‘Criminal Minds’ Season 12 Spoilers: Jane Lynch to Return; 'Spencer' Episode Will Shock Fans!

"Criminal Minds" Season 12 will be back with new episodes next February. It will also feature an episode titled "Spencer," which will focus a lot on the team's resident genius, Dr. Spencer Reid. Jane Lynch will reprise her role as Diana, Reid's mother.

Reid's mother is back on "Criminal Minds"

On Feb. 15, fans will see major changes in the "Criminal Minds" storyline and in Reid's life. This is Jane Lynch's first appearance in the series since 2008. In the past few episodes in Season 12, Reid had been talking about his mother's condition. Then, he asked to take a break from the Behavioral Analysis Unit so that he could spend some time with his mother.

Writer Erica Messer told TV Line that Episode 13, "Spencer", is going to mark huge changes in Reid's life. She said that it was a journey "that I would argue we never imagined would happen and yet it happens... It's an intense one." Jane Lynch will appear on the show again in Season 12 Episode 20, so it means that both Reid and his mother will still be around. There's also a possibility that Diana will pass away in Episode 13 and appear in Episode 20 in a flashback, although this is unconfirmed.

Will fans see Reid depart in "Criminal Minds" Season 12?

According to CarterMatt, the "Spencer" episode is written by Messer and Kirsten Vangsness, who plays Garcia on the show. Fans should note that the two also collaborated to write "A Beautiful Disaster", the episode where Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore) said goodbye to the BAU. They also worked together to write the episode where the team said good-bye to Jason Gideon, Mandy Patinkin's character, seven years after the actor exited the show.

This brings a certain touch of fear to the show. The episode titled "Derek" in Season 11 was also a defining moment for Derek Morgan. Two episodes later, he left the BAU to focus on his family. There hasn't been news that Matthew Gray Gubler's character is planning to leave "Criminal Minds" Season 12, though.

The producers promise that Episode 13 will be a very big story. The last few episodes have been getting better and more intense, especially with the escaped convicts and the return of Mr. Scratch, the team's most formidable opponent so far. "Criminal Minds" Season 12 will return on Feb. 1, 2017 at 9/8c on CBS.

 Lovely to be back. @criminalmindscbs

A photo posted by Jane Lynch (@janelynchofficial) on Nov 3, 2016 at 5:46pm PDT