Criminal Minds was an extremely popular CBS procedural drama from its debut in 2005 until its conclusion in 2020. The series followed the FBI’s behavioral analysis unit as they tracked down serial killers across the United States by constructing profiles based on their findings and on previous cases.
Criminal Minds ran for fifteen seasons and over 300 episodes, meaning that it was highly likely that, despite the show’s popularity, some episodes were not going to be well received. Whether it’s down to poor writing, far-fetched cases, or uninteresting unsubs, some episodes are certain to be skipped when fans binge-watch the series the entire way through.
Trigger Warning: This article contains Criminal Minds spoilers as well as mentions of violence.
10 Season 8, Episode 17: The Gathering (6.7/10)
“The Gathering” is an episode that occurs right in the middle of the Season 8 “Replicator” arc, but is almost entirely separate. It follows the BAU as they track down an unsub who is killing women and cutting out their tongues. The low IMDb ratings are potentially due to viewers wanting Criminal Minds to focus on the more interesting, ongoing case. Viewers of the series thought the episode was also let down by inaccuracies in geographical information surrounding the case, as well as the presence of Kevin Lynch, Garcia’s ex-boyfriend, who is jealous of the possibility of her moving on and behaves childishly.
9 Season 7, Episode 17: I Love You, Tommy Brown (6.7/10)
This Season 7 episode follows a case where couples are being executed in their homes. Upon the discovery that all of the couples were emergency foster parents, the BAU uncover that the unsub was the biological mother of one of the foster children, but circumstances meant she was unfit and unable to care for her baby. The relationship between Garcia and Kevin Lynch also takes up a large amount of this episode, with him wanting to propose but Garcia being against it. The relationship is not universally popular with fans of Criminal Minds and could play a part in the low rating of the episode.
8 Season 7, Episode 13: Snake Eyes (6.7/10)
“Snake Eyes” finds the BAU taking a trip to Atlantic City after a casino manager is found dead. The BAU is called in on the assumption that this could become serial. The way the body is found, with eight dollars scattered around him and a number eight playing card on the corpse reads like a potential ritual killing. Whilst the BAU tackle their case, a hungover Garcia tries to piece together the events of the night before. While this does provide comedic moments to the episode, they are dampened by the presence of Kevin, yet again.
7 Season 1, Episode 11: Blood Hungry (6.7/10)
During the first season, a TV show is often still finding its footing. Criminal Minds is no different, and “Blood Hungry” is perfect evidence of that. The episode follows a case in Tennessee where a woman is killed and disemboweled whilst a young boy goes missing.
Agent Gideon, following an accident, has to stay back at the BAU with Garcia, which is an odd duo to watch work together. Overall, the dynamics between the characters feel wrong and the episode’s premise is not gripping enough for the characters to not be shining through, as they usually do.
6 Season 10, Episode 2: Burn (6.6/10)
“Burn” finds the team traveling to Seattle where men are being killed and having roman numerals carved into their mouths. From this, Reid figures out that the unsub is recreating Dante’s nine circles of hell. The issue with the episode lies largely in the subplot of Garcia visiting the man she shot in Season 9, on death row. Even though he tried to murder Reid, Garcia feels guilty and needs him to know that she never intended for him to be put to death. This plot is not poorly done but is not strong enough to carry as much of the episode as it tries to.
5 Season 8, Episode 9: Magnificent Light (6.6/10)
With viewers and IMDb users dubbing “Magnificent Light” the weakest episode of a weak season of Criminal Minds, it is difficult to pinpoint moments of good. The episode’s case sees the BAU be drawn to Seattle by the death of two people, where the message “hear your evil see your evil” was scrawled in blood at each crime scene. The BAU team seemed to be performing to a lower standard than usual in this episode, asking ridiculous questions, with resident linguist Alex Blake not being able to provide insight on linguistic aspects of the unsubs M.O. However, the ending of the episode provides a positive, with a look at Morgan’s backstory and a heart-warming moment in his and Garcia’s friendship.
4 Season 8, Episode 8: The Wheels on the Bus… (6.6/10)
This Season 8 episode takes place in Washington DC, when a school bus full of teenagers disappears, without a trace. The BAU intervene and, lead by Rossi’s knowledge, they discover that the kids have been abducted to participate in the unsub team’s real-life version of their favorite video game, putting the teens in real danger. Although the premise for this episode seemed interesting, with the unsubs trying to emulate the setting and conditions of the game, the writing was mediocre and the pay-off was ultimately unfulfilling.
3 Season 11, Episode 10: Future Perfect (5.9/10)
“Future Perfect”, as well as two other Season 11 episodes, were the first episodes of Criminal Minds in which Matthew Gray Gubler, as Spencer Reid, did not feature. Gubler went on to be absent from other episodes during the run as he negotiated time away from the show.
The case which takes place in this episode, of an unsub performing medical experiments on his victims to try and obtain a cure for an illness, is not of particularly low quality in comparison to the rest of the season. Therefore, it could be said that Gubler’s absence affected how this episode was rated by fans.
2 Season 11, Episode 9: Internal Affairs (5.9/10)
In “Internal Affairs”, the BAU joins forces with the NSA when undercover agents, attempting to take down a drug cartel, go missing. The bodies of victims begin being discovered, with their faces sliced off and replaced with the faces of other murder victims. The Assistant Director of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bernard Graff, is suspected to be the mole who exposed the undercover agents, and Hotchner must investigate Graff without him suspecting they are on to him. Spencer Reid does not feature in this episode either.
1 Season 11, Episode 8: Awake (5.7/10)
The Season 11 episode “Awake” marked Reid’s first absence from Criminal Minds. The episode deals with an unsub that is using sleep deprivation as a means of torturing his victims, due to his own trauma. When the unsub fell asleep in a parked car, his daughter was taken from the backseat and murdered. JJ, who is sleep-deprived due to the recent birth of her second child, plays a large role in solving the case. The episode also touches on the Dirty Dozen case, which was a popular case with fans, but could not help raise their rating of this episode.
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