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The Best Episodes of Criminal Minds Season 3

Every episode of Criminal Minds Season 3 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Criminal Minds Season 3!

The Best Episodes of Criminal Minds Season 3

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...

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  1. 8.7/10(3.5k votes)

    #1 - Penelope

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    S3:E9

    As a team member fights for life, the BAU continues the search for an attacker that leads the unit to believe the assailant could be someone close to the investigation.

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  2. 8.5/10(3.1k votes)

    #2 - Lo-Fi

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    S3:E20

    The BAU faces one of its toughest cases when the team is called to New York City to determine if a series of random shootings is the work of one serial killer or a team of killers working together.

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    Director:Glenn Kershaw
  3. 8.3/10(2.6k votes)

    #3 - Seven Seconds

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    S3:E5

    The investigation turns to the family as the BAU and local authorities race against time to locate a young girl who has disappeared from a local shopping mall.

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  4. 8.3/10(3.2k votes)

    #4 - Elephant's Memory

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    S3:E16

    The BAU is called to West Bune, a small town in Texas, to investigate what appears to be spree killings that involve a teenaged boy and his girlfriend.

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    Director:Bobby Roth
  5. 8.2/10(3.2k votes)

    #5 - Lucky

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    S3:E8

    A team member's life is put in jeopardy when the BAU investigates serial killings in Florida that appear to involve the occult and satanic worship. Garcia believes she has met her dream man, but her first date with him doesn't go exactly as she had expected.

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    Director:Steve Boyum
  6. 8.1/10(3.0k votes)

    #6 - Tabula Rasa

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    S3:E19

    After a suspected serial killer wakes up from a coma, the BAU reopens the case and uses brain fingerprinting to determine if he really doesn't remember the crimes that had been committed four years earlier in Roanoke, Virginia.

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  8. 8.0/10(2.5k votes)

    #7 - 3rd Life

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    S3:E12

    When one teenager is found murdered and her best friend is abducted in Chula Vista, California, the BAU assists local authorities in determining whether the Witness Protection Program is involved.

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  9. 7.9/10(2.4k votes)

    #8 - In Name and Blood

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    S3:E2

    In Milwaukee, a series of women have been found murdered with their hearts crudely removed. The BAU is assigned to the case, but they are short three members: Gideon, who is missing, Hotch, who is on suspension and Prentiss, who resigns her commission to join the Foreign Service. Supervisor Strauss steps in as lead, but she doesn't handle herself well in the field.

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  10. 7.9/10(2.3k votes)

    #9 - Children of the Dark

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    S3:E4

    When home invasions involve the murder of entire families, the BAU is called to Denver to identify the killers who possibly have been abused while in foster care.

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  11. 7.9/10(3.0k votes)

    #10 - Damaged

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    S3:E14

    Rossi travels to Indianapolis to continue his investigation into the two unsolved murders that have plagued him for 20 years.

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  12. 7.8/10(2.6k votes)

    #11 - True Night

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    S3:E10

    The BAU and local authorities in Los Angeles investigate gang-related serial killings that might possibly involve a famous comic book artist.

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  13. 7.7/10(2.3k votes)

    #12 - Birthright

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    S3:E11

    The new sheriff in Fredericksburg, Virginia, requests the BAU's assistance in the investigation of a series of mutilation murders that appear to mimic similar crimes that had occurred over two decades earlier.

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  14. 7.6/10(2.3k votes)

    #13 - Doubt

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    S3:E1

    The team investigates a serial killer who is targeting women at a small college in Flagstaff, Arizona. The BAU shuts down the campus, creates a detailed profile of the unsub, and arrests a suspect. However, the team members begin to have doubts about themselves when another woman is killed while the suspect is in custody.

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    Director:Gloria Muzio
  15. 7.6/10(2.3k votes)

    #14 - Scared to Death

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    S3:E3

    The BAU travels to Portland to assist local authorities in investigating the disappearances of people who are new to the city and have no strong social ties.

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  16. 7.6/10(2.4k votes)

    #15 - In Heat

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    S3:E17

    The BAU is called to Miami to investigate a serial killer who appears to have a conflicted sexual identity.

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  17. 7.6/10(2.3k votes)

    #16 - The Crossing

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    S3:E18

    The team members try to identify a stalker before he can attack a woman who is being stalked in Silver Spring, Maryland. Meanwhile, Hotch and Rossi are called as consultants on a possible battered woman syndrome murder case in Boston.

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  18. 7.5/10(2.2k votes)

    #17 - About Face

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    S3:E6

    The team gains a new, familiar member and some growing pains while trying to find the latest victim of a killer who puts up wanted posters of his victims before he abducts them.

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  19. 7.5/10(2.3k votes)

    #18 - Limelight

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    S3:E13

    After the contents of a self-storage unit purchased at an auction take the BAU to Philadelphia to investigate a series of murders, the local agent becomes the center of the case. To catch the killer, the team must profile the items inside the unit.

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  20. 7.4/10(2.2k votes)

    #19 - Identity

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    S3:E7

    The team is called to Montana to investigate the case of four kidnapped and murdered women. When another woman disappears, the search leads to a man who apparently has assumed the identity of his dead partner.

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  21. 7.4/10(2.3k votes)

    #20 - A Higher Power

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    S3:E15

    The BAU is called to Pittsburgh after an unusually high suicide rate appears to be the work of an Angel of Death.

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Season 3 Ratings Summary

"Penelope" is the best rated episode of "Criminal Minds" season 3. It scored 8.7/10 based on 3510 votes. Directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá and written by Chris Mundy, it aired on 11/21/2007. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "Lo-Fi".