If you ask Criminal Minds fans who their least favorite BAU agent is, many will name Elle Greenaway. Barely making it past the first season, the newbie BAU teammate never fully vibes with the team. Even Elle notices: She's quick to mention that the unit hardly cared when the Fisher King broke into her home and shot her. Elle's PTSD surrounding the event leads to a complete disruption of her mental health, and no one on the team offers her much support.
Ultimately, she becomes a vigilante. Furious at having to let a predator walk, she takes the law into her own hands by shooting an unarmed suspect while he spews creepy, sexist rhetoric. While she faces no legal retribution for murder due to a lack of evidence, Hotch knows what happened and "suggests" she leave the team.
Elle's departure from the BAU has less to do with the character and more to do with the actress herself, however. According to Heavy, actress Lola Glaudini wanted to move back to Manhattan and pursue theater. Ed Bernero, executive producer at the time, told TV Guide that it was "a very amicable parting." He said, "We were looking for a way to shake the cast up a little bit, and she really wanted to go home."
