When you think of Kim Rhodes, your brain probably goes straight to two places. Either she’s the sweet, slightly frazzled Carey Martin from Disney's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, or she’s the badass, beloved Sheriff Jody Mills from Supernatural. She’s usually the person you want in your corner. Then came Kim Rhodes in Criminal Minds, and suddenly, the internet wanted to throw their remote at the TV.
It was a total 180.
In 2018, Rhodes stepped into the shoes of Assistant Director Linda Barnes. She didn't just walk onto the screen; she detonated a bomb in the middle of the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). For a fan base that has seen literal cannibals, serial killers, and human taxidermists, it’s wild that a woman in a power suit remains one of the most despised figures in the show’s fifteen-season run. Honestly, the visceral reaction to Linda Barnes is a testament to how well Rhodes can act.
The Arrival of the "Dolores Umbridge" of the FBI
Linda Barnes didn't start with the main team. She was actually introduced in the spin-off, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, where she successfully disbanded the International Response Team (IRT). That was her first strike. When she migrated over to the flagship series in Season 13, she brought that same "unit-killing" energy with her.
Fans often compare her to Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter. Why? Because she isn't a "cool" villain. She isn't an UnSub with a tragic backstory or a genius-level intellect. She’s a bureaucrat. She is the physical embodiment of every terrible boss you’ve ever had—the one who cares more about optics, budgets, and their own promotion than the actual work being done.
In the episode "Cure" (Season 13, Episode 13), she officially starts her "evaluation" of the BAU. But we all knew what that meant. It wasn't an evaluation; it was an execution.
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How She Systematically Broke the Team
Most people remember the "Last Gasp" arc. It was brutal. Over just a few episodes, Kim Rhodes' Criminal Minds character managed to do more damage than most serial killers:
- She sidelined Emily Prentiss: She put the Unit Chief on administrative leave, essentially decapitating the team's leadership.
- The JJ Promotion Trap: She "promoted" JJ to Acting Unit Chief, but it was a poisoned chalice. Barnes only did it because she thought JJ would be easier to control. She was wrong, obviously.
- Dividing and Conquering: She forced David Rossi into retirement and reassigned the rest of the team to literal basement-level tasks.
- The Garcia Transfer: Perhaps the most insulting move was sending Penelope Garcia to Cyber Crimes, where the tech goddess was forced to follow a strict dress code and handle mundane data.
The genius of Rhodes' performance is in the condescension. She doesn't scream. She just smiles that tight, corporate smile and tells you that you're "unproductive" while people are literally dying.
Why We Needed a Character Like Linda Barnes
You might wonder why the writers would introduce someone so universally hated. It wasn't just to annoy us. At that point in Season 13, the BAU had become a bit too untouchable. They were superheroes in vests. They flew on private jets and bucked authority every single week with zero consequences.
The Kim Rhodes Criminal Minds era forced the team back into the shadows. It turned them into underdogs again. In "Last Gasp," the team had to meet in secret, working a case totally off the grid because Barnes refused to authorize it. She only cared about cases that would look good in a press release.
It reminded the audience why we love these characters. Seeing Reid, JJ, Alvez, and Simmons risk their careers to save one person—while their "boss" sat in an ivory tower—reaffirmed the team's morality.
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The Turning Point and the Downfall
Every villain has a weakness. For Barnes, it was her own narcissism. She thought she was the smartest person in the room, but she didn't account for the BAU’s loyalty. The team eventually linked a current case to a victim from Barnes' past—a case she had buried to protect her own reputation.
The moment of her downfall is one of the most satisfying "mic drop" moments in procedural history. When she tries to fire the team for going rogue, it’s revealed that they’ve saved a Senator's daughter. The political optics she cared so much about flipped on her instantly. Watching her realize her career was over while Prentiss stood there, completely unbothered, was pure catharsis.
The "Kim Rhodes Effect"
If you follow Kim Rhodes on social media, you know she’s basically the opposite of Linda Barnes. She’s famously kind, hilarious, and deeply supportive of her fans. Even she joked about how much she hated the character.
It takes a specific kind of talent to take a face as recognizable and "maternal" as Rhodes' and make it look like the face of pure, stagnant evil. Most actors want to be liked. Rhodes leaned into the "bitchiness" with such commitment that people actually forgot she was the same person who played Jody Mills.
That’s E-E-A-T in acting. Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust. We trust Kim Rhodes to deliver a performance, even if that performance makes us want to scream at her for four straight weeks.
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What to Watch Next if You Miss (or Hate) the Character
If you’re doing a rewatch of the Kim Rhodes Criminal Minds episodes, here is the essential roadmap:
- Cure (13x13): The introduction. The "red flags" start flying immediately.
- Miasma (13x14): She starts pulling the strings, and the tension between her and Prentiss reaches a boiling point.
- Annihilator (13x15): The team is officially dismantled. This is the low point.
- Last Gasp (13x16): The grand finale. The BAU goes rogue, and Barnes gets what's coming to her.
Once you’ve finished that, go watch an episode of Supernatural or The Suite Life. You’ll need the palate cleanser. Seriously. Seeing her as Jody Mills will remind you that she’s actually one of the "good ones."
For fans of the series, the Linda Barnes arc serves as a reminder that sometimes the scariest monsters aren't the ones in the dark alleys. They’re the ones sitting behind a desk with a budget sheet and a badge.
If you're catching up on the series or just revisiting the best (and worst) moments, pay close attention to the way the lighting changes when Barnes enters a room. The showrunners purposefully made her scenes feel colder and more sterile. It’s those small details that made her four-episode run feel like an eternity—in the best way possible for a TV antagonist.
Check out the Season 13 DVD extras or behind-the-scenes interviews on Paramount+ to hear the cast talk about working with Kim. They all loved her, which makes the on-screen hatred even more impressive.
Actionable Insight: If you're a writer or creator, study the Linda Barnes arc to understand how to write a "functional" antagonist. She isn't evil for the sake of evil; she's motivated by ambition and a rigid belief in her own system. That's what makes her real. To dive deeper into the show's history, you can look into how the character of Erin Strauss paved the way for Barnes, though Strauss eventually found redemption where Barnes found a dead end.