With his recent departure from the series after over 10 years, I felt that it was necessary to reflect on a few of the many, many reasons to love the strong, sassy, gorgeous, and overall highly unique character that is Derek Morgan.
He’s… Just… Wow.
Let’s cover the obvious first, shall we? Derek Morgan is on another level of hotness. Like, there are hot guys in the world, but then there’s Agent Morgan. Here’s an experiment for you: turn on CM and randomly pause when he’s on screen. I will bet every bit of the $8 I have to my name that no matter what he is doing in that still frame, he looks like a model. It’s almost scary, really. This man just doesn’t have an ugly bone in his body. Penelope said it better than I ever could hope to when she referred to him as “a statuesque god of sculpted chocolate thunder.”
He’s a Survivor
Derek Morgan has been through some heavy stuff. In early seasons of "Criminal Minds," you learn that Agent Morgan witnessed his father’s death, discovered a body, and was molested by the local Youth Center leader, Carl Buford. (Side note: Not only is it pretty rare to have a male character in a primetime show be a victim of sexual abuse, it’s almost unheard of to allow that character to break as many stereotypes about those like him as Derek did. Good on you, Jeff Davis). Although he engaged in some pretty nefarious activities in his younger years in an attempt to cope, Derek used all of the hardship as motivation to be a better person. He looked up to his late father for being an officer, which inspired him to become an FBI agent. After discovering the body, he collected donations to buy the unidentified child a headstone and visited the cemetery every time he was in Chicago. After learning that Carl Buford was still molesting kids, Derek was able to assist in getting a confession and got the honor of putting him away for good. Let’s be honest; him telling that creep to go to hell was the best part of any CM episode ever aired.
His Relationship with Spencer
Even though they are on nearly opposite sides of the spectrum (small, nerdy brainiac meets buff, suave badass), they share an almost brother-like bond on the show. Through every case, they’re working side by side. While a lot of this can be credited to Moore and Gubler’s amazing on and off-screen chemistry, it’s undeniable that the characters balance each other out almost perfectly. They're always building off each other's ideas during cases. Honestly, they're the dream team of the BAU.
He’s a Gentlemen
Let’s be real here. The character of the buff guy trope is notoriously known to be a misogynistic ass who expects everyone (mostly women) to fall in line for him. Derek, however, is very different. If anything, he is the most emotionally considerate person on the team. He’s always goes out of his way to make sure the team is alright and is usually the first to notice if any of his friends are struggling.
His Timely Departure
While I’ll admit that I was heartbroken after hearing the news that Shemar Moore was leaving the show, there comes a time when you have to say goodbye to all of your favorite characters and come to terms with the fact that you will only have re-runs to fill the void in your heart. Let’s be honest, though: 10 years is a long time. Shemar is a phenomenal actor and deserves to move on to other projects. It could have gone a lot worse, too. Some shows kill off main characters whose actors decide to pursue other projects (cough RIP Derek Shepherd cough). At least such an inspiring character got a dignified exit. It shows viewers that this is only the beginning for Derek Morgan.
