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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!

The Best Episodes of Criminal Minds Season 1

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...
  1. Background image for L.D.S.K.
    8.3/10(23 votes)

    #1 - L.D.S.K.

    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.

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  2. Background image for Unfinished Business
    8.1/10(21 votes)

    #2 - Unfinished Business

    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.

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  3. Background image for The Fox
    8.0/10(21 votes)

    #3 - The Fox

    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.

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  4. Background image for The Tribe
    8.0/10(21 votes)

    #4 - The Tribe

    S1:E16

    The BAU team believes a dangerous cult may be responsible for the mass murders of five college students in an empty house.

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  5. Background image for The Fisher King (1)
    8.0/10(21 votes)

    #5 - The Fisher King (1)

    S1:E22

    While on their vacations, each of the team receives a clue from a psychopathic killer challenging them to save his next victim.

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  6. Background image for Derailed
    7.8/10(22 votes)

    #6 - Derailed

    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.

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  8. Background image for Somebody's Watching
    7.8/10(22 votes)

    #7 - Somebody's Watching

    S1:E18

    Reid finds himself in danger when he falls for a starlet whose stalker has turned into a killer.

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  9. Background image for Charm and Harm
    7.8/10(20 votes)

    #8 - Charm and Harm

    S1:E20

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

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  10. Background image for Broken Mirror
    7.7/10(31 votes)

    #9 - Broken Mirror

    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.

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  11. Background image for The Popular Kids
    7.7/10(23 votes)

    #10 - The Popular Kids

    S1:E10

    The team investigates the death of one teen, and the disappearance of another , which may be linked to a satanic ritual.

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  12. Background image for What Fresh Hell?
    7.7/10(20 votes)

    #11 - What Fresh Hell?

    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.

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  13. Background image for Riding the Lightning
    7.7/10(21 votes)

    #12 - Riding the Lightning

    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.

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    Director:Chris Long
  14. Background image for Compulsion
    7.6/10(37 votes)

    #13 - Compulsion

    S1:E2

    The team of investigators tries to capture a serial arsonist who has been terrorizing a college campus.

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    Director:Charles Haid
    Writer:Jeff Davis
  15. Background image for Plain Sight
    7.6/10(30 votes)

    #14 - Plain Sight

    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.

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  16. Background image for Natural Born Killer
    7.6/10(23 votes)

    #15 - Natural Born Killer

    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.

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  17. Background image for Blood Hungry
    7.6/10(21 votes)

    #16 - Blood Hungry

    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.

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  18. Background image for A Real Rain
    7.6/10(21 votes)

    #17 - A Real Rain

    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.

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    Director:Gloria Muzio
  19. Background image for Extreme Aggressor
    7.5/10(41 votes)

    #18 - Extreme Aggressor

    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.

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  20. Background image for Won't Get Fooled Again
    7.5/10(31 votes)

    #19 - Won't Get Fooled Again

    S1:E3

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

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    Director:Kevin Bray
  21. Background image for Secrets and Lies
    7.5/10(19 votes)

    #20 - Secrets and Lies

    S1:E21

    The BAU works with the CIA to identify a mole within that organization, whose leaks are putting operatives at risk.

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  22. Background image for Poison
    7.4/10(20 votes)

    #21 - Poison

    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.

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  23. Background image for Machismo
    7.4/10(19 votes)

    #22 - Machismo

    S1:E19

    The BAU team travels to Mexico to aid in the capture of a serial killer who is targeting elderly women.

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"L.D.S.K." is the best rated episode of "Criminal Minds" season 1. It scored 8.3/10 based on 23 votes. Directed by Ernest R. Dickerson and written by Andrew Wilder, it aired on 11/2/2005. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "Unfinished Business".