How Criminal Minds Fans Really Feel About Cat Adams' Character Arc

"Criminal Minds" had a lot of memorable unsubs during its 15-season run, and a lot of their motives for doing the horrific things that eventually got them caught by the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) were usually just as disturbing and clear-cut as their crimes. However, Cat Adams (Aubrey Plaza) had a more complex and morally gray motive for committing her crimes. Revenge drove Adams to become a serial killer, as she would target men who she believed deserved to be punished.

This belief was derived from a childhood where Adams was abused by her father and then again later by her foster father. This eventually led to her becoming a contract killer. It's one of the more tragic backgrounds for an antagonist on "Criminal Minds" and, arguably, one that viewers of the show could at least minimally sympathize with, even if they didn't agree with her methods. Still, her character arc continued from there, and when she was caught, she set her sights on ruining the life of one man alone — Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), the person who caught her.

So how do fans feel about Adams' character arc? Well, some are of the belief that her later actions in "Criminal Minds" were decidedly out of character.

Over on the r/criminalminds subreddit, u/Mothmans_mothballs discussed why they believed that Cat Adams' character arc made no sense. "What I believe is the most out of character for Cat is when she kidnaps Spencer's mum and threatens to hurt her," they wrote. "Her own mother was murdered and her whole motive is aimed at men with similar crimes. Why would she inflict that same pain, that she kills to prevent, onto others?" It's certainly a compelling point. The writers of "Criminal Minds" probably had their own reasons for portraying Adams as they did, but for some, it just seemed like a betrayal of everything she was set up to believe in.

Others in the thread took it even further, declaring that Adams was an overrated unsub and that she was probably only supposed to be a one-off character. As for why Adams returned, u/Aubreezy92 posited their own theory. "She's played by a popular actress who has chemistry with MGG, so why not? While we're at it, let's throw in that girl from the Chula Vista episode too. And thus, the most overrated unsub was born." Obviously, this is not something that's been confirmed by anyone associated with "Criminal Minds," but that wasn't the first time on the show that plans had changed.