Fan favorite crime based series Criminal Minds Season 12 pulled off a shock when Thomas Gibson flipped out with the series' writers, causing him to wrap up his position as a protagonist.

Showrunner Erica Messer, according to TV Line, explains that Thomas Gibson's exit as he was involved in a physical tussle with Virgil Williams, leading him to set a seal to his role as Aaron Hotchner.

Messer revealed that writing for the next storyline following Gibson's exit was not an easy task, but in fact it was daunting. She maintains that the character of Aaron Hotchner had plenty of surprises to play in the next season as his character was supposed to have a big part, but now fans would have to adjust themselves.

Aaron Hotchner's exit was indeed a bitter pill to swallow. The hit TV series was going on with a huge bang, but after the famous departure fans would have to move on.

Messer describes that it wasn't easy to please Gibson's fans. They decided to enter Hotch under Witness Protection Program to protect his son in order to cover his absence, as throughout the seasons, he was labelled as a good father.

There were even speculations that Gibson's role can be ended by killing Hotch in a car crash. However, the show makers eventually decided that keeping him alive in the series would be believable and much dramatic as he always had a special bond with his son, Jack.

The ratings of the show Criminal Minds Season 12 experienced a drastic change when Thomas Gibson wasn't promised his return. The viewership dependent upon his role as Aaron Hotchner, which was significantly maintained after welcoming new faces such as Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez.

According to Tripped Media, Messer stated that the possibility of Gibson returning to the show is still up in the air and is in limbo. She established that the best way to move on is the way fans treated the exit of Many Patinkin, who played Jason Gideon in Criminal Minds Season 2.

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