Thomas Gibson Interview with Entertainment Weekly SPOILER!

'Criminal Minds': Thomas Gibson On Team 'Reeling' from Prentiss 'Death'

Holy smokes. What an episode we saw on Wednesday! As many of you commented in Ken Tucker’s review of Paget Brester’s final episode, that’s how you do an exit! But if you’re like me, you’re asking the inevitable question: What the heck is next?

I hopped on the phone with Thomas Gibson (Hotch) to talk about the next new episode, “With Friends Like These,” which airs March 30, and learned about where the team goes from here. “We are all reeling, and yet, there is work to be done, and there’s a case we need to summon all of our professionalism for and dive into,” he tells EW. “We have a community who needs us, and they need us no less in that particular moment in our family’s history, no less than they would in any other moment. I think as the unit chief, [Hotch] is trying to keep everybody focused and keep himself on track as well. It’s something that obviously could be a cause for collapse, but there’s too much at stake to let that happen.”

As chief and backbone of BAU, Gibson says Hotch takes his role even more seriously as the loss of Emily threatens to briefly derail them. “She feels like one of the essential limbs of the team, and now that limb has been cut off and they are missing it and missing her. They very acutely feel the loss,” he explains. “I think, at that point, he doesn’t have internal dialogue about that. I think the internal dialogue needs to take place, and it will take place at an appropriate time and moment, but it should not take away from the time the team is needed and when they need him.”

“There are going to be repercussions emotionally, and it’s not going to be easily digested and moved on from.”

Source: Entertainment Weekly.