Warning! Spoilers ahead for Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, episode 3.

Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 introduces a new villain, Brian, but he isn’t exactly new to the franchise, considering his history in the CBS series. After an intense two-episode premiere, Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, episode 3 picks up with its Luke Alvez cliffhanger that reveals what infuriating secret Elias Voit told him. As it turns out, it has something to do with AI and deep-fake technology that resulted in made-up compromising videos and photos of JJ Jarreau. Since she was the face of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) for years as a media liaison, she was particularly targeted.

Beyond that ongoing arc, however, Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, episode 3, “Homesick” introduces a couple of other arcs that keep the squad separated. Penelope Garcia begrudgingly teams up with Tyler Green, while Dave Rossi and Tara Lewis deal with a case of the week. Emily Prentiss, on the other hand, is left to deal with a brand-new issue that puts more pressure on her to get the Gold Star case resolved. As it turns out, there’s someone leaking information about the case and using it to create conspiracies. Her old neighbor, Brian Garrity.

Brian Was Introduced In Criminal Minds Season 15, Episode 4, “Saturday”

Paul F. Thompkins’ Played Prentiss’ Former Neighbor In The CBS Show

Played by Paul F. Thompkins, Brian is technically not a new Criminal Minds character. He was introduced in Criminal Minds season 15, episode 4, “Saturday,” which featured the BAU taking a rare day off. Despite this, some of them were forced to get back to the office, including Prentiss, who discovered that he was being sued by her former neighbor, as part of a lawsuit against the FBI, for allegedly spying on him. Even then, Brian was already a conspiracy theorist. The plot was mainly played for laughs. Little did Prentiss know that it would haunt her several years later.

The original Criminal Minds show didn’t reveal anything else about Brian. It didn’t even show the supposed house that he lived in or highlighted just how deep his conspiracies ran. Prentiss did say, however, that falling into this dark path was kickstarted when he was left by his wife, who looked a lot like Lewis, hence why she was able to convince him to drop the bogus lawsuit. Rossi did warn Prentiss, however, about the dangers of letting someone like Brian go, and Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 has proven him right.

What Brian’s Return Means For Prentiss’ Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2 Arc

Prentiss’ BAU Role Has Just Gotten More Complicated

It had been years since Brian and Prentiss came face-to-face, and now it seems like he has become more entrenched in his conspiring ways. His initial reunion with Prentiss in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, episode 3 was in a dimly-lit parking garage because he is way too scared that they are being followed. Prentiss is able to convince him to lay low. Still, he refuses to give up the legitimate source of his theories. Unfortunately, that isn’t the last of his appearance, as he frames Prentiss for supposedly hurting him in the closing moments of “Homesick.”

This puts Prentiss in a more difficult situation that will likely hamper her actions as BAU’s leader. This new issue comes at the worst time as her team is slowly learning about the deep-fake site that targeted her profilers, particularly JJ. This has created some kind of animosity from Alvez, who is fully convinced that she should have let the squad know about the matter when it first blew up. The brief but vital conflict about Rossi openly undermining Prentiss’ leadership in the Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 premiere could also play into the AI crisis that they are facing.

Who Brian’s Source May Be In Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2

Brian May Have Ties To Gold Star And Voit’s Network

When Brian was first introduced, his theories had no basis whatsoever. In Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, however, it’s clear that whoever is feeding him information has legitimate knowledge of what’s going on within the bureau. Granted that he is spinning it into ridiculous ideas, but with a solid backer, he can cause a lot of damage to the BAU. Stopping him shouldn’t end the profilers’ business with him. Instead, they need to find out who is leaking him details of the Gold Star case.

Tying Bryan to the secret identity of Gold Star is the most plausible scenario at this point. Per Voit’s admission that he was able to communicate with the government-trained killer, it shouldn’t be difficult to take advantage of Brian’s penchant for ludicrous details that could feed his own conspiracies. Assuming that this is the case, the good thing is that Brian can also be the key to tracking down Gold Star by searching for his digital footprint in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2.

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