The Best Episodes of Criminal Minds Season 1

#1 Fan Favorite
7.8/10(3990 votes)
#1 - Extreme Aggressor
S1:E19/22/2005
After a fourth woman goes missing in as many months, the team is brought in to track down the guy before he kidnaps again. Hotch is asked to secretly evaluate Gideon to see if he is ready to work full time again.
Director:Richard Shepard
Writer:Jeff Davis
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Director:Richard Shepard
Writer:Jeff Davis
7.6/10(3363 votes)
#2 - Compulsion
S1:E29/28/2005
The team of investigators tries to capture a serial arsonist who has been terrorizing a college campus.
Director:Charles Haid
Writer:Jeff Davis
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Director:Charles Haid
Writer:Jeff Davis
7.6/10(3237 votes)
#3 - Won't Get Fooled Again
S1:E310/5/2005
Gideon and his team track down a copycat bomber terrorizing a quiet community.
Director:Kevin Bray
Writer:Aaron Zelman
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Director:Kevin Bray
Writer:Aaron Zelman
7.7/10(2994 votes)
#4 - Plain Sight
S1:E410/12/2005
The BAU team travels to San Diego to stop a rapist and murderer who commits his crimes in the middle of the day.
Director:Matt Earl Beesley
Writer:Edward Allen Bernero
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Director:Matt Earl Beesley
Writer:Edward Allen Bernero
7.8/10(3110 votes)
#5 - Broken Mirror
S1:E510/19/2005
The BAU investigates the kidnapping of a U.S. District Attorney's daughter and determines the kidnapper isn't seeking money -- he's after her twin sister.
Director:Guy Norman Bee
Writer:Judith McCreary
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Director:Guy Norman Bee
Writer:Judith McCreary
8.3/10(3667 votes)
#6 - L.D.S.K.
S1:E611/2/2005
The BAU is asked to identify a killer who is shooting at victims in broad daylight, and the team works with local law enforcement officers to recreate one of the shootings.
Director:Ernest R. Dickerson
Writer:Andrew Wilder
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Director:Ernest R. Dickerson
Writer:Andrew Wilder

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The 20 BEST Episodes of Criminal Minds

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7.9/10(3014 votes)
#7 - The Fox
S1:E711/9/2005
The BAU profiles a serial killer who takes families hostage and lives with them as a father figure during what is supposed to be their family vacations.
Director:Guy Norman Bee
Writer:Simon Mirren
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Director:Guy Norman Bee
Writer:Simon Mirren
7.5/10(2860 votes)
#8 - Natural Born Killer
S1:E811/16/2005
When an undercover cop in Baltimore involved in a mob investigation goes missing, the BAU believes a serial killer rather than organized crime has something to do with his disappearance. The probe leads to several unsolved missing persons cases.
Director:Peter Ellis
Writers:Debra J. Fisher, Erica Messer
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Director:Peter Ellis
Writers:Debra J. Fisher, Erica Messer
7.8/10(3669 votes)
#9 - Derailed
S1:E911/23/2005
Elle, along with many others, is held hostage on a train in Texas by a paranoid schizophrenic who is convinced that the U.S. government is monitoring him. Hotchner and Gideon are forced to play into the man's fantasy to save the people he has taken hostage.
Director:Félix Alcalá
Writer:Jeff Davis
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Director:Félix Alcalá
Writer:Jeff Davis
7.5/10(3298 votes)
#10 - The Popular Kids
S1:E1011/30/2005
The team investigates the death of one teen, and the disappearance of another , which may be linked to a satanic ritual.
Director:Andy Wolk
Writer:Edward Allen Bernero
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Director:Andy Wolk
Writer:Edward Allen Bernero
7.1/10(3373 votes)
#11 - Blood Hungry
S1:E1112/14/2005
While Gideon is stuck at the office on crutches, the rest of the team travels to Tennessee to track down a killer who disembowels his victims and supposedly eats their organs.
Director:Charles Haid
Writer:Edward Napier
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Director:Charles Haid
Writer:Edward Napier
7.4/10(2573 votes)
#12 - What Fresh Hell?
S1:E121/11/2006
When a young girl is abducted in broad daylight from a playground in a seemingly safe neighborhood, the BAU team initially believes her father is responsible. When he is able to provide an alibi, the team is forced to look for clues where the girl lives to determine who is really responsible.
Director:Adam Davidson
Writer:Judith McCreary
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Director:Adam Davidson
Writer:Judith McCreary
7.3/10(2643 votes)
#13 - Poison
S1:E131/18/2006
The team travels to New Jersey where several people have been poisoned, one of them fatally with LSD, ten times more potent than the street version.
Director:Thomas J. Wright
Writer:Aaron Zelman
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Director:Thomas J. Wright
Writer:Aaron Zelman
8.7/10(4921 votes)
#14 - Riding the Lightning
S1:E141/25/2006
After interviewing a couple on death row for serial murders, Gideon suspects that the woman is actually innocent. But since she's set to be executed in two days, it's a race against time to prove it.
Director:Chris Long
Writer:Simon Mirren
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Director:Chris Long
Writer:Simon Mirren
7.7/10(2642 votes)
#15 - Unfinished Business
S1:E153/1/2006
A serial killer reappears after 20 years of silence and contacts the BAU with the promise he will kill another victim in the next five days.
Director:J. Miller Tobin
Writers:Debra J. Fisher, Erica Messer
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Director:J. Miller Tobin
Writers:Debra J. Fisher, Erica Messer
7.6/10(2872 votes)
#16 - The Tribe
S1:E163/8/2006
The BAU team believes a dangerous cult may be responsible for the mass murders of five college students in an empty house.
Director:Matt Earl Beesley
Writer:Andrew Wilder
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Director:Matt Earl Beesley
Writer:Andrew Wilder
7.6/10(2624 votes)
#17 - A Real Rain
S1:E173/22/2006
The BAU unit travels to NYC to investigate a series of murders that appears to have been committed by a vigilante conducting revenge on former criminals who have been released by the justice system.
Director:Gloria Muzio
Writer:Chris Mundy
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Director:Gloria Muzio
Writer:Chris Mundy
8.2/10(3873 votes)
#18 - Somebody's Watching
S1:E183/29/2006
Reid finds himself in danger when he falls for a starlet whose stalker has turned into a killer.
Director:Paul Shapiro
Writer:Edward Napier
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Director:Paul Shapiro
Writer:Edward Napier
7.2/10(2763 votes)
#19 - Machismo
S1:E194/12/2006
The BAU team travels to Mexico to aid in the capture of a serial killer who is targeting elderly women.
Director:Guy Norman Bee
Writer:Aaron Zelman
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Director:Guy Norman Bee
Writer:Aaron Zelman
7.6/10(2545 votes)
#20 - Charm and Harm
S1:E204/19/2006
The BAU works to capture a serial killer who has evaded capture by altering his appearance.
Director:Félix Alcalá
Writers:Debra J. Fisher, Erica Messer
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Director:Félix Alcalá
Writers:Debra J. Fisher, Erica Messer
7.6/10(3232 votes)
#21 - Secrets and Lies
S1:E215/3/2006
The BAU works with the CIA to identify a mole within that organization, whose leaks are putting operatives at risk.
Director:Matt Earl Beesley
Writer:Simon Mirren
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Director:Matt Earl Beesley
Writer:Simon Mirren
8.5/10(3615 votes)
#22 - The Fisher King (1)
S1:E225/10/2006
While on their vacations, each of the team receives a clue from a psychopathic killer challenging them to save his next victim.
Director:Edward Allen Bernero
Writer:Edward Allen Bernero
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Director:Edward Allen Bernero
Writer:Edward Allen Bernero