‘Criminal Minds’ Fans Are “Disappointed” Over Matthew Gray Gubler’s ‘Evolution’ Cameo
Spencer Reid officially made his way back to the BAU … but not necessarily in the way Criminal Minds fans would’ve hoped.
After months of the Criminal Minds: Evolution reboot teasing Matthew Gray Gubler‘s epic return, folks felt a surprise mix of emotions when it finally happened. In the season 3 episode “Time to Say Goodbye,” viewers watched as the BAU supported J.J. Jareau (A.J. Cook) and her sons Henry and Michael (A.J.’s real-life sons Mekhai and Phoenix Anderson) at the funeral for her late husband Will LaMontagne Jr. (Josh Stewart). While J.J. and her sons are waiting for the procession to begin at the church, Henry notes to his mom that someone special came to be there for them during their time of need.
As the camera pans to the doorway, fans see Spencer standing there, ready to wrap the trio into a big hug.
“Told you he’d come,” Henry tells J.J. in a clip shared on X (formerly Twitter).
“Spence — you came!” J.J. replies as she sees Spencer.
But that’s not all. While Spencer uncharacteristically stays silent throughout his short time on screen, folks do get to see him speak with J.J. after the service is over. As the two embrace, J.J. expresses her gratitude for him showing up for her family amid a life away from the BAU.
“I still can’t believe you made it,” J.J. tells Spencer in a separate clip.
“I’m always here for you guys,” Spencer responds with his one line in the entire episode.
Given the fact Matthew’s cameo was so short, longtime Criminal Minds fans certainly had thoughts about it on Reddit.
“I’m very disappointed at Spencer’s scenes…he really didn’t even have a speaking part, like any wisdom or anything to bring to the table, even though it was awesome that he was there for JJ, Michael and Henry it wasn’t what I expected…I’m truly upset about that!!!” one user lamented.
“For anyone just here to see how Reid comes back, it’s a cameo for the funeral and he’s gone in like 10 minutes. Nice to see him. MGG doesn’t age lol,” another fan wrote.
“Ugh I wish Spencer said more than one line I miss him 💔💔😭,” a different follower added.
As viewers remember, Matthew portrayed Spencer for the entire run of the original Criminal Minds series. While the actor hasn’t been on Criminal Minds: Evolution until now, audiences have gotten clues as to Spencer’s whereabouts working on a new assignment for the FBI.
Even though it’ll likely be a while before Matthew comes back to the procedural drama (if at all), at least fans can look forward to seeing him on another TV show. His new series Einstein was officially given the green light by CBS, and it’ll likely premiere sometime during the 2026-2027 TV season.
