Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) and Luke Alvez’s (Adam Rodriguez) date may not have worked out, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Criminal Minds: Evolution is done with the possibility of a romance there. In fact, serial killer Elias Voit (Zach Gilford) remarked on the “vibe” between them and commented about Garcia and Tyler Green (Ryan-James Hatanaka) and her having a thing that drove Luke crazy in the latest episode.
“We hang out together a lot” in Season 17, Vangsness told TV Insider ahead of the premiere of Garcia and Alvez. “I keep saying the writers write things and we do what they say, and then they go like, ‘People talk about it. Let’s just have them have a date. And then can it be done?’ And we’re like, ‘Sure, it can be done.’ And then we do things and then you guys ask questions like that,” she laughed.
According to Rodriguez, “there’s just always been a very natural chemistry. I think also what makes the relationship ring for people or resonate is it was earned. Garcia tried her damnedest not to like Alvez, and we couldn’t deny that there was something there. And as much as she tried to push him away, he kept trying and they got there. I love getting to play those scenes of levity. There’s other kinds of tension. There’s just tension underneath it all, and we don’t know where it’s going to go. And it’s somewhere right now in a place where you really get to see them be friends.” That is complicated by having Garcia’s ex, Tyler, around as a consultant with the BAU this season.
Vangsness also noted that things do come about in filming, with the way that the two play their scenes. She also compared the Garcia and Alvez dynamic to Garcia and Derek Morgan’s (Shemar Moore).
“When you think about it, the whole Garcia-Morgan thing from the old days, it’s like everybody loved it, all of that. This is the new—I hate to say improved, but it’s like this is all based on mutual respect. Nobody is sexually harassing each other. ‘Wait a minute, is that a line? Did we just cross a line?’ There’s no lines, but it’s the same degree of energy without necessarily feeling like, I feel like this is an unsafe work environment, which one could argue it was,” she said. “And so I love that about it because we’re going through this evolution thing that you can actually be sparkier without having to really hit on that horn.”
What do you think? Do you think there’s still something there between Garcia and Alvez? Let us know in the comments section, below.
Criminal Minds: Evolution, Thursdays, Paramount+