Jason Gideon

Jason Gideon is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds, portrayed by Mandy Patinkin. Along with Agents Aaron Hotchner and Emily Prentiss, he seemed to be the traditionally academic of the group. He was portrayed as an extremely gifted profiler, with a particular dislike for the use of religion as justification or motivation for crimes.

Gideon was shown to have a protective relationship with the younger members of his team - for example, he helped Agents Derek Morgan and Spencer Reid through their nightmares. He had a particularly close relationship with Reid (who he hand-picked from the FBI Academy for his team), helping Reid through many difficulties, including his implied drug use, and even leaving his final good-bye letter for Reid to find. When Reid was beaten by serial killer Tobias Hankel in the second-season episode "Revelations", Gideon blamed himself, as he had ordered Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia to add a virus warning to a viral video Hankel had posted, angering the killer.

Gideon's 'father-son' relationship with Reid extended to non-work areas as well. For example, he encouraged Reid to ask JJ out on a date (by buying Redskins tickets for Reid's birthday), and insisting on calling him 'Dr. Reid', as he believed the title would make people respect the young genius more. Through the first two seasons, Gideon was portrayed to be very good at chess, defeating Reid many times (the only exception being on Reid's birthday, 1x04), and encouraging him to "think outside of the box."

Prior to the series, Gideon was said to have suffered a nervous breakdown (or major depressive episode) after he sent six men into a Boston warehouse with a bomb inside. All six agents were killed, and Gideon was heavily criticized about the event, triggering his breakdown. Six months later, he returned to the BAU, where he was reinstated as Unit Chief. However, he later chose to step down, allowing Hotchner to take over the job, a position Hotch has maintained until season 5 in which Derek Morgan took over but later gave the position back to Agent Hotchner in season 6.

In Won't Get Fooled Again, Gideon finally confronted Adrian Bale, the bomber who had been responsible for the Boston bombing. In doing so, Gideon was able to face his own personal demons and triumphed in banishing them for good.

Gideon was shown to have a son named Stephen (1x11, "Blood Hungry"). The nature of their relationship was never directly stated, but it was implied that they had not seen each other in some time.

In the season 2 finale, Gideon's girlfriend Sarah Jacobs was murdered at his apartment by a psychopathic serial killer named Frank Breitkopf. As a result, Gideon began losing faith in his profiling skills and during one case, was even haunted by visions of Sarah standing at the crime scene, looking at him.

In the episode "Doubt," Gideon was shaken by his decision to release murder suspect Nathan Tubbs, which resulted in the deaths of both Tubbs and a young college student named Anna Begley, who had committed a copycat murder due to infatuation with Tubbs. After Hotch was suspended, Gideon left his gun and badge behind at his cabin with a letter for Reid to find, saying that he was taking a long trip to regain his belief in happy endings.

His final resignation from the FBI was soon announced, and his position of Senior Agent was later filled by David Rossi played by Joe Mantegna.

References

External links

• Jason Gideon at the Internet Movie Database