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The Worst Episodes of Criminal Minds

Every episode of Criminal Minds ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Criminal Minds!

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+

Worst Episodes Summary

"Future Perfect" is the worst rated episode of "Criminal Minds". It scored 6.6/10 based on 2181 votes. Directed by Laura Belsey and written by Bruce Zimmerman, it aired on 12/9/2015. This episode scored 0.1 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Awake".

  • Future Perfect
    6.6/102,181 votes
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    #1 - Future Perfect

    Season 11 Episode 10 - Aired 12/9/2015

    The BAU searches for an UnSub who may be fascinated with medical experimentation.

    Director: Laura Belsey

    Writer: Bruce Zimmerman

  • Awake
    6.7/102,259 votes
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    #2 - Awake

    Season 11 Episode 8 - Aired 11/18/2015

    Victims are kidnapped in Phoenix and forced to endure sleep deprivation. Meanwhile, JJ copes with exhaustion from juggling work and caring for her newborn son; and Hotch and Garcia deal with threats from the "Dirty Dozen," an underground hit man group.

    Director: Christoph Schrewe

    Writer: Kimberly A. Harrison

  • A Good Husband
    6.7/102,073 votes
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    #3 - A Good Husband

    Season 12 Episode 12 - Aired 2/8/2017

    The BAU team is called in to investigate when male victims are found with no way to identify them.

    Director: Laura Belsey

    Writer: Jeff Davis, Erik Stiller, Jim Clemente

  • Internal Affairs
    6.9/102,193 votes
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    #4 - Internal Affairs

    Season 11 Episode 9 - Aired 12/2/2015

    After two undercover DEA agents are murdered and a third goes missing, the BAU joins the NSA to investigate whether an underground Internet drug syndicate is involved. Also, Hotch hopes the team’s work with the NSA brings them closer to finding the “Dirty Dozen” hitmen ring.

    Director: Diana Valentine

    Writer: Sharon Lee Watson

  • Submerged
    6.9/101,121 votes
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    #5 - Submerged

    Season 13 Episode 10 - Aired 1/3/2018

    When a series of backyard pool homicides are reported in California, the BAU team searches for an UnSub with a puzzling past.

    Director: Rob Bailey

    Writer: Bruce Zimmerman

  • All You Can Eat
    6.9/101,113 votes
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    #6 - All You Can Eat

    Season 13 Episode 20 - Aired 4/11/2018

    The BAU is called to investigate a series of deaths in Virginia suspected by the Center for Disease Control to be caused by bio-terrorism; Garcia visits her stepbrother to take care of a family issue.

    Director: Diana Valentine

    Writer: Karen Maser

  • Demonology
    7.0/102,692 votes
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    #7 - Demonology

    Season 4 Episode 17 - Aired 3/11/2009

    Agent Prentiss has a personal connection to one of the victims in a series of deaths with religious overtones.

    Director: Edward Allen Bernero

    Writer: Chris Mundy

  • Beyond Borders
    7.0/102,350 votes
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    #8 - Beyond Borders

    Season 10 Episode 19 - Aired 4/8/2015

    When a family of four is abducted while on vacation in Barbados, the BAU is called to assist Unit Chief Jack Garrett and his International Unit on their investigation. Garrett and his unit, the FBI's top division for handling cases involving Americans abroad, work jointly with Hotch and his team when they discover that this case matches one the BAU investigated last year in Florida.

    Director: Glenn Kershaw

    Writer: Erica Messer

  • 'Til Death Do Us Part
    7.0/101,782 votes
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    #9 - 'Til Death Do Us Part

    Season 11 Episode 3 - Aired 10/14/2015

    When brides-to-be in Savannah are killed on the eve of their nuptials, the BAU suspects a jilted UnSub is at work.

    Director: Joe Mantegna

    Writer: Karen Maser

  • Inner Beauty
    7.0/101,894 votes
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    #10 - Inner Beauty

    Season 11 Episode 20 - Aired 4/13/2016

    The BAU searches for an UnSub who is purposely disfiguring victims. Also, Rossi has an awkward reunion with his ex-wife, Hayden Montgomery, who kept his daughter, Joy, a secret from him for nearly 30 years.

    Director: Alec Smight

    Writer: Haben Merker

  • Neon Terror
    7.0/101,222 votes
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    #11 - Neon Terror

    Season 13 Episode 8 - Aired 11/22/2017

    When an UnSub in Miami sensationalizes his crimes by giving the local media exclusive footage, the BAU is called in to investigate.

    Director: Bethany Rooney

    Writer: Erik Stiller

  • Mixed Signals
    7.0/101,041 votes
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    #12 - Mixed Signals

    Season 13 Episode 21 - Aired 4/18/2018

    The BAU is called to Taos, N.M. to investigate an UnSub who is targeting his victims' temporal lobes.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Rusty
    7.0/10758 votes
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    #13 - Rusty

    Season 15 Episode 7 - Aired 2/5/2020

    When the BAU team travels to Denver to investigate several murders, Prentiss is forced to evaluate her relationship with Special Agent Andrew Mendoza.

    Director: Rachel Feldman

    Writer: Erik Stiller, Erica Meredith

  • Blood Hungry
    7.1/103,185 votes
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    #14 - Blood Hungry

    Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 12/14/2005

    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.

    Director: Charles Haid

    Writer: Edward Napier

  • Honor Among Thieves
    7.1/102,781 votes
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    #15 - Honor Among Thieves

    Season 2 Episode 20 - Aired 4/11/2007

    Elizabeth Prentiss, a foreign ambassador and SSA Emily Prentiss' mother, seeks the aid of the BAU when a Russian immigrant is kidnapped and held for ransom.

    Director: Jesús Salvador Treviño

    Writer: Aaron Zelman

  • Magnificent Light
    7.1/102,276 votes
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    #16 - Magnificent Light

    Season 8 Episode 9 - Aired 11/28/2012

    An attendee at a popular motivational-speaker's conference in Seattle is murdered and the speaker himself disappears soon afterward. Meanwhile, Garcia is puzzled when Morgan refuses to attend a dinner honoring an old family friend.

    Director: John T. Kretchmer

    Writer: Sharon Lee Watson

  • Breath Play
    7.1/102,082 votes
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    #17 - Breath Play

    Season 10 Episode 17 - Aired 3/11/2015

    The BAU is called to Wisconsin in search of a serial killer, and the team looks for a connection among the victims for clues to the UnSub. Also, Kate has trouble dealing with her niece, Meg, when she begins acting out.

    Director: Hanelle M. Culpepper

    Writer: Erik Stiller

  • Drive
    7.1/101,834 votes
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    #18 - Drive

    Season 11 Episode 12 - Aired 1/20/2016

    When bodies are discovered in public places throughout Boston, the BAU investigates whether a taxi or ride-share service the victims used before their deaths could lead the team to the UnSub.

    Director: Tawnia McKiernan

    Writer: Karen Maser

  • The Bond
    7.1/101,814 votes
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    #19 - The Bond

    Season 11 Episode 13 - Aired 1/27/2016

    The BAU searches for a motive and an UnSub when victims are found in truck stop restrooms along highways throughout the South.

    Director: Hanelle M. Culpepper

    Writer: Kimberly A. Harrison

  • Keeper
    7.1/101,790 votes
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    #20 - Keeper

    Season 12 Episode 4 - Aired 10/26/2016

    The BAU team searches for a serial killer along the Appalachian Trail in rural Virginia.

    Director: Sharat Raju

    Writer: Bruce Zimmerman

  • The Anti-Terrorism Squad
    7.1/101,700 votes
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    #21 - The Anti-Terrorism Squad

    Season 12 Episode 5 - Aired 11/9/2016

    The BAU investigates if bullying may be the link between two high school students who are the sole survivors after both of their families are killed.

    Director: Tawnia McKiernan

    Writer: Stephanie Sengupta

  • Seek and Destroy
    7.1/101,867 votes
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    #22 - Seek and Destroy

    Season 12 Episode 10 - Aired 1/11/2017

    BAU team investigates a series of home invasions in upscale neighborhoods in San Diego involving casualties.

    Director: Diana Valentine

    Writer: Erik Stiller

  • Innocence
    7.1/10993 votes
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    #23 - Innocence

    Season 14 Episode 4 - Aired 10/24/2018

    The BAU steps in to help local law enforcement isolate a prime suspect for a ritualistic murder in Tallahassee, Fla., and soon after a second person who is related to the first victim is killed under similar circumstances. Prentiss is concerned about Garcia’s behavior in the aftermath of her abduction and has an idea of how to help with the healing process.

    Director: Lily Mariye

    Writer: Stephanie Sengupta

  • Sick and Evil
    7.1/10843 votes
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    #24 - Sick and Evil

    Season 14 Episode 14 - Aired 1/30/2019

    The BAU investigates a string of murders taking place in supposedly haunted houses in Lewiston, Maine.

    Director: Rob Bailey

    Writer: Erik Stiller

  • Machismo
    7.2/102,571 votes
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    #25 - Machismo

    Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 4/12/2006

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

    Director: Guy Norman Bee

    Writer: Aaron Zelman