As it often does, the past allowed for some familiar faces to return, though perhaps not all the familiar faces fans might have expected from a series finale.
Thankfully, though, both “Face Off” and the true finale, “And In the End,” were crafted in a way that both spoke to the show’s history and to its future.
The relatively stereotypical nature of Criminal Minds’ third-to-last episode, “Family Tree,” might have led viewers to the false belief that the CBS drama wouldn’t be going outside the box for its final installments.