“Criminal Minds,” broadcast by CBS, is a television show that follows a group of FBI agents in the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) as they go about their everyday lives and profile serial killers in order to solve murders. Although each protagonist on the show has his or her own unique personality traits and troubled backstory, one shines above the rest: Jennifer “JJ” Jareau.
Played by A.J. Cook, JJ is one of the most prominent protagonists on “Criminal Minds,” and has been so ever since Season 1. Like most of the main characters, JJ experienced trauma at an early age: when she was eleven, she found her teenage sister’s body, after she had committed suicide, in the bathroom. However, JJ continued to be strong-willed and graduated as valedictorian of her high school class before attending the University of Pittsburgh. She was inspired to enroll in the FBI academy after reading her future fellow agent David Rossi’s book on behavioral analysis.
From then on, JJ became one of the main characters on the successful TV show. However, it is not until Season 7 of the show that she becomes a behavioral profiler, as she had not received the official training up until this time. For the six previous seasons, JJ had mainly been the team’s liaison for police enforcement and media. In Season 9, JJ was put in the show’s spotlight, especially in episode “200,” where she is kidnapped during a supposed mission under the authority and supervision of the Pentagon. It is then revealed that she was actually working undercover as part of a task force in search of Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan. She eventually escapes her kidnappers with the help of her fellow BAU agents, but experiences severe trauma afterward.
By the later seasons, JJ proved that she is one of the most realistic and raw characters that “Criminal Minds” has ever developed. Viewers watch as she struggles with her mental health and troubled past based around her battles with PTSD stemming from her kidnapping, a miscarriage and the haunting flashbacks of her late sister. Throughout these experiences, she has remained strong and open as she communicates her concerns and thoughts to her closest fellow agents. She has also demonstrated that she can remain extremely calm in high-stake situations, and is an effective communicator as she has easily talked killers out of harming their next victims on numerous occasions. Finally, JJ is a mother to two young boys, so the fact that she easily balances her work and home life makes her a role model to many.
JJ is a queen. Stan JJ. Stan Criminal Minds. JJ, we love you.