit recently.
Some fans even feel that Will's death next season could shake things up for JJ's arc and make up for all the time viewers spent watching Will and JJ together.