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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 8.7/10

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 4 Episode 26 - ...And Back (2)
    8.7/10(683 votes)

    S4:E26

    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:Edward Allen Bernero
    Writer:Edward Allen Bernero

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  2. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 1 - Mayhem
    8.6/10(3652 votes)

    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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  3. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 18 - Omnivore
    8.6/10(2907 votes)

    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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  4. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 25 - To Hell... (1)
    8.5/10(2876 votes)

    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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  5. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 7 - Memoriam
    8.4/10(3375 votes)

    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:Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin

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  6. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 20 - Conflicted
    8.4/10(3650 votes)

    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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  7. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 24 - Amplification
    8.4/10(3315 votes)

    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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  8. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 8 - Masterpiece
    8.3/10(3028 votes)

    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 11 - Normal
    8.3/10(2798 votes)

    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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  10. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 3 - Minimal Loss
    8.2/10(3413 votes)

    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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  11. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 22 - The Big Wheel
    8.2/10(3505 votes)

    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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  12. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 6 - The Instincts
    8.1/10(3240 votes)

    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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  13. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 15 - Zoe's Reprise
    8.1/10(2514 votes)

    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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  14. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 16 - Pleasure Is My Business
    8.1/10(2773 votes)

    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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  15. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 21 - A Shade of Gray
    8.0/10(2394 votes)

    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:Erica Messer, Debra J. Fisher

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  16. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 9 - 52 Pickup
    7.9/10(2737 votes)

    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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  17. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 13 - Bloodline
    7.8/10(2506 votes)

    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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  18. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 2 - The Angel Maker
    7.7/10(2615 votes)

    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:Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin

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  19. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 12 - Soul Mates
    7.7/10(2367 votes)

    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:Erica Messer, Debra J. Fisher

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  20. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 4 - Paradise
    7.6/10(2537 votes)

    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:Erica Messer, Debra J. Fisher

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  21. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 10 - Brothers in Arms
    7.5/10(2387 votes)

    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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  22. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 14 - Cold Comfort
    7.4/10(2220 votes)

    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:Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin

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  23. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 19 - House on Fire
    7.3/10(2962 votes)

    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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  24. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 23 - Roadkill
    7.3/10(2496 votes)

    S4:E23

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

    Director:Steve Boyum
    Writers:Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin

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  25. Criminal Minds Season 4 Episode 5 - Catching Out
    7.2/10(2480 votes)

    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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Season 4 Ratings Summary

"...And Back (2)" is the best rated episode of "Criminal Minds" season 4. It scored 8.7/10 based on 683 votes. Directed by Edward Allen Bernero and written by Edward Allen Bernero, it aired on 5/20/2009. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Mayhem".