This text accommodates mentions of homicide, sexual crimes and near-death experiences. Additionally accommodates SPOILERS for Prison Minds.
Prison Minds is called one of many biggest entries within the prison procedural style, however undoubtedly the most effective a part of every episode was Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) and her sharp dialogue. The FBI technical analyst was the quintessential quirky character who added an air of levity and attraction to even essentially the most grotesque investigations. Even when the Behavioral Evaluation Unit (BAU) discovered essentially the most disturbing suspects in Prison MindsGarcia was at all times ready with a intelligent play on phrases or affectionate nicknames for her co-workers.
Vangsness portrayed the character all through all 15 seasons of Prison Mindswith Penelope solely absent from a single episode of the pilot season - but she was nonetheless talked about, a testomony to how very important her presence within the sequence was from the beginning. Though Garcia went via a number of private arcs and tales, there was a sure sparkle to her character that by no means waned. From his first impression to his ultimate phrases within the sequence, Garcia's clever nature is nicely represented in his Prison Minds traces.
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“Peaches, that is the place of absolute superiority. I’m at all times prepared.”
Season 1, Episode 4, “Plain Sight”
Earlier than Garcia grew to become the unlikely star of the Prison Minds: Evolutionshe was clearly a central member of the unique sequence from the very first episodes. “Plain Sight” adopted the group monitoring a serial killer and rapist generally known as “Tommy’s Killer.” When Elle Greenaway (Lola Glaudini) requested if she was able to work her magic and monitor down the suspect, Penelope insisted she was “at all times prepared.”
Penelope calling Elle “peaches” is an early and apt instance of how she treats her co-workers in a pleasant method - generally too pleasant relying on who she's speaking to, like when she by accident requested her boss Erin Strauss (Jayne Atkinson) to “speaking soiled” for her. Nonetheless, his mild, playful demeanor is a pleasing break from the realism of the circumstances. In the long run, their superiority was really absolute, they usually took down The Tommy Killer.
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"Penélope. García. My associates name me fantastic.
Season 3, Episode 8, “Fortunate”
Though Garcia and Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore) flirt virtually each time they work together on the sequence, they by no means develop into a pair. After two full seasons with out a love curiosity, Penelope met who she thought was her soulmate in a espresso store: James Colby Baylor (Bailey Chase). After he launched himself and stated that his associates known as him Colby, Penelope got here again along with his identify and bragged that his associates known as her Colby. "fantastic."
Garcia deserved a cute love story, however after all there was a twist. Colby was truly Jason Clark Battle, a serial killer who deliberate to kill Garcia to cease her from investigating his victims. After he shot her on the finish of “Fortunate,” the story continued with the most effective episodes of Prison Minds: “Penelope” (season 3, episode 9).
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“Effectively, lovely, you had been redirected to the workplace for one thing very unhealthy.”
Season 1, Episode 1, “Excessive Aggressor”
Morgan might have been a forged member who left Prison Minds early, however his and Garcia's dynamic was electrical even within the pilot episode. When Morgan requested him for an not possible process, Garcia stated he was out of luck. Morgan backed away, joking that he thought she was “the Workplace of the Supreme Genius”. She rapidly replied that he “was redirected to the Too Friggin' Dangerous Workplace.”
It was extraordinarily uncommon that Penelope couldn't carry out miracles on her pc, so Morgan's incredulity was comprehensible. Nevertheless, his response was the right demonstration of his boldness. It's potential that her failure was an effort on the a part of the pilot episode to make her extra relatable, however Garcia actually was the Cupboard of the Final Genius all through the remainder of the sequence. No redirection was mandatory.
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“Penelope's home from 'How Can I Save Your A— As we speak?'”
Season 1, Episode 12, “What Contemporary Hell?”
All through every case, Garcia took his function as a technical analyst critically, typically boasting a totally deserved sense of confidence. In some ways, she was the savior of the BAU. As such, she answered a cellphone name referring to her workplace as “Home of Penelope, how can I save your… at present?” It was a daring description, however nonetheless apt.
She was a particularly useful useful resource throughout the investigation into the episode, scouring the online for registered intercourse offenders within the space. After a number of crimson herrings and apparent clues, Garcia and the remainder of the group solved the thriller. In the long run, the 11-year-old kidnapping sufferer is returned to her household alive.
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“Did your mom learn you Valentine's Day poems? Howdy, remedy.
Episode 2, Episode 1, “The Fisher King: Half 2”
The Season 2 premiere adopted the earlier season's high-stakes finale, the place Elle was almost killed by the titular “Fisher King" Murderer. Spencer Reid (Matthew Grey Gubler) realized that his institutionalized mom might have interacted with the suspect and used her private life as a device to assist remedy the case. After mentioning a related poem by Chaucer that he got here throughout because of his mom, Penelope scoffed by stating how unusual it was for her mom to learn it. “Valentine Poems,” going as far as to mock a Freudian “Howdy, remedy.”
Regardless of the joke, Garcia and Reid developed a detailed friendship, and this episode was certainly one of its pivotal moments. Regardless of having a greater relationship with different group members throughout the Fisher King saga, Reid confided in Garcia, making her the primary particular person he instructed about his mom's schizophrenia analysis. The 2 had a heart-to-heart speak concerning the hereditary passage and Garcia comforted him as finest she may. That such tenderness blossomed into such an audacious joke was additional proof of Garcia's prevailing comforting vitality.
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“That is thrilling! What's it like at Quant-ti-co?
Season 2, Episode 21, “Open Season”
In addition to being one of the weird episodes of Prison Minds“Open Season” additionally consists of one of the iconic scenes in the whole sequence. Whereas at a bar with Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) and Jennifer “JJ” Jareau (AJ Cook dinner), the ladies encountered a person posing as a pretend FBI agent. They adopted via on his ruse, with Penelope asking what it's wish to work at Quant-ti-co, mispronouncing her personal office with stilted syllables.
After the impostor answered their questions with silent smugness, they requested to see his badge. To disguise the truth that he didn't have one, he insisted that he was "Categorized." One after the other, the actual FBI workers took out their badges to brandish, asking if his appeared like theirs. The person rapidly left along with his tail between his legs whereas the ladies laughed. The scene was a transfer of energy and a fierce show of persistence within the face of sheer audacity.
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“You, my lovely furry associates, are welcome.”
Season 4, Episode 4, “Paradise”
“Paradise” might have been a disturbing watch, however Garcia’s playful traces knew no bounds. A lot of the episode adopted a pair trapped in a motel room, potential victims of the suspect who focused {couples}, raped the girl, and killed them each earlier than posing their our bodies to appear like a automotive crash. When Garcia known as to present the group the data they wanted, Reid was grateful. She replied: "You, my lovely furry associates, are welcome." As quickly as they hung up, Aaron “Hotch” Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) stated: “Remind me to drug check her.”
This interplay highlights the hilarious dynamic that the bubbling Penelope had with the ever-stoic Hotch. Garcia was one of many BAU's most essential characters, and her unusual relationship with Hotch made her much more iconic. His line was laugh-worthy by itself, however when mixed with Hotch's extra commentary, it's a corridor of fame entry. Garcia's traces generally veered into random, virtually nonsensical territory. Nevertheless, Garcia's character was transcendent; it has by no means been topic to the legal guidelines of logic or cause, nor their citations.
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“Along with being slightly morally repugnant, he's clear as a whistle. If solely that whistle had been slightly morally repugnant.”
Season 13, Episode 8, “Neon Terror”
Though the unique run of Prison Minds ended after season 15, Garcia's intelligence remained robust in later seasons. Whereas looking down the suspected egomaniac nicknamed “Neon Horror” by way of the media, JJ got here to examine on his progress in decoding his identification via his on-line alias: Quasar22. Penelope didn't have all of the solutions, however she dismissed a sycophantic reporter they had been suspicious of and known as him “clear as a whistle [...] if that whistle had been slightly morally repugnant.”
In direct distinction to her profession subject, certainly one of Penelope's fundamental character traits was an unwavering perception within the goodness of humanity. Consequently, she had robust morals and values that she didn't fear about hiding whereas working. Garcia's clear disdain for unhealthy individuals, murderers or not, is what made her such a decent character. When she insulted somebody, there was by no means any doubt as to whether or not they deserved it. Garcia's trial was proof sufficient.
Season 1, Episode 4, “Plain Sight”
Throughout the Tommy Killer investigation, Elle additionally known as to ask Garcia if she may “Entry San Diego cellphone restore data.” With out lacking a beat, Garcia assured that she may command United States Central Command “and even take part in simultaneous Tetris tournaments.” Multitasking would have been a courageous endeavor, however Garcia undoubtedly may have turned that hypothetical into actuality.
Penelope Garcia was a grasp of hyperbole, and her biggest quotes put that ability on full show. When she boasted about her abilities, it was at all times with a novel metaphor or unique literary system to totally illustrate her level. Garcia's language was as vivid and colourful as her character, wardrobe, and numerous workplace decorations.
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“Honey, if he opens his mouth, I’ll inform him how lengthy his enamel are.”
Season 2, Episode 4, “Psychodrama”
Throughout the revolting occasions of “Psychodrama” (the place the suspect took individuals hostage and compelled them to simulate intercourse, with even implicit household participation), Garcia's technical ability was on full show and will have been an important side of the investigation. She used digital perspective evaluation rendering software program that, as Hotch instructed her, she not solely knew about: she helped develop! Garcia went a step additional, promising that "if [the unsub] open your mouth, I'll inform you the size of your enamel.”
It's simple to lose sight of Penelope's spectacular intelligence amidst her whims, however she was capable of finding the suspect's actual dimensions and remedy the case. The quiet confidence with which she labored was paying homage to her former life as a prolific hacker generally known as the "Black Queen" in Prison Minds. She might have given up her goth fashion after becoming a member of the BAU, however the darkness lurking beneath the floor has made her a way more advanced character.
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“I’m going to make HIPAA my B—, sir.”
Season 7, Episode 6, “Epilogue”
Throughout the seek for a vicious suspect killing individuals and resurrecting them to study concerning the afterlife in “Epilogue,” Garcia's in depth database yielded certainly one of his most memorable quotes of all time. When Hotch requested her to “make an inventory of sufferers within the space with any type of blood most cancers,” Garcia promised with the best sincerity that he would “do HIPAA [her] b-.” This iconic line refers back to the Well being Insurance coverage Portability and Accountability Act, which protects a affected person's proper to privateness.
Garcia's skill to interrupt any barrier in her digital path was equal components thrilling and unnerving, which made it all of the extra shocking that she selected to make use of her powers for good. Though Prison Minds I received a number of issues mistaken about prison profiling, realism was by no means the present's promoting level. The proceedings had been crammed with gripping drama and thought-provoking tales, however what does Prison Minds common perpetually is the love he confirmed for his characters. Every member of the group has had their second within the solar, however Penelope Garcia's acidic humor is as timeless because the sequence itself.
Prison Minds focuses on the circumstances of the Behavioral Evaluation Unit (BAU), a gaggle of elite prison profilers who analyze the nation's most infamous criminals as they search to anticipate their subsequent strikes earlier than they strike once more. Beginning in 2005, Prison Minds ran for 15 seasons earlier than receiving a revival present, Prison Minds: Evolution, in 2022.
- Launch date
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September 22, 2005
- Seasons
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17
- Forged
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Shemar Moore, Joe Mantegna, Kirsten Vangsness, Paget Brewster, Thomas Gibson, Matthew Grey Gubler, AJ Cook dinner, Mandy Patinkin, Lola Glaudini, Rachel Nichols, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Aisha Tyler