Last season, Criminal Minds ended with most of the team’s lives hanging in the balance. If you thought that the CBS drama would give you a break this year, you’d be wrong. Be prepared for a crazy finale.
Read on for part 2 of BuddyTV’s interview with Daniel Henney as he teases the finale cliffhanger and case and discusses why it was a lot easier for Simmons to join the BAU than, say, Luke “New Guy” Alvez.
Criminal Minds: Could the BAU Have Done Anything to Prevent Barnes from Splitting up the Team?>>>
We didn’t see an adjustment period for Simmons because of the circumstances under which he joined the BAU and his experience with the IRT. Do you think that helped him not be the “new guy” like Luke was?
“I think so, and I think it also helped that he was very familiar with the family. In 2015, we did the embedded pilot for Beyond Borders, where Simmons spoke a lot with Shemar’s character [Morgan] about their paths, so they’ve known each other. He was also close with Rossi’s character. And then, of course, Alana [De La Garza] and I came over last season to lend a hand to Reid in his situation in the prison in Mexico. So, there’s a lot of connective tissue there, and that always helps.
“And I think yeah, his training, him wanting to probably stop traveling as much as he was with the IRT was very helpful. I think Matt’s just, he’s a team player, he wants to contribute, and that’s just like me as an actor. We, like I said, we came together seamlessly, and it’s just very much a family.”
And it probably helped that Garcia was very welcoming, too, and didn’t give him a nickname.
“Garcia’s amazing. I loved how the first episode, they brought Matt and her together and how she needed help and she was kind of left on an island there, back at the BAU while everyone was going through this chaos and Matt came in to help her. I thought that was a really smart way to bring him in, because that’s who he is. He’s a protector and he’s someone who’s very comforting, and he’s a solid guy. But it also helps when Penelope’s very open and sweet to him, and they have a great back-and-forth, those two.”
Simmons more than anyone knew what Barnes was capable of permanently doing to the team. Do you think there was there anything she could have said or done that would’ve changed his mind about her?
“Well, I don’t think so because, to be honest with you, what happened to the IRT last season, if you watched, was pretty intense, and not only was it out of nowhere, but she was trying to pin our team against each other. These teams, they travel the world together. The BAU, they’ve been together for so long, they know each other in and out, and they’d die for each other. When someone comes in and tries to be a puppeteer and try to turn us against each other, there’s no real way to come back from that. I think in Simmons’ mind, she’s pretty much a bad egg.”
Criminal Minds Season 13 Spoilers: Garcia’s Family, an Agent’s Bizarre Story and a Finale Cliffhanger>>>
What can you tease about the season finale’s case and the cliffhanger? Should we expect as many lives to be in danger as last season’s car crash?
“I don’t want to give away too much. There’s definitely a cliffhanger. … There’s some psychological elements to it that’s going to play with our fans’ minds, and there are two very, very important characters that are in the mix. I don’t want to give too much more away, but there will be some questions that arise.”
Can you say anything about this former FBI special agent, Owen Quinn, with the bizarre account?
“I can’t say much. He worked in a different department than the BAU. … He’s got himself in a situation, a very, very, intense situation, and we stumble across that situation and we start to put the puzzle pieces together and find out that he is involved in something very sticky and very heavy that not even his department fully knew about and that brings us together with that department, and we try to figure out what’s going on. But there’s a big flip twist turn, like Garcia would say, that no one is going to be able to predict.”
If Simmons could bring one person or one thing with him from the IRT, who or what would it be?
“I can’t say people because I’d bring my whole team, definitely my whole team. But one thing, if I could bring it, would’ve been our jet. Because the BAU jet is so small.”
That jet was amazing.
“I know. Our jet, it was our whole set actually, for the IRT. It was huge, and it was to scale. It was functional. I believe it was a C-5 cargo jet. I would’ve loved to bring that jet and I wouldn’t mind bringing my motorcycle too. I miss that.”
Criminal Minds season 13 airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on CBS. Want more news? Like our Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
If it’s on TV — especially if it’s a procedural or superhero show — chances are Meredith watches it. She has a love for all things fiction, starting from a young age with ER and The X-Files on the small screen and the Nancy Drew books. Arrow kicked off the Arrowverse and her true passion for all things heroes. She’s enjoyed getting into the minds of serial killers since Criminal Minds, so it should be no surprise that her latest obsession is Prodigal Son.
