Criminal Minds: The Seventh Season sees not only a lot of great episodes, but also some strong storyline progression for each of the cast members. The season premiere opens with the return of Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster), thought dead by her team, except for team lead Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) and "JJ" Jareau (A.J. Cook), who arranged her escape from ruthless killer Ian Doyle. Needless to say, with her return come tremendous feelings of hurt and betrayal, especially for Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) and Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore). Once things get more back to normal, other things pop up for the rest of the team. We get some additional background on Penelope Garcia’s (Kirsten Vangsness) past, plus she struggles with boyfriend Kevin’s need to take their relationship to the next level. Meanwhile, ghosts from Morgan’s past come up when his missing cousin Cindy is spotted in her hometown of Chicago, after he lied to his aunt about finding her body last season. David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) is pleasantly surprised when his first wife wants to reconnect, but her reasons aren’t what he expected and he must make a difficult decision. Hotch embarks on a new romance with a fellow runner named Beth (Bellamy Young, Scandal), while JJ’s life is turned upside down in the season finale.

The season also plays host to a bevy of actors from the 80’s and 90’s who make appearances as guest stars, and most often, as villains. They include Dean Cain (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman), Mackenzie Astin (Facts of Life), Teri Polo (Meet the Parents) and Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), to name a few. Matthew Gray Gubler once again dons the directorial hat in an episode called Heathridge Manor, one of my favorites of the season. It’s the story of a troubled and delusional young man who believes he is protecting his younger sister by killing women he believes are the devil’s wives. It’s a great episode, very chilling and beautifully portrayed. Other crazy episodes include a killer who uses tornados to destroy forensic evidence; a woman who is kidnapped on the anniversary of her own missing child’s abduction; a case which appears to be the return of the Zodiac Killer; one where home invasions appear to be linked to a local political race; and finally, a group of ruthless bank robbers/serial killers who call themselves the Face Cards end up endangering the lives of the entire team.

Criminal Minds: The Seventh Season is a great season, with more interesting and varied cases and lots of plot development for the team. Special features include a handful of deleted scenes, commentaries on select episodes, a gag reel, a wacky music video called "Wheels Up," Wedding Toasts for JJ and Will from the team, a handful of featurettes on the making of specific episodes called Minds’ Eye, Seven Stories which details plot development for each team member, and finally a Fireside Chat with Matthew Gray Gubler, which is just insane. The special features are spread out across the discs so that the featurettes and deleted scenes are paired with their respective episodes, which is a nice touch. If you are a fan of the show, you’ll enjoy Criminal Minds: The Seventh Season and want to add it to your collection. It’s tough to see Paget Brewster leave the show, then return, only to leave again in the season finale, but I am looking forward to the season premiere of Season 8 where Jeanne Tripplehorn joins the cast.