This story contains spoilers from Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3.
It's only been a week since Matthew Gray Gubler returned to the Criminal Minds universe, but it looks like A.J. Cook (who plays J.J. Jareau) is still thinking about the epic moment.
Fans got quite a surprise when they saw the actor reprise his role as Dr. Spencer Reid on a season 3 episode of Criminal Minds: Evolution. The May 22 installment saw Reid coming to pay his respects at the funeral for J.J.'s husband, Will LaMontagne Jr. (Josh Stewart). Fans were hoping they'd get to see Reid for longer than they did in the episode, but they also loved seeing him interact with J.J.'s sons ahead of the emotional funeral service.
A few days after Matthew's big episode aired on Paramount+, A.J. went on Instagram to share her thoughts on it. Posting a photo of the two alongside her real-life sons Mekhai and Phoenix Andersen (who play J.J.'s sons on the show), she couldn't help but reflect on how special it was to have her friend back on set.
"Behind the scenes of @criminalminds ep. 1803," she wrote in the caption. "Old friends, new friends and friends that left us too soon. @paramountplus @gublergram #bts."
When fans saw how A.J. shouted out Matthew on Instagram, they got emotional seeing the duo's bond thriving after all these years.
"This episode took me out. And y’all and Gubler knew the assignment. There is no way in hell Spencer would not have been at that funeral. Y’all nailed it! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽," one person wrote in the comments. "Such a great episode. Cried my eyes out when Spencer showed up ❤️," another penned. "Spencer is with his family now ❤️," a different follower added.
As viewers may not know, A.J. happened to be the person to convince Matthew to return to Criminal Minds: Evolution. As she told TV Line, as soon as she learned of the story arc her character goes through in season 3, she picked up the phone to call in a favor.
"Well, Matthew, I was on the phone with him," she told the outlet. "I was like, 'Matthew, will you come do this, please?' I called him and said, 'Look, this is happening … and I know you've got things going on … but it would be really great. It just doesn't feel right if Spence wasn't there.' And he agreed, he said he'd do it. I'm forever grateful because I feel like something humongous would have felt missing if [Spencer] didn't show up in that moment."
After this surprise moment, here's hoping A.J. and Matthew reunite in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 4!
As the entertainment and news associate editor for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie, 9-1-1 and Grey's Anatomy, though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.
