Criminal Minds: Why Did Kirsten Vangsness Leave & Why Did She Return to Evolution?

Criminal Minds, over the course of its original 15 seasons and two seasons of Evolution, has shown viewers a whole spectrum of what terrible things a person can do. In a way, Criminal Minds is a new kind of horror: it will be very scary, but everything will end relatively well. The tormentor will be caught, subsequent crimes will possibly (but not necessarily) be prevented. It's pretty hard to watch. And hard to rewatch.

But even in such a dark project, there is a light and bright element. More precisely, in a show like Criminal Minds, it is simply necessary. Of course we are talking about Penelope Garcia, played by Kirsten Vangsness.

Penelope Is an Integral Part of the BAU

Penelope is the soul of the BAU team and the person who provides the much-needed comic relief that fans love her for. Her positive attitude is hard to shake, but when another case makes Garcia lose heart, it means things are really bad.

Although Penelope has become an integral part of the BAU team and one of its permanent members, she began her journey on the other side of the law.

Penelope hacked the companies of businessmen who were breaking the law, attracting the attention of the FBI. Garcia was eventually accepted into the BAU, where she was able to use her skills for good, but this time in a completely legal way.

Garcia Left Criminal Minds Because She Represented the Fans

Although the final episodes of the main series saw each of the main members of the BAU thinking about changing their jobs, in the end only Garcia actually left the FBI.

As Vangsness herself said, it was not an easy decision, but it was justified by what her character meant to the fans:

“She’s the eyes of the audience, really. [...] Since Garcia’s the eyes of the audience, you pull her away, that makes more sense. It was incredibly hard. The timing was right.”

According to the script, Penelope left the FBI, got a less stressful job, and finally found a work-life balance. This did not last long, however. Garcia returned to Evolution, but it was not entirely of her own volition.

At some point, she learned important details about Sicarius, and the BAU team kept turning to her for help. Fortunately, that help eventually turned into a full-fledged return to the FBI.

Source: TV Insider