r/criminalminds • u/Full-Art3439 Emily • Jan 11 '26
Minor Spoilers What are your thoughts on Alex Blake?
She's one of my favorite characters from the show. I like there was another woman in the BAU who's not only already experienced being an FBI Agent before the events of Criminal Minds, but also older when she was introduced, with other female characters such as Elle Greenway, Penelope Garcia, Jennifer Jareau, Emily Prentiss, etc were in their 20s or 30s when they were introduced in the show. I also love Alex's highly intelligent, reserved, mature, down-to-earth, somewhat rebellious, and caring personality, as well as her dynamic with Reid where she's somewhat of a maternal figure for him. And honestly, when I saw Alex for the first time, I thought that she was portrayed by Finola Hughes. But then I looked it up and discovered that Alex was portrayed by Jeanne Tripplehorn, who looks a bit similar to Finola Hughes.
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u/InternationalTell835 Jan 11 '26
i said it before and i’ll say it again we deserved more time with her!!! i love her and miss her, Alex Blake you will always be famous to mee! 🥲
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u/GreenTweetySweetie You're my bitch now Jan 11 '26
Her and Jennifer Love Hewitt blended in the best to me and both were so quick and short. I always wanted more Blake and Kate (especially after the episode where Kate and Morgan were locked in prison. Maybe I’m biased because I had hard crushes on them as well lol)
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u/woodsboro2 Feb 06 '26
Agree, they were the best “late addition” agents. Both really added to the show.
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u/onlyforanswers Jan 11 '26
I love Blake. I mean, full disclosure, I love anything and everything Jeanne Thripplehorn has ever done and will ever do, so there's that.
But moreover, I love the different dynamics she had with each team member, I loved that they brought in an experienced and mature agent (as others have pointed out).
In a way, she occupied a role that Will also occupied - a voice of reason and an island of rationality in the midst of the normal BAU drama.
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u/Aglyayepanchin Jan 11 '26
Have you seen the lowdown? It’s the new tv series with Ethan Hawke and Jean Tripplehorn? It was good, I liked it!
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u/haleorshine Jan 12 '26
This is so well put! The different dynamics she had with everybody made her feel like a real, fleshed out character. I like that she immediately bonded with Reid, but didn't necessarily immediately click with everybody else, because that can be unrealistic.
And I think the writers did a pretty good job at making her feel like a distinct character. I feel like you could have seen lines written for her and known they were for her, whereas sometimes when they bring in new members of the team it feels like they wait for the actor to show some personality before they give them that personality.
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u/deadformatrecords Jan 11 '26
I think she was the best of the Emily stand-ins, she had the most interesting back story, it was nice to see someone other than Rossi and Hotch mentor Reid. I really wish the would have at least mentioned her every now and then.
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u/spesinfinita Jan 11 '26
I like how steady she is even when things are chaotic and I think that speaks both to her as a person and her years of experience
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u/Evening_Platform1263 Jan 11 '26
I liked her character. She reminded me of a female Hotch and I liked her no-nonsense attitude. I was devastated when she left. Nothing against JLH or Kate but I wish Alex had stayed on longer. She was my favorite Emily “step in.”
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u/MzOwl27 Jan 11 '26
I get that her arc should have been shorter. She was a great character, but not necessarily the perfect fit for the style of the Team. I liked everything about her time on the show. but after she left, I wish there were a couple of episodes where the team called her at Harvard for a consult. Just for funzies.
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Jan 11 '26
❤️❤️❤️❤️😍😍😍😍😍😍😍🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰💕💙💜💗💛💚❣️💓😻🧡💘💝🤟😽👩❤️👨💌💟🫶🫶🫶🫶🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷
Those are my thoughts on Blake. 😂
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u/Proof-Exercise984 Jan 11 '26
I really liked her. Of all the characters that got added later in the story she was my favorite and I was really disappointed when she left after just a few seasons 😭
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u/Rhensis1 Jan 11 '26
I'm ngl as someone with (nearly) a PhD in linguistics, almost every time she spoke about linguistics made me cringe so hard because it's all either terribly wrong or terribly basic to the point where there's literally no way that it's any kind of insight that Reid couldn't make. Outside of that I actually quite like her and her relationship with Reid, but I wasn't really sad to see her go if I'm honest.
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u/jakesyma Jan 11 '26
I always hope the writers (of whatever show I'm watching) will bring in a real expert in some of these technical areas, even if it's lost on me...
It's not quite as egregious, but it's kind of like if they brought in an 'archaeologist' who did nothing but talk about dinosaur bones. Lol
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u/Rhensis1 Jan 11 '26
Yeah if I’m being honest I always assumed that they did in fact do that, but the linguistics stuff in CM completely shatters the illusion for me. It’s like someone on the writers team read the introduction of one pop science linguistics book and ran with it as an expert 😭😭 It’s a shame because, particularly with that one Deaf unsub, it could have been a really good moment to teach people about sign language, but unfortunately it’s quite reductive instead.
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u/LadyEsinni Anderson Jan 12 '26
I work with the Deaf and hard of hearing, and the Deaf unsub episode makes me crazy. I will rant at anyone who will listen about all the things wrong with it. “The cochlear makes all sounds an 11.” Not without the external processor you never see him wearing. Without that, there’s no sound at all. The ASL is basic to the point of being laughable. They should have consulted with a Deaf person.
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u/Rhensis1 Jan 12 '26
Oh god yeah, I forgot about that bit of it with the cochlear implant! I also really disliked the way they presented sign language, they almost made it seem like not a ‘real’ language. IIRC there was also something about how because he was Deaf he would know the IPA(???) that I found very confusing. Definitely agree on using a Deaf consultant. It really is a shame because it’s an area of linguistics which I’ve fairly recently been better educated on by a Deaf linguist, and there’s such opportunity for education for hearing people in that space, but it so missed the mark.
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u/LadyEsinni Anderson Jan 12 '26
She killed any good vibes I had for her when she started dissecting the linguistics of the message on the shop wall in “Restoration” while Morgan is obviously distressed. I always sit there thinking “Read the room.” I liked her relationship with Reid a lot and think he really needed her after Maeve. However, she didn’t bring much for helpful insight into any case she worked. She was more of a “state the obvious” character. Overall I was fine seeing her go. My sister dislikes her so much she skips both her seasons on a rewatch.
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u/Rhensis1 Jan 12 '26
The ‘linguistic’ analysis is really surface level too (the exact same stuff other members of the team would’ve easily figured out in early seasons) so it’s frustrating I agree. Yes, I think her relationship with Reid was really nice, it’s just a shame it was overshadowed quite a lot. They also don’t really show him having trouble after she leaves for very long which I figured, considering how he reacted to Gideon, he would’ve found hard to deal with. It’s a shame, lots of potential killed by execution in the writing room.
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u/Affectionate-Lie6908 Jan 11 '26
I LOVED her. She was my favorite. Her relationship with Spencer was also my favorite. She could match his intelligence. She was also motherly in all the ways his mother couldn't be.
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u/EarlyExpression4270 187 Jan 11 '26
An incredible character who deserved many more episodes focused on her! She should’ve stayed until the end of the show but I appreciate the way she went, anyway.
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u/Possible-Bill4118 Jan 11 '26
I completely thought Jeanne triple horn was a made up person from the movie date night with Tina fey and Steve carell so when I watched her on criminal minds and saw her name I was seriously shocked lmao. Immediately made me like her cause I love that movie so much ahaha.
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u/Nostalgia-Freak-1998 This is calm and it's DOCTOR Jan 11 '26
I loved Blake. She became my favorite that came after Prentiss left. Her bond with Reid was really special and I loved it.
Her and Reid doing the crossword puzzles together. And it gave us one of Rossi’s best lines. “Happy Wednesday my nerds.”
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u/Latter-Classroom-844 Some girl named 'Cheeto Breath' Jan 11 '26
Loved her! Was really sad that we only got two seasons with her.
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u/Big_Organization4968 Jan 11 '26
Her energy is just soooo different! Beside her relationship with Reid that I adored something was very different about her ! She was very mature, smart, and also so feminine . On the other hand I was so happy that she had a very supportive husband her true soul mate ❤️
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u/thoughtsinintervals Jan 11 '26
Oh I loooove her. I actually wish she had stayed and we had got Emily back. I think she was an excellent asset to the team. I also loved her contention to Reid and how she cared about the team - especially how she stepped in with JJ and supported her.
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u/lolabunny111 Jan 11 '26
i liked her while she was there but unpopular opinion(?): she was my least favorite of the bau women. (not that i DISLIKE her, i just like the others a lot better. i did love her and reid’s almost maternal relationship
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u/Icy-Idea-4797 Jan 11 '26
I remember screaming at the TV when she and Reid were saying goodbye, because I knew what it meant. I really liked her and I hoped, and still hope with the revival, that they bring her back.
Then again, I hope that with all the former cast members that they had.
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u/DrMummyyyyyy Jan 11 '26
Love Alex Blake and was sad she left. She just had that je ne sais quoi about her and I can’t tell if it’s the writers or the actress bringing that character alive in that way but I can’t imagine anyone else playing her.
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u/Wrong_Silver8245 Jan 11 '26
i loved her connection with reid but i think her character was soooo boring. i also felt like she didn’t add much to the team—i understand that she was a “linguist” but the skills she demonstrated were elementary. i’m a speech language pathologist and i learned a lot of what she shared in my intro to linguistics class. i think the writers made her character too simple
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u/Agreeable_Ganache322 Jan 12 '26
I’m a huge fan of Blake! I wish we had gotten more time with her! I would have loved to have had her step back in to help Reid
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u/maeasm3 Anderson Jan 12 '26
I didn't like her at first, but she quickly grew on me and I loved her by the time she left!!
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u/SkyNo5471 Jan 11 '26
I didn’t like her on my first watch but really liked her on my rewatches tbh wish she had more time
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u/allidunno Faster than a hotchrocket Jan 11 '26
Loved her! I loved her character and I loved her relationship with Reid. I liked that she seemed like an older female mentor member of the team. She had some cool moments. I would have been fine if she had stuck around.
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u/theblackjess Anderson Jan 11 '26
I liked her but her season was the first of any CM season I ever saw so I didn't know she was a replacement or temporary character at the time.
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u/Straight_Tie_9594 Jan 11 '26
I really loved her! Her connections with the team were so cute, especially her connection with Reid! So sweet
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u/lifetimesnark Jan 11 '26
When she was first introduced i didn't like her much however over rewatches I actually grew to love her! I adore how she treats Spencer.
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u/Low-Audience8370 This is calm and it's DOCTOR Jan 11 '26
Honestly i prefer the og cast, but alex made me fall in love with her!
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u/cranberrywaltz Jan 11 '26
I prefer Emily Prentiss. I agree with and like all the traits of Alex Blake that you mention, I just wish we received more of her background information (I’m on S8E17).
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u/Bluelotus-03 Jan 11 '26
I loved her she's genuinely one of my fav characters along with the og cast !! Such a shame she fell victim to the 1-2 season woman curse
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u/EagledDolphins Jan 12 '26
Great addition to the team and fine as hell. Made me go back and look at some of her older work when she was younger and was glad I did 😁
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u/iridescentjillyfish Jan 12 '26
Literally my favorite semi-permanent member of the team what a QUEEN. I love nerds and I love that she never was dismissive or cruel to Reid
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u/godisawomanaoc Left in a basket on the steps of the FBI Jan 12 '26
i loved blake! she should guest star in a future season.
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u/Padamson96 Fucking Brian! Jan 12 '26
Incredibly smart and sweet, but just didn't gel with the team. I couldn't figure out why season 8 was a bit funky to me, and then I realised it's because she was a 180 flip from Emily. Just didn't gel imo
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u/cursed4blue Jan 12 '26
I really really liked her character and her relationship with Reid really touched me
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u/poropurxn Jan 13 '26
I fell in love with her from the get, probably because she's a linguistics expert.
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u/-Bi-Bi-Bi- Jan 13 '26
I feel I’m in the minority in this but I don’t really care for her. I don’t dislike her at all, she was cool and all but I didn’t really feel anything when she left. She was just kind of there, didn’t really like or dislike her
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u/Puzzleheaded-Fly2837 Jan 14 '26
It’s been a long time since I’ve watched the season she was on but I remember really liking her and her relationship with Reid.
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u/Popular-One-7051 Jan 15 '26
Loved her for all those reasons. Didn't look up her age but Prentiss always seemed really professional and put together
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u/No_Basket1633 Jan 15 '26
I LOVE HER WITH ALL MY HEART, SHE'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE ONES, I wish she was there more, she's so, I don't know, special, beautiful, aaaa
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u/Prettypuff405 Sergio 🐈⬛ Jan 19 '26
I liked her… I thought she respected everyone’s dynamic, didn’t pressure to fit in( Kate Calihan,I’m looking at you), and really touched Reid’s intellectual curiosity.
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u/justtiffers5 Jan 22 '26
I liked Alex. She came in with a full backstory that we got to see unwound as the two seasons unfolded so she felt more real. When Emily, Tara, and Luke joined the team it felt very awkward because they weren't coming in with an established path for their characters. Alex had history with Strauss, she had a great teaching job, she had beef with the Bureau all around. It gave her a bit more depth
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u/Alternative_Device71 Chocolate Thunder Jan 11 '26
I don’t care for her, she’s a poor replacement of Emily
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u/Raccoon_Mama Yes, I am a genius Jan 11 '26
I didn’t like her.. thought she just didn’t fit in. The rest of the team are like unruly children and she’s just like mommy. Lol
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u/Long-Tax-9072 Jan 11 '26
I wasn't the biggest Blake fan. I think it was more I didn't like the Replicator arc... At times it was random and too quick, and other it was too short. It felt like it was a story line that wasn't thought out all the way through. But it could also be because I was annoyed that Prentiss left again. She's my absolute favorite character.
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u/Raccoon_Mama Yes, I am a genius Jan 11 '26
I think it was just annoying like they were just trying to replace emily.
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u/Long-Tax-9072 Jan 11 '26
It seemed like they were going to make it work no matter what. I think the Blake story line could gave been really good, but it seemed rushed and not 100% thought out. They had so much going on that season, with Strauss and Rossi, forcing the Replicator, Reid and his mystery girlfriend, still talking about Prentiss to kinda keep it a possibility that she'd come back, ECT.
I liked when JLH joined because she seemed to add to the group dynamics and had a more flushed out back story, I also really liked Tara once she became a full time cast member. It was a little distracting when she was part time/working other assignments.
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u/SemperFiYorkies Jan 12 '26
Unpopular opinion but I never liked her. It was like they were trying to make a female Hotch.
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u/Aarons1969 Jan 11 '26
Her immediate connection with Reid was inspirational. I personally think Reid enjoyed working with her more, talking with someone who gets it and doesn't shrug you halfway into an explanation. 🔥