Criminal Minds is an emotionally driven procedural drama, with intense episodes hinged on the psychology behind crime.
The show’s quality fluctuates with changes in cast and villain caliber, impacting the dynamic of the BAU team.
Season 15 marks a fitting finale for Criminal Minds, wrapping up characters’ arcs with care after a dip in quality over the years.
Over the course of its 15 seasons, Criminal Minds produced some incredible cases, and some which didn’t reach the same heights. The show follows the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, or BAU, as they travel all over the United States profiling and capturing serial killers and other criminals. In many ways, Criminal Minds is a fairly standard procedural drama, but the show’s complex understanding of criminal pathology makes for a fascinating investigation into the psychology of crime.
Criminal Minds went through a lot of cast changes over the years, so it’s only natural that the seasons should fluctuate in quality. Main characters would come and go relatively often, and the show is at its best when the team at the BAU has some time to gel. Aside from the issues with the cast, the show’s quality is also impacted by the caliber of villains that show up each week and the guest stars who play them. There’s a huge difference between the best and worst seasons of Criminal Minds, but when everything falls into place, it can produce some riveting cases.
Season 10
A lack of chemistry
Season 10 marked a transition for the cast of Criminal Minds, as Jennifer Love Hewitt’s character, Agent Kate Callahan, joins the team. Callahan replaces the departing Alex Blake, who remains a fan-favorite character. This swap occurred at a time when the series had a lot of special agents coming and going from the team, not allowing the audience to get to know many of them. It doesn’t help that Callahan only stays with the team for a year as well.
This iteration of the team doesn’t gel as well as earlier seasons, and the show lacks its usual emotional impact as a result. Season 10 focuses a little more on the personal relationships of characters like Hodge and Beth, but these stories don’t have as much depth, and they are mostly a distraction from the BAU instead of balancing with the cases of the week.
Season 14
More misses than hits
Season 14 features the show’s 300th episode, which calls back to Benjamin Cyrus’ cult from season 4. There are a few other high points, but season 14 spends too much time looking into the show’s past, and not enough time developing new and interesting storylines. The most controversial plot point of season 14 is JJ’s confession of her love for Spencer.
While the early seasons of the show made it clear that Spencer Reid had a crush on JJ, the show never indicated that she might return his feelings. In fact, when she has children and marries another man, Spencer is their godfather, and they seem to have come to a place where they are more like family, so, this comes completely out of the blue, and it goes against the nature of their relationship. The fact that season 15 ignores their unlikely love affair shows how poorly received it was.
Season 12
An underwhelming send-off for Hotch
Thomas Gibson, the actor who plays Hotch, was fired after an altercation with a writer, so perhaps it’s not surprising that he was given a forgettable send-off during season 12. Hotch and his son are forced into witness prosecution to escape the serial killer known as Mr. Scratch. The audience might have wanted a bit more from his sendoff, but if the producers didn’t want to fuel any fires on set, it makes sense that it wouldn’t be dragged out.
The silver lining provided by Hotch’s exit is Prentiss’ return as chief of the BAU in his absence. Her presence had been missed in the show, and putting her in charge shook up the dynamic just enough. There are also some great episodes in an uneven season. One highlight is episode 15 “Alpha Male”, one of the best Criminal Minds episodes based on real cases.
Season 13
More cast changes
Following the cancelation of the spinoff Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, actor Daniel Henney brought his character Matthew Simmons to the BAU. Morgan also rejoins the team, albeit just for one episode, and there are some glimpses of Criminal Mind‘s fantastic potential. Unfortunately, these moments are few and far between. The constant upheaval of the show’s cast in its later years doesn’t allow the team to find a good rhythm, but Criminal Minds is still capable of producing some great cases.
One of the more interesting things for the show was actually happening behind the scenes. While it’s well known that Matthew Gray Gubler has had the opportunity to direct multiple episodes of Criminal Minds, this season gave three other cast members the chance to do that as well: Aisha Tyler, Adam Rodriguez, and Joe Mantegna. The cast changes might not have been loved by fans, but the chance for the core cast to have more involvement in the show was.
Season 11
An uneven season
Aisha Tyler comes in to replace the outgoing Jennifer Love Hewitt, and she makes a charming addition to the cast. Her character has become a fan favorite that has remained through to the Criminal Minds: Evolution continuation of the series. Her specialty, recognizing speech patterns and being able to engage with suspects in a particular way because of her verbal skills, made for a unique addition to the team.
The “Dirty Dozen” arc, which runs throughout season 11, is a thrilling case, and it set up a memorable send-off for Morgan. Season 11 also features two of the best guest appearances in Criminal Minds, with Aubrey Plaza and Danny Glover each appearing in brilliant episodes. The highs are incredibly high, but season 11 struggles to sustain them for extended periods and suffers from just as many lows.
Through 15 seasons, Criminal Minds created some of the most unsettling unsubs.
Season 6
Spoiled by off-screen trouble
Season 6 was marred by behind-the-scenes drama, as Paget Brewster and A.J. Cook were both fired after season 5. Prentiss’ final showdown with her longtime nemesis Ian Doyle is a season highlight and makes for an incredibly emotional send-off for her character, but it doesn’t make up for the baffling decision to rid the show of two of its best characters. Fans eventually got what they wanted, and both actors were brought back into the fold, but their temporary departures served as an unwanted distraction throughout the entire season.
Added to the season is Rachel Nichols as Ashley Seaver in one of the most interesting roles the show has ever included. Seaver is a cadet with the FBI rather than a full-fledged agent, and she ends up accompanying the team on a case because of her unique background: her father is a serial killer. Seaver brings a whole new perspective to the team, and it’s a breath of fresh air, but doesn’t last long as producers didn’t keep her around for another season.
Season 15
A fitting finale
Season 15 manages to wrap up each character’s arc with care and diligence.
Season 15 provided the best season in years, and it proved to be an appropriate finale for Criminal Minds. Despite its truncated length, season 15 manages to wrap up each character’s arc with care and diligence. Reid and Garcia provide many of the season’s highlights, as they deal with the mental toll of their years of work at the BAU.
There are a lot of characters considering their future as JJ and Prentiss both get other job offers and Rossi looks back on his own past with the BAU. It very much feels like this is the end of the show, though the series got a surprise continuation in the form of Criminal Minds: Evolution just a few years later. Despite a marked decline in its later years, the ending of Criminal Minds was a reminder of all the best aspects of the show.
Season 9
JJ in the spotlight
Season 9 keeps returning to the mysterious relationship between JJ and the new BAU section chief, Mateo Cruz. Eventually, it’s revealed that the two had previously worked together on a mission to capture Osama bin Laden. It’s a fairly ridiculous premise, but the show manages to sell it fairly well; it takes up so much room in the season that some of the other characters start to feel neglected despite having their own storylines.
One of the most interesting episodes of the season is “The Black Queen” which delves more into Garcia’s past as a hacker, something the show hadn’t done in detail at that point. Season 9 has its ups and downs like any other, although its excellent two-part finale, which sees the team tracking down a serial killer known as “The Preacher”, makes up for its shortcomings.
Season 8
Self-referential high drama
Linguistics expert Alex Blake’s addition to the team was short-lived, but she still has a great dynamic with Spencer in season 8. She’s a welcome change of pace for the team, and her specialty would be echoed by Tara Reid later in the series, though not in exactly the same way.
Criminal Minds introduces “The Replicator”, a serial killer played masterfully by Mark Hamill who mimics the techniques of criminals the BAU had pursued before. It’s a meta twist to the series, but rather than feeling like an uninspired retelling of the greatest hits, the show manages to keep things fresh and force the team to really consider things they might have missed in previous cases. The main downside to season 8 is the notable absence of Emily Prentiss. Prentiss had really become a grounding force in the show during her six seasons.
Season 1
An eye-catching first outing
Criminal Minds doesn’t nail down all of its strongest elements in its first season, but it’s still a remarkably strong debut. Fans will always have a debate between who their favorite experienced field agent is – Rossi or Gideon – despite Gideon only appearing in the first two seasons of the show. But he provides something completely different, and his more divisive presence is a constant source of conflict as he has a much different style with both victims and the team.
Season 1 ends on a thrilling cliffhanger, as Elle is shot in her own home. This raised the stakes for the rest of the show, as it showed that nobody was safe. It would also, eventually, mark Elle as the first team member who would wind up leaving the BAU. That cliffhanger would have serious ramifications in the start of season 2.
Penelope Garcia quit the BAU in Criminal Minds, but when the threat of Sicarious came up in Evolution, she was forced to rejoin her old team.
Season 7
The BAU back together
As usual, Criminal Minds ends with a brilliant season finale.
After the turbulence of season 6 and losing fan-favorite characters, Criminal Minds started fresh with the full team working together. Prentiss’ return after faking her death cuts an emotional rift through the team, which is an interesting undercurrent as the team works together throughout the season. Of course, she also accepts a new job at the end of the season, which doesn’t make long-time fans happy.
As usual, Criminal Minds ends with a brilliant season finale. JJ’s husband Will gets taken hostage in a bank robbery, and the team face a race against the clock to save his life. Like many of the show’s best finales, it’s a two-parter that features a lot of twists as the robbery is a front for an even bigger plan, giving the audience a great cap to a mostly great season.
Season 5
Hotch’s darkest hour
Among a string of gripping cases, season 5 delves further into the personal lives of the team, including a trip to Rossi’s hometown. Season 5 also features one of the best episodes directed by Matthew Gray Gubler, “Mosley Lane,” which delves into child kidnappings and just how difficult they are to solve. While the show mostly deals in serial killers, episodes like this one remind the audience of just how useful psychologically examining other kinds of criminals is as well.
But the outstanding story of the season by far is Hotch’s confrontation with “The Reaper”. This leads to the most devastating moment in the entirety of Criminal Minds, when the team hears Hotch’s wife being killed over the phone, unable to help, in the 100th episode of the show. The episode still ranks among the most heartbreaking and the best of the show’s run.
Season 2
No signs of a sophomore slump
Criminal Minds improved on an already strong first season with a remarkable sophomore outing. The show began to hit its stride, and season 2 develops some of the team’s most interesting storylines. Spencer begins to struggle with addiction, and Elle’s traumatic episode at the end of season 1 causes her to shoot an unsub. Season 2 also starts to introduce more graphic and compelling serial killers than the first season, one of the ingredients which is vital to the success of the show.
It’s during season 2 that the characters begin to feel fully fleshed out instead of simply playing into the archetypes of crime procedurals. That’s certainly a feat considering some secrets about the background of the characters wouldn’t be revealed for several more seasons. It’s season 2 that introduces Prentiss to the team as well when Elle takes her leave, bringing in one of the best additions to the show, despite the loss of Elle’s sass and ability to read people.
The actor who plays Gideon, Mandy Patinkin left Criminal Minds after season 2.
Season 4
A perfect blend of crime and character
Season 4 introduces the Reaper, as well as plenty of other delightfully despicable criminals. Season 4 might actually have some of the most memorable characters, specifically criminals, in the show who aren’t series regulars. In episode 8, “Masterpiece,” Jason Alexander plays a narcissistic serial killer who sees his crimes as an expression of his genius. He makes for one of the show’s most chilling villains, and “Masterpiece” holds a claim to the title of the best episode of Criminal Minds.
Prentiss and Spencer infiltrating a grisly cult provides one highlight for the season as well as it’s one of the first times in the series the two have had to prove themselves to one another in the field. Another highlight is Spencer’s relationship with his mother, played by the excellent Jane Lynch, being explored throughout the season.
Season 3
The BAU in full flow
It’s interesting that season 3 is the best season of Criminal Minds because the show was put on pause as a result of the Writers’ Strike of 2007-2008. The season was initially slated to have 25 episodes, but only 13 were completed before the strike happened and seven were filmed after it concluded. The streamlining of the season, with so much going on it, worked.
The 20 episodes of season 3 are packed with so many highlights that it can be difficult to keep track. Rossi joins the BAU, and his arrival solidifies the show’s best line-up. Rossi brings a completely different approach to Gideon. He’s much less dour, and more sociable. With the team all together, season 3 delivers on the premise of the show better than any other. The team uses their unique skills to face off against some incredibly compelling killers, and this makes season 3 the ideal introduction to Criminal Minds.
