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The series finale of Criminal Minds, titled “And in the End,” will air on Wednesday, Feb 19 at 8 p.m. The two-hour special will tie up loose ends, and one of those (SPOILER ALERT) is David Rossi’s retirement.
WARNING: Spoilers for the finale of Criminal Minds follow.
Long-time viewers will remember that Rossi, who is played by Joe Mantegna, was one of the founders of the Behavioral Analysis Unit and only returned to the team in season 3 after being away from the unit for some time. His motivation for returning was to solve an old case of his. He has appeared on more than 300 episodes of the show.
Earlier in season 15, Rossi was shot by an UnSub, making him realize that it could be time to be done with the BAU for good.
Read on to learn more about the series finale of Criminal Minds.
Criminal Minds Series Finale Spoilers: Why Is Rossi Retiring?
The synopsis of the series finale tells us that Rossi will finally retire from the BAU.
The episode description reads: “Following an explosive face-to-face encounter with Everett Lynch, a.k.a. “The Chameleon,” Dr. Reid suffers from a brain injury and, while experiencing hallucinations, is visited by ghosts from his past. Also, the BAU makes a shocking discovery about Lynch that affects Rossi personally, and the entire BAU team comes together to celebrate Rossi’s retirement.”
Photos of the finale show the whole team at a retirement party for Rossi. It’s likely he retires because he’s been doing the job for a long time, has solved the case he came back to solve and doesn’t want to have to worry about getting shot at anymore.
The series finale will also feature flashbacks to previous seasons, as hinted at in the synopsis and the trailer. The trailer for the finale is riddled with familiar faces from the past like Hotch, who was played by Thomas Gibson, Gideon, who was played by Mandy Patinkin, and Derek, who was played by Shamar Moore. There are old images of Reid, Rossi and the rest of the team as well.
Mantegna Said Criminal Minds Made Him Gain Respect for Real-Life Agents
In an interview with CBS News, Mantegna looked back at his time on the show and his numerous visits to Quantico, where the FBI is headquartered.
“I’ve been to Quantico numerous times and it’s the real deal,” he said. “It’s fantastic and it’s great. It gives you more respect for what these men and women do each day. We did our best to portray it as honestly as possible.”
He said he thought the agents liked Criminal Minds for that reason: their attempts to be true to what actually happens on a daily basis. They also checked in with the FBI when they had questions or needed information. The cast was also able to get a closer look at some aspects of the job that are not public knowledge.
“The facilities they have and the resources they have… and the public is not even aware of a lot of it. They opened up some stuff to me and it gives you a certain confidence and swagger with the character,” Mantegna said.
Criminal Minds wraps up on Wednesday, Feb 19, 2020 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. The finale is a two-hour episode.
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