Warning! Spoilers ahead for the Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 premiere.

The Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 premiere resurrects an Aaron Hotchner issue from the original show, leaving Emily Prentiss to deal with it. On the heels of Thomas Gibson’s firing from Criminal Minds, the CBS show had to scramble to explain his exit while also setting up a future for the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) without him. Ultimately, the show revisited the Foyet case to write off Hotch while also bringing back Paget Brewster’s Prentiss to take over his spot as the new BAU leader. Since then, the team has solved many cases and weathered so many more crises.

By the time the Paramount+ revival picked up, Prentiss remained to be the BAU leader. The team was hampered by budget constraints, not to mention both Matthew Gray Gubler and Daniel Henney’s Matt Simmons being inaccessible. Still, the profilers were able to make it work, successfully taking down Elias Voit and his network of serial killers. There is no doubt that Prentiss is great as the team leader, and no one would have been able to take over the squad after Hotch’s departure better than her. However, Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 is starting to question that.

Rossi Undermines Prentiss’ Power As Team Leader In Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2

Prentiss Claims Rossi Would Never Do That To Hotch

As the BAU races against time to solve the mystery of Gold Star, Prentiss becomes overeager, prompting Dave Rossi to openly oppose her in front of local law enforcement officers in the Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 premiere. This leads to Prentiss calling out his behavior in a private moment, saying that Rossi would never do what he did to her to Hotch. Regardless of the truth, this highlights the lack of friction when she took over the team. Normally, this would be great, but this prevented her from properly establishing herself as a worthy successor to Hotch.

On paper, Prentiss is qualified for the job. Her effectiveness and loyalty as a leader are unmatched. Still, the major difference between her and Hotch is the way the squad perceives them. Hotch was the boss. There was a separation between him and his profilers that made it easy to decipher the hierarchy in the BAU. Since Prentiss started as a colleague, and she was essentially just thrust into the position of team leader, her squad sees her more as a peer, hence why she tells Rossi that he would never openly oppose Hotch the way he did to her.

Prentiss’ Leadership Being Questioned Is Integral To BAU’s Future

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 3 Is Already Confirmed

Aside from being composed of highly skilled individuals, the BAU’s success is rooted in the camaraderie that the profilers have. This doesn’t mean, however, that conflicts within the squad don’t happen. Questioning Prentiss’ thought process is a good thing, as long as they find a way to work past it, which she and Rossi can do in the season 2 opener. Difficult as it may be, this would only strengthen their relationship and help Prentiss be more confident with her convictions as a leader, especially since the BAU will move forward with Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3 now confirmed.

Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 drops new episodes every Thursday on Paramount+.