'Criminal Minds' Season 12: Thomas Gibson Returns After Fans Boycott Show On Social Media?

Fans of the "Criminal Minds" Season 12 were shocked when Thomas Gibson who plays Aaron Hotchner was fired from the show. Because of that, many are boycotting the series since most agree that "Criminal Minds" is different without Gibson.

The hashtags #ThankYouThomasGibson, #WeSupportThomasGibson, #SupportThomas Gibson, #ThomasGibson and #NoHotchNoWatch emerged on the internet. This became a movement to return Gibson to the show, Inquisitr reported.

But it appears that even if fans are threatening to boycott the show, there is little chance for Gibson to go back. He was reportedly fired due to an altercation with the show's producer. Although he apologized for the misunderstanding, he was no longer allowed to go back to the show.

As a result, the ratings of "Criminal Minds" is continuously plummeting. Is this because of Gibson's absence? CBS did not react on the trending hashtags in an attempt to return Gibson. But according to reports, if the show runners will consider business, they will surely be forced to return Hotchner.

According to CBS, the departure of Gibson will be creatively integrated to "Criminal Minds" Season 12. But fans are worried since four episodes were already aired and there is still no glimpse of Gibson.

Many are wondering if Gibson will return to the show to portray his character for the last time. This way, it will give a final closure to his departure. Showrunner Erica Messer is said to be working on a special episode so that Gibson can give a final goodbye to his character. Matthew Gray Gubler will assist Messer in directing the final episode with Gibson's appearance, Morning Ledger reported.

As of this writing, there is no news yet about the air date of Gibson's final episode but many are speculating that the telecast will be sometime in November. There had been rumors about how he will exit the show. He could either be assigned to a different department or he will be killed, which will surely devastate fans even more.

Apparently, sacking Gibson from "Criminal Minds" isn't fair for the veteran actor. He played Hotchner for 12 years and already did 256 episodes of the show. He even complained that he was merely erased from the series which he worked hard for in more than a decade.

For now, fans can tune into "Criminal Minds" Season 12 episode 5 which will air on Wednesday night, November 2 at 8PM central time on CBS.