30 days of Criminal Minds take two: day 2
Day 2 - favourite male character.
Oh come on, you guys have got to know this by now
Aaron Hotchner
Honorable mentions: The wonderfully layered and sadly-neglected Derek Morgan; that ornery old douche Jason Gideon
Oh, Hotch. What do I say about you. He is, without a doubt, one of the finest characters on the CM franchise, perhaps in television. A large part of this is due to Thomas Gibson's performance--he doesn't just play Hotch, he inhabits him. His performance brings a complexity and sophistication to a character that could easily be played as simply "stoic." This is not to say the character himself isn't complex and layered, but his characterization is also very subtle, and TGibs is perfection in this role.
But I'm not here to sing the praises of TGibs (although I could do that for a long time). This is all about Hotch. It's not going to be a super long analysis like my Elle one because hot damn even I don't have the energy to do that again (and here you guys thought I had no limits!) but I would like to talk about his character and narrative arc, so here we go.
In the season one episode "The Tribe," Blackwolf's initial commentary on Hotch was, "And you... you look FBI." This, in a nutshell, is Hotch. He is the consummate professional, the tough-but-fair team leader, the quintessential FBI guy in his crisp tailored suits. He also became known as the dude who never smiles. It's ironic, considering his very first appearance in the pilot was a loving, affectionate scene picking baby names with his wife.
Like Elle, Hotch's character embodies more than one dichotomy. On the surface, he's definitely among CM's most alpha male characters--not in the sense of physicality (Morgan) or hot-headedness (Elle)--but in the sense of his sheer capability and quiet strength. He's the kind of guy who can level a person with as much as single death-glare (and he does have amazing death-glares). He's shown that he can hold his own in a fight (as early as "The Tribe") but his main weapon is his mind. He's one of the show's more cerebral characters, more thought-oriented (along with Reid and Gideon) than action-oriented (Morgan and Elle). He also takes on a motherly role toward the team--he's the one who's first to arrive and the last to leave (along with JJ). He shoulders the team's burdens for them, feels a certain measure of protectiveness towards his colleagues (particularly Elle), takes the heat for their missteps (Gideon), does all the paperwork and other little things no one really sees or acknowledges. This is where the fandom meme "team mommy" originates.
Like Elle, he also comes to embody a victim/survivor dichotomy. In season one, it is hinted at in "Natural Born Killer" that he may have been abused as a child (although this conclusion remains ambiguous). Later on, he is victimized by Foyet, setting him up as CM's third rape-survival narrative and the second male character to have one (for those who haven't read my Elle essay in which I touch on this: while it is debatable that Hotch was actually raped, he was made to feel violated in a physical and emotional sense; it was a metaphorical rape if not a literal one). And Hotch demonstrates that he is a survivor--it is through his own will and his own agency that he resists victimization. He never loses his sense of justice. He never loses the mission, despite having every reason to.
In this sense, he is very much a tragic hero. I'll go out on a limb and say he's one of the most overtly heroic characters on the show. He's a man who sacrificed everything to fight the good fight, whom you know could never do anything other than what he's doing now. An interesting path for a character possessing his background. We learn that prior to joining the BAU, he worked as a prosecutor--not necessarily the most heroic of jobs. He tells JJ the reason he became profiler is by the time these cases crossed his desk, he felt it was too late. He wanted to get them before they crossed his desk. In "Broken Mirror," Shyer profiles Hotch as an ambitious career man whose goal was to become FBI director no matter what--which is why he was there and not with his pregnant wife. We know that Shyer was wrong in the end, but the conflict his profile touched upon--family versus career--is always at the center of Hotch's narrative arc. It's the same kind of choice that heroes always have to make--the mission versus family, the mission versus love, the mission versus personal happiness.
Season one sets him up as a man who has everything he has hoped for in life--professional success, a happy marriage and growing family. The events of the following seasons proceed to erode those trappings of twenty-first century success as one by one, they become casualties to the mission. Hotch's relationship with Elle plays a crucial role in setting these events into motion. Not necessarily in a romantic sense (although I do ship them), but in the sense that she was the first important person in his life that he lost directly through this job. I already mentioned in my Elle essay that he felt a certain protectiveness toward her, as evidenced in his behavior in "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "The Fisher King." When she comes to him for advice on balancing her professional and personal life in "Unfinished Business," she listens carefully to his words and takes them to heart. This scene is especially eerie to watch again in light of what happens to them both. His inability to protect her in TFK--in fact, she was put in danger partially through his efforts to protect her--and subsequent loss of her trust and esteem deeply affected him. Losing her in "The Boogeyman" was the trigger that led to an increasingly dark turn in his character, his first real moment of tragedy in his narrative. Sadly, it would not be his last.
The loss of Elle was traumatic to him in that it symbolized the breakdown of two spheres he tries so hard to keep separate--the job and his personal life. One of the main traits of the show is the "family" vibe between team members, and the loss of Elle was more to him than the loss of a valued colleague--it was the loss of a friend. Within the course of a year, he would also lose Gideon--and it is this loss that signifies a major turning point in his arc.
It is actually not Rossi who replaces Gideon, but Hotch. During his time on the show, Gideon occupies the dual role of tragic hero and mentor figure; he clearly drives much of the show's narrative. Gideon's departure signals a similar moment to the death of the mentor figure in the Campbellian hero's journey. And while I know that Gideon's departure was unexpected, it ended up being a pivotal moment in the greater narrative of the show, one I think ultimately enriched the story. The team was forced to "grow up," to come into their own as agents and as fully realized protagonists. This moment is crystallized when Morgan points out at the end of "Scared to Death" that they are doing "just fine without Gideon." Hotch takes his rightful place as the team's leader--not only in name this time, but in his role in the story. He becomes the tragic hero/mentor figure, a role that crystallizes when shoulders the blame for Gideon's questionable judgment and takes the fall for him. If Hotch were the ambitious man Shyer profiled in season one, he would not have hesitated to sell Gideon out (in fact, Shyer even suggested he might be ambitious enough to step over Gideon). Despite his fall from grace, however, he cannot turn his back on the mission. It is he who reunites the team and returns to duty despite knowing it might very well cost him the thing most important to him in his life--his family.
And it does. Haley leaves him; he has now had to deal with the loss of three significant figures in his life over a period of less than a year. In "Mayhem," he also loses Kate, although this arc lacks the power it should have for the viewer, as whatever history exists between Kate and Hotch happened offscreen. Still, Kate was important to him and becomes yet another narrative of failed heroism. Yet he soldiers on, sealing his fate, knowing this is all he will ever achieve professionally, but he accepts it. Here is when we see most clearly that this is a man willing to sacrifice everything to keep fighting the good fight. This is a man whose profound sense of justice is tested on regular basis, often in the most painful of ways, but it is that sense of justice that drives him, that sustains him. This is who he is. "100" is the ultimate test of his commitment, in which Hotch makes the ultimate sacrifice--Haley. Not only because she is the woman he loves, but because she represents everything he once had, that he could have had if not for the mission. Those hopes and dreams die with her.
While I can appreciate the thematic impact of Haley's death, however, it's also problematic in the sense that Haley ceases to be a character (although it's debatable that she was ever really a character), and is instead silenced and discarded when there is no more room for her to further his narrative. It's a disturbing trend that began with Kate (or even with Elle; while she wasn't a romantic interest for him, she was important to him and her loss is yet another instance of failed heroism). It's a troubling trend, not only from a feminist standpoint but from a narrative one--it's excessive, pushing his arc from tragic hero to "how much more can we torture this guy?"
It is a testament to Hotch's strength of character that through it all, he never loses his capacity for love and loyalty. Sure, he's the guy who never smiles. But his actions demonstrate a deep sense of respect and caring for his colleagues, and he is a loving and devoted father to Jack. Jack is his raison d'être, his link to humanity, to love, and to family. We see very little else of his family; his younger brother, Sean, makes a brief but memorable appearance in "The Tribe," and it is clear that they share a close relationship. Sean is never seen again, which is unfortunate, because I think it's a relationship worth exploring (I did hear rumors that they tried to get Eric Johnson for "Slave of Duty" but he wasn't available). Another episode with Sean would also be a good opportunity to shed more light on Hotch's family background, as there is still much we don't know about him (and many of the details we do know contradict each other--way to communicate, writers).
At the end of the day, Aaron Hotchner is so much more than "the dude who never smiles." He's a hero, larger than life in some respects. But he is also human, something that we never lose sight of. And it's why he is, and will always be, my favorite.
Oh come on, you guys have got to know this by now
Aaron Hotchner
Honorable mentions: The wonderfully layered and sadly-neglected Derek Morgan; that ornery old douche Jason Gideon
Oh, Hotch. What do I say about you. He is, without a doubt, one of the finest characters on the CM franchise, perhaps in television. A large part of this is due to Thomas Gibson's performance--he doesn't just play Hotch, he inhabits him. His performance brings a complexity and sophistication to a character that could easily be played as simply "stoic." This is not to say the character himself isn't complex and layered, but his characterization is also very subtle, and TGibs is perfection in this role.
But I'm not here to sing the praises of TGibs (although I could do that for a long time). This is all about Hotch. It's not going to be a super long analysis like my Elle one because hot damn even I don't have the energy to do that again (and here you guys thought I had no limits!) but I would like to talk about his character and narrative arc, so here we go.
In the season one episode "The Tribe," Blackwolf's initial commentary on Hotch was, "And you... you look FBI." This, in a nutshell, is Hotch. He is the consummate professional, the tough-but-fair team leader, the quintessential FBI guy in his crisp tailored suits. He also became known as the dude who never smiles. It's ironic, considering his very first appearance in the pilot was a loving, affectionate scene picking baby names with his wife.
Like Elle, Hotch's character embodies more than one dichotomy. On the surface, he's definitely among CM's most alpha male characters--not in the sense of physicality (Morgan) or hot-headedness (Elle)--but in the sense of his sheer capability and quiet strength. He's the kind of guy who can level a person with as much as single death-glare (and he does have amazing death-glares). He's shown that he can hold his own in a fight (as early as "The Tribe") but his main weapon is his mind. He's one of the show's more cerebral characters, more thought-oriented (along with Reid and Gideon) than action-oriented (Morgan and Elle). He also takes on a motherly role toward the team--he's the one who's first to arrive and the last to leave (along with JJ). He shoulders the team's burdens for them, feels a certain measure of protectiveness towards his colleagues (particularly Elle), takes the heat for their missteps (Gideon), does all the paperwork and other little things no one really sees or acknowledges. This is where the fandom meme "team mommy" originates.
Like Elle, he also comes to embody a victim/survivor dichotomy. In season one, it is hinted at in "Natural Born Killer" that he may have been abused as a child (although this conclusion remains ambiguous). Later on, he is victimized by Foyet, setting him up as CM's third rape-survival narrative and the second male character to have one (for those who haven't read my Elle essay in which I touch on this: while it is debatable that Hotch was actually raped, he was made to feel violated in a physical and emotional sense; it was a metaphorical rape if not a literal one). And Hotch demonstrates that he is a survivor--it is through his own will and his own agency that he resists victimization. He never loses his sense of justice. He never loses the mission, despite having every reason to.
In this sense, he is very much a tragic hero. I'll go out on a limb and say he's one of the most overtly heroic characters on the show. He's a man who sacrificed everything to fight the good fight, whom you know could never do anything other than what he's doing now. An interesting path for a character possessing his background. We learn that prior to joining the BAU, he worked as a prosecutor--not necessarily the most heroic of jobs. He tells JJ the reason he became profiler is by the time these cases crossed his desk, he felt it was too late. He wanted to get them before they crossed his desk. In "Broken Mirror," Shyer profiles Hotch as an ambitious career man whose goal was to become FBI director no matter what--which is why he was there and not with his pregnant wife. We know that Shyer was wrong in the end, but the conflict his profile touched upon--family versus career--is always at the center of Hotch's narrative arc. It's the same kind of choice that heroes always have to make--the mission versus family, the mission versus love, the mission versus personal happiness.
Season one sets him up as a man who has everything he has hoped for in life--professional success, a happy marriage and growing family. The events of the following seasons proceed to erode those trappings of twenty-first century success as one by one, they become casualties to the mission. Hotch's relationship with Elle plays a crucial role in setting these events into motion. Not necessarily in a romantic sense (although I do ship them), but in the sense that she was the first important person in his life that he lost directly through this job. I already mentioned in my Elle essay that he felt a certain protectiveness toward her, as evidenced in his behavior in "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "The Fisher King." When she comes to him for advice on balancing her professional and personal life in "Unfinished Business," she listens carefully to his words and takes them to heart. This scene is especially eerie to watch again in light of what happens to them both. His inability to protect her in TFK--in fact, she was put in danger partially through his efforts to protect her--and subsequent loss of her trust and esteem deeply affected him. Losing her in "The Boogeyman" was the trigger that led to an increasingly dark turn in his character, his first real moment of tragedy in his narrative. Sadly, it would not be his last.
The loss of Elle was traumatic to him in that it symbolized the breakdown of two spheres he tries so hard to keep separate--the job and his personal life. One of the main traits of the show is the "family" vibe between team members, and the loss of Elle was more to him than the loss of a valued colleague--it was the loss of a friend. Within the course of a year, he would also lose Gideon--and it is this loss that signifies a major turning point in his arc.
It is actually not Rossi who replaces Gideon, but Hotch. During his time on the show, Gideon occupies the dual role of tragic hero and mentor figure; he clearly drives much of the show's narrative. Gideon's departure signals a similar moment to the death of the mentor figure in the Campbellian hero's journey. And while I know that Gideon's departure was unexpected, it ended up being a pivotal moment in the greater narrative of the show, one I think ultimately enriched the story. The team was forced to "grow up," to come into their own as agents and as fully realized protagonists. This moment is crystallized when Morgan points out at the end of "Scared to Death" that they are doing "just fine without Gideon." Hotch takes his rightful place as the team's leader--not only in name this time, but in his role in the story. He becomes the tragic hero/mentor figure, a role that crystallizes when shoulders the blame for Gideon's questionable judgment and takes the fall for him. If Hotch were the ambitious man Shyer profiled in season one, he would not have hesitated to sell Gideon out (in fact, Shyer even suggested he might be ambitious enough to step over Gideon). Despite his fall from grace, however, he cannot turn his back on the mission. It is he who reunites the team and returns to duty despite knowing it might very well cost him the thing most important to him in his life--his family.
And it does. Haley leaves him; he has now had to deal with the loss of three significant figures in his life over a period of less than a year. In "Mayhem," he also loses Kate, although this arc lacks the power it should have for the viewer, as whatever history exists between Kate and Hotch happened offscreen. Still, Kate was important to him and becomes yet another narrative of failed heroism. Yet he soldiers on, sealing his fate, knowing this is all he will ever achieve professionally, but he accepts it. Here is when we see most clearly that this is a man willing to sacrifice everything to keep fighting the good fight. This is a man whose profound sense of justice is tested on regular basis, often in the most painful of ways, but it is that sense of justice that drives him, that sustains him. This is who he is. "100" is the ultimate test of his commitment, in which Hotch makes the ultimate sacrifice--Haley. Not only because she is the woman he loves, but because she represents everything he once had, that he could have had if not for the mission. Those hopes and dreams die with her.
While I can appreciate the thematic impact of Haley's death, however, it's also problematic in the sense that Haley ceases to be a character (although it's debatable that she was ever really a character), and is instead silenced and discarded when there is no more room for her to further his narrative. It's a disturbing trend that began with Kate (or even with Elle; while she wasn't a romantic interest for him, she was important to him and her loss is yet another instance of failed heroism). It's a troubling trend, not only from a feminist standpoint but from a narrative one--it's excessive, pushing his arc from tragic hero to "how much more can we torture this guy?"
It is a testament to Hotch's strength of character that through it all, he never loses his capacity for love and loyalty. Sure, he's the guy who never smiles. But his actions demonstrate a deep sense of respect and caring for his colleagues, and he is a loving and devoted father to Jack. Jack is his raison d'être, his link to humanity, to love, and to family. We see very little else of his family; his younger brother, Sean, makes a brief but memorable appearance in "The Tribe," and it is clear that they share a close relationship. Sean is never seen again, which is unfortunate, because I think it's a relationship worth exploring (I did hear rumors that they tried to get Eric Johnson for "Slave of Duty" but he wasn't available). Another episode with Sean would also be a good opportunity to shed more light on Hotch's family background, as there is still much we don't know about him (and many of the details we do know contradict each other--way to communicate, writers).
At the end of the day, Aaron Hotchner is so much more than "the dude who never smiles." He's a hero, larger than life in some respects. But he is also human, something that we never lose sight of. And it's why he is, and will always be, my favorite.