‘Criminal Minds’ Just Delivered Its Most Tense Episode — but Then Aisha Tyler Took Over

Aisha Tyler is a multi-faceted artist who has dipped her toes into such a wide range of projects over the years. She has hosted talk shows and podcasts, directed a handful of creative projects, and, as an actor, Tyler also has some memorable performances under her belt, from when she boasted her comedic chops in Whose Line Is It Anyway? to when she conveyed nuance through her voice in Archer. Versatility is the name of her game. Most recently, Tyler has been committing her efforts to the widely popular, rebooted Criminal Minds: Evolution, where she plays BAU criminal profiler Tara Lewis, but has also directed one of Evolution Season 3’s most compelling and shocking episodes, “The Zookeeper.” Despite her achievements within the series, it is in the eighth episode, “Tara,” where Tyler gives her most emotional and riveting performance in the show, something that breathes life back into her character.

Tara Lewis Gets Lost in the Cast of ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’

Tara was first introduced in the Criminal Minds Season 11 premiere as a forensic psychologist in the FBI who helped the BAU catch their weekly unsub. Even though Tara’s specialty was interviewing imprisoned criminals to ensure they were psychologically competent to be convicted of a jail sentence, she had the psychological background and skills that were easily transferred to what the BAU did: hunting down unsubs using behavior patterns. Tyler effortlessly stepped into the role of the serious profiler, giving her a lived-in competency and easing into the team’s dynamics, so it was no surprise that she was upgraded to a regular cast member by Season 12.

However, Tyler’s performance was limited by the professional environment of the show. Like most agents, Tara is often composed and analytical while she works, and any sparks in her characterization are found in her dry wit and candid humor. However, everyone on the team also tends to have the same sense of humor, which makes Tara bond with the team well, but it also means she often gets lost in the crowd. Once the novelty of her addition to the crew wears off, Tara struggles to stand out from her peers, and this is especially apparent in the most recent seasons of Evolution. As such, Season 3, Episode 8, was sorely needed for her character at this point in time, as we finally see a more human and emotional side to her (which we hadn’t seen since Season 14, when her ex-husband made an appearance), and it also gives Tyler a stage to flex her acting muscles in the role of Tara.

‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Showcases Aisha Tyler’s Best Tara Performance Yet

The closing scenes of Evolution Season 3, Episode 7, end with a bang. Two bangs, specifically, as two bullets are lodged into Tara’s abdomen after a mysterious shooter ambushes her, Rebecca (Nicole Pacent), and Rebecca’s college friend, Evan (Geoff Stults), in a parking lot. Following this, the latest episode takes us into the recesses of Tara’s unconscious mind, as the BAU wait for her to recover from her injuries. Tara faces her imminent mortality during this mind-bending experience, and once she realizes what is happening, she ardently pleads with whatever force is out there that she isn’t ready to die and has no regrets in life. Then, her mother, Caroline (LaTanya Richardson Jackson), appears, asking Tara if she is sure she doesn’t have any unfinished business.

Tara is finally forced to confront the trauma of losing her mother to breast cancer, and diligently works through the grief. After JJ’s (A.J. Cook) storyline around grief, this feels like another kick while we’re already down, and Tyler capitalizes on the already grievous atmosphere, delivering a devastating performance. The most notable scene in this episode is towards the end, when Tara sits on her mother’s empty hospital bed and finally feels the emotions she had been suppressing all these years. Tyler doles out the tears slowly, as first we notice the cracks in Tara’s usually composed exterior, but once she reaches some invisible threshold, she foregoes restraint, and it all comes cascading out. Tyler is the epitome of going from a trickle to a flood, and we can almost feel the vibrations of her shaken body being wracked with sobs.

Jackson plays Caroline with a healthy dose of maternal tough love and compassion, but during this scene, she lingers in the background and allows Tara to feel the gravity of her repressed grief. After their mother-daughter chemistry endeared us to their relationship, Caroline’s background presence in that scene evokes connotations of a guardian angel, making Tara’s vulnerability even more moving. By injecting this emotional intensity and such an acutely painful human experience into Tara’s storyline, Tyler can push new life into the character again, demanding our full attention and ensuring she doesn’t get lost in the crowd anymore. How can she after making such a loud impact? Tara may have been floating along for the ride in the series for a few seasons now, but Evolution made the wise decision to bring her back to the forefront, renewing our investment in the profiler.