I wish Seaver had gotten a chance

I genuinely wish the show hadn’t written off Seaver. Do not get me wrong - I adore Emily and JJ. So much. And when she was first introduced I didn’t warm to Seaver immediately. But after watching and rewatching I cannot help but think the actress and character got a raw deal.

Honestly, Seaver in concept is a brilliant character. Think about it - the daughter of a serial killer whom Rossi helped capture joins the team. At first, it’s awkward. Strange. She makes mistakes because she cannot help empathising with victims AND killers. She’s still in the academy and she’s not hardened like she always is. But there’s someone that always sticks up for her. The truly hardened and masterful David Rossi.

The writers were clearly working toward a surrogate father daughter relationship between her and Rossi (which they tried to replace with Joy’s character as his real daughter which spectacularly failed) shown in clips when they game together in Coda, or when he comforts her in What Happens at Home. Their relationship developing and becoming strong would have been incredible to watch - particularly if one were in danger/held hostage. It would have been amazing to see Rossi of all people go over protocol to save her.

On top of that, there are so many excellent storylines involving her and her still alive father they could have explored. Introducing him in an episode when they needed a second opinion, or have her respond to a letter or call him. There could have been a copycat, which would have been an incredible episode to explore her character. They were so right to give her the origin they gave her as from a writing standpoint it opens up so many dramatic doors.

Now I don’t like that the network fired A.J. Cook. I don’t like that they screwed up Paget Brewster’s contract, so she left after 7 seasons instead of the eight she was meant to do. I don’t like that at all. But I really wish they’d worked something out so Seaver could stay, or at least return to the team. The way production handled her introduction was so bungled, and fan reception at the time was so nasty that they never bothered to ask for the actress back. But I wish they would have. Both her and the character deserved better.