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The Best Episodes of Criminal Minds Season 1

Every episode of Criminal Minds Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Criminal Minds Season 1!

Binge this in 15h 14m•Peaking at 8.7/10

An elite team of FBI profilers analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again. The Behavioral Analysis Unit's most experienced agent is David Rossi, a founding member of

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 14 - Riding the Lightning
    8.7/10(5196 votes)

    S1:E14

    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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  2. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 22 - The Fisher King (1)
    8.5/10(3776 votes)

    S1:E22

    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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  3. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 6 - L.D.S.K.
    8.3/10(3868 votes)

    S1:E6

    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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  4. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 18 - Somebody's Watching
    8.2/10(4025 votes)

    S1:E18

    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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  5. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 7 - The Fox
    7.9/10(3199 votes)

    S1:E7

    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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  6. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 1 - Extreme Aggressor
    7.8/10(4308 votes)

    S1:E1

    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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  7. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 5 - Broken Mirror
    7.8/10(3309 votes)

    S1:E5

    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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  8. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 9 - Derailed
    7.8/10(3839 votes)

    S1:E9

    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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  9. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 4 - Plain Sight
    7.7/10(3189 votes)

    S1:E4

    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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  10. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 15 - Unfinished Business
    7.7/10(2793 votes)

    S1:E15

    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:Erica Messer, Debra J. Fisher

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  11. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 2 - Compulsion
    7.6/10(3582 votes)

    S1:E2

    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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  12. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 3 - Won't Get Fooled Again
    7.6/10(3446 votes)

    S1:E3

    Gideon and his team track down a copycat bomber terrorizing a quiet community.

    Director:Kevin Bray
    Writer:Aaron Zelman

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  13. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 16 - The Tribe
    7.6/10(3031 votes)

    S1:E16

    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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  14. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 17 - A Real Rain
    7.6/10(2762 votes)

    S1:E17

    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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  15. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 20 - Charm and Harm
    7.6/10(2687 votes)

    S1:E20

    The BAU works to capture a serial killer who has evaded capture by altering his appearance.

    Director:Félix Alcalá
    Writers:Erica Messer, Debra J. Fisher

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  16. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 21 - Secrets and Lies
    7.6/10(3376 votes)

    S1:E21

    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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  17. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 8 - Natural Born Killer
    7.5/10(3024 votes)

    S1:E8

    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:Erica Messer, Debra J. Fisher

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  18. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 10 - The Popular Kids
    7.4/10(3469 votes)

    S1:E10

    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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  19. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 12 - What Fresh Hell?
    7.4/10(2735 votes)

    S1:E12

    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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  20. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 13 - Poison
    7.3/10(2796 votes)

    S1:E13

    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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  21. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 19 - Machismo
    7.2/10(2911 votes)

    S1:E19

    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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  22. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 11 - Blood Hungry
    7.1/10(3534 votes)

    S1:E11

    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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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"Riding the Lightning" is the best rated episode of "Criminal Minds" season 1. It scored 8.7/10 based on 5196 votes. Directed by Chris Long and written by Simon Mirren, it aired on 1/25/2006. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "The Fisher King (1)".