Here's What Criminal Minds Fans Really Think Of The First Episode

From Aaron Hotchner's (Thomas Gibson) prolonged battle with The Reaper (C. Thomas Howell) to Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) faking her own death, a lot has gone down on "Criminal Minds." However, no matter what directions the show went in during its 15 season-long run, everything ultimately comes back to Episode 1.

"Extreme Aggressor" introduced fans to the uniquely grim crime of the week formula that became a hallmark of "Criminal Minds." It was also the first time viewers met beloved characters like Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore), and Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness). But does the episode itself actually hold up? After all, it's not uncommon for the pilot episode of a TV series to look a little rickety in hindsight, especially after the formula has been honed and perfected over the years.

That may be true of some shows, but according to a recent poll on Reddit, that's not the case with "Criminal Minds." Over 300 Reddit users responded to the prompt "What do you think of the first episode? (Extreme Aggressor)," with the possible choices being "Great," "Good," "Neutral," and "Bad." In the end, "Good" was the winning response with 142 votes, while "Great" came in second with 119 votes. There were a little over 50 votes total for both "Neutral" and "Bad," but clearly, the positive reactions far outweighed the negative ones.

Here's what fans have had to say about their ongoing love for "Extreme Aggressor."

While the poll may have formalized the feelings "Criminal Minds" fans have toward "Extreme Aggressor," there has long been chatter across Reddit about the series' inaugural episode. User u/definitly-not commented on the poll itself to say, "extreme aggressor is my favourite episode! ... i loved the way they introduced the characters ... and also just the plot and the twist and the aesthetic! a masterpiece!"

In another Reddit thread where users organized a group rewatch of early episodes in the series, u/SeizerOfThoughtseize wrote of the pilot, "A great way to start the series, I really like how it highlights each team member and what they bring to the team. Also, having two unsubs on the first episode was a cool twist."

Meanwhile, for user u/decimateddolm, the episode will always have a special place in their heart as the moment that first got them hooked on "Criminal Minds." Commenting on a thread about "Extreme Aggressor," they wrote, "That first episode is what caught me, I saw it on a whim as a teen and none of the subsequent episodes come close."

If you want to see where it all began, you can check out Season 1, Episode 1 of "Criminal Minds" on Netflix.