‘Criminal Minds’ Boss Talks Finale Cliffhanger: ‘There’s No Winning’

If you can’t breathe after that Criminal Minds finale twist, you’re not alone.

The CBS crime procedural threw a curve ball during the final seconds of Wednesday night’s finale after the Behavioral Analysis Unit discovered FBI Agent Owen Qinn (James Urbaniak) was not the person they should have been suspicious of. It turned out to be Special Agent Mary meadows (Karen David) who was the member of the cult led by The Messiah, who is under arrest at the BAU.

The episode came to a blood pressure-raising end when Meadows pulled out her gun and pointed it at Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), who figured out what was going on too late and was given an ultimatum: Help her free her leader from the BAU or fan-favorite Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness), who was captured by some cult members, dies.

So, where does Criminal Minds go from here?

Showrunner Erica Messer spoke to Entertainment Tonight about the shocking cliffhanger, including what Reid might decide to do.

“He probably has five game plans happening in his head in that moment, as he’s holding the gun at Meadows,” Messer said. “Because what he won’t do is anything jeopardizing Garcia, losing her life and being hurt in any way. He’s trying to figure out ‘What do I do? What is the bigger plan here? Why do you need The Messiah out?’”

With Reid facing a complex decision, Messer says there’s a good chance Reid will choose the option that gets Garcia out safely.

“The argument is still there that he’s there holding a gun on Meadows, who’s holding a gun on him, and there’s somebody else holding a gun on Garcia. There’s no win right there if everybody pulled the trigger. It would be horrific.”

Criminal Minds has not been officially renewed for a fourteenth season, but Messer revealed the writers are already talking about what might happen during the season premiere, which would also mark the CBS drama’s 300th episode.

“There are many different ways to go, but, obviously, we want our wonderful heroes to be in the 300th episode,” she said of the upcoming episode, if the show is renewed. “It would probably be a matter of our team trying to solve one of the biggest cases they’ve ever seen without two of the most important players on their team.”