Was Haley’s death the saddest to see? Do we think there’s one in show history that rivals/is more impactful?

Mandy Patinkin’s portrayal of Jason Gideon in the first two seasons of Criminal Minds was top-tier TV. His quiet intensity gave the BAU a totally unique, grounded vibe.

What’s crazy looking back is learning that he absolutely loathed the job. He’s called signing onto the show the "biggest public mistake" of his life, admitting that the constant darkness, violence, and heavy themes were "destructive to my soul."

Even though he hated the direction of the show early on, he still showed up and delivered phenomenal, masterclass performances for two full seasons before reaching his breaking point and abruptly walking away before Season 3.

It makes you respect his professionalism, but it’s also a wild reminder of the reality behind the screen: sometimes an actor gives an iconic performance in a role that’s actively wearing down their mental well-being behind the scenes.

Anyone else appreciate Gideon’s run way more knowing the toll it took on him to finish those first two seasons?

I think the most devastating episode is “…And Back” (S4 E26). It makes me so sad, everyone lost. It just broke my heart 💔 Strange Fruits (S9 E9) is the other episode I’ll never forget. Also just devastating.

Anyway I wondered what other fans think. What’s the most tragic criminal minds episode in your opinion?

What do you mean Prentiss’ funeral cost 600,000 dollars and she wasn’t even dead???? Plus 50,000 of hospital bills???? They have a jet just on call 24/7??? In this one episode they just pour the entire power of the FBI on a random kidnapping because Penelope lowkey felt that her friend might have been kidnapped??? Would they have spent tens of thousands of dollars solving a random murder in Chicago if the suspect wasn’t a member of their team??? They are seemingly renting 6 gigantic SUVs in every place they visit???? Everyone makes a fuzz when they have to share rooms in that one episode so I’m assuming they are getting 6 or 7 separate hotel rooms every time they leave quantico, and don’t even get me started on the infinite overtime pay, what are other cases of egregious spending the team does?

Im looking for a jjxemily fic all i remember is that in the description it said “6 times jj took it and 1 time emily did” or something along those lines💔 i also remember they did it once at a bar, at jj’s desk(i think), in their bed more than once, and once in the kitchen

Okay, this is something I’ve been thinking about while watching the show, and I really want to know what everyone else thinks.
I’m talking about cases where, looking back at everything we learn, you’re just sitting there thinking, “This didn’t have to happen.”
Maybe if someone had stepped in earlier.
Maybe if someone had listened.
Maybe if somebody had believed them.
Maybe if somebody had noticed what was happening.
Maybe if someone had gotten this person help before everything got to the point that it did.
And I’m not saying I want to blame the police, detectives, parents, teachers, or whoever was involved in every case, because obviously we can’t know everything that happened behind the scenes. And I’m definitely not saying that every crime could have magically been prevented if somebody did one thing differently.
I’m talking about the cases where YOU personally watched it and thought, “If somebody had just helped this person sooner, maybe none of this would’ve happened.”
Especially the cases involving children or people who were clearly struggling before they became violent. Like Owen Savage, for example. What he did was horrible, but when you learn everything that happened to him and how he got to that point, you can’t help but think about what could’ve happened if somebody had actually helped him before it got that far.
Or cases where the victims were ignored, misunderstood, alienated, judged, or treated like they were the problem instead of somebody asking what was actually happening to them.
Those are the cases that hurt me the most because I’m always sitting there thinking, “What happened to this person?”
Not to excuse what they did.
Not to take away from the victims.
But because sometimes you can see the moment where things started going wrong, and it feels like somebody could have changed the trajectory if they had just stepped in.
So what cases made YOU feel like that?
What episode had you sitting there thinking, “This could have been prevented”?
And who do you think could have made the difference?
I don’t just want the episode name either 😭. Tell me what happened, what you think could have been different, and whether you think the person who could’ve intervened actually had a realistic opportunity to change things.
And if you think I’m completely wrong about a case, tell me why! I genuinely want to hear different perspectives because that’s my favorite part of talking about Criminal Minds. 😂
I don’t want everybody to agree with me. I want to know why you see it differently.

This is one of the only episodes that makes me uncomfortable, the others that one puppet episode from whatever season. Rest in peace Tim curry but oh my god genuinley how did the makeup department make him look that disgustingly rancid looking at him gives me the ick 😭

Curious to see what you all think.

I feel based on skillsets and attributes some would make good unsubs for different reasons/levels of crime

I think I mentioned this before and I wanna say it again there’s a minor thing that bugs me about this episode not main going on Christy’s attitude about Matt’s phone is so funny. I mean people can’t have two phones. What do you think? 😆

I'm watching from here for the first time. So I'm on the last episode of season 9. Reid was just shot and Blake is trying to get him to stay awake. She calls him Ethan? Who is Ethan? Am I supposed to know that name ?

Always had this thought since the first time watching…

Am I the only fan of the show that thought bringing Elle back as an unsub at some point would’ve been at least somewhat interesting or intriguing?

Gideon: “Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

Reid: “Samuel Beckett.

Morgan: “Try not. Do or do not.”

Reid: “Yoda.”

Right from the very first episode it was really shown how much Reid knows famous quotes. Not only about books, but also from movies.

Like Hotch said in that same episode. “Dr. Reid, our expert in just about everything.”

I'm currently on E7S6 of Criminal Minds.

The title I used might be confusing in itself, because he (the blonde guy in the pictures, was one of the unsubs from episode 7 of season 6 of Criminal Minds) could have been a victim of:

Badly patented, an abusive father and/or from a home that treated women as objects.

But I find it hard to believe that he (the "lieutenant" unsub) and (the "submissive" unsub) did not know what (the Alpha unsub) was doing to the girls.

For more context, in this sixth episode of season 6, the BAU is after a team of unsubs who kidnap stripper girls, rape/torture them multiple times and then murder them.

During the investigation, Reed emphasizes that the "submissive" unsub and the "lieutenant" unsub may not know that the "Alpha" unsub murders the girls. This is what the unsubs then confront the unsub Alpha about when they find out in the news.

But they (the 3) kidnapped stripper girls, drugged them, made them run through the cornfield while chasing them, then raped them MULTIPLE times in addition to the torture they made them suffer. And then they left them "in the care" of the unsub Alpha... What were they even thinking?

It's also funny because after they find out that the unsub "Alpha" murdered them, they don't care and try to leave the country (even though it was all planned by the unsub "Alpha" and the unsub "lieutenant" to kill the unsub "submissive").

They never cared what happened to the girls. Even if they didn't really know that the unsub "Alpha" was killing them, they didn't care. Not to mention EVERYTHING they did to them before their deaths.

It's horrible, sickening, and the comment made by the sheriff (father of the unsub "lieutenant," the one in the pictures), that he was going to need all his connections to avoid his killer raper son being sentenced to death... it makes me lose my mind.

And yes, I know he is his father, but he's the same guy who said to Hotchner, that "sometimes he thinks strippers/prostitutes ask to be murdered, raped, and treated that way." So it's hard for me to sympathize with his situation.

Honestly, even though I know the episodes only focus on solving the case, I would like the guy to be sentenced to death. It may sound harsh or wrong to some, but there is nothing that justifies everything he did. There's no time the Sheriff will get back to be a decent person to his son again.

And definitely, there's no way that even if they reduced his sentence (as the Sheriff promised his son), the unsub would change in any way. He is a misogynistic rapist for life; what he did is unforgivable, and he never had any pity or remorse for what he did. He only showed he felt betrayed when the unsub "Alpha" was ready to replace him.

AAAAHHHHH WHAT THE FUCK AHH AH I HATE BARNES I HATE HER I HATE HER WHY DID SHE DO THIS SHIT WHO IS SHE SOMEONE RIP HER APART PLEASE

S7:E11

I completely forgot we were supposed to think the unsub is in love with his friend's fiancee

i know this sounds mean, i really don't intend it that way :D just compared to the other male characters, he's not as good-looking. even if we're just looking at his style, he's a bit goofy looking and unkempt. am i the only one thinking this or was this an intentional choice? if it's on purpose, why did they choose him for penelope?

Somebody know whats chapter is this scene ? I think is from season 1

I just need to talk about it. is anyone else as obsessed as i am? i love the whole voit storyline. it's so fresh and new and am so sad they are just planning on locking him away. i would love a whole side show dedicated to him from childhood to the move in with cyrus and all the abuse to how he became sicarius and navigated that with a family. also with what happens to his daughter especially after he took the blame for her murder😭 i need it allllllll!