Top 20 Best Criminal Minds Episodes

#20: “Just Getting Started”

After a 15-season run, “Criminal Minds” ended, and we said goodbye to our favorite profilers. However, the show returned just two years later with the grittier “Criminal Minds: Evolution.” In the premiere episode, we catch up with the BAU and see their new dynamic with fewer team members. While they investigate a brutal case, we also get glimpses of the show’s central unsub as Tara uncovers his underground shipping container. “Just Getting Started” is a compelling opener that sets the stage for a “Criminal Minds” like we’ve never seen before, one with a serialized format, more violence, and explicit language. Since then, “Evolution” has had many great episodes, including Season 18’s highly emotional “Time to Say Goodbye,” which also features a Spencer Reid cameo.

#19: “Zoe’s Reprise”

At a reading of Rossi’s latest book in Cleveland, Ohio, he’s approached by criminology student Zoe Hawkes. She shares her theory that there’s an active serial killer in the city. And even though he dismisses her, Rossi offers some advice. [“Keep studying, and…”] When she goes to a crime scene, we find out that she was right about Cleveland having a serial killer, and unfortunately, she’s his next victim. The team and a guilt-ridden Rossi figure out that the unsub is copying several infamous murders as he tries to develop his own M.O. He’s apprehended, and that’s largely thanks to Zoe. Many of the most interesting cases on the show are personal. And this Rossi-centric episode is among the best.

#18: “Zugzwang”

In Season 8, Spencer Reid had a secret love interest, Dr. Maeve Donovan. The two were only able to talk over the phone because she had been stalked for almost a year. When she disappears, the team works with Reid to find her. It turns out to be Diane Turner, a former research assistant with a grudge. After Reid and Maeve see each other in person for the first time, Diane kills Maeve along with herself right in front of him. Because if there’s one thing “Criminal Minds” will do, it’s find new ways to terrorize the good doctor. We love a Reid-focused episode, but this heartbreaking moment is always hard to revisit.

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#17: “Penelope”

At the end of Season 3’s “Lucky,” Penelope Garcia is coming home from a date with a mysterious man. Before she gets inside her apartment, he shoots her, leaving us with a huge cliffhanger. “Penelope” is about the terrifying aftermath, including the team’s investigation. Thankfully, Garcia pulls through and, along with her temporary replacement and future love interest, Kevin Lynch, she helps the team take down the unsub. This emotionally charged episode is memorable because we almost lost a beloved character, but also because it shows that the BAU is truly a family. It’s also the first time we hear Morgan tell Garcia that he loves her.

#16: “The Fisher King: Parts 1 & 2”

When an unsub calling himself the Fisher King targets the BAU, the team must follow his trail of clues to save his captive, Rebecca Bryant. We get to learn a little more about each one of them, especially Reid, whose mother stays at the same hospital as the unsub. And with her help, they discover his real name is Randall Garner, Rebecca’s biological father. Meanwhile, SSA Elle Greenaway fights for her life after being shot by Garner. The whole episode is a race against time, and features one of Reid’s most heroic moments. This is also the first of many two-parters the show went on to have nearly every season.

#15: “Masterpiece”

This Season 4 episode begins with a humorous lecture held by Rossi and Reid. But the tone shifts drastically when they meet Professor Rothschild, who casually admits to committing seven murders and warns them that he has five live victims hidden away. Like many unsubs, he’s playing a vengeful game with the BAU, specifically Rossi. Reid deduces that the professor, real name Henry Grace, has based his victim selection and abduction locations on the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden Ratio. The revelation leads the team to his captives in time to save them. Grace may believe he’s a genius, but he’s no match for the BAU. Episodes with a ticking clock are always riveting, and “Masterpiece” certainly delivers.

#14: “The Replicator”

In Season 8, Dr. Alex Blake joins the BAU. Around the same time, an unsub starts recreating past crimes. Only a person with access to case files would know the intricate details of these events. This “Replicator” ends up being Agent John Curtis, a man who worked with Blake and Section Chief Erin Strauss on the Amerithrax case. After the wrong person was apprehended, Curtis and Blake were blamed. She ultimately made it through okay, but he never quite got over the demotion. He first kills Strauss in New York, since she’s the one who ruined his life, before going after Blake. Mark Hamill is expertly cast as the agent with a genius-level IQ out for revenge, which makes for a thrilling ride.

#13: “The Uncanny Valley”

In one of the most unsettling cases in the BAU’s history, the team heads to Atlantic City to catch an unsub abducting young women and turning them into living dolls. Samantha Malcolm was abused by her father, Dr. Arthur Malcolm, who then performed electroshock therapy (ECT) to prevent her from exposing his unspeakable acts. When he gives her favorite dolls to a new young girl, she starts recreating them with human beings, who ultimately die. Reid threatening Dr. Malcolm is so satisfying, and seeing him show the utmost compassion for Samantha warms the heart. Between the bizarre crimes and Samantha being one of the rare sympathetic unsubs the BAU has encountered, it’s no surprise this episode is a fan favorite.

#12: “Revelations”

While on a case in Atlanta, Georgia, Reid is abducted by Tobias Hankel, a man they thought was a potential witness. Tobias has dissociative identity disorder (DID), and one of his alters is his late father. It’s this personality that punishes Reid for his “sins,” while Tobias injects him with Dilaudid to ease the pain. Seeing Reid being physically and psychologically tortured is beyond horrific, and it’s all live-streaming to his team. This is a key episode in Reid’s character development, as the traumatic experience forever changes his life and leads to a substance use disorder. James Van Der Beek delivers an outstanding performance as both an unsub and a victim, making him one of the most memorable guest stars of the series.

#11: “Entropy”

While working to take down the elusive hitman network, the team sets up a trap to catch one of its most prolific killers, Cat Adams, aka Miss .45. Reid pretends to be a potential client, but she has her own plan in motion and sees right through the ruse. Between their intense face-off and the team working to disarm a bomb and save innocent restaurant patrons, “Entropy” is easily one of the most thrilling episodes of the show. Aubrey Plaza reprised her role later in the series, as Cat went on to be a formidable foe for Reid, making his life hell even from behind bars. Her final appearance was in Season 15’s “Date Night,” another stellar high-stakes episode.

#10: “Mr. Scratch”

Three seemingly unrelated “killers” all recount the same hallucination — a dark figure with talons for hands, called Mr. Scratch. They claim he attacked them and committed the crimes, even though it’s them who have literal blood on their hands. But the real unsub, Peter Lewis, used a hallucinogen to manipulate them into killing their loved ones. The incredible creepiness of this episode is owed to its director, Matthew Gray Gubler, who plays Spencer Reid on the show. We don’t fully see the Nosferatu-like Mr. Scratch, which makes it all the more unsettling. Murder and mind control are scary on their own, but throw in a growling shadow monster and it becomes pure horror.

#9: “Lauren”

Speaking of Matthew Gray Gluber, he was also behind the lens for this one - though it’s upsetting for different reasons. We learn more about Emily Prentiss’ past at Interpol, where she grew close to criminal Ian Doyle - aka Valhalla - while working undercover as Lauren Reynolds. He later uncovered her real identity, and has been hellbent on revenge since escaping prison. Protecting her BAU family from Doyle’s wrath, Prentiss faces him alone. He stabs her in the stomach, leaving her bleeding on the ground for her team to find. At the hospital, JJ tells everyone that she died during surgery. She and Hotch know that Prentiss is alive, but in hiding. Still, seeing the team mourn her, even carrying her casket at the funeral, is heartbreaking.

#8: “Profiler, Profiled”

A trip to his hometown of Chicago turns ugly when Derek is falsely accused of multiple murders. His team comes to vouch for him, but things are more complicated that they realized. The “profile” points toward him, even though they know it can’t be true. To clear his name, Derek has to confront Carl Buford, the man who repeatedly abused him when he was younger grieving his father’s passing. He never told anyone about it - until this episode, that is. Shemar Moore’s emotional performance is powerful, and easily makes this one of the character’s best moments in the series.

#7: “To Hell…” & “And Back”

If you’ve heard of Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, then this episode will probably seem a bit familiar. Since becoming paralyzed from the neck down, Mason Turner has desperately sought out a cure. He sends his brother Lucas to kidnap vagrants and bring them home for horrific experiments. When the team searches the siblings’ rural Ontario farm, they find evidence pointing to a staggering number of murders. The fact that their bodies are “disposed of” using pigs makes it even more sickening. This two-parter is easily one of the most disturbing cases the BAU’s ever seen.

#6: “Sex, Birth, Death”

It’s rare that we sympathize with an unsub, but Nathan Harris is an exception. After seeing one of Reid’s lectures, the high schooler seeks him out. It’s then revealed that he desperately wants to understand - and stop - his homicidal urges. It’s clear how tortured he is by his own mind, afraid of acting out his dark fantasies. In the end, he attempts to take his own life. He believes that by doing so, he’s saving others from himself. It goes without saying, but Anton Yelchin’s devastating portrayal of Nathan is a huge part of what makes this episode so memorable.

#5: “Lucky”

In Bridgewater, Florida, half of a young Abby Kelton’s body is found branded with an inverted pentagram. Then, another girl named Tracey Lambert also goes missing. They finally find the formerly institutionalized unsub sitting at a Satanic altar. He has bodies in his walk-in freezer, a live victim, and a book of human recipes. What’s worse is that he runs a restaurant — “Feylinn’s Fine Bar-B-Q.” He even served food to the search party volunteers, with the main ingredient being Lambert. Jamie Kennedy has so few lines, but his creepy presence is palpable. This storyline never fails to give us the creeps.

#4: “Omnivore”

After a retired Boston detective reveals a secret on his deathbed, Hotch returns to his first case as lead profiler with the BAU — “The Reaper.” When the Zodiac-inspired unsub returns, the team visits George Foyet, the only person to survive a Reaper attack. He’s a sickly man living in fear, using multiple aliases just to stay off the grid. But in a major twist, the team realizes Foyet is the criminal. Years ago, he repeatedly stabbed himself to appear as a victim. Anyone willing to do that will do anything. After he’s arrested and put in jail, he enacts an escape plan years in the making. This is only the beginning for the ruthless killer, and the episode certainly piqued our interests.

#3: “Riding the Lightning”

This Season 1 episode sees the team interviewing Jacob Dawes and Sarah Jean Mason, a serial-killing couple on Death Row. While Sarah Jean never actually participated in the murders, she accepts her death sentence because she feels guilty for not stopping Jacob sooner. Years ago, she confessed to killing their son, Riley. Jacob believes he’s deceased, but as Gideon discovers, he’s alive and well. Gideon desperately tries to save her, but Sarah Jean wants to protect Riley from the legacy of his birth parents and refuses to give any information that would halt her execution. And in the end, he relents and respects her wishes. Sarah Jean’s death never fails to make us cry, which is why this is one of the most devastating episodes.

#2: “Mosley Lane”

The first “Criminal Minds” episode Gubler directed, this one takes us into a house of horrors. It begins with the abduction of a little girl, but goes back to another boy taken 8 years prior. The case leads the BAU to two of the scariest unsubs they’ve ever dealt with. Anita and Roger Roycewood are villains straight out of a Brothers Grimm story. They’ve been kidnapping children, keeping them locked up in the basement. And if they misbehave, they’re taken to the couple’s crematorium. Watching the devastated parents gather to learn their kids’ fate is chilling. One particular interaction still haunts us today. It’s an emotionally exhausting episode that some don’t care to watch more than once, but that’s what precisely makes it so striking.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“The Lesson”

Matthew Gray Gubler’s Direction Makes This Tale of Human Puppets Truly Horrific

“Minimal Loss”

Spencer Reid & Emily Prentiss Get Caught in a Waco-Like Siege at a Cult’s Compound

“Our Darkest Hour” & “The Longest Night”

Tim Curry Leads This Terrifying Two-Parter

“Amplification”

An Intense Episode with a Tragically High Body Count

“Profiling 101”

A Lesson in Monster Hunting (with Flashbacks!)

#1: “100”

No matter how many times we watch this one, we still find ourselves crying. Though he appears in flashbacks and visions later on in the series, this is Reaper George Foyet’s grand finale. Since the events of “Omnivore,” he’s made Hotch his nemesis. But instead of physically hurting him, The Reaper goes for his heart and mind. He threatens the lives of his ex-wife Haley and their son Jack, provoking him in the process. The entire team listens as Hotch and Haley say their final words to each other. What’s more, they all hear the gunshots that end her life. When Hotch finally arrives at the house, he beats the killer to death. Luckily, his boy survives. But this episode breaks Hotch, and our hearts.

What do you think is the best episode? Did it make the list? Let us know in the comments below.