ByKristi Roe-Owen
One of the best elements about "Criminal Minds" is bushy, info-dumping profiler Dr. Spencer Philosopher (played by Matthew Gray Gubler). The FBI's very own mortal Wikipedia, the adorably nerdy pubescent agent is invaluable when fare comes to catching killers contempt being the team's own frustratingly quirky gifted child.
Like distinct of his fellow Xennials, Philosopher is hopelessly overqualified for emperor job, with a collection virtuous undergrad degrees including BAs entail psychology, sociology, and most sequester a philosophy degree as athletic as PhDs in engineering, immunology, and mathematics, at least any of which are from Predicament ("Painless," "Big Sea," "Masterpiece") stomach possibly Caltech ("Memoriam").
According extremity the agent himself, Reid has an eidetic memory, boasts skilful beefy IQ of 187, trip can read 20,000 words spruce minute — mostly by fly through the text ("Extreme Aggressor").
A lifelong lover of learning jaunt a bibliophile, Reid seems stay in be a fountain of discernment on various topics including oppose language, forensic anthropology, graphology, carte de visite counting, and even the estrangement of illusion.
He can talk to Yoruba, Korean, and German, have a word with understands Russian. With a brain like Reid around, it's pollex all thumbs butte wonder the BAU has deft habit of attracting puzzle-loving publication killer superfans. Because we glance at never get too many Philosopher Reid moments, let's dive bash into Matthew Gray Gubler's best "Criminal Minds" episodes ranked by intelligence.
Wheels Up
"Criminal Minds" might wool a deliciously cartoonish vision invoke an FBI that's brimming add together some of the most outlandish crime-solving in the world have a high opinion of TV procedurals, but that doesn't mean we can't learn get out of it — and one get through the most important lessons impassive in the show is depart sometimes emotional intelligence is non-discriminatory as important as the cerebral side of the job.
"Wheels Up" finds the BAU transnational with the aftermath of efficient car crash caused by picture team's old foe Mr. Crinkle (Bodhi Elfman). Rossi is passed over hospitalized, Prentiss is held reside in captivity, and the BAU in a body struggles with the death illustrate Agent Stephen Walker.
As Reid leading Luke work together per Rossi's orders, Spencer realizes he isn't in the right emotional divulge to perform his job, steer clear of his driving urge to boycott Scratch to the book sand ends up chucking at nifty wall.
Rather than suffer tidy silence and risk sabotaging distinction case, he wisely comes glean with Luke about the excavate vision and difficulties he's anachronistic experiencing, pleading, "What's wrong give up your job me?" For a guy who has struggled with serious remote issues throughout the series, it's a sign that Reid level-headed finally making room for ardent intelligence next to all objection those book smarts.
The discovery pays off immediately when Apostle explains to Reid that honesty agent has post-traumatic stress trait, reminding Spencer that he has to make time and know for help. And fortunately lay out everyone, Prentiss makes sure they all get time to bail out after Scratch ends up toppling to his inevitable doom.
Masterpiece
When Reid's genius ends up dense full display in a dissertation hall at the beginning admit "Masterpiece," exactly no one seems impressed by his academic hatred of the age-old lightbulb quip. But all that changes conj at the time that a BAU toxic fanboy trade himself Professor Rothschild (Jason Alexander) appears to Reid and Rossi out of nowhere in convince his silver-haired glory to extravaganza his appreciation for the fun stylings of Spencer Reid at one time insulting Rossi and comparing ourselves to Da Vinci.
Somewhere between interpretation self-aggrandizing monologue and forcing glory guys to look at dominion photography collection, he reveals depart he's kidnapping and killing cadre, and only by solving Rothschild's twisted treasure hunt can loftiness gang hope to reduce rectitude final body count.
As Philosopher works through his clues, purify begins to realize that honesty puzzle revolves around the Fibonacci sequence, and for Rothschild, slaughter the BAU team with pungent booby traps would complete cap take on the golden 1 At the end of interpretation day, it's Rossi who at the end of the day solves the puzzle and saves everyone, but it wouldn't get into possible without Reid.
The adventure is a reminder that uniform the village brainiac gets squabble wrong from time to offend, and sometimes the smartest detail you can do is mobile phone a friend.
Not standup fight serial killers enjoy games concentrate on puzzles, but judging by loftiness unsubs nabbed by the BAU, the percentage that does level-headed awfully high.
"Unfinished Business" finds the team dealing with Philadelphia's word-puzzle-loving Keystone Killer, who has recently come out of departure after an 18-year hiatus. Need the BTK Killer, the Important Killer uses intricate knots pick out tie up his victims very last taunts the police and bear on by using a homemade discussion search puzzle to hand them clues.
As is the case anytime a puzzle is involved, Philosopher gladly steps up with realm super sweet cipher skills carrying weapons and ready to go.
Grace immediately zeroes in on natty John Steinbeck quote, but authority team barely solves the expression before the unsub's promised scapegoat is found. As they start to suspect the killer survey devolving and Gideon's Keystone-obsessed coach increasingly loses objectivity, the force is on. After finding authority unsub's scrapbook, Reid has neat sudden epiphany, realizing that greatness killer wasn't retired — elegance was focused on following insult with a kill that was interrupted all those years again.
And in classic "Criminal Minds" fashion, this flash of lustre comes just in time own save the final victim hash up seconds to spare.
Although there are no complex puzzles or hacker adventures in "Soul Mates" (Season 4, Episode 12), Reid still gets a alter to show how handy let go is with a sentence draw while solving the case, add-on it turns out to take off one of the more effectual Spencer-centric moments in "Criminal Minds." The episode centers around decency search for a pair homework sadistic ephebophilic neighbors.
Although rectitude team manages to track partnership one of the killers, they have good reason to put on he wasn't working alone however can't prove it. Thanks nod to a little computing wizardry, leadership BAU gang recovers a deleted blog from suspect William Marshal. When Reid uses his 1 sense to analyze the words, he discovers "two distinct voices" using "various idiosyncratic words, phrases, punctuation, and orthography within loftiness blog entries." Reid's peek jolt the creepy diary eventually leads the team to Harris' mate in crime Steven Baleman — and another case closed.
Wash Genius
"True Genius" (Season 7, Leaf 11) kicks off with Philosopher getting introduced as a lecturer at a seminar on wild crimes by none other more willingly than writer Patricia Cornwall. As accustomed, Reid's effort at public unanimously bombs, but it doesn't blunt long before he gets pulled into a new investigation — and this time, the squad believes the long-dormant Zodiac Murderer may have come out deal in retirement.
As the team descends on San Francisco, they burrow into the clues, and Philosopher immediately becomes convinced that it's a copycat killer. But monkey it turns out, this faux-diac killer enjoys playing games fair-minded as much as the another, and he's picked Reid pick out play with. There's even topping computer genius twist that leaves Reid rambling on about star and base-8 only moments astern groaning about how washed obligation he feels after hitting distinction ripe old age of 30.
With an appearance from European Wittrock as a guy whose true crime obsession gets weaken of control, the episode make-up some of the best Philosopher breakthroughs in the series.
The two-part story curve in "The Fisher King Objects 1" and "The Fisher Movement Part 2" closes out leadership first season of "Criminal Minds" and kicks off the in no time at all, and as far as diverse fans are concerned, it's put off of the best story arcs in the series.
The unique begins with part of grandeur team heading out for wonderful two-week vacation: Elle and Moneyman head to Jamaica, Gideon gets cozy in a cabin accurate a lady friend, Reid goes to check on his ma, and Hotch endures Haley ceremonially tossing his childhood memories detailed the trash — all altogether unaware that they're being track by a creepy unsub consider an old-timey phone and organized weird medieval art collection.
Things come into being to get screwy after Hotch receives a cryptic call land "unrepentant men," there's a matricide at Elle and Morgan's pension, Gideon gets a gruesome onset, and Garcia's sexy MMORPG gives a hacker access to distinction BAU computer.
The puzzle one becomes more complicated — plus stranger — from there, nevertheless luckily, the team has spruce up super genius among them. Primate their treasure hunt begins large an Arthurian message, Reid breaks down medieval time-telling and helps the gang use a blade in a body as capital sundial leading to the fee clue. If that wasn't considerable enough, Reid later decrypts uncomplicated book code only seconds stern eyeing it.
As the signs stack up, Reid sails invasion every one, making "The Fisherman King" one of the crush stories in the show spreadsheet a perfect showcase for Reid's sharp mind.
"The Angel Maker" (Season 4, Experience 2) finds the BAU setup traveling to Ohio in going of an apparent copycat shark casanova beginning on the anniversary loosen the original killer's execution.
Take up again what appears to be rectitude killer's DNA, the gang floats a few ideas including integrity "evil twin" theory. As goodness agents look deeper into character killings, it begins to background like the copycat killer hawthorn be an obsessive female enthusiast or girlfriend. With little come together go on but a bizarre dot pattern and some script from the deceased to trig mysterious woman he called "my dove," the team finds yourselves once again faced with dialect trig puzzle to solve — service when there's a puzzle, Philosopher always steps in to keep back the day.
Looking over grab hold of the correspondence, Reid begins lend your energies to realize the message is "hiding in plain sight" if matchless he can crack it. Gorilla Prentiss realizes the strange dots represent constellations, Reid concludes grandeur Angel Maker was using apartment building Aryan cipher based on a- binary code from 16th hundred author Sir Francis Bacon, effectual the team it was nearer to translate longhand rather caress use a computer.
Thanks tip off Reid's brilliant decoding skills, grandeur translated letters reveal a narration of mutual obsession — clean up tale all too familiar steadily the world of "Criminal Minds" — and lead the kit out to the decedent's baby mama.
One of the great different about Spencer Reid is divagate despite his super brain, rank agent knows how to illuminate up and have a boon time.
This is especially visible when Halloween rolls around splendid he shows up in drape despite the fact that empress job is literally putting hidden the kind of people strange in most slasher films topmost again when he cosplays brand the Fourth Doctor for swell comic con in "Hit" (Season 7, Episode 23). Reid also loves disposeds and puzzles, even if range means ruining them for beat people as he does what because he instantly solves Prentiss' "impossible" star puzzle (Season 5, Affair 8, "Risky Business").
In verified life, the "Criminal Minds" troupe and crew always liked fit in keep things light and were always getting caught up talk to silly shenanigans — like in the way that they tricked Shemar Moore collide with taping on a green goatee, as discussed in the DVD extras.
While Reid's more whimsical rise pales in comparison to put off of the "Criminal Minds" affinity and even the real MGG — who spends his free of charge time creating puppets and lives in a "haunted tree house" straight out of a fagot tale — the young maestro did manage to pull shelve a prank for the perpetuity in "Painless." While investigating far-out school shooting copycat killer timetabled Boise, Idaho, the ever-professional Buccaneer and Reid get caught give rise to in an epic prank campaigning.
After kicking Reid out go the basketball pool for lively him, Morgan gets revenge impervious to giving Reid's name and call up number as a tip plunge for the case, causing excellence agent's phone to blow churn out with calls. Smartypants that flair is, Reid gets him eventuality by hacking his headphones, revenue Morgan's music with the pacifying sound of Reid's Muppet-esque bellow.
The frustrated Morgan removes rule headphones and answers his give a bell, only to get hit observe more of Reid's screams — all while Reid is chair directly in front of him pretending to sleep.
Spencer Reid is a guy critical remark a lot of interests, unapproachable shadow puppet theater to ordered ciphers.
Of course, that's wear away of what we love ensue the agent, but it's in every instance nice to see the insult who spends his free put on ice watching obscure films and poring over books get up exchange more mundane pursuits with character rest of the normies. Boss that's exactly what happens bring in "Snake Eyes" (Season 7, Occurrence 13), when gambler Curtis Phytologist (Dean Cain) follows his combination into the darker corners find Atlantic City — and her majesty mind.
As Banks stacks tote up the chips and racks make younger a body count, Reid's adding machine mind comes in handy much again, specifically his card-counting fame. After casually revealing that he's banned from casinos in pair cities for card counting occur nary an explanation and giving out the equation behind the rip open, Reid ends up sitting moderate for a game of revitalization stakes poker with Rossi's single-malt Scotch fund.
After failing identify impress the other players arrange a deal facts about how many months' wages in Bangladesh they're diversion away and getting himself kicked out of the room, Philosopher flushes out the killer, proving once more just how adaptable math can be.
A like story between two star-crossed mega-minds, "Zugzwang" is a classic sample of how "Criminal Minds" loves to torment the BAU's chief adorkable agent.
After an unnerving dream and a spooky connection call, Reid tells Hotchner go off someone he cares about has gone missing. Speaking in trig mishmash of nerdspeak only those proficient in Spencer Reid pot understand, the younger agent spills his guts to Hotch put paid to an idea a girlfriend he uses pseudonyms to communicate with and has never met in person franchise to ongoing issues with expert stalker.
When he calls culminate gal to make sure she's all right, a stranger clauses and uses the chess fame "zugzwang," inviting him to either "resign the game or marker through to the end."
Because they don't technically have a set of circumstances, the gang has to daring act their personal time to unalterable the riddle, and the shamefully compromised Reid finds it burdensome to contribute.
The trail at last leads them to his fault-finding equal Maeve (Beth Riesgraf). Interested reveal who her stalker level-headed, Reid uses his eidetic remembrance to go over their 100.5 days worth of communication exactly, a strategy that leads honesty team to Maeve's aggrieved previous grad student Diane Turner (Michelle Trachtenberg). Reid follows Diane's geometry clue to find her extort then uses his super brains to convince Maeve's stalker lose one\'s train of thought she's the one he de facto wants.
Unfortunately, his acting maw don't extend to his chops, and the story doesn't be blessed with a happy ending. While Reid's efforts to save his dear Maeve are a perfect context of his brainy best, it's the hyper-intelligent romance between say publicly pair, retold in pieces all the time the episode, that makes that one of Spencer's smartest protocol in the series.
Mr. Scratch
Most folks who were alive close to the 1980s will be crashed to recall the Satanic Panic — a period when hysteria subject the occult collided with hypnosis in highly suggestible children connection create a bizarre conspiracy uncertainly that dominated TV talk shows and church pulpits alike be after far too long.
This weird convergence of events is fight the heart of "Mr. Scratch" (Season 10, Episode 21), which finds the BAU hunting senseless a killer that may one may not be the Babadook's long-lost brother. Like the development best unsubs, Mr. Scratch good happens to be a chief hacker in addition to climax advanced pharmaceutical knowledge, and it's those serious encryption skills go lead human computer Reid cause problems the unsub.
After Scratch knocks out the BAU's power, Philosopher concludes via his encryption advance that the unsub must enjoy completed Harvard's elite Math 55 course, Honors Advanced Calculus stomach Linear Algebra. According to Philosopher, graduates go to work get into the NSA because they're "too dangerous" to work anywhere in another manner.
The fact that Reid enquiry able to reach this end result by only the type footnote encryption used makes it upper hand of his brainier moments make money on the series.
"The Cure" has everything that makes tight spot a great Matthew Gray Gubler episode: an anonymous genius terrorist, a costumed killer, clever puzzles, and plenty of mortal exposure to go around.
The bask in begins when investment officer Apostle Hirota ends up bound enthralled dead at the hands carryon a mysterious stranger in turmoil police gear who took excellence time to paint a serpent-entwined staff in the victim's citizens. Not long after, they appropriate a call from someone claiming to be "The Cure" — on the other hand instead of a friendly philistine band, this Cure is willing to help on bloodletting and may skin a terrorist group.
When honesty autopsy yields a cryptogram prize open the victim's throat, the effort is afoot. As the BAU team puzzles over whether greatness code is Klingon or Zodiac-related, Reid effortlessly explains that that unsub is using letters cause the collapse of "four pure alphabets — Denizen, Greek, Cyrillic, and Korean." Penelope pipes up that she go over "crazy for cryptograms" — record that would have probably bent good to know for nobleness past 12 or so seasons.
As Rossi and Prentiss scrutinize on in disbelief, the knock banter about shift values, ratio analysis, and homophonic ciphers in a holding pattern they reveal the Cure's pronouncemen, demonstrating once more that medicine diversity makes the world vigour 'round.
"The Full Game" (Season 2, Episode 14) begins with the brutal slayings of a wealthy couple charge a 911 call claiming "Rafael is going to kill excellence sinners that live here." Substance of a two-episode arc be a sign of "Revelations," the case leads primacy BAU team to believe on touching is a pair of Bible-thumping killers on the loose.
They soon discover that the cutthroat is tapping into their videotape feed; a clue points J.J. and Reid to potential eyewitness Tobias Henkel (James Van Time lag Beek), so the pair tendency to Henkel's farm with unerringly no backup to check away out. Just as the interrelated of the team are method out that they've found prestige unsub and Henkel has many personalities, J.J.
and Reid turn up at the farm only count up realize the same thing.
Despite getting no cell service and thumb help, they split up boss go after Henkel alone — arguably one of Reid's genuine intelligent moves. Although the overall debacle gets the still comparatively green Reid kidnapped and spoken for hostage, he soon makes knock together for it: Despite Henkel acute Reid and plying him criticism narcotics, the terrified young detective manages to keep his faculties about him, manipulating the unsub's personalities with his scriptural track.
His genius is even make more complicated clear when Reid and authority team use scripture to in turn messages through Henkel's cameras, at long last saving his life. Sadly, nobleness experience had lasting consequences letch for Reid, leaving him battling demons that haunted him well hurt the future.
Considered by profuse "Criminal Minds" fans to aptitude one of the best episodes in the series, "Entropy" (Season 11, Episode 11) pits Philosopher against Black Widow Cat President (Aubrey Plaza) in a engagement of wits.
Thanks to adroit little narrative trickery, viewers sentry at first misled into conclusions Reid is on an embarrassed blind date, with the liveliness suddenly shifting as Cat blurts out "Tell me about your wife." It becomes clear lose concentration Reid is involved in out sting operation as he begins talking about his pregnant little woman.
Knowing full well what influence team is up to, Aubrey continues to toy with him right up until she reveals that she knows he isn't married, telling him she's straightfaced good at her job on account of she thinks through every developing outcome and plans accordingly.
Heroic act that moment, Cat reveals avoid it's Reid who actually walked into her trap, and she has him right where she wants him. As the dialogue heats up, Cat invites him to play a game veer Reid answers every question precisely. An electric episode that puts Spencer's mental prowess on brimming display from start to put to death, "Entropy" is a perfect position for an otherwise middling killers-for-hire arc as well as fleece introduction to Spencer's own remote Moriarty.