Questions Criminal Minds Fans Have After Seeing The First Few Seasons

With the continued speculation surrounding the possible 10-episode run of "Criminal Minds" appearing on Paramount+ to serve as a sort of 16th season, many fans are going back to rewatch the entire series to refresh their memories and find their favorite episodes. Some, however, are taking the opportunity to watch "Criminal Minds" and the Behavioral Analysis Unit study and catch the world's most notorious serial killers for the first time.

One fan of the show posted a recent thread on Reddit, asking particular questions about the series in a way that wouldn't spoil the show beyond Season 4, and the nature of their questions provides a fascinating look into the series' deep history and just how much it's changed over the years. It's certainly interesting to see what questions first-time viewers have, considering most fans haven't been in that position since Season 4 premiered in 2008, over a decade ago. 

Here's how the fans on Reddit handled the questions without dropping spoilers.

User LauraLand27 responded to a Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) related question involving his role on the BAU moving forward in the show. LauraLand27 was careful not to give too much away to the viewer, noting her shared annoyance that at the given moment in Season 4, Reid does mostly geographical profiling even though his intelligence and innate abilities suggest greater possibilities. They went on to explain that Gubler's Reid and Penolope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) are some of the only characters to stay on the show from beginning to end, so there is a lot that we come to know about Reid and his backstory.

LauraLand27 also prepares the viewer for possible episodes including Reid that they will not enjoy, as well as ones that they will love. Either way, they're in for a long ride with Dr. Spencer Reid, and the storylines that will unfold from his past and his relationships with other members of the BAU.

In the case of this question, any longtime "Criminal Minds" fan would likely tell the first-time viewer to hold on to their seat because things are about to get heavy. 

Users LilEEE and tcamp213 both noted that starting in Season 4, there are unsubs that carry over multiple episodes and unsubs that start impacting the personal lives of the BAU team. User tcamp213 wrote, "I can think of 2 villains off the top of my head, that go at least 2 episodes." They were likely referring to George Foyet (C. Thomas Howell) and Lucas Turner (Paul Rae), the former being a consistent recurring character and the latter spanning the multi-episode season finale "To Hell and Back."

From the fourth season on, "Criminal Minds" sees multiple serial killers appear in different episodes over different seasons, and those killers are usually fixated on specific members of the BAU team. Even if they are caught, they are often referenced by the team on multiple occasions.

Users LilEEE and tcamp213 also fielded a question about seeing more of the BAU squad's personal lives outside of work. Both fans expertly answered while avoiding spoilers. 

LilEEE wrote, "you sometimes see their home lives." User tcamp213 supported the notion that most episodes are strictly focused on the happenings within the BAU and the details of each specific case, likely because the writers "have to cram a whole case and background of an unsub into about 45 minutes." The formula leaves little room for character drama.

This isn't far off from the truth; the format is case heave, focusing strictly on the BAU and how they go about catching each killer. However, we do end up learning a whole lot about the backgrounds of each member of the BAU, and the episodes moving forward after Season 4 manage to tie the personal lives in nicely without getting in the way of any episode's given case.

Both users IisforIda and LordCoke-16 provided answers on cohesive storyline possibilities moving forward after Season 4. User IisforIda noted that they do get better and more cohesive, but it is always limited by how clever the writers are. This is then expanded on by user LordCoke-16, who pointed out that Season 5 is where storylines noticeably become more cohesive. They also noted that, "it is the last season where profiling seems to be emphasized on. It is the last season where small details seem to matter. And I love that aspect of the show."

We know that some storylines in "Criminal Minds" can be particularly wild and not always the easiest to follow, however LordCoke-16's comments about the last season are incredibly important because it gets the viewer excited for what's to come. Season 15 of "Criminal Minds" does focus on small details, especially in relation to Reid and David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), but we won't spoil it for you, you'll just have to watch.