Criminal Minds Fans’ Big JJ Complaint Proves They Weren’t Paying Attention

While Criminal Minds has a multitude of reasons for its massive popularity, one of the most important reasons is its endearing cast of characters. The main cast of characters has changed numerous times over the nearly 20 seasons of the original series and sequel series. Several original and long-term characters remain active in the current iteration of the series Criminal Minds: Evolution, and one of those characters is SSA Jennifer ‘JJ’ Jareau.

Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer ‘JJ’ Jareau is one of the longest-serving characters in the series. Unlike her team of fellow profilers, JJ did not begin her career in the Behavioral Analysis Unit as a profiler. JJ was originally the team’s Communications and Media Liaison, tasked with communicating with and managing the press. She also has the responsibility of selecting which cases the BAU decides to consult on. JJ’s role has evolved since she has been on the show, with her joining the ranks of profilers in later seasons of the show. Some Criminal Minds fans dislike JJ’s character, labeling her journey dull compared to some of the other main characters. However, JJ is a fascinating character, and her nuanced professional journey within the FBI proves that.

From Small Town Girl to FBI Communications Liaison

Jennifer ‘JJ’ Jareau was a Key Member of the BAU Team Before She Was a Profiler

JJ grew up in a rural small town called East Alleghany, Pennsylvania. JJ’s hometown may have seemed idyllic, but she had a turbulent and traumatic home life. JJ’s teenage older sister Roslyn committed suicide when she was a child, which fractured her parents’ marriage. JJ would go on to attend college at both the University of Pittsburgh and Georgetown University. At Georgetown, she found herself about to graduate with no idea what she would be doing afterwards. She then stumbled upon her future teammate and then-retired Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi promoting one of his novels. After listening to Rossi’s talk, she decided to apply for the FBI academy.

“Everyday, Agent Jareau fields dozens of requests for our team, and every night she goes home hoping she’s made the right choices.” – SSA Aaron ‘Hotch’ Hotchner in Criminal Minds Season 2, Episode 23, “No Way Out, Part II: The Evilution of Frank”

When JJ is introduced in Season 1 of Criminal Minds, she is working as the BAU’s Communications and Media Liaison. JJ’s role is multifaceted. A broad role of her job is controlling the flow of information in and out of the BAU. This begins with JJ being the point of contact for local police departments to contact the BAU. The BAU only has primary custody when killers cross state lines, so a majority of the cases the BAU works are when they are invited to consult by state police departments across the country. JJ is in charge of going through these requests and deciding which cases the BAU will become involved in. This is a heavy responsibility, and one JJ does not take lightly.

JJ travels with the BAU team when they work cases to do the second part of her job as Communications Liaison. The second part of her job involves wrangling the media while the BAU is working on a case. Criminal Minds is a unique series in that it explores the American public’s fascination with serial killers and true crime. This fascination can interfere with the BAU’s investigation, so JJ uses her savvy nature to prevent the press from interfering.

JJ’s role is more than just running interference with the press. On several occasions, JJ has worked with the team to implement targeted media strategies to aid the investigation. Certain serial killers obsessively watch media coverage of their crimes, which opens them up to manipulation by certain media narratives that JJ and the BAU can spin. This has proven effective on numerous occasions.

One such example was in Criminal Minds Season 4, Episode 10, “Brothers in Arms.” A killer was targeting police officers of the Phoenix, Arizona police department. The team’s profile lets them know that the killer, referred to as an Unknown Subject or UNSUB, is looking for the most challenging prey. To lure the killer out and protect the targeted uniformed officers, JJ organizes a press conference where team leader SSA Aaron Hotchner pretends to take over the investigation and makes himself a target for the killer. The media strategy works, and the killer is intercepted going after SSA Hotchner.

JJ Made the Jump From Liaison to Profiler in Season 7

JJ Expanded Her Skillsets and Became a Great Profiler

JJ was with the team as their media liaison for six seasons, the only exception being her maternity leave for her son Henry. JJ had been headhunted by the Pentagon. The Department of Defense had offered her a liaison position twice, with JJ rejecting it the same number of times. Due to political pressure from Section Chief Erin Strauss, JJ is forced to accept the position in Season 6, Episode 2, “J.J.” The BAU is heartbroken to lose JJ, and also now without a Communication Liaison. After some trial and error, Hotch and Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia split aspects of the role to keep the team afloat.

Luckily for the BAU, JJ would return in the following season. JJ has completed all necessary prerequisites to return to the team as a profiler, instead of a liaison, with Hotch and Penelope keeping the additional tasks they’ve taken on. JJ’s path to becoming a profiler may have been unorthodox, but it has made her a force to be reckoned with. JJ may not have been a profiler herself for her original stretch with the BAU, but she still learned a lot of profiling skills by working with the profilers on the team.

JJ’s Communications Liaison skills also did not evaporate when she changed positions. Knowing how the media operates and having a keen knowledge of how killers interact with the media that covers them is an invaluable skill. JJ also proves to be a quick student with combat skills, which her teammate, SSA Derek Morgan, helped her hone when she returned to the BAU.

A fan-favorite scene of JJ in action can be seen in the two-part Criminal Minds Season 7 finale, “Hit/Run.” A vicious team of bank robbers sets their sights on JJ and her husband, the late Detective Will LaMontagne. The female bank robber breaks into their family home, endangering their young son Henry. JJ goes after the female UNSUB and engages in a brutal fight. JJ ends the fight by removing the bullets from the attacker’s weapon while she is still holding it, and then using a spin-kick to knock her unconscious.

The Understated and Underappreciated Complexity of SSA Jennifer Jareau

JJ Has Only Continued to Evolve Since Becoming An Elite Profiler

Criminal Minds has no shortage of compelling characters with nuanced backstories that led to them becoming members of the BAU. Examples include SSA Dr. Spencer Reid’s background as a child prodigy or Penelope Garcia’s past as a criminal hacker. With some of the backstories being so extreme, it can cause some of the more understated character arcs to go underappreciated.

The journey of SSA Jennifer ‘JJ’ Jareau is one of the best constructed character arcs. When JJ is introduced in the first season of Criminal Minds, it becomes incredibly clear that she is an integral member of the team, despite not being a profiler. Over the course of her time as the BAU’s Communications Liaison, her character continues to evolve within her role. JJ has a talent for learning on the fly and unconsciously picking up skills from the people around her. It’s undeniable that the BAU team is better with her around, and she is a better agent in the BAU.

When JJ returns to the team as a profiler, it’s clear that she has changed and acquired some new skills from her time working in the Pentagon. If this story arc had not been handled the way it was, the changes to JJ’s character could have seemed too out of character. However, because JJ had already changed so much in front of viewers’ eyes over the original six seasons of Criminal Minds, this was explainable. JJ’s fluid nature gives her an edge as an FBI Agent and a profiler. She is able to retain all the various skill sets that she has learned while being a federal agent and combine them to make her a force to be reckoned with.

Jennifer ‘JJ’ Jareau began as a fresh-faced liaison with no profiling experience and is now a BAU veteran in Criminal Minds: Evolution, and is undeniably the toughest agent on the team. JJ underwent a true evolution throughout her time on Criminal Minds. She was already the backbone of the BAU when she was in her early days, but she used the support of her team to elevate and educate herself. She continued to blossom to the point where she was poached by the Pentagon. She continued to learn and grow there and fought to return to her team in a new role. Combining everything she learned, she became a force of nature.

JJ is one of only two original characters from the original series that’s still in the revival, alongside Penelope Garcia. JJ’s importance as the unspoken foundation of the Behavioral Analysis Unit has never been more evident. Her adaptability is shining bright in this series as the BAU is routinely pushed into uncharted territory. JJ easily blends compassion with iron strength honed from struggles she’s overcome. Criminal Minds would not be the success story it is without her.