Criminal Minds Exclusive: Is Reid Ready to Be Back in the Field?

The team is back in action this week on Criminal Minds, but Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) has some reservations about being back on the team.

There is a condition to his reinstatement to the BAU after being framed for murder last season. For every 100 days that Reid spends in the field, he has to take 30 off. It feels like a probation, but Prentiss (Paget Brewster) is able to explain that it's just a temporary safety measure to make sure that Reid doesn't freak out on duty.

If Reid was truly ready to be back on the team, would he need such a "safety valve" though? Prentiss tries to say that everyone on the team needs it, including her, but it doesn't seem to do much to boost Reid's confidence. Luckily, he seems to be the only one doubting whether he can handle the job. Sure, he wanted to kill Scratch (Bodhi Elfman) -- but so did every person on the team. Prentiss is at the top of the list of people who can understand that.

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The good news is that even if Reid has technically has a probationary reinstatement, he won't be hanging out bored every three months. He will get to use his mandated time off to teach some seminars to the rest of the bureau, which honestly sounds perfect.

It may still take a while for Reid to fully be back to his normal self, but it's a relief to see him on the mend.

Criminal Minds continues Wednesdays at 10/9c on CBS.

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