Criminal Minds Most Poignant Episode is Actually Based on Mantegna's Personal Tragedy
In Criminal Minds, many characters experience loss. However, the episode in which Rossi's old friend dies is one of the most heartbreaking, and it turns out to be only half fictional.
In season 10, episode 12, Penelope brings Rossi news of the death of Harrison Scott, an old friend of the BAU member. Rossi goes to a friend's funeral to say goodbye to him in a state of shock and overwhelm.
Viewers met Harrison Scott in season 8 when the BAU arrived on another mission to catch a criminal. Harrison was a Vietnam War veteran, a Marine sergeant who received a medal for saving David's life.
Rossi discovers that the fate of a military buddy is far from comfortable – Scott is homeless, living in shelter and suffering from alcoholism.
David feels it is his duty to help an old comrade and finds him a New Directions military program that will change Harrison's life for the better.
Then the hero appears in the ninth season, where David helps Scott in the search for his son and the meeting with his grandson.
What few people know is just how personal this story was to the actor who plays Rossi, Joe Mantegna. Meshach Taylor, who plays Harrison, was one of Joe's closest friends in real life.
It was he who brought Criminal Minds to the actor's attention, and when Joe took a friend's advice and joined the show, he directed a couple of episodes in which Meshach appeared.
However, life is unpredictable, and after the filming of Harrison's first performance, Taylor was diagnosed with cancer.
According to Joe, on the set of the second episode featuring Meshach, he was already seriously ill and undergoing treatment.
When Meshach lost his battle with cancer, it was as much of a blow to Joe as it was on the set. Then he decided that the story of Harrison Scott needed a proper ending, and was supported by the show's creators.
Scott's funeral was attended by real Vietnam veterans, so the character, like the actor, was given full honors.
Joe said in an interview with Looper that this episode meant a lot to him:
"Whenever I see that episode I run across it, that's so meaningful for me, because I'm not saying goodbye just to that character, I'm saying goodbye to one of my closest friends in the world."
Joe is grateful to the show's creators and writers for not only not interfering, but for supporting him in his desire to say goodbye to his friend properly.
And now their friendship is immortalized in a show that not only the actor, but also the fans can always return to.