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The Best Episodes of Criminal Minds Season 4

Every episode of Criminal Minds Season 4 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Criminal Minds Season 4!

Binge this in 17h 2m•Peaking at 8.6/10

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 4 Episode 1 - Mayhem
    8.6/10(3501 votes)

    #1 - Mayhem

    S4:E1

    When an SUV carrying members of the team explodes, the rest of the team fights to save them and catch the terrorists responsible for the bombing.

    Director:Edward Allen Bernero
    Writer:Simon Mirren

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  2. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 2 - The Angel Maker
    7.7/10(2513 votes)

    #2 - The Angel Maker

    S4:E2

    A series of murders is linked to a serial killer executed a year earlier, and the BAU team must find the link between the dead killer and the new spate of crimes.

    Director:Glenn Kershaw
    Writers:Dan Dworkin, Jay Beattie

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  3. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 3 - Minimal Loss
    8.2/10(3270 votes)

    #3 - Minimal Loss

    S4:E3

    Reid and Prentiss are taken hostage when they go under cover to investigate possible child abuse at an underground cult.

    Director:Félix Alcalá
    Writer:Andrew Wilder

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  4. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 4 - Paradise
    7.6/10(2428 votes)

    #4 - Paradise

    S4:E4

    The BAU joins the manhunt to catch a serial killer who conceals the manner of his crimes by staging car accidents.

    Director:John Gallagher
    Writers:Debra J. Fisher, Erica Messer

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  5. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 5 - Catching Out
    7.2/10(2387 votes)

    #5 - Catching Out

    S4:E5

    The BAU investigates a series of murders that appear to be connected to a killer who jumps trains and chooses his victims based on their proximity to the railway.

    Director:Charles Haid
    Writer:Oanh Ly

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  6. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 6 - The Instincts
    8.1/10(3141 votes)

    #6 - The Instincts

    S4:E6

    While investigating the abduction of a young boy in Las Vegas, Dr. Reid starts to have dreams that might help reveal buried memories from his childhood.

    Director:Rob Spera
    Writer:Chris Mundy

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  7. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 7 - Memoriam
    8.4/10(3270 votes)

    #7 - Memoriam

    S4:E7

    As Reid's investigation of a young boy's murder in Las Vegas continues, he discovers possible connections to his own past.

    Director:Guy Norman Bee
    Writers:Dan Dworkin, Jay Beattie

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  8. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 8 - Masterpiece
    8.3/10(2910 votes)

    #8 - Masterpiece

    S4:E8

    When a narcissistic psychopath confesses he has killed seven people and more will die, the team must locate his latest victims before it is too late.

    Director:Paul Michael Glaser
    Writer:Edward Allen Bernero

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  9. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 9 - 52 Pickup
    7.9/10(2632 votes)

    #9 - 52 Pickup

    S4:E9

    Agents Prentiss and Todd go undercover to profile a serial killer who uses skills of persuasion to lure women into danger.

    Director:Bobby Roth
    Writer:Breen Frazier

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  10. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 10 - Brothers in Arms
    7.5/10(2284 votes)

    #10 - Brothers in Arms

    S4:E10

    The BAU team hunts for a serial killer who targets members of the police department in Phoenix, Ariz., a case that hits close to home for Morgan, a former cop.

    Director:Glenn Kershaw
    Writer:Holly Harold

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  11. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 11 - Normal
    8.3/10(2676 votes)

    #11 - Normal

    S4:E11

    The team investigates a serial killer who shoots luxury car owners on Southern California's freeways.

    Director:Steve Boyum
    Writer:Andrew Wilder

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  12. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 12 - Soul Mates
    7.7/10(2258 votes)

    #12 - Soul Mates

    S4:E12

    The BAU team suspects a member of an affluent community in Atlanta is responsible for the disappearance of a local young woman and that the suspect may have worked with an accomplice

    Director:John Gallagher
    Writers:Debra J. Fisher, Erica Messer

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  13. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 13 - Bloodline
    7.8/10(2393 votes)

    #13 - Bloodline

    S4:E13

    The BAU team becomes involved in the case of a family working together to abduct young girls.

    Director:Tim Matheson
    Writer:Mark Bruner

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  14. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 14 - Cold Comfort
    7.4/10(2114 votes)

    #14 - Cold Comfort

    S4:E14

    The mother of an abducted child works with the BAU to apprehend a serial killer who kidnaps, murders, and embalms his victims.

    Director:Anna Foerster
    Writers:Dan Dworkin, Jay Beattie

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  15. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 15 - Zoe's Reprise
    8.1/10(2404 votes)

    #15 - Zoe's Reprise

    S4:E15

    The team pursues a copycat serial killer who is recreating the techniques used by past famous murderers.

    Director:Charles S. Carroll
    Writer:Oanh Ly

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  16. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 16 - Pleasure Is My Business
    8.1/10(2668 votes)

    #16 - Pleasure Is My Business

    S4:E16

    The team searches for a female suspect who uses her professional skills as a high class call girl to lure and kill high-powered executives.

    Director:Gwyneth Horder-Payton
    Writer:Breen Frazier

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  17. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 17 - Demonology
    7.0/10(2871 votes)

    #17 - Demonology

    S4:E17

    Agent Prentiss has a personal connection to one of the victims in a series of deaths with religious overtones.

    Director:Edward Allen Bernero
    Writer:Chris Mundy

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  18. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 18 - Omnivore
    8.6/10(2792 votes)

    #18 - Omnivore

    S4:E18

    Agent Hotchner revisits the first case he worked at the BAU when details come forth that one of the deadliest serial killers in New England's history has struck again after a 10-year hiatus.

    Director:Nelson McCormick
    Writer:Andrew Wilder

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  19. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 19 - House on Fire
    7.3/10(2880 votes)

    #19 - House on Fire

    S4:E19

    The BAU team must track down a serial arsonist who instills fear in a small town by setting fire to community meeting places and killing several residents in the process.

    Director:Félix Alcalá
    Writer:Holly Harold

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  20. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 20 - Conflicted
    8.4/10(3543 votes)

    #20 - Conflicted

    S4:E20

    The team travels to Fort Lauderdale during spring break to find a serial killer who is targeting co-eds on vacation.

    Director:Jason Alexander
    Writer:Rick Dunkle

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  21. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 21 - A Shade of Gray
    8.0/10(2277 votes)

    #21 - A Shade of Gray

    S4:E21

    When profiling a series of child abductions and murders, the team discovers that one of the cases may not be the handiwork of the serial killer they apprehended.

    Director:Karen Gaviola
    Writers:Debra J. Fisher, Erica Messer

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  22. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 22 - The Big Wheel
    8.2/10(3386 votes)

    #22 - The Big Wheel

    S4:E22

    When the team is sent a videotape from a serial killer detailing one of his crimes, they discover a hidden message asking them to help him stop his murderous ways.

    Director:Rob Hardy
    Writer:Simon Mirren

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  23. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 23 - Roadkill
    7.3/10(2414 votes)

    #23 - Roadkill

    S4:E23

    An unsub who kills with his car is the subject of a BAU investigation.

    Director:Steve Boyum
    Writers:Dan Dworkin, Jay Beattie

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  24. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 24 - Amplification
    8.4/10(3235 votes)

    #24 - Amplification

    S4:E24

    When a new type of chemical warfare is released into the open air, the BAU must act quickly to find the source before any more innocent people are exposed.

    Director:John Gallagher
    Writer:Oanh Ly

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  25. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 25 - To Hell... (1)
    8.5/10(2759 votes)

    #25 - To Hell... (1)

    S4:E25

    The BAU tracks a serial killer who chooses junkies, prostitutes and the homeless off the streets of Detroit as his victims and takes them across the border into Canada, and an agent's life is in peril.

    Director:Charles Haid
    Writer:Chris Mundy

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Season 4 Ratings Summary

"Mayhem" is the best rated episode of "Criminal Minds" season 4. It scored 8.6/10 based on 3501 votes. Directed by Edward Allen Bernero and written by Simon Mirren, it aired on 9/24/2008. This episode is rated 0.9 points higher than the second-best, "The Angel Maker".