Best Criminal Minds Episodes
Criminal Minds is an amazing show with suspense-filled episodes, but these episodes stood out and are my personal favorites. (NOTE: If I put a "*" in the description, that means it was one of my major favorites.
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- DirectorMatt Earl BeesleyStarsMandy PatinkinThomas GibsonLola GlaudiniA serial rapist-killer active in San Diego targeting middle class women glues his victims eyes open.
- DirectorAdam DavidsonStarsMandy PatinkinThomas GibsonLola GlaudiniThe team must determine whether an abducted girl is the pawn in a bitter divorce, or something more sinister has happened.
- DirectorChris LongStarsMandy PatinkinThomas GibsonLola GlaudiniThe team of investigators interview husband and wife serial killers with their execution date set for two days time.*
- DirectorEdward Allen BerneroStarsMandy PatinkinThomas GibsonLola GlaudiniTeam members become pawns of a psychopathic killer.
- DirectorGloria MuzioStarsMandy PatinkinThomas GibsonLola GlaudiniElle's fate is unknown, and the unsub continues dropping clues as the team scrambles to identify him before another tragedy occurs.*
- DirectorGuy Norman BeeStarsMandy PatinkinThomas GibsonLola GlaudiniThe team flies to Los Angeles to pursue a bank robber who is quickly disintegrating into an enraged sexually-motivated spree killer.
- DirectorSteve BoyumStarsMandy PatinkinThomas GibsonLola GlaudiniWhile the team profiles a killer in a small town, Hotch must stay and deal with Elle who is beginning to unravel.*
- DirectorGloria MuzioStarsMandy PatinkinThomas GibsonPaget BrewsterThe slaughter of a wealthy couple just after a Super Bowl party puts the BAU on the trail of two killers.
- DirectorGuy Norman BeeStarsMandy PatinkinThomas GibsonPaget BrewsterReid has been kidnapped, and the BAU's only things to profile are a house, a computer, and the live feed the kidnapper is sending to them.*
- DirectorFélix Enríquez AlcaláStarsMandy PatinkinThomas GibsonPaget BrewsterThe team is called to investigate when bodies of missing people are discovered in the Idaho wilderness.
- DirectorFélix Enríquez AlcaláStarsThomas GibsonPaget BrewsterShemar MooreThe unit tracks a man working through his fears by working them out on others.
- DirectorJohn GallagherStarsThomas GibsonPaget BrewsterShemar MooreThe unit works against the clock when a little girl disappears in a mall, believing a serial killer has struck a second time and the first girl died within an hour of abduction.*
- DirectorSkipp SudduthStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreThe team gains a new, familiar member and some growing pains while trying to find the latest victim of a killer who puts up wanted posters of his victims before he abducts them.
- DirectorFélix Enríquez AlcaláStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreMore is learned about Garcia while the team tries to find the persistent unsub threatening her.*
- DirectorEdward Allen BerneroStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreRossi determines that the case that haunts him has gone unsolved too long on its 20th anniversary, and the team horns in on his investigation despite his displeasure. Elsewhere, Reid and Hotchner interview a manipulative death-row convict.
- DirectorBobby RothStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreWhen a spree killing begins in a small Texas town, Reid's identification with the killer may endanger the girl with him, and cause Reid to put his own life in jeopardy.*
- DirectorGuy Norman BeeStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreAs a favor to the D.A. in Boston, Hotchner and Rossi profile a woman who murdered her husband, though the D.A. may not like their findings. Back at the office, J.J.'s personalization of a stalker case baffles the rest of the team.
- DirectorGlenn KershawStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MoorePeople who apparently have nothing in common are being shot randomly in New York City and the team must determine whether it is the work of a single shooter or a team.
- DirectorEdward Allen BerneroStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreAs the city is on high alert, the team begins to believe that they have made a mistake with the profile and that everything the terrorists have done so far may in fact just have been diversion for something even bigger.
- DirectorJohn GallagherStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreA serial killer targeting couples stages their bodies in a way to make their deaths look like car accidents.
- DirectorGuy Norman BeeStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreDriven by his nightmares, Reid stays behind in Las Vegas to find his father in order to find out the truth about Riley Jenkins' murder.*
- DirectorPaul Michael GlaserStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreA serial killer turns himself in and challenges the team to find five people he has hidden somewhere before they die.*
- DirectorTim MathesonStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreA family consisting of two parents and their son break into a home, kill the parents and kidnap their daughter. As the investigation proceeds, the BAU team begin to suspect that what they're dealing with is bigger than they thought.*
- DirectorNelson McCormickStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreAfter being inactive for 10 years, Hotch's first BAU case, an elusive serial killer known as the Reaper, starts killing again.
- DirectorKaren GaviolaStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreAn AMBER alert is activated for a young boy in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and the BAU suspect it to be the work of a pedophile who has abducted and killed two other boys.*
- DirectorJohn GallagherStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreThe BAU co-work with the U.S. Army to find the perpetrator behind an anthrax attack on a park in Annapolis, Maryland.
- DirectorEdward Allen BerneroStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreThe BAU team races to help Hotchner find The Reaper and save his family before it's too late.*
- DirectorAnna FoersterStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreAn unusual personal obsession is at the center of a BAU abduction case. Meanwhile, Hotch struggles with his return to work.
- DirectorMatthew Gray GublerStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreThe BAU profiles a child abductor who may have been keeping children for more than eight years.*
- DirectorGlenn KershawStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreA serial killer in Boise, Idaho, is revealed to have been posting his murders on the Internet, accumulating quite a collection of fans in the process.
- DirectorCharles S. CarrollStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreWhile trying to get two suspects to reveal what they've done with a missing woman, the BAU brace themselves for the loss of one of their own.
- DirectorAndy WolkStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreThe BAU team is on the trail of a serial killer targeting families throughout the Midwest. Meanwhile, Morgan is concerned when Ellie runs away from her foster family and pays him a visit.
- DirectorCharles S. CarrollStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreMorgan regrets his decision that a prisoner is ready for parole when the man murders someone days after being released.
- DirectorDouglas AarniokoskiStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreWhile the BAU chases a pair of young lovers on an interstate killing spree, Prentiss is contacted by an old friend with some bad news.
- DirectorRob HardyStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreThe BAU are called to Louisiana to get information from an autistic boy who has witnessed his parents' abduction. Meanwhile, Prentiss calls in two old colleagues to track down Ian Doyle.*
- DirectorMatthew Gray GublerStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreWhile Prentiss has gone missing to track down Ian Doyle and finish him, her team attempts to track her down and digs deeper into her past.*
- DirectorKaren GaviolaStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreThe BAU team searches rural Oklahoma when women are found murdered after being robbed of one of their five senses. Also, JJ and Prentiss get the cold shoulder from Reid as he deals with their deception about Prentiss' presumed death.
- DirectorLarry TengStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreThe team travel to Boise, Idaho where a serial killer is murdering the survivors of a high school massacre that took place exactly ten years earlier.*
- DirectorAnna FoersterStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreThe BAU team investigates the abductions of young children with troubled mothers in St. Louis. Also, Rossi reconnects with his first wife who has shocking news for him.
- DirectorMichael W. WatkinsStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MoorePenelope calls in the BAU when a grieving member of an emotional support group that she heads abruptly vanishes at the end of a meeting.
- DirectorGlenn KershawStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreThe BAU is called to San Francisco to investigate a possible Zodiac Killer copycat. Meanwhile, Reid wonders what he's done in his life as he reaches 30.*
- DirectorMichael LangeStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreThe BAU team searches for a serial rapist in Houston known as "The Piano Man" who has resurfaced and is assaulting his previous victims. Also, Prentiss tries to come to terms with her trauma from last year and with rejoining the team.
- DirectorDermott DownsStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreA boy named Angel is found wandering in the desert, and when another boy turns up missing, the BAU searches for the kidnapper.
- DirectorMatthew Gray GublerStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreWhen an Oregon woman is found dead in an abandoned asylum, the BAU realizes that the victim is part of a series of gothic, ritualistic murders and the suspect might be a Satanist.*
- DirectorFélix Enríquez AlcaláStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreThe BAU joins Agent Rossi as university guest lecturers, scheduled on the same day as Rossi's long-term annual commitment to visit an imprisoned serial killer.
- DirectorMichael LangeStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreIn this first part of a two-part season finale, the BAU encounters a gang of bank-robbing serial killers in the nation's capital. As the team tries to negotiate the situation unfolding inside a bank, one of the team is taken hostage.
- DirectorGlenn KershawStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreIn part two of the season finale, the BAU races to understand the ultimate goal and core dynamic of the remaining Face Cards and their design in keeping Will captive and alive.
- DirectorDermott DownsStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerThe team races to find a connection between two families, one murdered and the other abducted.*
- DirectorRob HardyStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerThe team searches for a missing school bus filled with students in Washington, DC.*
- DirectorJesse WarnStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerWhen Reid discovers that his girlfriend has been kidnapped by her stalker, he and the BAU team band together to find her before it's too late.*
- DirectorGlenn KershawStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerWhile Reid copes with a loss in his personal life, the rest of the BAU travels to San Francisco to investigate blood-drained victims discovered in the Mission District.
- DirectorDouglas AarniokoskiStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerThe BAU travels to Los Angeles looking for an UnSub who is kidnapping nannies and the children they care for on the same day each year.
- DirectorRob BaileyStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerAs The Replicator hones in on one of the BAU, Hotch gets a call from his estranged brother when party people in New York begin "boiling" from the inside out.*
- DirectorGlenn KershawStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerThe team searches for Strauss and The Replicator and try to figure out what he wants.
- DirectorBethany RooneyStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerOn a lunch hour in crowded Archer Plaza in Dallas, Texas, a sniper, firing twelve shots, manages to kill six people. The BAU has to figure out if it is a random attack, a targeted attack, a terrorist attack - homegrown or foreign - or even something related to the upcoming fiftieth anniversary of the shooting death of John F. Kennedy. The six unrelated victims were killed in different parts of the plaza, the remaining six bullets splattered elsewhere throughout the plaza, leading to the team initially believing that it was a random attack by someone who was a bad shooter. But the nature of the six killed leads them ultimately to believe that the sniper was indeed an excellent shot, with the six non-fatal bullets being red herrings. They have to look at the backgrounds of the six dead to see who was the intended target or targets. Reid is able to narrow the target list to three, and most likely no more than two, the remaining victims being collateral damage. When a second sniper shooting occurs at a gas station leaving three more dead, the theory that it was a targeted hit is strengthened based on the location of the shooter in relation to the station itself. They have to find a connection between whoever the target(s) in the first shooting to whoever the target(s) in the second shooting to at least find the unsub's motivation. Even if they are able to find the connection, discovering the identity of the actual sniper may be a little more difficult.
- DirectorDouglas AarniokoskiStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerThe BAU race a father who kidnapped his daughter to the border while Hotch has visions while fighting for his life in surgery.
- DirectorMatthew Gray GublerStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerThough Rossi is sad because his favorite bar is closing, the team goes to Boston to solve a series of strangulations.
- DirectorGlenn KershawStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerWhen the BAU is called to Kansas City to investigate a series of murders, a tense reunion ensues between Blake and her father, a retired police captain, and her brother, a detective, who must work together to help solve the crime.
- DirectorRob BaileyStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerThe BAU heads to St. Louis, Missouri where ten year old Andrew Taffert has gone missing. The reason it is a BAU case is that the Tafferts - father Malcolm Taffert and mother Lida Taffert - had been receiving prank calls from someone with a childlike voice stating "I'm gonna get you", and that blood was splattered on their front door after Andy had gone missing. Reid notices that this case is much like a fifteen year old cold case that the BAU worked on where the parents in that situation received such prank calls prior to their son being abducted and eventually found dead. The father in that case, Richard Clayvin, was always considered a suspect. As such, Malcolm is initially considered a prime suspect, especially considering his over controlling temperament. The similarity between the two cases extends to the post-abduction prank calls with the voice changing its statement to, "Did you see what I did?". But as the investigation progresses, which includes re-interviewing Richard Clayvin, the team may have to find other similarities before they can identify the unsub.
- DirectorLarry TengStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerThe BAU call Emily Prentiss for help to find JJ, who has been kidnapped. The truth about JJ and Cruz's past is revealed.
- DirectorThomas GibsonStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerWhen a 4-year-old girl goes missing while staying with a relative in Mississippi, the BAU uncovers some startling truths as the team races to find the child and bring her to safety.*
- DirectorLarry TengStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerThe BAU must track down a killer who sends their victims a warning before poisoning them with arsenic, without ever seeming to come in contact with them.
- DirectorRob BaileyStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerThe BAU is called to Texas to consult on the murders of victims with links to prostitution.*
- DirectorGlenn KershawStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerWhen Reid is in serious condition after the shootout with the Preacher, the BAU begins to investigate the Sheriff's Deputies.*
- DirectorKaren GaviolaStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerThe team heads to Seattle to hunt for a murderer whose MO appears to change at random.
- DirectorThomas GibsonStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerOn October 30, 2014, a frightened eleven year old Joshua Parker is found at a Halloween fair in San Diego. He went missing on Halloween day the previous year. His case mimics that of Tommy Wilcox, who went missing on Halloween 2012 in Los Angeles, only to be found on Venice Beach October 30, 2013, alive but he who eventually died of malnutrition a few hours later. Joshua, however, is expected to live. Both boys had atrophied muscles, and had splinters and puncture wounds, although Joshua seems to have been fed somewhat properly. Both boys were also considered troubled, Joshua who was never listed officially as missing since he was a chronic runaway. The problem for the BAU is that Tommy's captor, Rodney Tanner, who confessed to the crime, is currently incarcerated, meaning that he either had a partner, there is a copycat loose, or that his confession is a lie. They have to figure out this issue before another troubled early or pre-teen Caucasian boy is abducted in the next day. Reid comes to the conclusion that the boys were housed in a homemade wooden box, which accounts for all their physical issues. Discovering a case similar from the past of boys so confined, especially as it relates to Halloween, may provide clues as to the identity of the unsub.
- DirectorConstantine MakrisStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerPeople in Maryland with large social media followings are murdered by an unsub who takes on the persona of an Internet urban legend. Meanwhile, Morgan and Savannah struggle to find quality time for each other due to their business careers.*
- DirectorTawnia McKiernanStarsJoe MantegnaShemar MooreMatthew Gray GublerThe team head out to Nevada after several frozen bodies are found floating in water somewhere. Whilst the BAU investigate it is revealed the victims were apart of a religious cult which they believe could be responsible for the deaths. Meanwhile, JJ is forced to confront some difficult emotions and demons on the one year anniversary of her abduction, and leans on Reid to help her get through.