Dark Criminal Minds Theory Ties Season 17 to Government & Pandemic
The Criminal Minds revival put a lot of pressure on the BAU with one of the most dangerous unsubs the profilers have ever faced.
Elias Voit, aka Sicarius, was not only the primary unsub of the 10-episode season — he was also the leader of the entire network of serial killers he built during the COVID pandemic. The BAU members had to take down all of his mentees one by one.
But in the season finale, when Voit and his network seemed to be finished, it turned out that the antagonist had another ace up his sleeve — something called Gold Star.
When the unsub used this code phrase after being captured, it sent a wave of panic through the Attorney General's office, the FBI, and the Department of Justice, making it clear that the BAU had hit something extremely sensitive, something that is sure to become the primary mystery of the next season.
Gold Star and Voit's involvement in it were left as a cliffhanger, leading many fans to theorize about what it all means. And there was at least one theory that proved that sometimes fans are no less creative than the show's writers.
In the Criminal Minds subreddit, a fan recently wrote a post sharing their idea on what Gold Star might mean, and this theory ties Voit to the government.
The Redditor believes that Gold Star could be a government project activated to round up as many serial killers as possible through Voit's killer network.
It was implied in the show that, during the COVID pandemic, many serial killers had to lie dormant as their potential victims isolated themselves at home and could go on a killing spree when the lockdown was lifted. So the Redditor thinks that the government decided to gather some of them into a group led by Voit and call the project Gold Star.
"It would explain why Voit was able to have the resources to have so many containers planted underground with all the equipment, and still no one thought it odd," the Redditor goes on to explain.
Fellow Criminal Minds fans loved the theory and thought it was one of the best. The only thing that felt forced was the fact that the BAU bosses were visibly shocked when they found out that Voit knew about Gold Star. This suggests that the showrunners are going to surprise us with another explanation for the mysterious project. But before season 17 hits the screens, fans have plenty of time to come up with more interesting theories on the topic.