Criminal Minds EW Interview with Matthew Gray Gubler SPOILER for 6.18 'Lauren'

By Sandra Gonzalez

‘CRIMINAL MINDS’: MATTHEW GRAY GUBLER ON THE TEAM’S BIGGEST CHALLENGE YET

“Lauren” is easily one of the most important episodes of Criminal Minds ever. And that’s not even necessarily in regards to the headline-making events, like Paget Brewster’s exit and the return of A.J. Cook. But as a team, the BAU is about to face what episode director and star Matthew Gray Gubler calls an action-packed, “epic” episode, complete with grenades, machine guns, and some heart-wrenching performances from the cast as Emily is captured by her nemesis Ian Doyle.

“I think our greatest episodes are the ones where all of the main characters on it get their moment to shine and do their unique thing,” Gubler tells EW. “The writer on this one did a great job of giving us all really great moments [that were] true to the character and true to the situation at hand. Joe, in particular, has some great stuff. I love it when Joe gets to be the old-timey tough guy.”

For Gubler, the highlight was communicating the team member’s unique reactions as they dealt with Emily being in a life-or-death predicament. “These characters exhibit a different form because of the sacrifice she’s making. Not to ruin it, but to save us, she’s going on a suicide mission. With Reid, I sort of wanted to represent the younger brother — almost the child she’s losing. That was my take on it as an actor. Morgan takes it as her boyfriend in a sense; he’s offended that she had this – I don’t want to give away too much – but this relationship with a killer. Joe takes it like he’s losing a daughter, and Hotch like a sister. A lot is on the line in this one.”

Fans know that the result will be Emily’s exit from the team (though most say the door is left open for her return). But what will this mean for big baddie Doyle?

“You never know,” Gubler teases. “There’s definitely some doors left open, and if we ever wanted to find a guy and smash a guy’s face in, it would be this one. If there’s ever a need for a BAU to take something personal, Doyle might have a number on his back.”

source: EW