page_title: Emily Prentiss
section_title: Relationships with colleagues
hierarchical_section_title: Emily Prentiss / Relationships with colleagues
caption_attribution_description: English: A scene from the filming of the TV show "Criminal Minds" during season 6 of its run in Simi Valley, California, USA in December 2010.
context_page_description: Emily Prentiss is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds, portrayed by Paget Brewster. Prentiss first appeared in "The Last Word", replacing Agent Elle Greenaway, who had quit in "The Boogeyman". Her role in the show's sixth season was reduced, for what Brewster believed to be financial reasons. Brewster returned to her role for the show's seventh season. Her final episode as a main cast member was the May 16, 2012 episode "Run." Brewster reprised the role again in 2014 for the 200th episode. She returned as Prentiss following the departure of co-star Shemar Moore for the season 11 episode "Tribute".
  Brewster returned as series regular in season 12. She was brought back soon after co-star Thomas Gibson had been dismissed from the show.
context_section_description: Initially upon joining the BAU, Prentiss feels like an outsider and often worries that people doubt her ability as a profiler. Over time, Prentiss proves herself through her sharp profiling skills, competence, and dedication to the work, gradually earning the trust and respect of her fellow BAU team members.
  Prentiss has a good relationship with her supervisor Aaron Hotchner and establishes herself as one of the most reliable and capable agents on the BAU. Hotchner had previously worked as the Head of Security for Prentiss's Ambassador mother, Elizabeth Prentiss, but did not cross paths with Prentiss, because she was off to Yale. When she joins the BAU, they get off to a rocky start, but after a confrontation in his office about her feelings and opinions regarding politics and after she resigns instead of secretly feeding reports to Section Chief Erin Strauss (Jayne Atkinson), Hotchner begins to understand and trust Prentiss. Before leaving to be with the BAU on a case despite his suspension from the field, Hotchner stops by Prentiss' apartment to convince her to get on the plane with him to help their team catch the UNSUB.
  In "52 Pickup," Hotchner is seen asking Prentiss for advice on how to deal with Agent Jordan Todd (Meta Golding), and acts on her suggestions, even giving Todd another chance to prove herself.
  For the most part, Prentiss has also developed friendly relationships with the other members of the BAU team.
  Prentiss immediately bonds with Agent Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore) due to their mutual love of Kurt Vonnegut, and they develop a close relationship. Their strong bond is most evident in the episodes leading up to and after Prentiss' faked death. Morgan is able to detect that Prentiss is worried about something and tries to get her to tell him what is bothering her. He also feels betrayed when Prentiss does not reveal the extent of her involvement with Doyle and the case and assumes she does not trust him enough. Rossi later tries to reason with him that Prentiss is merely trying to protect the BAU team. Morgan is also with Prentiss, holding her, when she is dying after being seriously injured by Doyle, and tells her that he understands what she did, and that she is brave, and he is proud of her. When he believes she has died, Morgan takes her death quite hard and expresses anger toward Doyle. When Emily returns to the BAU in season 7, Morgan shows concern for her safety and ability to protect herself in the field by making her sign up for re-certification.
  Over time, she also forms a close relationship with Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau (A.J. Cook), especially when they are the only two female agents in the BAU in the field for several seasons. When Prentiss has to fake her death for the team's safety, Jareau is the only one (aside from Hotchner) who knows the truth. JJ also flies to Paris and is involved in getting fake passports and setting up bank accounts for Prentiss to stay incognito. Jareau expresses the most happiness when Prentiss came back from the dead and tells Prentiss how much she has missed her while she was gone. In the rare moments outside work, Jareau and Prentiss have been seen having conversations about children and the men, or lack thereof, in Prentiss' life. Prentiss is also the first to congratulate Jareau when she reveals she is pregnant.
  After Agent Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) returns to work following his abduction by serial killer Tobias Hankel (James Van Der Beek), Prentiss experiences a falling out with the young agent due to his harsh behavior toward her (a function of the irritability resulting from Reid's use of narcotics to cope with his recent trauma). However, the agents eventually gain a mutual respect and even share light-hearted moments. Prentiss sometimes joins in with Morgan in good-naturedly teasing Reid for his social awkwardness. She also amazes Reid when she beats him at poker, which he has never lost at before. Another turning point in their relationship is when Prentiss and Reid are held captive by a cult and Prentiss admits she is an FBI agent, causing he
caption: Paget Brewster (third from the right) filming in 2010
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