1 Glaring Morgan & Garcia Plot Hole Still Frustrates Criminal Minds Fans

Criminal Minds is a fantastic television series that has only been growing in popularity since the series debuted in 2005. Criminal Minds follows an elite FBI team of profilers from the Behavioral Analysis Unit. These profilers use psychology to hunt down serial killers all over the United States and assist local law enforcement in their investigations. The characters themselves play a big role in the success of Criminal Minds. Two of the most popular characters are Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan and Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia.

Garcia and Morgan have the most compelling relationship in Criminal Minds. The two coworkers and close friends consistently share flirtatious banter that tempers the grim content of this dark crime procedural. In Criminal Minds’ original 15-season run, two very different flashbacks were shown of their first meeting. This plot hole has never been rectified and leaves a very important plot detail with no clear answer, and fans still think about it.

A Pre-Series Flashback Reveals Garcia and Morgan’s First Meeting

“Tabula Rasa” Gives a Window into the Origins of Criminal Minds’ Most Iconic Friendship

Criminal Minds episode “Tabula Rasa” sees a comatose serial killer regain consciousness after 4 years, forcing the team to revisit his case when he claims amnesia. This form of amnesia completely erases the killer’s knowledge of his own identity, including all of his alleged past crimes. This puts the prosecution’s entire case in jeopardy, especially with key witnesses no longer being available to testify. With the prosecution’s case on the line, the team must find new evidence in the case to keep this dangerous man off the streets. One defining detail of “Tabula Rasa” is that it includes flashbacks to the original investigation. These flashbacks are diverse in their content, spanning from the attempted arrest of serial killer Brian Matloff to new agent Dr. Spencer Reid comforting the father of one of the victims. One of these flashbacks includes the first time SSA Derek Morgan and Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia met.

This flashback is short and sees Morgan working alongside SSA’s Dr. Spencer Reid and Aaron Hotchner in the FBI bullpen. They needed some assistance, so they asked the new Technical Analyst for help. However, none of them know her name. As a result, Morgan calls her by her now-infamous nickname “Baby Girl” to get her attention. From this moment, fans can extrapolate that one of Criminal Minds’ greatest friendships was born. From the first moments of the Criminal Minds freshman season, it was clear that Derek Morgan and Penelope Garcia had a unique relationship.

As the series progresses, it becomes clear that, despite coming from different backgrounds, these two characters are the best of friends. These two characters have always had each other’s backs, as seen in instances such as when Garcia saved Morgan’s life in Season 4, Episode 1, “Mayhem,” and when Morgan protected Garcia after she was targeted by a killer in Season 3, Episode 9, “Penelope.” This short flashback in “Tabula Rasa” scene gave eager fans some much-needed backstory on one of the best relationships in Criminal Minds. However, the validity of this moment would fall apart six seasons later when it was directly contradicted by a different first meeting flashback.

Garcia and Morgan’s First Meeting is Shown Differently in a Later Flashback

“The Black Queen” Rewrote Criminal Minds History Regarding Morgan and Garcia’s Backstory

Criminal Minds episode “The Black Queen” sees Garcia take center stage as a serial killer case that is directly tangled in her past as a black-hat hacker. With Garcia’s hacker past playing a key role, Criminal Minds gives viewers a window into how Garcia was recruited into the FBI. This other flashback takes place before Garcia has ever stepped foot in the BAU and is living a life outside the law. Criminal Minds fans already knew that Garcia had been arrested for hacking before she became an FBI Technical Analyst.

When Garcia is shot by a serial killer in Season 3, Episode 9, “Penelope,” an internal FBI review reveals key secrets of her past to her teammates. Her biggest secret is that she was a criminal hacker who was then arrested by the FBI. Instead of arresting her, the FBI offered her the choice of employment or imprisonment for her criminal activities. While fans have been aware of this information, this is the first time they have seen it depicted visually in Criminal Minds.

The flashback shows a recently arrested Garcia in an interrogation room with BAU Team Leader SSA Aaron ‘Hotch’ Hotchner. Garcia is dressed in black gothic fashion. Penelope Garcia is famously known for over-the-top and brightly colored clothes, so this immediately lets fans know that this is a different Garcia than they are familiar with. The conversation between Hotch and Garcia also shows Garcia behaving in an uncharacteristic fashion. Garcia is known for being incredibly friendly and kind to everyone she meets. She often uses cutesy nicknames and is undeniably the most upbeat character in the series. However, this behavior is nowhere to be found in the version of Garcia depicted in this flashback.

Instead of being friendly and shockingly earnest, Garcia is cold and angry. This makes sense with established lore, as Garcia joined the hacker underground following the death of her parents in a car accident when she was 18. Hotch gets through to the closed-off Garcia and is revealed to be the agent who convinces her to work for the FBI instead of going to prison. There’s one detail of this scene that throws off the established history of Criminal Minds. That detail is the addition of SSA Derek Morgan alongside Hotch in this scene. Morgan being part of this scene with Hotch and Garcia throws a major wrench in the continuity of Criminal Minds.

The Most Plausible Explanation to this Continuity Error

This Confusing Criminal Minds Detail May Be Explainable

Criminal Minds never explains away the conflicting details of the two contradictory Morgan and Garcia meeting scenes. Knowledgeable fans of the series have been left to craft their own theories about this continuity error. Penelope Garcia and Derek Morgan’s meeting scenes were depicted very differently in “Tabula Rasa” and “The Black Queen”. With such a stark contrast between the two scenes, it’s very difficult to find connective tissue between them that makes both scenes work and still hold up in the series canon. The flashbacks in “Tabula Rasa” occurred in Season 3 of Criminal Minds, while the flashback in “The Black Queen” occur in Season 9 but takes place before the events of “Tabula Rasa”. Despite the conflicting timeframes of the two flashbacks that depict Morgan and Garcia’s first meeting, there is a plausible explanation that makes these conflicting flashbacks work together instead of contradicting each other.

The most probable explanation is that SSA Derek Morgan did not recognize Penelope Garcia when he met her for the second time in “Tabula Rasa”. Garcia looked very different in “Tabula Rasa” than she did in “The Black Queen.” In their first interrogation room meeting in “The Black Queen,” Garcia wore dark gothic clothing and had her iconic blond hair dyed dark brown. She was also sans glasses. In “Tabula Rasa”, she went back to blonde hair and donned glasses. Garcia was also dressed in standard business-casual clothes in “Tabula Rasa”, not yet in her iconic bright-colored clothing that has become a fan-favorite aspect of her character. Once she traded her goth ‘Black Queen’ hacker persona for a more standard look, Garcia hardly looked like the same person.

It’s more likely that Morgan would recall Garcia’s name from the past case then her appearance, but he was never given the chance to. Morgan never learns Garcia’s name after calling her by her now-iconic nickname ‘Baby Girl’ in the “Tabula Rasa” flashback. Garcia also made no mention of previously meeting SSA Derek Morgan, who, unlike her, looked very much the same. With this information in mind, fans can extrapolate that Garcia may have indeed recognized Morgan, especially since she flirted with him during their first meeting in “The Black Queen.” However, she may not have wanted to make waves since she was a now former criminal hacker trying to adapt to a new government work environment. This is supported by the majority of Garcia’s team not being aware of her past criminal behavior until the internal review in Season 3’s “Penelope.”

Penelope Garcia and Derek Morgan are incredibly popular characters for a reason. Both of their characters play an important role in injecting much-needed levity into Criminal Minds with their consistent flirtatious banter. Their relationship is infectious and feels incredibly authentic. As a result, the history of their friendship must be understandable to Criminal Minds fans. The flashback scenes in “Tabula Rasa” and “The Black Queen” are exciting moments for Criminal Minds fans, but they also provide a continuity error for fans that has never been resolved. With no clear answers from the creative authorities of Criminal Minds, fans have been left to draw their own conclusions.

Both scenes see Derek Morgan meeting Penelope Garcia, supposedly for the first time. It’s impossible to meet someone for the first time twice. The explanation that makes the most sense is that, since the flashback in “The Black Queen” occurred earliest in the Criminal Minds timeline, it was Morgan and Garcia’s first canon meeting. Operating under that assumption, it makes the most sense to infer that, since Garcia’s appearance had drastically changed between “The Black Queen” and “Tablula Rasa,” Morgan simply didn’t recognize her. Derek Morgan and Penelope Garcia’s actors, Shemar Moore and Kirsten Vangsness, provided stellar performances in Criminal Minds and created something truly special with their characters’ friendship. It’s for that reason that fans seek clarity on this continuity error that involves two of Criminal Minds’ most beloved characters.