Aaron Hotchner
Encyclopedia
Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner is a fictional character
from the CBS
crime drama Criminal Minds
, portrayed by Thomas Gibson
. He is a Supervisory Special Agent within the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit
, and has appeared from the series' first episode, originally broadcast on September 22, 2005. Hotch begins the series married to his high school sweetheart Haley (Meredith Monroe
). They have a son named Jack (Cade Owens), though they later divorce
d over Hotch's dedication to his job. Meredith Monroe's character Haley was later killed in season five by serial killer
George Foyet.
, while he commutes to Los Angeles
to film Criminal Minds on a weekly basis, something he feels gives him an insight into Hotch's divided priorities. Discussing the effect working in the BAU has on the agents' personal lives, Gibson opined: "I think it can't help but take some toll. And the first casualty may not be the agents themselves, but their families, spouses and children." Prior to Hotch and Haley's divorce, in a 2007 interview Gibson stated that he hoped the two would make their relationship last, explaining: "Marriage
can certainly survive lots of hardships. You think about in real life the marriages that survive. They certainly suffer... and I think it's going to be very interesting to see how they work it out because I know it's certainly taking its toll. Haley wanted the marriage to work out." Discussing the conflict between Hotch's career and home life, Gibson detailed:
Gibson characterized Hotch as having "moments of levity", but continued: "Unfortunately, he has a very, very, probably-dusty-it's-so-dry sense of humor. It's pretty dark. It's pretty bone dry. We all need a little levity, but I wouldn't necessarily look for him to break into song and dance. I think Hotch feels there's a lot at stake all the time." Prior to the departure of Mandy Patinkin
's Jason Gideon
from the series, Gibson described Gideon and Hotch as "an old married couple", deeming them father figures to the rest of the BAU and professional peers to one another. Of Hotch's relationship with the rest of the BAU team, Gibson commented:
Before Gibson was cast in the role, the character was originally envisioned as a "blonde haired, blue-eyed Mormon
".
for the District Attorney
's office. He has a younger brother named Sean (Eric Johnson
), a New York City-based chef. His mother is an alumna of Mary Baldwin College - home of the Squirrels - in Staunton, VA ("Blood Hungry"). Their father was a workaholic lawyer who survived cancer
, and suffered a heart attack at 47, dying while Sean was still a child.
Upon joining the FBI, Hotch was initially assigned to the Field Office in Seattle, Washington
, before transferring to Quantico, Virginia
.
In season 1 episode 9, Hotchner spoke to a serial killer, Vincent Perotta (Patrick Kilpatrick), and discussed the physical abuse
he suffered as a child at the hands of his father. At the end of the episode, it was strongly implied that Hotch suffered similar abuse, and that his mother knew but did nothing to prevent it.
, Arizona that ended in disaster when the serial killer, Nathan Tubbs and copycat killer, Anna Begley both died), he requested a transfer to a different division, which pleased Haley, until Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore
) convinced him to help the team with a case in Milwaukee. He changed his mind about leaving the department, and when he returned home, he found that Haley had taken Jack and left him. He was later served with divorce papers at work. Hotch still attempts to see Jack weekly, but is unable to spend time with him
as often as he would like.
At the beginning of the show's fourth season, it was shown that the car exploding at the end of the Season 3 was Hotch's SUV. Both he and SSA Kate Joyner were caught in the bombing outside the New York City Federal Plaza. Kate eventually died from her injuries and Hotch suffered shrapnel
wounds and a punctured eardrum which resulted in hyperacusis
, causing temporary hearing problems.
Later in the season, the team worked one of Hotch's old cases: the case of the Boston Reaper. Hotch revealed to Rossi that he had maintained an interest in the case over the ten years since he had investigated it. It was also shown that the Reaper, a power-hungry predator, had taken an interest to Hotch himself. After being misled for a time, Hotch and the team finally identified the Reaper as George Foyet, the only one to have supposedly survived the Reaper by injuring himself. Hotch and the team arrested Foyet but he escaped
from prison shortly after, going on the run
.
In the Season 4 finale, "...And Back", Hotch was confronted in his apartment by the Reaper (identified by his trademark mask). Foyet stabbed Hotch nine times before delivering him to the hospital. Although Hotch survived, Foyet took Haley's and Jack's address from Hotch's apartment, requiring them to be placed in protective custody
and unable to contact Hotch while Foyet was at large.
Following the encounter with Foyet, and subsequent loss of contact with his family, there was concern within the Bureau, and also on the part of Agent Morgan, that Agent Hotchner was suffering the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Hotchner's actions were analysed more closely. When Chief Strauss once again began putting pressure on Hotchner, Hotch decided to stand down as unit chief to avoid being reassigned to a different unit, relinquishing his position to Morgan. Morgan accepted Hotch's position, but stated that he would stand down once Foyet had been captured.
Shortly thereafter Foyet reappeared, baiting Hotchner through correspondence with an old Unsub (The Fox) who had since been imprisoned since being captured in the Season 1 episode, 'The Fox'. With the help of the team, Hotchner proceeded to track Foyet, who posed as a US Marshal in order to locate Haley and Jack. Having gained access to her home, Foyet had Haley call Hotch, where she realized what happened. While Hotch managed to issue a code to his son, Jack, to get him to run and hide, he didn't arrive in time to save his ex-wife, who Foyet murdered while she remained on the phone with Hotch.
Upon arriving at the house, Hotch found Haley's body in the bedroom and noticed Foyet hiding behind the curtains. A full-out fight ensued, with Foyet eventually surrendering, though Hotchner, enraged and afraid for his son's life, continued to beat him to death until the rest of the team arrived and Morgan physically restrained Hotch to get him to stop his rampage.
During an inquiry by Section Chief Strauss, the team demonstrated complete support of Agent Hotchner, despite Strauss's persistence in painting Hotchner's actions as premeditated. Her position towards the events eventually changed upon speaking directly with Agent Hotchner who, when asked what he believed would have happened if Foyet had lived, responded: "I don't have to think; I know that he would have tried to kill my son too." Chief Strauss concluded that Hotchner's actions were entirely justifiable
.
After his ex-wife's murder, Hotch took time off to grieve and spend time with his son. He spoke at Haley's funeral. It was clear that Jack was missing his mother, and was comforted to sleep in his dad's bed. Hotch was offered early retirement from the BAU in order to be with his son. However, after Haley's sister, Jessica, offered to stay with Jack when Hotch had to go away, Hotch agreed and decided to go back to the BAU.
Since then, Hotch has attempted to build a better relationship with his son by being his pillar of support. Many of Jack's actions make it clear that he holds his father in high regard. For example, in one scene, Jack is shown playing with two figures at the dinner table. He explains to his father that one figure is Hotch, while the other is a "bad guy". When Jack's Aunt Jessica, who is making pancakes for dinner, asks Jack who is going to win, he replies: "Daddy. No one beats Daddy." In another episode, he refuses to dress up as Spider-Man
for Halloween because "he's not a real super hero". Instead Jack puts on a suit that is slightly too large for him, and when Hotch asks him what hero he's supposed to be, he says, "I'm you, Daddy." Later on, Hotch is asked to coach Jack's soccer team when the team's performance lacks and he decides to do it with a little help from Rossi who he takes on as his assistant. At the end of the episode, Hotch and Rossi are shown coaching Jack's team and making them win.
Despite his many responsibilities, after JJ's departure from the team, Hotch has chosen to take on part of JJ's role as media liaison.
Hotchner considers his team to be his friends. He is protective of the team and its members, especially Spencer Reid
, showing particular concern for his well-being. In the episode "Lauren", when Prentiss is tracking down her old nemesis Ian Doyle, Hotch calls in Jennifer Jareau
to help find them. The team arrive too late to stop Doyle and find Prentiss badly injured with a wooden stake in her stomach. Knowing that Doyle would come back to finish Prentiss if he found out she was still alive, Hotch and JJ fake Prentiss's death, even to the eyes of the team to protect her and get her out of the country with a new identity and enough money to be comfortable.
Hotchner is depicted as a hard-working, humorless, no-nonsense agent who rarely smiles. Also it is shown in the episode "Damaged" that he is left-handed
as is Thomas Gibson, the actor who plays Hotch is also left-handed in real life.
In Season 7 premiere, it was revealed that Hotch was assigned to temporary duty with an investigative task force in Pakistan during the period between Season Six and Season Seven. When Hotch gets back, he tells JJ it's time for the team to learn that Prentiss is alive. Although JJ isn't sure it's a good idea, Hotch tells her Prentiss is already on her way. He quickly tells the team what happened with Prentiss on the operating table. Rossi, Morgan, Reid, and Garcia are all shocked. Later, in "Proof", Hotch witnesses Reid's hostile behavior towards Prentiss and more so on JJ and tells him to take his anger out on him and not JJ. Reid only replies that it wasn't him who he spent ten weeks crying over Prentiss to, it was JJ and she never said a word.
In addition to being a BAU Special Agent and also the BAU Unit Chief, Hotch has been promoted to Section Chief because Erin Strauss, the former Unit Chief has stepped down.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
crime drama Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
, portrayed by Thomas Gibson
Thomas Gibson
Thomas Ellis Gibson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Daniel Nyland in the Medical drama series Chicago Hope, as Greg Montgomery in the comedy series Dharma & Greg, and as Supervisory Special Agent Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner in the highly-popular CBS drama, Criminal...
. He is a Supervisory Special Agent within the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit
Behavioral Analysis Unit
The Behavioral Analysis Unit is a component of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime that uses behavioral sciences to assist in criminal investigations...
, and has appeared from the series' first episode, originally broadcast on September 22, 2005. Hotch begins the series married to his high school sweetheart Haley (Meredith Monroe
Meredith Monroe
Meredith Leigh Monroe is an American actress who portrayed Andie McPhee on Dawson's Creek from 1998 to 2000. She was a series regular in Seasons 2-3, appeared in several episodes at the beginning and end of season 4, and was a special guest star in the final series episode in Season 6, though...
). They have a son named Jack (Cade Owens), though they later divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d over Hotch's dedication to his job. Meredith Monroe's character Haley was later killed in season five by serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
George Foyet.
Development
Gibson was cast as Hotch having previously starred in the comedy series Dharma and Greg. Of the transition to Criminal Minds, he explained: "It's very nice to do a little bit of the darkness after a little bit of the lightness. Variety is the spice of life. I enjoy both and hopefully I will be able to do as big a variety as I possibly can." Gibson's family lives in San Antonio, TexasSan Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, while he commutes to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to film Criminal Minds on a weekly basis, something he feels gives him an insight into Hotch's divided priorities. Discussing the effect working in the BAU has on the agents' personal lives, Gibson opined: "I think it can't help but take some toll. And the first casualty may not be the agents themselves, but their families, spouses and children." Prior to Hotch and Haley's divorce, in a 2007 interview Gibson stated that he hoped the two would make their relationship last, explaining: "Marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
can certainly survive lots of hardships. You think about in real life the marriages that survive. They certainly suffer... and I think it's going to be very interesting to see how they work it out because I know it's certainly taking its toll. Haley wanted the marriage to work out." Discussing the conflict between Hotch's career and home life, Gibson detailed:
Gibson characterized Hotch as having "moments of levity", but continued: "Unfortunately, he has a very, very, probably-dusty-it's-so-dry sense of humor. It's pretty dark. It's pretty bone dry. We all need a little levity, but I wouldn't necessarily look for him to break into song and dance. I think Hotch feels there's a lot at stake all the time." Prior to the departure of Mandy Patinkin
Mandy Patinkin
Mandel Bruce "Mandy" Patinkin is an award-winning American actor of stage and screen and a tenor vocalist. He is a noted interpreter of the musical works of Stephen Sondheim, and is best-known for his work in musical theatre, originating iconic roles such as Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park...
's Jason Gideon
Jason Gideon
Jason Gideon is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds, portrayed by Mandy Patinkin. Along with Agents Aaron Hotchner and Emily Prentiss, he seemed to be the traditionally academic of the group...
from the series, Gibson described Gideon and Hotch as "an old married couple", deeming them father figures to the rest of the BAU and professional peers to one another. Of Hotch's relationship with the rest of the BAU team, Gibson commented:
Before Gibson was cast in the role, the character was originally envisioned as a "blonde haired, blue-eyed Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
".
Backstory
Hotch first met his future wife Haley Brooks in high school. They married soon thereafter, and were initially happy together. Before joining the FBI, Hotch worked as a prosecutorProsecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
for the District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
's office. He has a younger brother named Sean (Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson (actor)
Eric Johann Johnson is a Canadian actor best known for playing the role of Whitney Fordman on the television series Smallville...
), a New York City-based chef. His mother is an alumna of Mary Baldwin College - home of the Squirrels - in Staunton, VA ("Blood Hungry"). Their father was a workaholic lawyer who survived cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, and suffered a heart attack at 47, dying while Sean was still a child.
Upon joining the FBI, Hotch was initially assigned to the Field Office in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, before transferring to Quantico, Virginia
Quantico, Virginia
- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there are 561 people, 295 households, and 107 families living in the town. The population density is . There are 359 housing units at an average density of .-Racial composition:...
.
In season 1 episode 9, Hotchner spoke to a serial killer, Vincent Perotta (Patrick Kilpatrick), and discussed the physical abuse
Physical abuse
Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object...
he suffered as a child at the hands of his father. At the end of the episode, it was strongly implied that Hotch suffered similar abuse, and that his mother knew but did nothing to prevent it.
Criminal Minds
Following the birth of his son Jack, Hotch's work with the BAU began disrupting his family life. Following a two-week suspension in 2007 (engineered by office rival Section Chief Erin Strauss after a case at a college campus in FlagstaffFlagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...
, Arizona that ended in disaster when the serial killer, Nathan Tubbs and copycat killer, Anna Begley both died), he requested a transfer to a different division, which pleased Haley, until Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore
Shemar Moore
Shemar Franklin Moore is an American actor and former male fashion model. His most notable roles are that of Malcolm Winters on The Young and the Restless from 1994 to 2005, Derek Morgan on CBS's Criminal Minds, and as the third permanent host of Soul Train from 1999 to 2003.-Early life:Moore was...
) convinced him to help the team with a case in Milwaukee. He changed his mind about leaving the department, and when he returned home, he found that Haley had taken Jack and left him. He was later served with divorce papers at work. Hotch still attempts to see Jack weekly, but is unable to spend time with him
Contact (law)
In family law, contact is one of the general terms which denotes the level of contact a parent or other significant person in a child's life can have with that child...
as often as he would like.
At the beginning of the show's fourth season, it was shown that the car exploding at the end of the Season 3 was Hotch's SUV. Both he and SSA Kate Joyner were caught in the bombing outside the New York City Federal Plaza. Kate eventually died from her injuries and Hotch suffered shrapnel
Fragmentation (weaponry)
Fragmentation is the process by which the casing of an artillery shell, bomb, grenade, etc. is shattered by the detonating high explosive filling. The correct technical terminology for these casing pieces is fragments , although shards or splinters can be used for non-preformed fragments...
wounds and a punctured eardrum which resulted in hyperacusis
Hyperacusis
Hyperacusis is a health condition characterized by an over-sensitivity to certain frequency ranges of sound...
, causing temporary hearing problems.
Later in the season, the team worked one of Hotch's old cases: the case of the Boston Reaper. Hotch revealed to Rossi that he had maintained an interest in the case over the ten years since he had investigated it. It was also shown that the Reaper, a power-hungry predator, had taken an interest to Hotch himself. After being misled for a time, Hotch and the team finally identified the Reaper as George Foyet, the only one to have supposedly survived the Reaper by injuring himself. Hotch and the team arrested Foyet but he escaped
Prison Break
Prison Break is an American television serial drama created by Paul Scheuring, that was broadcast on the Fox Broadcasting Company for four seasons, from 2005 until 2009. The series revolves around two brothers; one has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and the other devises an...
from prison shortly after, going on the run
Fugitive
A fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from private slavery, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals...
.
In the Season 4 finale, "...And Back", Hotch was confronted in his apartment by the Reaper (identified by his trademark mask). Foyet stabbed Hotch nine times before delivering him to the hospital. Although Hotch survived, Foyet took Haley's and Jack's address from Hotch's apartment, requiring them to be placed in protective custody
Protective custody
Protective custody is a type of imprisonment to protect a prisoner from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within prisoners, is a chief factor causing the need for PC units...
and unable to contact Hotch while Foyet was at large.
Following the encounter with Foyet, and subsequent loss of contact with his family, there was concern within the Bureau, and also on the part of Agent Morgan, that Agent Hotchner was suffering the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Hotchner's actions were analysed more closely. When Chief Strauss once again began putting pressure on Hotchner, Hotch decided to stand down as unit chief to avoid being reassigned to a different unit, relinquishing his position to Morgan. Morgan accepted Hotch's position, but stated that he would stand down once Foyet had been captured.
Shortly thereafter Foyet reappeared, baiting Hotchner through correspondence with an old Unsub (The Fox) who had since been imprisoned since being captured in the Season 1 episode, 'The Fox'. With the help of the team, Hotchner proceeded to track Foyet, who posed as a US Marshal in order to locate Haley and Jack. Having gained access to her home, Foyet had Haley call Hotch, where she realized what happened. While Hotch managed to issue a code to his son, Jack, to get him to run and hide, he didn't arrive in time to save his ex-wife, who Foyet murdered while she remained on the phone with Hotch.
Upon arriving at the house, Hotch found Haley's body in the bedroom and noticed Foyet hiding behind the curtains. A full-out fight ensued, with Foyet eventually surrendering, though Hotchner, enraged and afraid for his son's life, continued to beat him to death until the rest of the team arrived and Morgan physically restrained Hotch to get him to stop his rampage.
During an inquiry by Section Chief Strauss, the team demonstrated complete support of Agent Hotchner, despite Strauss's persistence in painting Hotchner's actions as premeditated. Her position towards the events eventually changed upon speaking directly with Agent Hotchner who, when asked what he believed would have happened if Foyet had lived, responded: "I don't have to think; I know that he would have tried to kill my son too." Chief Strauss concluded that Hotchner's actions were entirely justifiable
Justifiable homicide
The United States' concept of justifiable homicide in criminal law stands on the dividing line between an excuse, justification and an exculpation. It is different from other forms of homicide in that due to certain circumstances the homicide is justified as preventing greater harm to innocents...
.
After his ex-wife's murder, Hotch took time off to grieve and spend time with his son. He spoke at Haley's funeral. It was clear that Jack was missing his mother, and was comforted to sleep in his dad's bed. Hotch was offered early retirement from the BAU in order to be with his son. However, after Haley's sister, Jessica, offered to stay with Jack when Hotch had to go away, Hotch agreed and decided to go back to the BAU.
Since then, Hotch has attempted to build a better relationship with his son by being his pillar of support. Many of Jack's actions make it clear that he holds his father in high regard. For example, in one scene, Jack is shown playing with two figures at the dinner table. He explains to his father that one figure is Hotch, while the other is a "bad guy". When Jack's Aunt Jessica, who is making pancakes for dinner, asks Jack who is going to win, he replies: "Daddy. No one beats Daddy." In another episode, he refuses to dress up as Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
for Halloween because "he's not a real super hero". Instead Jack puts on a suit that is slightly too large for him, and when Hotch asks him what hero he's supposed to be, he says, "I'm you, Daddy." Later on, Hotch is asked to coach Jack's soccer team when the team's performance lacks and he decides to do it with a little help from Rossi who he takes on as his assistant. At the end of the episode, Hotch and Rossi are shown coaching Jack's team and making them win.
Despite his many responsibilities, after JJ's departure from the team, Hotch has chosen to take on part of JJ's role as media liaison.
Hotchner considers his team to be his friends. He is protective of the team and its members, especially Spencer Reid
Spencer Reid
Dr. Spencer Reid is a fictional character from the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds, portrayed by Matthew Gray Gubler.He is a genius and autodidact who graduated from a Las Vegas public high school at age 12. His fellow team members almost always introduce him as Dr. Reid. Hotch revealed in the first...
, showing particular concern for his well-being. In the episode "Lauren", when Prentiss is tracking down her old nemesis Ian Doyle, Hotch calls in Jennifer Jareau
Jennifer Jareau
Jennifer "JJ" Jareau is a fictional character from the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds, portrayed by AJ Cook.- Back Story :During various episodes, JJ has described growing up in a very small town near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She collected butterflies as a child, and also lost her sister to...
to help find them. The team arrive too late to stop Doyle and find Prentiss badly injured with a wooden stake in her stomach. Knowing that Doyle would come back to finish Prentiss if he found out she was still alive, Hotch and JJ fake Prentiss's death, even to the eyes of the team to protect her and get her out of the country with a new identity and enough money to be comfortable.
Hotchner is depicted as a hard-working, humorless, no-nonsense agent who rarely smiles. Also it is shown in the episode "Damaged" that he is left-handed
Left-handed
Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...
as is Thomas Gibson, the actor who plays Hotch is also left-handed in real life.
In Season 7 premiere, it was revealed that Hotch was assigned to temporary duty with an investigative task force in Pakistan during the period between Season Six and Season Seven. When Hotch gets back, he tells JJ it's time for the team to learn that Prentiss is alive. Although JJ isn't sure it's a good idea, Hotch tells her Prentiss is already on her way. He quickly tells the team what happened with Prentiss on the operating table. Rossi, Morgan, Reid, and Garcia are all shocked. Later, in "Proof", Hotch witnesses Reid's hostile behavior towards Prentiss and more so on JJ and tells him to take his anger out on him and not JJ. Reid only replies that it wasn't him who he spent ten weeks crying over Prentiss to, it was JJ and she never said a word.
In addition to being a BAU Special Agent and also the BAU Unit Chief, Hotch has been promoted to Section Chief because Erin Strauss, the former Unit Chief has stepped down.