The 20 best “Criminal Minds” episodes, ranked

Entertainment Weekly looks back on the most chilling moments from the grim crime series.

Criminal Minds is something of an acquired taste. Even among avid fans of police procedurals, this series can sometimes be a turn-off because of how dark and downright weird it can get. Then again, for those who have grown bored of the humdrum routine of other long-running crime programs like NCIS, this grim and more mature approach to storytelling always manages to scratch a specific kind of itch.

The series follows the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. You’ve got your grizzled veterans who help oversee the criminal profiling operation, from Jason Gideon (Mandy Patinkin) to David Rossi (Joe Mantegna). You’ve got your tormented boy genius, Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), and his close confidant JJ Jareau (A.J. Cook). There’s the charming ex-cop turned behavioral specialist Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore) and his techy partner in crime (and flirting) Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness). And lest we forget, long-time unit chief Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) and his eventual successor, Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster).

The show had a whopping 324 episodes during its original run from 2005 to 2020 — and that’s to say nothing of the recent revival, Criminal Minds: Evolution, which kicks off its second season (and 17th overall) in June 2024. As with any long-running series, some episodes are better than others. So, how can you tell which entries are actually worth your time? No need to call in the BAU… just keep reading to discover the best Criminal Minds episodes from the series’ original run, ranked.

20. “Elliott’s Pond” (season 12, episode 6)

Calling “Elliott’s Pond” a great Criminal Minds episode in terms of narrative is stretching it, but if you like watching entries that push the show in a new direction, you can’t skip this one. The plot is fairly run-of-the-mill: When children are abducted from the same Delaware spot where kids went missing 30 years ago, the BAU must figure out whether or not these incidents are connected. Along the way, the episode drops some major cast shake-ups: Hotchner resigns from the FBI and goes into the Witness Protection Program, which is really just a narrative cover for actor Thomas Gibson getting booted from the show after getting into an on-set, physical altercation with a writer. On a brighter note, this episode brings Paget Brewster back as a series regular.

19. “And in the End” (season 15, episode 10)

After 15 seasons, Criminal Minds did something most long-running shows can only dream of: sticking the landing with the final episode. Or the first landing, as it turns out. Originally produced as a series finale before the show was brought back two years later, “And in the End” mostly revolves around two beloved characters: Reid and Garcia. The first half shows how the BAU wraps up the lengthy investigation into The Chameleon (Michael Mosley), but what really stands out is Reid’s hallucinations brought about by his recent brain injury. The visions are mainly an excuse to bring back dead characters, including his former girlfriend Maeve, but they also strongly hint that Reid, the show’s most troubled character, may finally achieve some emotional closure and growth after his surreal confrontation with The Reaper. Fortunately, the episode leaves plenty of room to celebrate characters — those moving on from the BAU, those sticking around, and even the tertiary players we fell in love with during the last 15 years.

18. “Entropy” (season 11, episode 11)

Considering the BAU specializes in understanding the psychology of killers, it’s rare to see them slip up when trying to get into a bad guy’s head. But that’s exactly what happens in “Entropy” when Reid thinks he can outsmart an assassin (Aubrey Plaza, making her series debut as Cat Adams) in order to save Garcia. By the time Reid and the BAU realize this criminal mastermind has them exactly where she wants them, it’s too late. While the episode has some standout moments involving Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler), those are just the appetizers. Reid’s showdown with an amoral foe who’s just as smart as him (if not smarter) serves as the main course, as an innocuous dinner date quickly becomes a game of life or death.

17. “Revelations (season 2, episode 15)

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when Criminal Minds first decided that everything bad would happen to Reid, but “Revelations” is a strong contender. This is an episode in which James Van Der Beek plays a maniac with multiple personalities who successfully manages to kidnap Reid. Thanks to the killer live streaming the torture, both the BAU and viewers witness a variety of methods inflicted upon Reid, including a forced drug injection that will have devastating consequences in the future. While the entire episode is chilling, it’s hard to get over just how creepy Dawson Leery is while torturing somebody. (If you were Team Pacey back in the heyday of Dawson’s Creek, that’s just one more reason to confirm you were on the right side.)

16. “Mosley Lane” (season 5, episode 16)

“Mosley Lane” fires on all cylinders, and the fact that it marks Gubler’s first time stepping behind the camera makes it that much more impressive. The story is a major gut punch, focusing on the grim realities of child abduction and the chilling effects it has on both the families involved and their local community. There are very few moments of levity in this episode, but it’s a joy to see a young Evan Peters guest star just one year before his breakout role in Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story.

15. “Somebody’s Watching” (season 1, episode 18)

While most of the episodes on this list come from later seasons, season 1's “Somebody’s Watching” deserves special props. After traveling to Los Angeles for a seminar and getting roped into investigating a string of murders, the BAU gets a close look at just how vapid and violent Hollywood can be. The standout guest star is most certainly Amber Heard, who convincingly plays a young actress with big dreams for the future. It’s a genuine treat seeing the fun and flirty relationship her character develops with Reid (back when he got to enjoy funner storylines rather than nonstop trauma).

14. “100” (season 5, episode 9)

While Law & Order first blazed the trail, one could make the case that Criminal Minds really perfected the art of transforming innocuous guest stars into some of the most frightening onscreen villains you will ever see. Beginning in season 4, the show introduced C. Thomas Howell as The Reaper, a haunting killer who harbors a bizarre fascination with Hotch. This episode is the climax of The Reaper’s fixation as he begins targeting those closest to Hotch — and ends up changing both the agent and his relationship with the BAU in a heartbreakingly permanent way.

13. “Believer” (season 13, episode 22)

One reason modern police procedurals often feel stale is that so many characters have deductive abilities that border on precognition. That’s why “Believer” is so refreshing; the season 13 finale shows us how difficult it is for the BAU to figure out what’s going on, especially after Reid makes contact with a disgraced former FBI agent, Owen Quinn (James Urbaniak), trying to warn everyone about a killer known as “The Strangler.” Reid and the rest of the team must determine if Quinn is on their side… or possibly the very killer he claims to have been investigating. It all leads to a final five minutes almost certain to leave you speechless.

12. “A Beautiful Disaster” (season 11, episode 18)

When a show runs as long as Criminal Minds, there are bound to be some cast shake-ups over time. And while the plot of “A Beautiful Disaster” — about Morgan’s pregnant wife being shot in a parking lot and fighting for her life as the BAU races to figure out who put a target on Morgan’s back — is genuinely gripping, many fans remember this simply as the episode where Morgan leaves the show. Given how hard Shemar Moore worked to transform Morgan into a warm and relatable character, his departure was a real gut punch. However, the combination of high emotional stakes and top-notch acting makes this episode worth revisiting (even if you're watching through tears in your eyes).

11. “Sex, Birth, Death” (season 2, episode 11)

Speaking of tears, it’s difficult not to get misty-eyed watching the late Anton Yelchin guest star as a young man struggling with murderous impulses in the early standout episode “Sex, Birth, Death.” In addition to his role, this entry introduces Emily Prentiss to the BAU, and she wastes no time taking control and laying down the law. Amidst all of that is a decently engaging story about the team investigating the murders of sex workers. But, like many of the best episodes of the series, it’s all secondary to what fans are really tuning in for: the stellar character work and chemistry between actors.

10. “Masterpiece” (season 4, episode 8)

Before watching “Masterpiece,” it’s important to remember the childhood lesson of never judging a book by its cover. That’s because Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander is the featured guest star, and he’s traded out his bald head for long, silvery hair that makes him look like he’s getting ready to cosplay as the Witcher. But as silly as his locks are, Alexander delivers an outright chilling performance as a manipulative killer who wants to make the BAU jump through his hoops. By the time you see him preen, purr, and pace the room whispering in Rossi’s ear, you’re more likely to think you’re watching Hannibal Lecter than George Costanza.

9. “Mr. Scratch” (season 10, episode 21)

To be honest, Criminal Minds has sometimes struggled to find the perfect balance between quirky comedy and deadly thrills, but “Mr. Scratch” is the kind of episode that achieves both. Bodhi Elfman plays an unsub with a wonderfully unhinged gimmick: He uses drugs and the power of suggestion to make victims hallucinate about a terrifying figure known as “Mr. Scratch,” a delusion that results in the victims killing their families. Everything from the wild premise to the juvenile drawing of Mr. Scratch makes it seem like this storyline would just be goofy, but it perfectly straddles the line between violent police procedural and X-Files-esque “monster of the week.”

8. “The Uncanny Valley” (season 5, episode 12)

While Criminal Minds often dabbles in horror tropes, “The Uncanny Valley” features a villain that could have carried her own horror franchise. Her shtick is that she paralyzes her victims long enough to pose and dress them like living dolls until they inevitably die of brain hemorrhage. Honestly, it’s the kind of plot that would have been more at home in Hannibal than Criminal Minds, but it’s simply impossible to look away. Fans of Star Trek will also want to check this one out for a memorable cameo from Jonathan Frakes, whose connection (or lack thereof) to what is going on becomes a mystery of its own.

7. “The Replicator” (season 8, episode 24)

There are many reasons to recommend “The Replicator,” but the main draw is seeing Mark Hamill at his mustache-twirling, villainous best. The Jedi Master goes full Dark Side in his portrayal of a genius former FBI agent who taunts the BAU team by committing copycat crimes related to their recent arrests. This one feels like a proper season finale, with major payoffs to previous stories and a few unexpected farewells. Whether you watch the show more for its memorial baddies or the great teamwork within the unit, this is a meaty episode for all viewers.

6. “Elephant's Memory” (season 3, episode 16)

What’s that? You’re ready for more Reid trauma? “Elephant’s Memory” focuses on Reid’s attempt to help a teenage spree killer named Owen Savage (Cody Kasch). That’s a noble impulse on our hero’s part, but along the way, we learn even more about Reid’s awful childhood and just how haunting and miserable his life was long before he joined the BAU. It’s fascinating to see the parallels between the killer and Reid, even as we grow increasingly aware of how much the system failed Owen. If that's not enough to move you, the episode’s heavy use of Johnny Cash songs helps drive each emotional moment home that much harder.

5. “Zugzwang” (season 8, episode 12)

At times, it seems the real throughline of Criminal Minds is that Reid can’t catch a break. His worries come true in “Zugzwang” when his girlfriend Maeve (Beth Riesgraf) gets kidnapped by a stalker that he had grown increasingly worried about. The episode can be hard to watch for Reid fans because the character is forced to face his greatest fears, including that he may never be able to fully keep his loved ones safe. It all adds up to an explosive finale that’s likely to leave you screaming at your television and willing Reid to finally get a happy ending.

4. “Lucky” (season 3, episode 8)

Some episodes of Criminal Minds are more focused on guest stars than others. And what makes “Lucky” so captivating is that it goes all-in on the cannibalistic, satanic title character played by Jamie Kennedy. Whereas Kennedy’s normal vibe is cringe comedy, he plays perfectly against type to portray one of the most unsettling characters we’ve ever seen on the show. There are other wild things going on in this episode, including a frightening cliffhanger involving Garcia, but audiences mostly have their eyes glued to Kennedy as he embodies a kind of monolithic evil that would be more at home in an Exorcist movie than an episode of network TV.

3. “Lauren” (season 6, episode 18)

An episode title like “Lauren” implies that we’ll get something rather intimate, and Criminal Minds delivers just that in its own twisted way. We mostly follow Prentiss in her relentless quest to stop baddie Ian Doyle (Timothy V. Murphy), and things go sideways when she tries to take him on without the rest of the team. The episode takes us on a roller coaster of feelings, with everything from bloody fights to a fake-out funeral. And for Prentiss fans, “Lauren” is quite bittersweet: It’s fun to see her take center stage, but after this episode, she didn’t appear for the rest of the season.

2. “Date Night” (season 15, episode 6)

Your enjoyment of “Date Night” will largely hinge on how much you enjoy the return of Aubrey Plaza as the notorious unsub Cat Adams (a.k.a. Miss .45 or the Black Widow Killer), who spends this episode playing cat and mouse with the BAU team, all in a twisted attempt to get a date with Reid. As a killer who racks up a body count in the hundreds, Plaza plays into her popular icy persona to an extreme degree, even if the character can be a bit divisive amongst the fandom. This episode marked her final appearance on the show, and suffice it to say, she went out with a bang.

1. “300” (season 14, episode 1)

It’s not very creative to name your 300th episode “300.” Fortunately, it’s better than its title would indicate, following up on the season 13 cliffhanger in which Garcia and Reid were kidnapped by the Cult of the Messiah. The episode is a solid tour de force for fans: In addition to diving further into the widening waters of Reid’s trauma and Garcia’s adorkable coping mechanisms, we also get the revelation that we saw this cult previously in the season 4 episode “Minimal Loss.” It’s with those little callbacks that Criminal Minds rewards longtime viewers in a way many police procedurals never do.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.