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The Best Episodes of Criminal Minds Season 5

Every episode of Criminal Minds Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Criminal Minds Season 5!

Binge this in 15h 39m•Peaking at 9.2/10

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 5 Episode 9 - 100
    9.2/10(4785 votes)

    S5:E9

    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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  2. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 16 - Mosley Lane
    8.9/10(4344 votes)

    S5:E16

    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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  3. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 12 - The Uncanny Valley
    8.4/10(3403 votes)

    S5:E12

    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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  4. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 1 - Nameless, Faceless
    8.0/10(2688 votes)

    S5:E1

    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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  5. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 23 - Our Darkest Hour
    8.0/10(2432 votes)

    S5:E23

    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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  6. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 20 - ...A Thousand Words
    7.9/10(2626 votes)

    S5:E20

    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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  7. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 2 - Haunted
    7.7/10(3035 votes)

    S5:E2

    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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  8. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 8 - Outfoxed
    7.7/10(2250 votes)

    S5:E8

    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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  9. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 10 - The Slave of Duty
    7.7/10(2214 votes)

    S5:E10

    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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  10. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 13 - Risky Business
    7.7/10(3023 votes)

    S5:E13

    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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  11. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 22 - The Internet Is Forever
    7.7/10(2462 votes)

    S5:E22

    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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  12. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 5 - Cradle to Grave
    7.6/10(2231 votes)

    S5:E5

    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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  13. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 15 - Public Enemy
    7.6/10(2114 votes)

    S5:E15

    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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  14. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 21 - Exit Wounds
    7.5/10(2906 votes)

    S5:E21

    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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  15. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 3 - Reckoner
    7.4/10(2927 votes)

    S5:E3

    The BAU investigates a case in Rossi's hometown that involves both his personal and professional life.

    Director:Karen Gaviola
    Writers:Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin

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  16. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 7 - The Performer
    7.4/10(2514 votes)

    S5:E7

    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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  17. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 14 - Parasite
    7.4/10(2164 votes)

    S5:E14

    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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  18. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 17 - Solitary Man
    7.4/10(2086 votes)

    S5:E17

    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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  19. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 4 - Hopeless
    7.3/10(2493 votes)

    S5:E4

    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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  20. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 11 - Retaliation
    7.3/10(2183 votes)

    S5:E11

    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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  21. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 18 - The Fight
    7.3/10(2451 votes)

    S5:E18

    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:Unknown

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  22. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 19 - Rite of Passage
    7.3/10(2256 votes)

    S5:E19

    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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  23. Criminal Minds Season 5 Episode 6 - The Eyes Have It
    7.2/10(2248 votes)

    S5:E6

    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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Season 5 Ratings Summary

"100" is the best rated episode of "Criminal Minds" season 5. It scored 9.2/10 based on 4785 votes. Directed by Edward Allen Bernero and written by Erica Messer, Simon Mirren, Edward Allen Bernero, Rick Dunkle, Chris Mundy, Breen Frazier, Oanh Ly, it aired on 11/25/2009. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "Mosley Lane".