Evolution’? Why Fans Fear Aisha Tyler Is Leaving ‘Criminal Minds’

Criminal Minds: Evolution shocked fans by killing off longtime character, William LaMontagne, Jr. (Josh Stewart), two episodes into Season 18. Now, just five episodes later, Erica Messer’s hit Paramount+ series has fans fearing for the fate of a beloved BAU member…

Spoilers for Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18, Episode 7 ahead.

In continuation from Episode 1806 (“Hell is Empty), Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18, Episode 7, “…All the Devils are Here,” saw the team working with Voit (Zach Gilford) in a race against the clock to catch an UnSub from his network who was torturing and killing hostages.

After the BAU dove deep into the history of the Sicarius spider, saw Voit reunite with a familiar face from his past, witnessed a horrific killing, and rescued seven hostages, several members of the FBI’s team were targeted by an armed man wearing an infamous white Yase-Otoko mask, which “represents a suffering ghost who abides in hell.”

So who was shot on Criminal Minds: Evolution in the last-minute twist? And does anyone die in Episode 1807’s big cliffhanger? Here’s what to know about the potentially fatal final moments of “…All the Devils are Here.”

Does Tara Die On Criminal Minds: Evolution? And Is Aisha Tyler Leaving Criminal Minds?!

In last week’s episode, a white mask was sent straight to the BAU’s office. The suspicious package sent the team into lockdown, and that cliffhanger kicked off this week’s episode. As the investigation into the masked murderer progressed, Dr. Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler) and Tyler (Ryan-James Hatanaka) confronted Voit to inquire about his network, his knowledge of Sicarius spiders, and his traumatic upbringing.

While that was going on, Rebecca (Nicole Pacent) was removed from Voit’s case by the Deputy AG, on the grounds that she had a conflict of interest with Tara. Despite the removal and fears that her career was over, Rebecca did her best to help her replacement, Evan Delray (Geoff Stults), get what the BAU needed from Voit. When Rebecca told Tara she feared she would eventually be fired as a result of their romantic relationship, Tara encouraged her to draft a brief to the AG explaining why she should stay on the Voit case and why it isn’t a conflict of interest.

Right before the episode wrapped, Tara and Rebecca were summoned by Evan, who informed them that Jeff Darcy said an issue came up in the case that he’d like to discuss with both of them. He asked to meet at his office ASAP and said it was their turn to go to him, so the trio headed out, drove to the office, and talked strategy in the parking garage as they made their way to the meeting. As they rounded the corner in the garage, however, an armed man in a white mask appeared, fired shots, and took the FBI agents down.

Before the end credits rolled, Rebecca sat up in the parking lot seemingly unharmed, saw the masked attacker sprint away, and realized that both Evan and Tara were shot. While their fates weren’t officially revealed, Evan was clearly bleeding from the head and things didn’t look good. Meanwhile, Tara was unconscious and shot twice in her abdomen. Rather than call 911 immediately, a shocked Rebecca grabbed Tara’s face in disbelief. So does Tara die on Criminal Minds: Evolution? Is Aisha Tyler leaving Criminal Minds?! And who the heck attacked the agents?

While Tara was shot twice and things aren’t looking good for her at the end of Episode 1807, it’s unclear if she’s actually dead or if that was just a really gripping cliffhanger. We’ve seen tons of TV characters recover from gunshot wounds before, so I have a feeling that will be the case here — especially considering Criminal Minds: Evolution just killed off Will five episodes ago. I’m not sure they’d axe a second character from the series, too, especially such a crucial member of the BAU who’s appeared on 113 episodes since joining Season 11 back in 2015. That said, as CBR noted, the series does have a history of killing off significant characters. So is anyone really safe?! (As a reminder, 9-1-1 just killed off its OG fire captain Bobby Nash after eight seasons for “creative” reasons!)

Since the BAU knows there are multiple masked killers and foot soldiers born from the network, it’s also currently unclear who pulled the trigger in that parking garage. So ultimately, we’ll have to wait until Episode 1808 premieres on June 26 for answers. Until then, fingers crossed that Tara is able to pull through and that Criminal Minds: Evolution wouldn’t put us through that right now.

New episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution premiere Thursdays on Paramount+.