The Best Episodes of Criminal Minds Season 5

#1 Fan Favorite
8.0/10(2575 votes)
#1 - Nameless, Faceless
S5:E19/23/2009
As Rossi, Morgan and JJ profile a killer who is targeting an emergency room doctor, Prentiss realizes that Hotch is missing.
Director:Charles S. Carroll
Writer:Chris Mundy
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Director:Charles S. Carroll
Writer:Chris Mundy
7.7/10(2943 votes)
#2 - Haunted
S5:E29/30/2009
The BAU must determine what caused a disturbed man to murder several people at a pharmacy before he harms anyone else.
Director:Jon Cassar
Writer:Erica Messer
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Director:Jon Cassar
Writer:Erica Messer
7.4/10(2836 votes)
#3 - Reckoner
S5:E310/7/2009
The BAU investigates a case in Rossi's hometown that involves both his personal and professional life.
Director:Karen Gaviola
Writers:Dan Dworkin, Jay Beattie
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Director:Karen Gaviola
Writers:Dan Dworkin, Jay Beattie
7.3/10(2402 votes)
#4 - Hopeless
S5:E410/14/2009
A group of suspects with a pack mentality who kill for the thrill of it are the subjects of a BAU manhunt.
Director:Félix Alcalá
Writer:Chris Mundy
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Director:Félix Alcalá
Writer:Chris Mundy
7.6/10(2124 votes)
#5 - Cradle to Grave
S5:E510/21/2009
The team hunts a suspect who impregnates young women and has them give birth before murdering them.
Director:Rob Spera
Writer:Breen Frazier
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Director:Rob Spera
Writer:Breen Frazier
7.2/10(2153 votes)
#6 - The Eyes Have It
S5:E611/4/2009
The BAU team tracks a serial killer who keeps the eyes of his victims as souvenirs.
Director:Glenn Kershaw
Writer:Oanh Ly
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Director:Glenn Kershaw
Writer:Oanh Ly

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The 20 BEST Episodes of Criminal Minds

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7.4/10(2427 votes)
#7 - The Performer
S5:E711/11/2009
The BAU team investigates the mystery behind a trail of murders that all seem to align with the tour schedule of a rock star.
Director:John Badham
Writer:Holly Harold
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Director:John Badham
Writer:Holly Harold
7.7/10(2114 votes)
#8 - Outfoxed
S5:E811/18/2009
The BAU team is tracking down a family annihilator, but needs to take a break from the case to get advice from "The Fox", who is an horrific killer from the team's past. "The Fox" surprises the team with a ominous message for Agent Hotchner.
Director:John Gallagher
Writer:Simon Mirren
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Director:John Gallagher
Writer:Simon Mirren
9.2/10(4600 votes)
#9 - 100
S5:E911/25/2009
The BAU team races to help Hotchner find The Reaper and save his family before it's too late.
Director:Edward Allen Bernero
Writers:Erica Messer, Simon Mirren, Edward Allen Bernero, Rick Dunkle, Chris Mundy, Breen Frazier, Oanh Ly
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Director:Edward Allen Bernero
Writers:Erica Messer, Simon Mirren, Edward Allen Bernero, Rick Dunkle, Chris Mundy, Breen Frazier, Oanh Ly
7.7/10(2116 votes)
#10 - The Slave of Duty
S5:E1012/9/2009
The team needs to reunite in order to solve a home invasion case, while Agent Hotchner may have to leave the team.
Director:Charles Haid
Writer:Rick Dunkle
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Director:Charles Haid
Writer:Rick Dunkle
7.3/10(2089 votes)
#11 - Retaliation
S5:E1112/16/2009
The BAU is called upon to profile the past of an ex-convict and help stop him after he escapes from custody and embarks on a violent killing spree.
Director:Félix Alcalá
Writer:Erica Messer
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Director:Félix Alcalá
Writer:Erica Messer
8.4/10(3302 votes)
#12 - The Uncanny Valley
S5:E121/13/2010
An unusual personal obsession is at the center of a BAU abduction case. Meanwhile, Hotch struggles with his return to work.
Director:Anna Foerster
Writer:Breen Frazier
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Director:Anna Foerster
Writer:Breen Frazier
7.7/10(2921 votes)
#13 - Risky Business
S5:E131/20/2010
A rash of startling teen suicides in a small Wyoming town is the focus of a BAU investigation.
Director:Rob Spera
Writer:Jim Clemente
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Director:Rob Spera
Writer:Jim Clemente
7.4/10(2056 votes)
#14 - Parasite
S5:E142/3/2010
The BAU follows the mental decline of a con artist whose schemes have become so complicated that he begins to eliminate the people involved in them.
Director:Charles S. Carroll
Writer:Oanh Ly
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Director:Charles S. Carroll
Writer:Oanh Ly
7.6/10(2014 votes)
#15 - Public Enemy
S5:E152/10/2010
A serial killer who targets random victims in highly visible places to create a sense of public fear is the subject of a BAU investigation.
Director:Nelson McCormick
Writer:Jess Prosser
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Director:Nelson McCormick
Writer:Jess Prosser
8.9/10(4210 votes)
#16 - Mosley Lane
S5:E163/3/2010
The BAU is called by local authorities in Ashburn, Virginia, to profile a predator who may have been abducting children for at least eight years.
Director:Matthew Gray Gubler
Writers:Erica Messer, Simon Mirren
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Director:Matthew Gray Gubler
Writers:Erica Messer, Simon Mirren
7.4/10(1987 votes)
#17 - Solitary Man
S5:E173/10/2010
A truck driver is kidnapping women and disposing of them in random locations and the BAU must find out his motive in order to catch him.
Director:Rob Hardy
Writer:Kimberly A. Harrison
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Director:Rob Hardy
Writer:Kimberly A. Harrison
7.3/10(2337 votes)
#18 - The Fight
S5:E184/7/2010
The BAU team travels to San Francisco to investigate the murders of several homeless men and teams up with a separate group of BAU operatives who are working another case they think is connected.
Director:Richard Shepard
Writer:Edward Allen Bernero
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Director:Richard Shepard
Writer:Edward Allen Bernero
7.3/10(2172 votes)
#19 - Rite of Passage
S5:E194/14/2010
The BAU team heads to Texas to track a serial killer targeting illegal immigrants attempting to make safe passage into the U.S.
Director:John Gallagher
Writer:Victor De Jesus
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Director:John Gallagher
Writer:Victor De Jesus
7.9/10(2537 votes)
#20 - ...A Thousand Words
S5:E205/5/2010
The BAU team must profile a serial killer covered in tattoos who commits suicide, but leaves clues to the whereabouts of his last victim.
Director:Rosemary Rodriguez
Writer:Edward Allen Bernero
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Director:Rosemary Rodriguez
Writer:Edward Allen Bernero
7.5/10(2825 votes)
#21 - Exit Wounds
S5:E215/12/2010
Garcia plays a crucial role in a case when she travels to Alaska with the BAU team to investigate the murders of several members of a small town.
Director:Charles S. Carroll
Writer:Rick Dunkle
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Director:Charles S. Carroll
Writer:Rick Dunkle
7.7/10(2384 votes)
#22 - The Internet Is Forever
S5:E225/19/2010
The BAU team profiles a serial killer who uses the Internet as his hunting ground, bringing a whole meaning to the term "social networking".
Director:Glenn Kershaw
Writer:Breen Frazier
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Director:Glenn Kershaw
Writer:Breen Frazier
8.0/10(2315 votes)
#23 - Our Darkest Hour
S5:E235/26/2010
A series of rolling blackouts in the city of Los Angeles lures a serial killer out of hiding, giving him renewed opportunities to continue his killing spree.
Director:Edward Allen Bernero
Writer:Erica Messer
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Director:Edward Allen Bernero
Writer:Erica Messer