The Criminal Minds Episodes Fans Always Skip

"Criminal Minds" took viewers on some twisted journeys throughout its 15-season run. That said, a show that chronicles FBI profilers bringing America's worst serial killers to justice needs gnarly moments to make an impact. Despite the gruesome nature of the storytelling, however, "Criminal Minds" has some serious replay value for fans. If there's ever an episode playing on television, it's easy to forget about what you were doing and get pulled back in all over again. That's because the acclaimed procedural knows how to quench people's thirst for crime and mystery.

With the planned "Criminal Minds" revival for Paramount+ seemingly dead on the tracks, viewers needing to fill the void must rely on watching repeats to get their fix. With every season available to stream online, experiencing that rush isn't difficult. However, there are some episodes of "Criminal Minds" that even the most hardcore fans tend to skip whenever they revisit their favorite series. With that in mind, let's take a look at which episodes the show's most diehard aficionados claim to avoid.

"Criminal Minds" has featured an intriguing mix of notable guest stars throughout the years, but some viewers argue that the episodes in question don't make the best use of their acting talents. Despite portraying one of the most sympathetic unsubs in the eyes of some fans, Frankie Muniz's "True Night" episode isn't the most popular episode in the crime saga.

In the Season 3 episode, Muniz plays a comic book artist who becomes a vigilante after a gang kills his girlfriend and leaves him for dead. The plot similarities to "The Crow" arguably make "True Night" one of the most outlandish "Criminal Mind" stories, but its naysayers seem to find it boring.

As Reddit's u/omisianna sums up, the episode just isn't as "interesting" as it could have been. You can't fault the show's creators for thinking outside the box, but it seems that the fans prefer the more grounded stories.

Shows like "Criminal Minds" aren't for the faint-hearted, but some episodes are even too gruesome for the most loyal viewers. "The Lesson" from Season 8 fits that category. The plot revolves around the investigators as they search for a serial killer who has a propensity for ritualistic murders and putting on plays with his victims. As most fans of macabre entertainment will attest, these types of villains aren't the most delicate murderers out there.

"The Lesson" also features one instance of bodily harm that was enough to upset a viewer with a particularly strong stomach, so you can imagine how bad it must have been for the queasier fans. "I've photographed the embalming process in person, I've watched videos of autopsies and all manner of operations, and even watched a (frozen) body be sliced up by a bandsaw," wrote u/GlitchingGecko. "But dislocations freak me the f**k out, and just remembering that episode to write this is making me feel nauseous as all hell."

Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) is one of the most beloved characters in "Criminal Minds." So much so, some fans have claimed that they want to be interrogated by the eccentric BAU profiler. Unsurprisingly, then, some of those admirers had a tough time watching the Season 12 episodes where he spends time in prison for a murder he didn't commit.

For some viewers, the storyline was a chore. As one Reddit user highlights, the storyline "dragged on" for too long and became boring as a result. While some people did agree with this opinion, the general consensus in the comments section implied that it was just too tough to watch the heroic character suffer.

Others found the prison arc to be problematic. According to u/sophialovxx, it only served to create more "trauma" for a deeply troubled character before he got sent down. He didn't deserve more misery.