‘Criminal Minds’ Season 12 ‘Spencer’ Episode Will Not Be Reid's Goodbye, Says Producer

"Criminal Minds" Season 12 will return soon and one of its highly-awaited and most-talked about episode is "Spencer". Written by Eric Messer and Kirsten Vangsness (Penelope Garcia on the show), Episode 13 in the show's twelfth run will be a "course-changer" for Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler).

Will fans see the last of Dr. Reid in "Criminal Minds" Season 12?

Reid is the team's resident genius and Season 12 showed him dealing with his mother's condition. Recently, he had asked to take a leave so that he could spend some time with his mother. In an interview with TV Line, AJ Cook, who plays JJ on the show, teased that the "Spencer" episode will absolutely shock the fans.

She said that the Reid-centric episode will be very personal and will open up new possibilities in the genius' storyline. Although fans were ecstatic to know that Jane Lynch will be returning to reprise her role as Diana, Reid's mother, they were also worried about whether Reid will leave the BAU.

Vangsness and Messer teamed up to pen the script before. According to recent reports, they wrote "A Beautiful Disaster" and "Nelson's Sparrow". The former was the good-bye episode for Shemar Moore, who played Derek Morgan. The latter was the show's farewell to Jason Gideon, who was played by Mandy Patinkin from Season 1 to 3. This little tidbit of information has fans worried that the "Spencer" episode might also be Matthew Gray Gubler's goodbye.

"Spencer" episode will be intense but not a goodbye

@NATIONGUBLER No. please relax.

— Harry Bring (@LLPOS) November 9, 2016

When this speculation broke out on Twitter, Harry Bring, co-executive producer of "Criminal Minds" assured the fans that Gubler will still be in the show. Vangsness also clarified that the episodes they were writing would shake some stuff up, but that they wouldn't mean the end of a character's stay on the hit crime show.

Other named episodes like "Penelope" and "Derek" showed the titular characters in danger. Both Garcia and Morgan experienced fear and threats and were stuck in a huge quandary. "Criminal Minds" Season 12 promises to do that in "Spencer". It's going to be intense, but for now, fans have Bring's word that viewers will still see Reid with the BAU. Watch the promo photos below for the next "Criminal Minds" episodes.