Criminal Minds: Evolution showrunner Erica Messer discusses the timeline for season 2’s Gold Star mystery. With its much-anticipated second installment mere days from premiering, Criminal Minds: Evolution will bring back Zach Gilford as Elias Voit. He’ll have to work together with the BAU, which will prove difficult, considering Voit’s murderous actions. With the villain’s return, the Gold Star mystery will come back into focus in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2.
In an interview with TVLine to discuss the new season, Messer was asked when audiences would find out the truth about the Gold Star — which is the ominous phrase that Voit brings up at the end of season 1. In response, the showrunner confirms that the mystery will factor into episode 1 and that audiences will find out who visited Voit at the end of the finale. But by episode 5, Messer adds, more will be revealed. Read the full quote below:
You’ll know a lot in the premiere — you get to catch up on what Prentiss has done in the two weeks since the finale — but we have layers and layers to this Gold Star story. By Episode 5, you’ve learned even more .
You’re going to know in the premiere who visited [Voit at the end of the season finale].
What To Remember About Criminal Minds’ Gold Star Mystery Before Season 2
The Phrase “Gold Star” Is A Lifeline For Voit
By the end of Criminal Minds: Evolution, Voit shoots and kills Deputy Director Bailey, who tries to negotiate with him. Voit ends up in custody, though the Gold Star serves as a lifeline for the antagonist. Voit uses the phrase, and whatever it’s meant to indicate, it rattles the protagonists and leads to a fairly unexpected development. In particular, it’s enough that the Attorney General is advised to let Voit go at one point. While that is a harsh defeat for the BAU, some of whom had grown fond of Bailey, the upcoming episodes take the story a step further.
As Messer confirms, the team will investigate the Gold Star mystery in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2. But while they attempt to unravel the conspiracy, the BAU will have to deal with the fact that Voit has negotiated a deal that puts him in federal custody in the BAU’s backyard. To complicate matters further, the new episodes’ preview highlights that the team will “face its biggest threat yet and cannot emerge unscathed from the mind-bending consequences.”
The deal is brought about by FBI Director Ray Madison (played by MCU alum Clark Gregg), who is one of the new faces joining the Paramount+ series. Other new additions to the Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 cast include Desperate Housewives actor Felicity Huffman as Dr. Jill Gideon, a biological psychiatrist and the ex-wife of the late Jason Gideon (Mandy Patinkin). Even outside of Voit and the deadly Gold Star secret, there will be a lot of story to unpack in the next 10 episodes.