Warning: This article contains massive spoilers for the Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3 finale.
TheCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3 finale has arrived, and it left me rather disappointed, especially as it clearly chickened out of giving Elias Voit (Zach Gilford) the ending that would have been most fitting for him. All throughoutCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3, the BAU was haunted by The Disciple, a new acolyte of Voit from his time as the Sicarius killer, whom Voit helped them track down.
The Disciple eluded the BAU, and even Voit himself, painting a picture of a diabolical mastermind who rivaled Voit in strategy and brilliance. However, when the villainousnewCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3 characterwas finally unmasked in the finale, it was wholly underwhelming. Unfortunately, that weakness carried over into Elias Voit’s storyline, which ended in an incredibly lackluster way and leftCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 4with narrative gaps.
It Was A Disappointing End For Criminal Minds: Evolution’s Greatest Villain
Elias Voit - And Sicarius - Deserved Better
It wasn’t a surprise that a weary Elias Voit confessed to Rossi atthe end ofCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3in order to be charged with the death penalty, as he had wanted, but it was certainly disappointing. The end of Voit’s story, for now, showed him on a prison bus, looking lost and scared, a wholly anticlimactic coda to the greatest villain acrossCriminal Minds: Evolution’s three seasons – and one of the greatest inCriminal Minds, period.
Criminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3 spent so much time with Voit – as it needed to, in order for his newly-gained sense of empathy plot twist to be believable. It was thus doubly disappointing that the finale pulled away from Voit and spent too much time focused on Tessa, a character never once mentioned until the previous episode, but who was revealed as The Disciple.
If the former Sicarius killer was going to have an epic showdown with his Disciple, it should have been with a villain who matched him.
If the former Sicarius killer was going to have an epic showdown with his Disciple, it should have been with a villain who matched him. Instead, Tessa was underwhelming as the ultimate final boss. Her backstory was no doubt tragic, but completely shoehorned in and not given the depth she or Voit deserved. Both her easy capture and Voit’s lackluster resolution were utterly disappointing and failedCriminal Minds' villains.
Voit Should Have Sacrificed Himself To Save Someone Else In The Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 3 Finale
It Would Have Been Poetic Justice
It’s especially frustrating because there was a much more compelling ending for Voit’s story sitting right there for the taking. All season, Voit’s arc has been one of a reformed psychopath gaining empathy and learning how to channel the horror of his past into actively helping people rather than being selfish.
It’s true that his desire to die never waned, but by the midpoint of the season, he’d determined to undo as much of his damage as he could first. While he couldn’t bring back any of his victims or heal their loved ones, he decided that he could at least help the BAU take down his Sicarius network and stop the further murders of any innocents from happening.
Thus, the most fitting ending for Elias Voit, and a poetic moment, would have been if Voit had sacrificed himself to save someone else. TheCriminal Minds: Evolutionseason 3 finale even had the perfect opportunity for it, too, with Dr. Julia Ochoa in danger of being murdered by Tessa. Considering Voit’s attachment to his doctor and her innocence, it would have been a powerful full-circle act had he, for once, spared a life rather than taken one.
Considering Voit’s attachment to his doctor and her innocence, it would have been a powerful full-circle act had he, for once, spared a life rather than taken one.
Of course, it might have been problematic for Voit to go out so easily, if one considers death to be easy. His death would have robbed his victims of their day in court. Still,Criminal Minds: Evolutionis a fictional TV show. And from a narrative standpoint, its charismatic chameleon of a big bad going out not with a bang, but a whimper, let both the fictional characters and the real audience down.
Criminal Minds
Cast
Criminal Minds follows an elite team of FBI profilers from the Behavioral Analysis Unit as they analyze the nation’s most complex criminal minds, led by experienced agent David Rossi. The team works to anticipate and prevent crimes by understanding the behavior of these dangerous individuals.
