Criminal Minds Season 19 Implies Violent Psychopathy Could Be Biological
A New District Attorney Revisits An Age-Old Question
Voit's role in Criminal Minds seems to start from scratch each season. The character was first introduced as the fearsome Sicarius killer, who taunted the BAU for 10 long episodes before his eventual capture. Season 17 followed him haunting the narrative— and the fragile psyche of David Rossi (Joe Mantegna)— until a debilitating attack in prison turned the unsub into an amnesiac. Last season, he was a medical marvel who inexplicably lost his psychopathy thanks to his traumatic brain injury, leaving him now allegedly reformed and remorseful. Of course, it would be too easy to simply let Voit's character go.
Rather, the former murderer seems more important than ever, especially to Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler). Based on the first three episodes of season 19, the psychologist has taken a vested interest in probing Voit's mind, hoping to understand him better— and, in turn, to use any newfound knowledge to prevent more unsubs like him from emerging.
Despite initially resisting the idea, Voit acquiesces due to his growing piles of correspondence. Within his towering stacks of envelopes, some are from the families of his victims, providing constant reminders of his past crimes. Others are bona fide fan mail, complete with drawings of Sicarius spiders and sycophantic letters praising Voit as the hot new true-crime darling. Naturally, his celebrity has only earned Voit the ire of law enforcement officials, be it his prison guards or the North Carolina District Attorney Emory Joy (Rob Yang).
In Criminal Minds season 19, episode 3, Joy calls the BAU down for what turns out to be a frame job, but the DA is gunning for Voit's conviction (and subsequent death sentence) from the moment he appears on-screen. According to Joy, there's something "in [Voit's] blood" that makes him a killer, and no amount of self-reflection nor self-flagellation can change that. To the district attorney, Voit isn't a man atoning for his sins; he's a ticking time bomb waiting for his next chance to strike.
A So-Called Killer Gene Would Render The BAU Obsolete
The Entire Purpose Of The Team Would Eventually Be Moot
DA Joy's extreme bias against Voit speaks to a larger discussion that, so far, runs as a major undercurrent of Criminal Minds season 19: what exactly makes an unsub. The question of whether killers are born or made has lingered in the background of every episode since the continuation began, all tied to Voit's character. Although the infamous unsub was groomed by his murderous uncle, Voit was also responsible for the death of his parents as a child. Once he lost his memory, the man seemed to be reborn, but numerous characters doubted Voit could actually change.
New episodes of Criminal Minds season 19 drop every Thursday on Paramount+.
If what Joy believes— and what Tara is studying— turns out to be true, it would completely destroy the foundation of Criminal Minds' BAU. The team inherently relies on external factors, solving crimes and building profiles based on unique circumstances. By exploring victimology, possible motives, and any other pathological patterns, the BAU is able to reverse-engineer even the most confounding cases. Should a "killer instinct" biological marker be discovered, profiling would almost instantly be rendered inconsequential. After all, the government likely wouldn't see the merit in funding behavioral analysis if a simple genetic test could theoretically get the job done.
Criminal Minds Season 19's Debate Is Already Dividing The Team
The Main Characters Have Clashing Opinions
Obviously, the concept of a killer gene is far more nuanced than behavioral science being replaced by a one-and-done medical screening. In real life, there are countless diagnosed psychopaths who never harm other people, and profiling is a true but wildly inconsistent tactic. Even within the realm of the show, however, the debate is causing a divisive stir. Since the Criminal Minds season 19 premiere, Tara's interviews with Voit have been a point of contention for Rossi and Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster), neither of whom see any value in analyzing the unsub.
Active BAU Members In Criminal Minds Season 19
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Actor
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Role
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Joe Mantegna
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David Rossi
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Paget Brewster
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Emily Prentiss
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A.J. Cook
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Jennifer "JJ" Jareau
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Kirsten Vangsness
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Penelope Garcia
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Adam Rodriguez
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Luke Alvez
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Aisha Tyler
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Tara Lewis
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Ryan-James Hatanaka
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Tyler Green
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That disconnect carries over into "Body Count" (season 19, episode 3). Whereas Tara and Tyler Green (Ryan-James Hatanaka) discuss the hypothesis that there may be a pattern connecting all serial killers, Rossi muses that unsubs may be "sick snowflakes," implying that no two are truly alike. Though the presumably season-long conversation is just getting started, it's clear that some BAU members are more open-minded to the possibility of intrinsic killer instincts than others. Regardless, it's impossible to ignore how out of place the debate feels in Criminal Minds, given the crime drama's history.
What The Original Series Said About The Nature Of Serial Killers
Epigenetics Was Always A Key Determining Factor
Throughout its original run, Criminal Minds confronted similar ideas on multiple occasions, including episodes where the BAU dispelled biology-based myths like the XYY chromosome hoax. The ethos behind the CBS crime drama was glaringly apparent: the evil unsubs in Criminal Minds were products of their environment, not genetically predisposed to become serial killers. Rather, epigenetics were always promoted as one of the most pivotal factors that decides whether a violent offender acts. How someone was raised, the culture they internalized, and the company they kept dictated their behavior far more than anything hereditary.
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Since its 2022 continuation began, Criminal Minds has introduced numerous new characters, but one recurring cast member hasn't earned his stripes yet.
At the same time, it's impossible to definitively say that there's no scientific basis for a killer gene. For decades, research has been muddy and inconclusive at best, but there's no telling what the future holds for case studies— not unlike Tara and Voit's current psychoanalysis sessions. Likewise, the original series stood its ground when it came to the unpredictability of killers, but Criminal Minds season 19 is a timely reexamination that might glean valuable new insights into what can turn an Elias Voit into a Sicarius.
Release Date
September 22, 2005
Showrunner
Erica Messer
Directors
Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Rob Bailey, Matthew Gray Gubler, Joe Mantegna, John Gallagher, Douglas Aarniokoski, Guy Norman Bee, Larry Teng, Nelson McCormick, Alec Smight, Charles S. Carroll, Rob Spera, Charles Haid, Diana Valentine, Rob Hardy, Tawnia McKiernan, Bethany Rooney, Karen Gaviola, Sharat Raju, Thomas Gibson, Aisha Tyler, Anna Foerster, Gloria Muzio, John Terlesky
Writers
Bruce Zimmerman, Virgil Williams, Edward Allen Bernero, Janine Sherman Barrois, Chris Mundy, Simon Mirren, Debra J. Fisher, Kimberly A. Harrison, Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin, Karen Maser, Oanh Ly, Stephanie Sengupta, Aaron Zelman, Kirsten Vangsness, Erica Meredith, Andi Bushell, Holly Harold, Alicia Kirk, Jeff Davis, Randy Huggins, Edward Napier, Jayne A. Archer, Chikodili Agwuna
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Kirsten Vangsness
Penelope Garcia
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Matthew Gray Gubler
Dr. Spencer Reid
English (US) ·