But. Hmm. I Knew They Revealed This Info In Her First Episode I Didn't Know It Was SIX MINUTES IN. WHAT. - Tumblr Posts

hey. hey cm. why are we learning this about the new character six minutes into the episode. also why is she saying this to hotch and rossi who clearly already know. like this is a pretty interesting character backstory and i feel like revealing it this quickly does such a disservice to it. at least wait until the end of her first episode?

something i think could have worked:

keep this conversation. and if you keep it, i do think you need to do the backstory reveal in the same episode because otherwise it's just...weird. it's too heavyhanded to carry an arc. or, cut it entirely and sprinkle hints before a reveal.

but anyway, if you keep it: don't end the conversation like this. end it at "i appreciate the concern." episode happens, la la la, at the end, either hotch or rossi (probably rossi? from what i understand, he winds up having the best dynamic with seaver) checks in with her, asking whether or not the case wound up triggering painful memories. she says no.

someone else overhears, and as they leave the jet, they stop her— "painful memories?"

and then have this line. also, whether you keep the scene and do the reveal at the end of the episode, or scrap the scene and do the reveal later (and in that case i think only rossi should know) you could do a little bait-and-switch where you imply that she's lost someone to a killer rather than losing someone because they were a killer.

like. i don't know how the rest of the episode goes. maybe this wouldn't work. maybe i don't know what i'm talking about and i'm being pretentious. but ough. i don't like this. imagine if every other character had their backstory revealed six minutes into their introduction.