Jennifer ‘JJ’ Jareau (A.J. Cook) has been a vital member of the BAU since season 1, first as theunit liaison and now as a full-fledged profiler. In this article, we count down JJ’s best momentsfrom the series, to date.
#10 JJ convinced Hotch to take a case (“Risky Business”)
JJ used all of her profiling skills to explain why 4 apparent suicides were more than
they seemed. JJ drew on her professional knowledge, as well as her personal experience, to get
Hotch (Thomas Gibson) on-board with her theory that something was really wrong with these
deaths.
#9 Will confronted JJ about lying to her friends (“In Heat”)
Will (Josh Stewart) asked JJ why she had not told her team about their relationship.
This scene showed us that, for all of her confidence on the job, JJ was a little gun-shy when it
came to her personal life. It also gave us on early glimpse of Will and JJ’s relationship and how
they were trying to balance it with their jobs.
#8 JJ taught a new sheriff the ropes (“Open Season”)
JJ talked the sheriff through the difficult process of how to handle a death
notification. She explained everything to the sheriff in a way he could understand and went with
him to support both the sheriff and the victim’s father. This scene showed how tough JJ’s job as
liaison could be at times, as well as how excellent she was at it.
#7 JJ got through to a traumatized victim (“North Mammon”)
JJ used her past as a small-town girl to help a victim open up. This scene gave us
some important information about JJ’s back-story and also showed how JJ just has a knack of
connecting to victims on a personal level.
#6 JJ let the team in on her secret life (“In Heat”)
JJ finally brought her relationship with Will into the light, after a chat with Emily
(Paget Brewster). Of course, the team already knew about the relationship, but it was still a great
moment for JJ when she let everyone know how much Will meant to her.
#5 JJ opened up about her sister (“Risky Business”)
JJ told Hotch about how her older sister committed suicide when JJ was just 11.
JJ said she thinks about her sister every day but that it does get better, something Hotch really
needed to hear after losing Hayley. This was a great moment between these two that showed how
much they trust and understand each other.
#4 JJ talked about how much she loved her job (“North Mammon”)
JJ spoke about how her past helped her with the job and how she enjoyed being the
liaison because she was able to help in a way the profilers could not. In this scene, we also saw
Hotch acknowledge how important JJ was to the team and how her role was often overlooked.
#3 JJ talked an UnSub into releasing his victim (“The Longest Night”)
JJ had to play hostage negotiator in order to get through to an UnSub. This scene
showed us how strong JJ is and how she is willing to step outside of her comfort zone and do
some very difficult things, in order to save a life.
#2 JJ shot and killed an UnSub (“Penelope”)
JJ proved herself to be quite the shot when she took out the UnSub who had
infiltrated the BAU. Later on, we heard JJ say that she did it to protect her family, even though
her actions were clearly weighing on her.
#1 JJ’s goodbye montage (“JJ”)
This one is kind of a cheat, but the final moments of this episode were possibly some of the series’ best. We
eventually got the lovely JJ and her portrayer A.J. Cook back on our show, but these scenes still
remind us how vital JJ is to the team and how deeply her brief loss affected them.
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
