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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!

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...
Genres:CrimeDramaMystery
Networks:CBSParamount+
Episodes
23
Avg. Rating
7.7
S1
S2
S3
S4
E1
E2
E3

Season 5 Ratings Summary

"Nameless, Faceless" is the best rated episode of "Criminal Minds" season 5. It scored 7.9/10 based on 2429 votes. Directed by Charles S. Carroll and written by Chris Mundy, it aired on 9/23/2009. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "Haunted".

  • Nameless, Faceless
    7.9/102,429 votes

    #1 - Nameless, Faceless

    Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 9/23/2009

    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

  • Haunted
    7.6/102,812 votes

    #2 - Haunted

    Season 5 Episode 2 - Aired 9/30/2009

    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

  • Reckoner
    7.4/102,711 votes

    #3 - Reckoner

    Season 5 Episode 3 - Aired 10/7/2009

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

    Director: Karen Gaviola

    Writer: Dan Dworkin, Jay Beattie

  • Hopeless
    7.3/102,281 votes

    #4 - Hopeless

    Season 5 Episode 4 - Aired 10/14/2009

    A group of suspects with a pack mentality who kill for the thrill of it are the subjects of a BAU manhunt.

    Director: Félix Enríquez Alcalá

    Writer: Chris Mundy

  • Cradle to Grave
    7.6/101,989 votes

    #5 - Cradle to Grave

    Season 5 Episode 5 - Aired 10/21/2009

    The team hunts a suspect who impregnates young women and has them give birth before murdering them.

    Director: Rob Spera

    Writer: Breen Frazier

  • The Eyes Have It
    7.2/102,028 votes

    #6 - The Eyes Have It

    Season 5 Episode 6 - Aired 11/4/2009

    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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  • The Performer
    7.4/102,291 votes

    #7 - The Performer

    Season 5 Episode 7 - Aired 11/11/2009

    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

  • Outfoxed
    7.7/101,980 votes

    #8 - Outfoxed

    Season 5 Episode 8 - Aired 11/18/2009

    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

  • 100
    9.2/104,308 votes

    #9 - 100

    Season 5 Episode 9 - Aired 11/25/2009

    The BAU team races to help Hotchner find The Reaper and save his family before it's too late.

    Director: Edward Allen Bernero

    Writer: Erica Messer, Edward Allen Bernero, Simon Mirren, Rick Dunkle, Chris Mundy, Breen Frazier, Oanh Ly

  • The Slave of Duty
    7.7/101,997 votes

    #10 - The Slave of Duty

    Season 5 Episode 10 - Aired 12/9/2009

    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

  • Retaliation
    7.3/101,975 votes

    #11 - Retaliation

    Season 5 Episode 11 - Aired 12/16/2009

    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 Enríquez Alcalá

    Writer: Erica Messer

  • The Uncanny Valley
    8.4/103,144 votes

    #12 - The Uncanny Valley

    Season 5 Episode 12 - Aired 1/13/2010

    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

  • Risky Business
    7.7/102,798 votes

    #13 - Risky Business

    Season 5 Episode 13 - Aired 1/20/2010

    A rash of startling teen suicides in a small Wyoming town is the focus of a BAU investigation.

    Director: Rob Spera

    Writer: Jim Clemente

  • Parasite
    7.4/101,934 votes

    #14 - Parasite

    Season 5 Episode 14 - Aired 2/3/2010

    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

  • Public Enemy
    7.6/101,896 votes

    #15 - Public Enemy

    Season 5 Episode 15 - Aired 2/10/2010

    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

  • Mosley Lane
    8.9/103,969 votes

    #16 - Mosley Lane

    Season 5 Episode 16 - Aired 3/3/2010

    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

    Writer: Erica Messer, Simon Mirren

  • Solitary Man
    7.5/101,866 votes

    #17 - Solitary Man

    Season 5 Episode 17 - Aired 3/10/2010

    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

  • The Fight
    7.3/102,199 votes

    #18 - The Fight

    Season 5 Episode 18 - Aired 4/7/2010

    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

  • Rite of Passage
    7.3/102,055 votes

    #19 - Rite of Passage

    Season 5 Episode 19 - Aired 4/14/2010

    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

  • ...A Thousand Words
    7.9/102,417 votes

    #20 - ...A Thousand Words

    Season 5 Episode 20 - Aired 5/5/2010

    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

  • Exit Wounds
    7.5/102,701 votes

    #21 - Exit Wounds

    Season 5 Episode 21 - Aired 5/12/2010

    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

  • The Internet Is Forever
    7.7/102,274 votes

    #22 - The Internet Is Forever

    Season 5 Episode 22 - Aired 5/19/2010

    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

  • Our Darkest Hour
    7.9/102,179 votes

    #23 - Our Darkest Hour

    Season 5 Episode 23 - Aired 5/26/2010

    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