First of all, thank God it wasn't Morgan or Reid. I honestly don't know if I couldn't continue watching. I would try, but I don't think I could hang in there.
I don't think I'd watch the show either if Morgan or Hotch left the show. Strauss did give Hotch the option for early retirement, and again, with the contracts being negotiated after the 5th season, I was a little concerned that episode that Thomas Gibson may want to leave. He did brilliant acting work in the Reaper climax episode, but Gibson's family, (wife & 3 young kids,) actually lives in San Antonio, TX. He's a weekend dad & commutes to L.A. during the week.
I know other long distance relationships have been able to make that work. Eva Longoria travels to San Antonio to be with hubby, Tony Parker, after she finishes filming each week, and she spends all her hiatus with him there.
Families with less financial means, like airline pilots & truck drivers are gone a lot. But, Thomas doesn't have to work, (except on an artistic level,) and he could have wanted to be home while his kids were young.
I bet this does have a lot to do with the spinoff, so that's reason one of why I probably will not watch it. Why even have a spinoff if you are going to hurt the integrity of the original??? But, then again, maybe it's not because of the spinoff. I read somewhere ( I don't know how true this is),
that they may bring in another female later this season. But I want JJ and Prentiss.
I read an article a while ago that the producers signed up an actress for a recurring role. While I didn't like the idea of adding someone else into the mix much, I thought maybe they'd finally give Reid a love interest, as the pics of the actress look like she's rather young, younger than an "experienced" FBI profiler.
I guess this change has been in the works for a while. I was thinking last nite that it may have more to do with the show now airing like 20 times on cable each week. That can't be good for the show.
I was flipping channels, and of course CM was on. I tuned in long enough to see Elle was on the show. I knew immediately it was an episode from Season 1. Other times, I know it's an episode from Season 1 or 2 because Gideon is on. Other times, I know it's a later episode because Reid has lost the geeky glasses and has the longer hair.
I never really watched Law & Order, (the original series.) I never even know who Benjamin Bratt was until he was Julia Robert's (ex-)boyfriend. Every once in a while, as I'm flipping channels, I see an
old, old episode and think,
who is that? They are starring on L&O, and I don't even know who they are.

But, the way they changed actors so much, I definitely don't confuse the episode with any of the newer ones, even aside from the obvious aging of the actors.
When you think of it, once CM established the newer, stable cast members of the team, with Prentiss & Rossi, it's nearly impossible to distinguish the different episodes in Season 3-5. Once Season 5 moves to cable, it will just seem like the same CM airing over & over, especially the past 3 seasons.
How are viewers going to know the difference between Season 6 and the past 3 years? I wonder if the producers feel the need to shake up the look of the show.

J.J. & Prentiss were the weakest characters. I noticed that they often wrote J.J. in doing profiling work, questioning an unsub or witness, even though technically that wasn't her job, or I thought, what was supposed to be in her skill set as media liaison. I think they had to write in extra stuff for her to do on the show.
Prentiss is a great strong profiler, but very generically "FBI." There actually is a real-life, ex-FBI female profiler, whose been on various CNN shows recently, giving her spin on the Van der Sloot case, that seems like a dead ringer and possible inspiration for Prentiss.

But, out of all the characters, (to me,) Prentiss has the least personality. And, unfortunately for Paget Brewster, because of it, is the most interchangeable character.
I just hope they don't kill J.J. off. It doesn't bode well as advertisement for the BAU when all their profilers go crazy & leave, (Elle & Gideon,) burn out & retire to no family, (Max Ryan,) or get killed off, which ends their time with the FBI.

Maybe, they will give J.J. a graceful exit where she & Will get pregnant again, and she chooses to leave to have a
happy life with Will, Henry & the new baby.
