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Criminal Minds: Evolution is taking a holiday break. Episode 5, the midseason finale, of the Criminal Minds revival dropped on Dec. 15, leaving fans on a major cliffhanger that puts two BAU agents in danger. It will be a few weeks until viewers find out what happens next. Here’s everything to know about Criminal Minds: Evolution Episode 6 and the remainder of season 1.

[Spoiler alert: The third section of this story contains spoilers for Criminal Minds: Evolution Episode 5, “Oedipus Wrecks.”]

Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez and A.J. Cook as JJ wearing bulletproof vests at night in Criminal Minds: Evolution Episode 5
Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez and A.J. Cook as JJ in ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Episode 5 | Michael Yarish/Paramount+

When does ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ return for episode 6?

The Criminal Minds revival premiered on Paramount+ on Thanksgiving Day. Also considered Criminal Minds Season 16, Criminal Minds: Evolution picks up two years after the original series ended. Paget Brewster, A.J. Cook, Joe Mantegna, Aisha Tyler, Adam Rodriguez, and Kirsten Vangsness reprise their roles as members of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. This time, the profilers must track a network of serial killers created during the pandemic.

The first five episodes have already dropped on Paramount+. After the midseason hiatus, Criminal Minds: Evolution Episode 6 will premiere on Jan. 12, 2023.

How many episodes of ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ are there?

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 1 will have 10 episodes in total, so there’s still half a season to go. When the show returns on Jan. 12, it will go back to its weekly schedule, with a new installment every Thursday. Here’s the schedule for the rest of the season:

  • Episode 6: Jan. 12
  • Episode 7: Jan. 19
  • Episode 8: Jan. 26
  • Episode 9: Feb. 2
  • Episode 10 (finale): Feb. 9

The episodes will be available starting at 12 a.m. PT every Thursday. For viewers on the east coast, that’s 3 a.m.

What to expect after the cliffhanger in the midseason finale

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Many fans were on the edge of their seats by the end of the midseason finale. Criminal Minds: Evolution Episode 5 sees the BAU attempt to bring in a serial killer named Benjamin Reeves (Luke Benward), who uses custom teeth made of razors to bite his victims. He turns the women into his mother, Senator Martha Reeves (Beth Broderick), before attacking them.

As it turns out, Benjamin paid a hefty amount to jump ahead of others in Elias Volt’s (Zach Gilford) serial killer network. However, because of Benjamin’s political connection, Deputy Director Bailey (Nicholas D’Agosto) is hesitant to let the BAU arrest him. He gives the OK only after Benjamin kills his mother and escapes with Elias.

Luke (Rodriguez) and JJ (Cook) track down one of Elias’s shipping containers, and they decide to move in without waiting for backup. The rest of the BAU watch from the office via Luke’s and JJ’s body cams as they infiltrate the container. However, the two agents find a bomb. It seemingly goes off before they escape, and their colleagues watch in horror as the body cams lose connection.

Fans will have to wait to find out if Luke and JJ survive the explosion. Until then, showrunner Erica Messer teased what’s to come in the rest of the season.

“The first five episodes show Elias winning against the BAU,” Messer told Decider. “And then in the last five, the tables turn a little bit and he starts devolving a bit. And that’s when the BAU can always find out more because the UnSub starts making mistakes.”

Criminal Minds: Evolution Episodes 1 through 5 are now streaming on Paramount+.

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