In honor of the last few days of the spooky season, I will be writing about the best episodes of “Criminal Minds.” There are 15 seasons of “Criminal Minds,” but for this article, I will just be reviewing those available on Netflix, the first 12. “Criminal Minds” is a television show about a group of FBI agents working in the Behavioral Analysis Unit. These profilers work to analyse criminals, find out their motivations and identify emotional triggers in order to stop them before they commit more crimes. The first episode aired in 2005, and the final episode aired in 2020. During the 15 years of the show, they have crossed just about every city and crime off their list.
My favorite “Criminal Minds” episode is Entropy season 11, episode 11. This episode keeps me on the edge of my seat everytime I watch it. It begins with what appears like Reid going on a first date with someone he met online. The plot quickly thickens when it turns out that Reid is posing as someone trying to hire an assassin. One of the reasons I like this specific episode is the strong female lead played by Aubrey Plaza. This assassin goes by the name Black Widow, and she goes after the men who try to hire her. Plaza does an amazing job in this episode, her quick-witted and intense character a major highlight. Overall, this episode gets a 10/10. There is plenty of drama, suspense, girl power, flashbacks and Spencer Reid.
Another great episode is Minimal Loss, season 4, episode 3. While it deals with heavy subject matter, it is complex and there are good action scenes. You do not often find an episode that includes religious cults, SWAT raids, hostages, secret tunnels and agents going undercover. The high intensity throughout this episode kept my heart rate high. Two agents of the BAU go undercover as child victim advocates to penetrate a religious cult. They find out that a 15-year-old girl is married to the leader. Shortly after this horrific news, the leader bursts in and announces that he has been tipped off on a raid, but the BAU agents undercover were not aware of the impending raid. The undercover agents, along with other women and children, are now put into secret tunnels and turned into hostages. This episode earns an 8/10, taking its largest deduction in points due to the heavy topic.
My last pick is If the Shoe Fits, season 10, episode 6. This episode is nicknamed the Cinderella episode. The episode automatically gets bonus points from the cute dog that we see when the episode begins, however it wouldn’t be a Criminal Minds episode if something didn’t go horribly wrong, like the dead body found shortly thereafter. The BAU struggles to find the connection between a string of murders in Montana. All victims were found with abnormal stab wounds and an alarm set for midnight in their mouth. One of my favorite parts of the episode is when they discover that the abnormal stab wounds came from a high heel shoe. It turns out that the unsub, short for unknown subject, is a female who wears a fancy, Cinderella-esque dress. This episode gets a 9/10 for girl power, creativity and the cute dog.
“Criminal Minds” is a show that should be celebrated year-round, but spooky season was a great excuse to binge some of my favorites. You can’t go wrong with the majority of the “Criminal Minds” episodes; to be honest, they are all great in my opinion.
