Back in the 16th episode of Season 11 of the American police procedural drama TV series “Criminal Minds” on CBS, Derek Morgan, played by Shemar Moore, was the front and center of the storyline as his abduction and near-death debacle was featured.
Last week’s episode titled “The Sandman” showed Derek wanting to find out who was behind his abduction but the main focus of episode 17 was the UnSub who was using sand to sprinkle on the face of the parents of children that he was abducting.
Eventually, the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) team got to find out about his M.O. and he was apprehended and brought to justice.
The upcoming 18th episode to air on March 23 will put Derek Morgan back in the limelight again as he will be thrust into graver spells of madness that he will eventually find himself in deep danger because there is a possibility that he might even harm himself, notes Enstarz.
Leaving the show?
In fact, because of the tumultuous story arc of Derek Morgan in “Criminal Minds’ as of late, there are rumors and speculations that the BAU agent might actually die in the TV series and that Shemar Moore will soon be leaving the show.
Derek is one of the fan favorite characters of “Criminal Minds” and his departure, assuming the rumors are true, would surely leave the long-running TV series a gaping hole and many of the show fans distraught.
However, since the showrunners and even Shemar Moore have yet to confirm or deny those rumors, everything remains speculation at this time.
It seems, however, that since his abduction, Derek has been battling with his demons and that would be the case in the upcoming 18th episode entitled “A Beautiful Disaster.”
Executive producer Erica Messer said in a recent interview that there is a lot of going on with Derek and he is really taking up a lot of emotional head space for a good part of the show’s mid-season stretch.
Going AWOL
Based on the trailer of the upcoming episode of “Criminal Minds,” Derek will have a verbal confrontation with Supervisory Special Agent Hotch, played by Thomas Gibson.
Derek apparently wanted to join the BAU team on its current investigation to get his mind off from whatever is bothering him but Hotch told him that he was off the case.
Another scene in the teaser trailer showed Derek seemingly going on AWOL and on a militant mission. He was seen in the CCTV doing something shocking and going on his own.
There was also a scene where Penelope Garcia, played by Kirsten Vangsness, was shown talking to Derek over the phone, where he revealed something to her and made her drop the phone and looking very panic-stricken.
The rumors about Shemar Moore leaving the show is also consistent with the hint made by Thomas Gibson during an interview at the start of “Criminal Minds” Season 11 that a BAU member is on her or his way out of the show.
Gibson did not reveal back then who the cast member would be but given how the story arc on Shemar Moore’s character is being played, it seems like it is going to be him.
The show’s focus on Derek began towards the end of episode 15 when he was shown being abducted by an unknown assailant while the other BAU team members headed to Los Angeles to face an UnSub who was pretending to be an FBI agent himself.
Just before Derek was abducted, his girlfriend Savannah called him up and told him to buy her ice cream on his way home because she will be telling him something.
Every fan of “Criminal Minds” was right on their haunches because Savannah was indeed ‘infanticipating’ with Derek’s child. But she was not able to say it yet and had Derek did not survive episode 16, there was no way for him to know that he is about to become a father.