Jennifer "JJ" Jareau. If you’ve spent any time with the Behavioral Analysis Unit over the last two decades, you know that name. She isn’t the flamboyant genius like Reid. She doesn't have the brooding, dark-past intensity of Morgan. Yet, Jennifer Jareau in Criminal Minds became the glue that held a rotating cast of profilers together through fifteen seasons and a revival.
She's complicated. Honestly, the way she evolved from a Communications Liaison to a full-blown profiler is one of the most debated arcs in TV history. Some fans loved the growth. Others missed the days when she was the bridge between the team and the press.
The Liaison Years: More Than Just a Press Secretary
Early on, JJ had a specific niche. She didn't profile the killers. Instead, she profiled the families. She was the one who sat in the living rooms of grieving parents, promising them that the FBI would find their child. This wasn't just "PR." It was high-stakes emotional labor.
Remember the episode "North Mammon"? That's a quintessential early JJ moment. She's the one who has to look at three girls' families and decide how much truth they can handle. It's brutal. A.J. Cook played those scenes with a kind of weary empathy that made JJ feel like the only "normal" person in a room full of people obsessed with darkness.
She handled the media. She filtered the cases. In those first few seasons, Jennifer Jareau in Criminal Minds served as the audience's surrogate. We weren't all geniuses or ex-cops. We were people trying to make sense of the senseless. JJ was our eyes.
That Controversial Season 6 Exit (and Why It Matters)
We have to talk about the elephant in the room. The Season 6 firing.
In 2010, CBS made a decision that basically backfired spectacularly. They let A.J. Cook and Paget Brewster go, reportedly for "creative reasons" that most fans interpreted as budget-cutting aimed at the female leads. The backlash was instant. It was fierce.
Fans didn't just tweet; they sent petitions. They made it clear that a BAU without JJ wasn't a BAU they wanted to watch. When she returned for the Season 6 finale—stepping out of the shadows to tell the team she was back—it felt like a victory for the audience. But it also changed her character forever.
When Jennifer Jareau in Criminal Minds returned full-time in Season 7, she wasn't just the liaison anymore. She was a profiler. She’d spent time at the State Department. She had secrets. She had "The 200."
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The Shift to Profiler
This is where the fandom splits.
Some people felt that making JJ a "super agent" took away what made her special. Suddenly, she was doing roundhouse kicks and clearing rooms with the best of them. It was a massive departure from the woman who used to worry about the specific wording of a press release.
But look at it from a character perspective. You spend years looking at the worst of humanity from the sidelines. Eventually, you're going to want the tools to stop it yourself. Her transition wasn't just a plot device; it was a response to the trauma she witnessed every single day. She grew up. The job hardened her.
The Will LaMontagne Factor: A Rare TV Success
How many procedural characters actually have a healthy relationship? Not many.
JJ and Will LaMontagne Jr. are an anomaly. They met in Season 2 ("Jones"). He was a New Orleans detective; she was the FBI agent who caught his eye. They didn't have a flashy, dramatic "will-they-won't-they" that lasted a decade. They just... worked.
- They had Henry.
- They had Michael.
- They dealt with Will’s health scares.
- They survived a literal bank robbery/hostage situation in "Hit" and "Run."
Their relationship grounded the show. It gave JJ something to lose. When she was in the field, she wasn't just an agent; she was a mother and a wife. That added a layer of stakes that other characters sometimes lacked. Hotch had that, but it ended in tragedy. JJ and Will stayed the course. It’s actually kinda refreshing to see a long-term marriage portrayed as a partnership rather than a source of constant soap opera drama.
"200" and the Darker Side of JJ
If you want to understand the modern version of Jennifer Jareau in Criminal Minds, you have to watch "200."
This was the show’s 200th episode, and it finally filled in the gaps of what she did during her time away from the BAU. It wasn't just desk work in D.C. She was in Afghanistan. She was involved in a high-stakes task force. She suffered a miscarriage after an explosion.
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It was heavy. Maybe too heavy for some.
But it explained her "toughness" in the later seasons. It justified why she was no longer the soft-spoken liaison. She’d been tortured. She’d lost a child in a war zone. When she came back to the BAU, she was a survivor. A.J. Cook’s performance in the scenes where JJ is being interrogated by Tivon Askari is some of the most visceral work in the entire series. She wasn't playing a "TV agent" there; she was playing a woman pushed to her absolute limit.
That "Jeid" Revelation: Let's Get Honest
Okay, we have to address Season 14. Specifically "Truth or Dare."
The moment JJ confessed she’d always loved Spencer Reid.
Listen, people have thoughts. Big thoughts. Most of them aren't great. For fourteen years, JJ and Reid had the most beautiful, platonic, "big sister/little brother" dynamic on television. He was the godfather to her kids. They were best friends.
When the writers threw in the romantic confession, it felt... forced? A bit like they were grasping for a finale cliffhanger. Even though Criminal Minds: Evolution has mostly moved past it, that moment remains a sticking point for many. It felt like it cheapened a decade of genuine friendship.
However, if you look back at the very first season—Episode 4, "Plain Sight"—the show actually teased a date between them at a Redskins game. So, technically, the seeds were there since 2005. Does that make the Season 14 reveal better? Probably not for most people. But it shows that the writers had that "in case of emergency, break glass" romance card in their pocket for a long time.
Jennifer Jareau in Criminal Minds: Evolution
When the show moved to Paramount+ as Criminal Minds: Evolution, the tone shifted. It got grittier. The swearing started. The cases got more serialized.
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JJ changed again. She’s more tired now. You can see it in her eyes. She’s balancing a crumbling home life (because let's face it, the BAU isn't great for marriages) with a case that seems never-ending. The "Elias Voit" saga pushed her in ways the old "unsub of the week" format never could.
In the revival, JJ feels like a veteran. She’s the one the younger agents look to. She’s essentially the second-in-command, the moral compass that sometimes spins wildly because she's seen too much.
Why She’s the Secret Weapon
Most procedurals have a "type."
The JJ character started as a type—the "pretty face" for the cameras—and then systematically dismantled that trope. She became a mother, a field agent, a torture survivor, and a leader.
What makes Jennifer Jareau in Criminal Minds so enduring is her adaptability. She survived casting changes, network drama, and some truly wild plot twists. She’s the most "human" of the profilers. She doesn't have a photographic memory or a background in forensic pathology. She just has a deep, borderline-painful understanding of what people lose when a crime happens.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans and Writers
If you're looking to revisit the best of JJ or you're a writer studying character development, there are a few things to keep in mind about her trajectory.
- Watch the "Transition" Episodes: To see how a character evolves, watch "North Mammon" (S2), "JJ" (S6), and "200" (S9) back-to-back. It’s a masterclass in shifting a character’s DNA without losing their soul.
- The Power of Empathy: JJ reminds us that in a world of data and "profiles," the human element—the ability to sit with a victim's family—is often the most important tool in the box.
- Don't Ignore the Side Characters: Will and the kids aren't just background noise. They are the reason JJ’s stakes feel higher than almost anyone else’s on the team.
If you’re starting a rewatch, pay attention to her silences. A.J. Cook does a lot of her best work when she’s just listening to a victim. That’s the core of JJ. She listens when no one else can bear to hear the truth.
Next Steps for Your Rewatch:
Focus on the first three seasons to understand JJ’s original role as a liaison. Then, jump to Season 7, Episode 1 ("It Takes a Village") to see the immediate contrast after her promotion. Notice how her body language changes; she goes from standing behind the team to standing in the line of fire. It's a subtle shift that defines the entire second half of her career. For those diving into the revival, pay close attention to her interactions with Will in Evolution Season 1—it's the most realistic "long-term marriage under stress" writing the show has ever produced. Regardless of which era of JJ you prefer, her impact on the BAU's success is undeniable. She didn't just join the team; she became its heartbeat.