‘Criminal Minds’: Why Gideon’s Death Happened Years After Mandy Patinkin Left
Jason Gideon, the former senior supervisory special agent of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) on Criminal Minds, wasn’t always well-liked by fans. However, many would likely agree that the circumstances surrounding his death on the show were a bit unusual. Mandy Patinkin, the actor behind Gideon, left Criminal Minds in season 3, but his character’s death didn’t happen until season 10 — and fans didn’t even see Gideon’s final moments. Was it really necessary to bring his name back just to kill him off? Criminal Minds executive producer Erica Messer once explained why it needed to happen.
Why did Mandy Patinkin leave ‘Criminal Minds’?
Patinkin’s sudden departure came early in season 3. On the show, Gideon left the BAU due to the trauma he experienced after prolific serial killer Frank Breitkopf (Keith Carradine) murdered his girlfriend. In real life, Patinkin quit Criminal Minds because he didn’t feel comfortable with the show’s dark subject matter and violent nature. In an interview with New York Magazine, the actor even called Criminal Minds the “biggest public mistake” of his career.
“I thought it was something very different. I never thought they were going to kill and rape all these women every night, every day, week after week, year after year,” he said. “It was very destructive to my soul and my personality. After that, I didn’t think I would get to work in television again.”
The real reason for Jason Gideon’s death on ‘Criminal Minds’
Even after Gideon left the BAU, his colleagues continued to recall fond memories of him. That was especially true for David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), Gideon’s former partner and best friend, as he and Gideon formed the BAU together in the ’70s. David took over for Gideon when he left, and he helped investigate Gideon’s death in Criminal Minds Season 10.
In the episode “Nelson’s Sparrow,” Gideon was found dead (off-screen) in his home. He was killed by Donnie Mallick (Arye Gross), who abducted women in one of Rossi and Gideon’s first BAU cases. Patinkin never reprised his role, but the episode did feature flashbacks with Ben Savage playing young Gideon and Robert Dunne playing young Rossi.
So, why did Criminal Minds decide to kill off Gideon years after his departure from the BAU? According to Messer, his death was the only case “important enough” to warrant a look back at the beginnings of the BAU. At the same time, it was a way to “honor” Gideon and look at the full picture of his life right up to his death.
“Having it be this character, who we haven’t seen in forever but we’re going to see where it started with him, it just felt right to see where it all ends for him,” Messer told TVGuide in 2015. “We don’t kill off our heroes very often. But it felt like after 10 years, these are things that do happen to agents who have worked together for a long time. Their friends die, even in the line of duty.”
Will Jason Gideon return in ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’?
Because of Gideon’s death and Patinkin’s feelings about Criminal Minds, it’s unlikely the character will appear in Paramount+’s revival of the show, Criminal Minds: Evolution. However, Savage did return as a vision of young Gideon in the Criminal Minds series finale; it’s possible the revival could include something similar.
Criminal Minds: Evolution stars Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, Adam Rodriguez, and Paget Brewster in their original roles. The show follows the BAU profilers as they investigate an UnSub who created a serial killer network during the pandemic.
Criminal Minds is available to stream on Paramount+. Criminal Minds: Evolution premieres on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24, on Paramount+.
