Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, episode 3.

Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, episode 3 further continued the “Gold Star” mystery while featuring reveals about the previous episode’s shocking cliffhanger. Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, episodes 1 and 2 served as the sophomore season’s premiere and finally answered questions about “Gold Star,” which was introduced at the end of season 1. Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 also brought back season 1’s major villain Elias Voit, much to the chagrin of the BAU team. At the end of Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, episode 2, Voit whispered something in Luke’s ear that triggered a violent reaction.

What Voit whispered in Luke’s ear was a major subplot in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, episode 3. Unfortunately, little to no headway was made with “Gold Star,” as the team had other problems to fix. Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, episode 4 could change this with Voit’s wife, Sydney, agreeing to speak with him. It’s already been confirmed that there will be major reveals with the “Gold Star” mystery in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, episode 5, so the team is getting close to solving some of their mystery.

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2, Episode 3’s Cliffhanger Explained

Emily Could Be In Deep Trouble In Season 2, Episode 4

Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 brought back Brian, a character who first appeared in Criminal Minds season 15, episode 4, “Saturday.” Brian was Emily’s former neighbor and a government conspiracy theorist who caused trouble for the BAU Unit Chief on her day off. He sued her, claiming Emily and the FBI were allegedly spying on him. While Emily was able to stop him from pursuing the lawsuit, he didn’t stop peddling his conspiracy theories.

During the pandemic, Brian gained an online following through lengthy videos he made “exposing” government secrets. Somehow, Brian got in contact with a leak that provided him with information about FBI Deputy Director Bailey and his death. FBI Director Madison ordered Prentiss to stop Brian, and Emily did her best to do so.

Unfortunately, things went awry when Brian was attacked in the parking garage by a random group of men with Emily present. When the police arrived, the men fled, and Brian accused Emily of attacking him. This is how Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, episode 3 ended, with Emily in hot water. Given how fast the police arrived, and the perpetrators fleeing immediately, Brian likely set Emily up to be arrested in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2. This isn’t the first time Emily’s been in trouble either, which could work against her in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, episode 4.

BAU-Gate Explained

Voit’s Network Targeted JJ Specifically

As aforementioned, Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, episode 3 revealed what Voit mentioned in Luke’s ear at the end of episode 2. As many had suspected based on Luke’s sudden violent and dramatic reaction, Voit’s whispers had been about Luke’s team. Voit told Luke about a site on the dark web known as “BAU-Gate,” which was an AI porn site of the BAU.

When Luke confronted Emily about this, she already knew, as did JJ, though she’d only heard rumors about it during her time as media liaison. JJ assumed it was just anime porn and not anything to be concerned about, but Luke proved her wrong. It’s been over a decade since JJ was the BAU’s media liaison, giving Voit’s network plenty of time to update the site.

Now, it features AI deepfake porn of the BAU, specifically JJ. Since JJ was the media liaison, footage of her was easily accessible, fueling Voit’s network in their perverted crimes. Luke went against protocol by telling JJ about this, as he wanted to help protect her. JJ visited the site at the end of Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, episode 4, and it can be assumed she will turn to Penelope for help removing it from the internet.

How Voit Succeeded In His Plan With The BAU

Voit Created Division Within The BAU Team Members

When Luke first asked JJ about “BAU-Gate,” she referred to what Elias whispered to him as a “win-win situation” for Voit. If Luke told JJ, he’d upset her. If Luke didn’t tell JJ, he’d be keeping secrets, making him feel like Voit and others like him. JJ told Luke not to worry about that, as she already knew about the site. However, things changed when she learned the truth about what Voit’s network had done to it. Additionally, Voit had an even bigger goal when he revealed the site to Luke.

In doing so, he sowed division within the team. Luke was angry with Emily for not telling the team about the site, viewing it as a betrayal. Though JJ defended Emily’s decision to withhold the information, her opinions might change now that she knows she was the site’s sole target. If the rest of the team finds out, this could cause further issues. With Emily currently facing Brian’s accusation and any consequences that will come from it, it’s the worst time for the BAU to have any infighting.

Why Did Tyler Go Off The Grid In Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2, Episode 3?

Tyler Chased Down A Private Lead

Tyler has been a controversial character in Criminal Minds: Evolution. In the first season of the Criminal Minds revival, Tyler was a vigilante brought in to consult on the BAU’s “Sicarius” case due to his military intelligence background and infiltration of Voit’s network. Tyler also formed a romantic relationship with Garcia that has since ended due to a conflict of interest, but there’s a chance they’ll continue to break the rules in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2.

Part of the reason Tyler is so controversial is he appears to be untrustworthy. In Criminal Minds: Evolution season 1, he went off the grid to chase down Voit himself, and he did the same in season 2, episode 3 with Sebastian. In the previous episode, he discovered Sebastian was behind the escrow account funded by a bank that wanted a strike team to kill “Gold Star.” Unfortunately, “Gold Star” got to the strike team first, killing every member.

Criminal Minds: Evolution revealed Tyler had a personal connection to Sebastian through the military. Tyler then threatened Sebastian’s life to try and get answers from him. Sebastian tells Tyler the blood wasn’t on the government’s hands this time, meaning some other entity had likely sanctioned the strike team’s mission. Fortunately, Tyler was able to clone Sebastian’s phone, which he brought to Garcia behind the rest of the BAU’s backs.

Since he obtained everything illegally, he needed to do his dirty work with as few people knowing as possible. If Emily or the FBI’s higher-ups learn what he’s done, he’ll likely be fired from his consultant job. It’s been confirmed that Tyler will return for Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3, so he’s sticking around regardless of whether he remains a BAU consultant.

Did Emily Get Demoted In Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2?

Emily Was Section Chief In Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 1

During the three-year time jump between Criminal Minds ending and Criminal Minds: Evolution beginning, Emily Prentiss was promoted to FBI Section Chief. This role was a step up from BAU Unit Chief, a role she’d occupied since Hotch left for Witness Protection in Criminal Minds season 12. This meant she had control over more than just the BAU, and Rossi was promoted to BAU Unit Chief.

However, when Emily introduced herself to new people in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, it was as the BAU Unit Chief, not the FBI Section Chief. This suggests that after Bailey’s death, Emily was demoted, along with Rossi, who had disobeyed direct orders before being kidnapped by Voit. Emily’s position could be threatened once again with the cliffhanger with Brian at the end of Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, episode 3.

How Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2 Changed The Traditional Formula

Criminal Minds: Evolution Follows A Different Format

Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 marked some major changes from the original 15 seasons of Criminal Minds. The most obvious was that it moved from network television on CBS to streaming with Paramount+, which led to a different set of rules. Viewers might have noticed curse words flowing freely from Rossi and Emily’s mouths that never would have been allowed on prime-time network TV.

However, another change was perhaps more subtle and evolved over time in Criminal Minds: Evolution. The show’s original formula typically revealed an unsub’s identity to viewers early on in an episode, allowing them to watch the BAU team try to uncover what they already knew. Occasionally, more dangerous unsubs, like “The Boston Reaper” and “Mr. Scratch” occupied multi-episode arcs, but most episodes focused on one case at a time before moving on to the next in the following episode.

In Criminal Minds: Evolution season 1, Voit’s identity as “Sicarius” was revealed to viewers early, but the team also took on smaller, one-episode cases during his full-season arc. Yet, in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, the viewers are just as much in the dark about “Gold Star” as the BAU team. It appears that the viewers will experience the “Gold Star” reveal at the same time as the characters. As with Voit, there are still the smaller, one-episode cases. Yet, these cases feel like more of a distraction than anything else.

Since there is so little known about “Gold Star,” it can make viewers impatient to have the show focus any of their attention elsewhere when the precious time in the 10-episode season could instead be spent finding “Gold Star.” This also leads to the team splitting up more often than not. Though the other cases are necessary for the BAU’s operation, the amount of time they take can be frustrating. Whether for better or worse, Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 has made some big changes thus far.