Top 10 Criminal Minds Unsubs with the Most Tragic Backstories

[@MsMojo]

Which unsub did YOU sympathize with the most? Let us know below, and check out our video of the Top 10 Most Shocking Criminal Minds Reveals - kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKixl2CtrNWdf6s

[@mousemd]

Unsub?

[@susanrobinson910]

@@mousemd Unknown Subject

[@danielmuldoon1120]

Owen from “Elephant’s Memory.” Perhaps Morgan’s character says it best: “You know, we forget half of what they teach us in school, but when it comes to the torment and the people who inflicted it, we've all got an elephant's memory.“ Good Lord, how true.

[@Plushiechic]

Johnny, the graphic artist and Charles in 'Strange Fruit'. Both terribly scarred

[@gb1reinwald]

Samantha Malcolm is probably my no. 1, too. Johnny McHale and Tobias Hankel are also high up on the list. Owen from "Elephant's Memory" and Adam from "Conflicted" were missing, I'd love to have them seen on the list. I also considered the mentally 5-year-old of the two-part episode with the paralyzed brother a very tragic unsub (not his sadistic brother, though).

[@annebodee]

Johnny McHale was the worst one for me. So happy one minute, then this gang attacks him and his pregnant girlfriend. The way they told him "you're going to enjoy this" as they forced him to watch as they gang-raped and then killed her. It was heart-breaking and chilling. If I recall he only killed the guys who actually killed his girlfriend. So its difficult not to empathize. Who wouldn't want to do the same?

[@ChaoticNalilitoMC]

Gods that episode, she JUST revealed she was pregnant so he proposes to her. Saying, " I swear I'll get a proper ring and everything" and then ALL THAT. Plus him listening to hee voice-mail just to hear her voice is heartbreaking

[@annearly3200]

Me too this was the only episode I didn't care about people being killed

[@KingdomofEvania100]

I think what he was doing is actually noble. He is trying to avenge Vicky’s death.

[@pomegranteappleson1628]

It was a crazy episode

[@Danielle0785]

He breaks me every time I watch it. When he says they made him watch......that hurts so much.

[@Real_Moon-Moon]

The one I sympathized with was the one who kidnapped surrogates for dolls she lost. Her childhood was gut wrenching.

[@haileyann001]

Yeah but omg that was a terrifying episode

[@Real_Moon-Moon]

@@haileyann001 Yeah.

[@kaylapounds1359]

Imo, also the character played by Frankie Muniz, that Johnny guy. He was traumatized by seeing the murder of his pregnant fiance, so he lost his lover and their unborn child. He wasn't trying to kill random people or even those he wrongly blamed for something, but rather the gangsters that murdered her and nearly killed him. And then he didn't even realize he was doing it or that she was gone. And then in the end he was so broken he just kept calling her phone to hear her voice on her voice mail.

[@nikoaugustine5415]

@@kaylapounds1359dude the ending of that ep made me cry

[@kaylapounds1359]

@@nikoaugustine5415 That was terrible. To me the saddest episode of Criminal Minds that I have seen and can remember was the one where the girl was being SA'd by her uncle and her aunt knew and staged her kidnapping at that mall, and the cousin knew his mom was involved in the kidnapping but he was trying to block it out. I felt bad for both the little girl and the cousin.

[@rockandtoon2112]

The worst part about the William Taylor episode is that the last scene is a mom and her kid pulling off the road to get some sleep, and then a man with a skull tattoo walks up to the car, implying the man was real and was still active at the time of the case.

[@nerdy_1439]

i remember watching that and man did it struck my mind when i watched that scene as he is one the few that are still active

[@imprisonedwings4764]

@@nerdy_1439 I both like and dislike that episode - I like it because there’s always going to be serial killers who aren’t known or found; hate it because of the same reason 😭

[@ThayneGill]

I haven’t seen the episode yet, but something tells me it would’ve been a lot better if it was a two-parter instead, if anybody disagrees with me that’s fine just saying what I think, that way they could get Taylor and The freak who kidnap his kid.

[@KrystalHeart000]

"Awake" and "Hayden Waters" broke me the first time I watched them. They were both ordinary people until they both lost their children, causing them to lose it as the trauma was too much for them, especially "Awake". I will never listen to "Don't Take My Sunshine Away" the same way again. 😭😭😭

[@PhatBoyFresh]

The mother that lied about killing her son and sent him away to a happy family while she rotted in prison hit me the hardest. I also felt especially bad for the boy with psychotic urges who tried to off himself to prevent himself from hurting others.

[@daniellanduati915]

I definitely agree. These 2 were so sad to watch. Definitely one of my favs.

[@fairlyknute]

The one that always sticks in my mind is the episode Normal, where Norman's daughter has hit by a car in front of him and believes his wife blames him for it. Every reveal in that episode is another gut punch.

[@sammywilliam8156]

It was his fault he let it happen

[@gred_and_forge]

Wait, i think I know that episode. Doesn't Norman refer to himself as the 'Road Warrior' and starts sh00ting at people while driving, then at the end he's being pursued by the police and when the car flips over, he gets out and is calling for them to help get his family out only for it to be revealed he had already killed his family and he was imagining they were in the car with him.

[@olivegreenpants7153]

​@@sammywilliam8156it was that attitude that sent him over the edge

[@eldudereno204]

I wasn’t a big fan of the episode. Because I don’t think, they ever found whoever took his daughter.

[@ninagreenhalgh9894]

​@@eldudereno204she was hit by a car ....

[@myloriv]

Why was Jonny McHale not number 1??? The most tragic part isn't just that he can't remember his fiancée's murder, it's that he can't remember killing people at all.

[@debjoy12]

plus he was the one that kept listening to her last voicemail over and over again in his cell, right? or am I remembering something else? geez it's been almost 20 years and some details still are imprinted in my brain.

[@myloriv]

@@debjoy12 yup! The entire episode, he would call her and listen to her voicemail, because he couldn't remember her death and thought she broke up with him. It's truly a devastating episode.

[@rubygracemoseley8144]

Ugh! That one was so heartbreaking!

[@Nevermore10313]

Exactly it was so tragic

[@RocketRoketto]

And he replays her voicemail calling her thinking she's ignoring him becauae he doesn't realize she's dead

[@avrilpeters]

There is a couple I can remember like the episode with Jackson Rathbone where his father abused him as a child and his mind created Amanda to protect him, and also the episode with the man whose father was a child killer and he made him help him dispose of the bodies.

[@AlondraMartinezP]

Season 4, Conflicted - Adam should have been N°1

[@susanrobinson910]

This is a fabulous list, Rebecca! And I agree with them all. I would have added Luke Dolan to this though. He was the guy who had Capgras Syndrome, which made him believe that everyone around him had been replaced by an imposter, leading to him murdering his own parents because he thought they had been replaced. It was so sad, because there is no effective treatment for this… Always love your Criminal Minds lists 😊❤

[@racheljackson4428]

wow. i have never heard of Capgras Syndrome.

[@susanrobinson910]

@@racheljackson4428 Yeah, it was particularly heartbreaking because he was incredibly close with his mom and dad, but he tortured them for information (that they obviously didn’t have), and repeatedly shot them. He was a former Navy Seal who ended up getting Capgras due to a minor car accident (he bumped his head on the steering wheel), and that minor event caused a sort-of brain re-wiring. He could hear someone’s voice, which he registered as normal, but upon seeing them, he thought they had been replaced. Because of his military background, he was INCREDIBLY skilled at going unnoticed, and he wanted to get to his ex-wife and daughter to ensure their safety. However, if he actually SAW them, he would have killed them, too. He thought he was being tricked or punished for a prior mission. The only option was to tie a scarf around his eyes and handcuff him to bring him in safely, but at the last moment…well, I won’t spoil it for you 😊 The name of the episode is Dorado Falls. If you are a fan, or even have seen some episodes before, I highly recommend it. Cheers!

[@karenmacinnis2821]

I agree with you. Another person who should have been on this list is the guy who was living in the sewers with PTSD

[@Danielle0785]

That one really upset me.

[@SakicFan]

Oh my god, That episode is the most disturbing one imo because the scene where Luke murders his OWN parents was SO hard to watch.

[@MsPandachen]

The Frankie Muniz episode is burned into my brain. The image of him sitting there and listening to the voicemail message 💔

[@bellaknightR597]

Ikr

[@nickelliott2606]

I just commented about that episode as well. It's not your typical criminal minds. Episode but it's fucking amazing. Gives me sin city vibes

[@josefk7437]

Bryan Adams, from the episode "Painless" belonged on this list. Ten years earlier, he was the hero who stopped a school shooter, but he was in the hospital while another kid stole the credit and he was forgotten, not even allowed to bond with the other survivors. He lost his ability to feel pain.

[@brennathecatlover4360]

I don’t think he stopped the shooter since he blew up the cafeteria but he was able to look him in the eye or something like that

[@Catherine.Dorian.]

@@brennathecatlover4360Yeah he was the only one who looked

[@ThayneGill]

I remember that episode, but i thought Bryan was in on the shooting, wasn’t he?

[@Catherine.Dorian.]

@@ThayneGill No it was another kid that was in on it but he was out smoking (not sure of the names but the kid they’re mentioning was a victim)

[@brennathecatlover4360]

@@Catherine.Dorian. is that what the guy wanted for people to look them in the eye and if not he’d shoot them is that why that guy survived?

[@michaelwilliams2754]

Another honorable mention that could’ve been on here was the guy in season 2 that was in the sewers and he was dealing with ptsd from the previous war

[@jvanegas9]

OMG, yessss, that episode was so sad

[@paularoysko7861]

That episode is criminally underrated, nobody talks about it and it always kills me when I watch it.

[@karenmacinnis2821]

I agree!! If anyones story was sad, it was his.

[@daniellemeikle2050]

YESSSSSSSS. i just commented about it

[@adriagiovanna2856]

Yes!!! The guy who thinks he is still in the war, right?

[@Stalaxian]

I love how criminal minds can make us feel for the unsubs

[@froggergypsy4596]

None of us knows what could push us over the edge, all our minds have limits some cant handle as much as others, it shows the human side

[@Lavenrius]

Exactly! Some are so sick and twisted and demented that you hate them. But then there are some where they’re just broken and damaged and you can’t help but feel sorry for them because they’re so broken

[@DorvellTStewart]

Same. Above all, that was what I loved about this show; instead of investigating how a crime happened, they investigated "why".

[@ThayneGill]

I don’t think any other crime show has done that.

[@Aemilius46]

It's a example of how even monsters are human!! You never know what they went through!! 💔

[@kevaunmitchell1316]

Rest in peace to antoin yelchin (1989-2016) 😢

[@RocketRoketto]

#10 was heartbreaking cause he was devastated! And also because I hoped they'd eventually find the skull tattoo guy later on in the series and they never did. That baby deserved justice!!

[@emmamacinnes5480]

I can’t believe that Owen Savage wasn’t on this list I mean he lost his mother, his father blamed him for getting him discharged, he was bullied by everyone in town, constantly called a freak and no one bothered to help him

[@ladygiseler2187]

Ikr, I was sure he was going to be on this list

[@janeentumbao8690]

Was that the one in Indiana where he set the movie theater on fire and later ended up in the gym with his sister?

[@ladygiseler2187]

@janeentumbao8690 no, that's a different episode but it should have been on this list too

[@tamakunminnip2117]

Elephant's Memory

[@Aemilius46]

Tommy Wheeler was another heartbreaking story! Lost his parents in a house fire as a child, and bullied by everyone in town.

[@kaylapounds1359]

Others that could be included in a part 2: 1. Roy Woodridge. A former soldier with ptsd who goes on a killing spree while hearing a noise from construction that makes him believe he's back in the war. 2. Steven Fitzgerald. He was also repressing his sexuality because of his father. He would start to imitate his victims because he wanted to become somebody else as he saw himself as dirty and disgusting. 3. Adam Jackson. Abused by his stepfather, he developed a split personality that wanted to protect him and started out attacking guys like the stepfather. In the end the alternate forces him out and takes over. 4. Owen Savage. A teenager that had been abused by his dad after his mother's death, and who was bullied and harassed in school. He mostly targeted his bullies. 5. Norman Hill. A seemingly normal middle age man, srinagar emasculated by a dominating wife. He snapped after witnessing the accidental death of his youngest daughter. He killed the rest of his family at some point and road rage injured and killed others before he was caught. And similar to the graphic artist he was under the belief his family were still alive and forced on the run with him in the car. 6. The Fisher King. He really did what he did because of his daughter being taken from him and then he believed she was dead and was trying to rescue a girl that looked like her. 7. Dr. Ted Bryar. Suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and had an attack while on a train that Elle was on. He thought (courtesy of a delusion named Leo that was giving him the idea) that he was being tracked and spied on by the government with an implant in his arm, to the point that Reid had to fake taking a microchip out of him.

[@Aemilius46]

Steven Fitzgerald literally made me cry! Sarah Danlin as well!

[@gb1reinwald]

I was missing Adam from the 4th season, who works in a hotel and kills people by luring them with his alternate female personality into a hotel room.

[@asha_vere]

How is that good to sympathize with?

[@gb1reinwald]

@@asha_vere It's titled "most tragic backstories". Even Garcia says in the episode that his childhood read like a how to make an unsub manual.

[@clairelucy5667]

Absolutely. I always think of this one

[@kiwikiwi5671]

I was honestly expecting it to be number 1 or 2

[@FredXWeasleyXForever]

Not only that but he is locked away in his mind while Amanda takes control.

[@keithjohnson6051]

I also felt for Darrin Call in the episode Haunted. I dont think he was intent on killing anyone he was just traumatized and became delusional by the things his father made him do as a child.

[@Margann1987]

That episode's opening makes me sick to my stomach.

[@lieselotmauroo9808]

That story was way more tragic than some of those on this list

[@amandaclbn8324]

Yess, that’s his name! I just wrote about it in another comment Such a tragic story, him ending up murdering people was completely not his fault

[@emeraldsangel1979]

I would like to Add Roy Woodridge An army vet that took a wrong turn into a construction zone and it triggered his PTSD He died thinking he was protecting a child from the enemy That still makes me cry

[@kathybest741]

All of these are great choices--I think they need to do a part 2, including their Honorable Mentions plus others--Norman (Normal), Lucas Turner (To Hell ... and Back), Billy Flynn (the Tim Curry character), etc.

[@lynnevetter]

Looks like they need to do a part 2!

[@kaylapounds1359]

I don't think Billy Flynn had enough of a terrible past to redeem him. Especially considering he stalked the children of his victims just to kill them and steal his daughter, taking credit for him being a cop.

[@Danielle0785]

Lucas Turner was heartbreaking! His evil brother deserved his fate.

[@amandaclbn8324]

I forgot his name but the boy who’s father was a serial killer that made him participate in the abductions, had selective mutism and helped a kidnapped older kid get away. Everything that led up to his spree was completely out of his control/not his fault. He went into the system where he was further abused (if I remember correctly) developed a psychotic condition, seeked help and therapy even as an adult but because of a “misguided” doctor’s recommendation to go off the meds to help him remember who he is, he hallucinated and killed anyone who he thought was a threat. The fact that his first words were “run Tommy, go” made me well up 🥺

[@kaylapounds1359]

@@amandaclbn8324 I think I know who you mean. I can't remember the characters name either, but wasn't the father not supposed to be around kids and at the end they found the father living across the street from a school? That may be a different episode, but I feel like it is the same.

[@ljbimoore]

Nathan Harris (the kid who wanted help to stop from becoming a killer) should have been more than an honorable mention. Anton Yelchin killed that performance. Him begging for Reid to let him die always rips my heart out. 😭 Never thought I'd cry so much over a likely soon-to-be serial killer.

[@Aemilius46]

Nathan Harris, Sarah Danlin, and Steven Fitzgerald literally made me cry! 😭😭

[@kittylover62]

Lucas Turner doesn't even get an honorable mention?! His brother Mason was a douchebag but Lucas was a child in an adult body who didn't know any better. He didn't even realize that what he was doing to those prostitutes was wrong; he just did whatever his brother told him to do. It broke my heart that the Canadian police gunned him down and you can see Morgan trying to stop them.

[@oldladyfishing]

I was wondering that too. He was the only unsub I really felt sorry for

[@brennathecatlover4360]

How did he not realize killing is wrong like people above 10 or even younger know better

[@susanmolnar9606]

Was that the pig farm episode?

[@kittylover62]

@@brennathecatlover4360 According to Reid, he had the mentality of a 7-year-old

[@tracim3080]

He killed people and fed their bodies to pig’s because his brother told him too. I think your being way to sympathetic to him and giving his mental disability to much credit.

[@vanceashton8976]

Number 5 broke my heart, as a gay man, who knows and works with survivors of conversion therapy. It hurts to know it’s still happening today

[@Aemilius46]

Steven Fitzgerald was another heartbreaking story!

[@starckie]

90% sure that the unsub from entry 3 was one of the male leads in the 1985 twilight zone episode Paladin of the Lost Hour, and he is absolutely incredible in that. What a talented actor.

[@PrettyEyesz]

The one I cried about was the one about the lady who was on death row, because she was found guilty of the murders of 12 teenaged girls and also the death of her toddler son, but she didn't do any of the murders, and her son was still alive because she managed to get him away safely. it was the guy who she was dating at the time who was the actual serial murderer and also on death row too. The BAU found out she was innocent and even tried to talk her in to being released from prison and reuniting with her now teenaged son. But she chose to die instead and refused to see her son because she didn't want to uproot his life and hurt him. I think the episode is either in season 2 or 3.

[@tebogosophie6952]

That was beautiful and I was happy when are the end they didn't tell the son❤ that's a mother right there

[@PrettyEyesz]

@tebogosophie6952 yeah I cried too, it was a really sad episode.

[@hunterhurlbut258]

One unsub who I felt a great deal of compassion and sympathy for was Lucas Turner. Even though Lucas didn't necessarily have a tragic backstory and did in fact kill 89 people, he had autism so severe that he didn't even realize that he was killing people and was only doing what his psychopathic quadriplegic brother Mason told him to do, so it's impossible not to feel bad for the poor guy.

[@debbiebogart5742]

Exactly and it’s so sad because he was honestly a really well done CM version of the One character from “Of Mice and Men” where the poor guy was mentally a child but was abnormally strong but didn’t realize it

[@amandaclbn8324]

I think his backstory actually is tragic. Didn’t have a mom (or died young I don’t remember) The way they described their father sounds like he used to bully him for his mental condition, presumably he was bullied by his community (based on his reaction to Kelly calling him a freak I think this must’ve been something he was called a lot by everyone), his only “friend” was his psycho of a brother. He was always going to be an outcast due to his disability and size but if he’d grown up in a different loving family he never would’ve ended up being a serial killer.

[@amandaclbn8324]

Compare that to the unsub in the case that haunted Rossi (that used to send gifts to the survivors every year to apologise) Who was also mentally challenged and abnormally big who actually did kill a family. He had a chance, his parents just chose to cover it up for him Lucas never had one

[@Zyryne1]

Watching Hotch beat the shit out of the guy that killed his wife and threatened his son is pretty amazing. And then when Derek gets there, he just holds him back no problem. 😊❤

[@julesk2629]

Chase Whitaker has always been one of the most sympathetic for me. He went through cancer as a child and then as a teen he was abused so badly by his father that he temporarily died.

[@alexrowan6174]

First note: the kid isn’t the ACTUAL killer in “Sex, Birth, Death”. Yes, he has those urges, but a politician is killing those women to try to bring attention to the fact that prostitutes are still in that city even though other politicians are saying the city is crime-free. Second note: Another one that comes to mind that there is no footage for (because it’s a book) is “Finishing School”: a woman kidnaps girls, and kills them when they reach their period because she was abused by her father as soon as she reached hers.

[@averagencdenjoyer2224]

the saddest one for me was the ranger who thought he was still in somalia, just because his story ended at the business end of a swat guy's sniper rifle

[@kathrynhill5796]

Here’s an honorable mention: Norman Hill aka The Road Warrior in the Season 4 episode, Normal. He suffers a traumatic event that resulted a horrific death of his youngest daughter, Jenny in an accident. But then, as months went by, he felt unwanted and disrespected by his two other daughters as well as emasculated by his wife. His world began to fall apart and he became deluded, believing that everyone around him is secretly blaming him for causing his daughter’s death. As a result, he became The Road Warrior and started killing people who triggers his rage.

[@rubygracemoseley8144]

Tobias Henkel’s episode made me cry! It was so disturbing and heartbreaking…Knowing that such a cruel parent could turn a guy who seemed really sweet and caring into this messed up awful person….Ugh! I’ve seen that episode probably twice but I cried both times I saw it

[@JessicaCaldwell-ib2sm]

Be becomes even more sympathetic when Reid says to Morgan "the real Tobias hankle saved my life, brought me back from the dead" in a later episode

[@kayliblakeman]

How is Kaman Scott not on this list!? A former criminal who turned his life around but was disfigured by a car accident, put into a coma for months, evicted from his apartment and had a son that he didn’t know about while in said coma. That doesn’t even get a mention?

[@lieselotmauroo9808]

They chose lesser tragic background stories that would earn them woke brownie points

[@Chortzy]

@@lieselotmauroo9808 I...huh??

[@JenThePirate]

The unsub that turns her victims into dolls. 😢 she is heartbreaking

[@JenThePirate]

Oh I was right

[@marymoran1015]

I can hardly watch that episode because Arthur Malcom was portrayed by Jonathan Frakes and he’s one of my favorite actors

[@chloeeng6811]

I feel for Sheila Harris her sister Lauren was drunk and raped

[@dawnpowers7626]

@@marymoran1015 That's what makes it even more creepy (if there is such a possibility). That he can act THAT well.

[@karolinabrosche]

You forgot Norman Hill in the episode "Normal" (S02E11). He tragically lost his daughter in a car accident and went on a spree kill because of it.

[@jerricablackcat4303]

Did Johnny McHale's story remind anyone else of The Crow?

[@matthewescudero4287]

For me, yeah.

[@matty7034]

That star trek joke in #1 lands even better since that dad is Jonathan Frakes from Star Trek the Next generation

[@sdpuleng]

I was hunting for this comment!

[@daniellemeikle2050]

y’all forgot the War veteran who was suffering from PTSD. that episode was sad and every last one of the agents felt bad for him. SWAT team shot him smh.

[@matthewvorwald7169]

Just watching this makes you wonder what would have happen to these characters in an alternate timeline where they didn't have these things happen to them and become unsubs. Like, would they have normal lives and jobs and never become what they are on the show? Imagine if they did an episode where one of the team members was in a coma and while in that coma, sees what theses unsubs lives would be like if they didn't become unsubs.

[@tracim3080]

It’s definitely gives a don’t be a bully lesson better then any other show.

[@TheLadySilverMoon]

I remember the unsub from "Elephant's memory" played by Cody Kasch. He was being bullied and humiliated both in school and by his father, and even though everybody in town knew about it, they all decided it wasn't their problem, leading to Reid empathizing with him.

[@snowminty2382]

I didn’t exactly have a similar type of abuse that Desi had but I related to her too much having a younger sister that was the same age as her, I know she’s favoured more that me she gets babied I had to grow up at such a young age I was abused by others and made to believe it was my fault by my own mother calling me selfish for not thinking of my sister when she never got hurt

[@Aemilius46]

I know what you mean! I suffered lot's of abuse and bullying growing up, so I really feel for unsubs like Desi, Sarah Danlin, Frank Breitkopf, and Tommy Yates!

[@earlleeruhf3130]

The first one I thought of was number 1. There is an episode involving a hit man for the mob that is actually a sadistic sereal killer. After he is caught he tells Hutch about his abusive father and Hutch reveals that the man could have gone in a different direction and try to help people instead of hurting them. The implication was that the Agent also suffered from an abusive home life and thats why he choose police work.

[@rubygracemoseley8144]

Oh my gosh! Johnny McHale! That episode made me cry! I haven’t watched Criminal Minds on a long time but I do remember that episode because it was so heartbreaking

[@MissAlii432]

This show really portrayed real life stories well. People in need won’t be helped, will continue to be victimized and when they loose their mind and seek revenge, the state will stop them and protect their abusers

[@rubygracemoseley8144]

Man….Shelley Chamberlain…I had tears streaming down my face when she died in that episode. It’s so incredibly tragic and heartbreaking

[@elliegrace5853]

Which episode was that?

[@rubygracemoseley8144]

@@elliegrace5853 I think it was season 6 episode 20

[@elliegrace5853]

@@rubygracemoseley8144 ohhhh Hanley waters I forgot what the characters name was 😂

[@Danielle0785]

Honestly I didn't like that episode and she kind of made me mad the way she treated her ex husband. She definitely needed serious help but there were way more people I sympathized with on the show over her.

[@elliegrace5853]

She died in that episode?

[@emilove7943]

The center who suffered from ptsd and was killing people thinking they were the opposition. That broke me. He died in front of his kid and wife.

[@peter_pansexual6243]

Monsters aren't always born. They are created.

[@LuckyHyde]

How about the guy who set fires in his home town? Yeah he was in love with his sister but he was a kid in need of help and the adults beat the shit out of him and basically exiled him. Or the guy who was killing people from high school who’s bullying lead to his only friend’s suicide. The teachers knew and didn’t do a damn thing about it. Or the guy who made people into dolls so he can try to save his father during a robbery? How about a list 2?

[@alqn1415]

Ep?

[@Aemilius46]

​@@alqn1415House On Fire, Season 4! Tommy Wheeler was his name.

[@okamireader5]

We blame monsters for creating tragedies. But it's tragedies that create monsters

[@cassandraspoelhof3752]

#7- OMG YES!😭 I actually commented about that entire episode in the video for your “Top 20 saddest Criminal Minds episodes” and the comment has SO MANY UPVOTES! I’m very surprised that episode didn’t make that list because DAMN IT’S SO DEVASTATING! If there’s ever another video tackling sad episodes that should definitely be in the top 5. Personally I think the saddest Criminal Minds is “Derek” but there’s a biased reasoning for that. Morgan was my favorite character and seeing him be tortured the way he was and getting to know how rough of a life he had, it’s just too much for me. I knew about him being molested by a camp counselor at age 15, but in the episode “Derek” I also learned that when Morgan was 10 he saw his dad get shot and killed by a person he was trying to arrest. After Derek left the show I did continue to watch until I think mid season 14. The show was never really the same to me after he left though.

[@cassandraspoelhof3752]

Okay #7-#5 all get me right in the feels.😭 #5 especially as that is actually my favorite episode of the series and my introduction to one of my favorite songs in the world “Madness” by Muse. GOD I LOVE THAT SONG! Also I feel so old when watching this video and getting sentimental about the episodes. I’m turning 27 on Sunday.

[@ThayneGill]

Billy Flynn had a tragic past imo. His mother was a drug addict and stripper who would shove billy in her closet while he watched her customers do their things with her. He finally snapped at age 13 and killed his mother and forced the biker to beg for his life. After that he was sent to Juvie and released in the 70s thus began his criminal career.

[@Aemilius46]

Same here!! Not to mention she even let the Men abuse him for money! No wonder he snapped!

[@kristinfuller92]

Darrin Call from the epsiode Haunted. He was off his meds and reliving the trauma from his childhood and couldnt discern reality

[@Aemilius46]

Heartbreaking!! 💔 I know how he felt, because I also suffered trauma. Reliving incidents from your youth can be so painful it can really damage you badly!

[@qrrel850]

How was the guy that JJ talks to in the beginning NOT even mentioned?? That guy’s childhood was horrific and it was a big moment in the show.

[@lucyfader726]

My Favorite was The Big Wheel And the one with Jackson Rathbone in it where he does a great job playing Amanda,

[@Kessaralee]

Finneeee! I’ll watch criminal minds again

[@clairelucy5667]

Adam at the hotel with disassiative identy disorder. I love the relationship between him and reid

[@7amart177]

Top 10 underrated criminal minds episodes

[@mikeyplewy]

Kaman Scott from “Devils night” is another really sad one

[@chloeeng6811]

I love that episode but the number one best episode is the fight

[@cathytrottier8944]

I remember most of the seasons but the one with Tobias stands out, he kidnapped Spence. And the one with the kid from ' hearts in Atlantis ' broke my heart

[@angge_0509]

Samantha was memorable. I feel so bad for her. I also remember the guy who kept his mother's skeleton. The veteran with PTSD who was about to get arrested and get help but end up getting shot because his daughter screamed for him. The guy who in the end gave a performance for audience made of puppets.

[@HeyItsGeegee]

My heart still cries out for poor Adam Jackson. He was habitually and brutally abused in every possible way by his stepfather to the point where he disassociated to cope and developed an alternate personality just to make it. Then the alternate personality begins attacking and killing men that remind them of their abusive past as a way to symbolically gain some semblance of justice without Adam realising he was the killer. And after all that, the alternate knows the only way to ‘keep him safe’ is to take control permanently so she can take the punishment yet again, leaving Adam lost to himself. So sad 😢

[@Aemilius46]

It was truly heartbreaking! 😢💔

[@CeceliaThunderstrudel-nk4hj]

Charles Johnson has to be the worst episode for me. As a black woman it’s very hard to watch.

[@evanbyrne6822]

Broke my heart

[@ladylight9375]

What about the set of brothers that kidnapped variants? I always felt bad for the one who could still walk because he had cognitive problems and was just following the directions his "smarter" brother gave him in regards to stem cell therapy reversing paralysis

[@ianlaidlaw9983]

12:24 The late Anton Yelchin?

[@bethp5027]

Yes

[@thewackyrandomkid]

:(

[@ardenalexa94]

I felt bad for his character. He didn’t want to be how he was and tried to get help and hated himself because he hated his sickness. Reid did such a good job with him. That one was one of the sadest for me.

[@sammywilliam8156]

I asked a teacher at school one time they used to be a police officer if it made me a bad person for feeling bad about the criminals in the real world He said no he was there's nothing wrong with having compassion for people you can have compassion and empathy for somebody and absolutely hate what they did

[@ljmaxwell175]

Darrin Call not being on this list is crazy. Dude was a serial killers son.

[@kadycushing6105]

PLEASE MAKE A PART TWO THIS WAS SO GOOD

[@chloeeng6811]

Yes

[@chrisgomez1840]

Johnny Mchale reminds me of de case of a guy named Randy Herman Jr who killed his best friend while sleep walking but he doesnt remember doing it

[@Marylsa]

Darren Cal should be on the list to, episode Haunted.

[@amandabeaty1492]

I did like this show but after a while it always seemed like the unsubs were suffering from some mental illness. Although it does happen, I thought it was misrepresenting people with mental health issues. The vast majority of people with mental health issues are likely to be the victims of crimes. And while I know it's just a show, people can watch an episode of a killer who has schizophrenia and assume that all people with schizophrenia are violent, the majority are not.

[@Trix897]

I forgot that Jonathan Frakes was on this show…and to play someone as sinister as Dr. Arthur Malcolm? Damn….

[@HartKent]

The one with the dolls - Samantha - hit me. And the one with the guy that was badly burned and hid because of his scars. His partner left him and he came back to kill her …. But his son stopped him by simply touchy his face 🥲

[@chloeeng6811]

Kamen devils night that a good episode

[@margegarland7635]

That's funny making a star trek reference in the episode Johnathan Frakes was in

[@benkii4905]

Williams case is just horrible his daughter got murder and the person who did it was never found just horrible

[@nightbat4107]

I also feel for Desi . My 2 half sister's are " do no wrong , beautiful, talented" while I am nothing.

[@chloeeng6811]

What episode is that

[@Aemilius46]

I'm so sorry! 💔😢

[@Aemilius46]

​​@@chloeeng6811Dust and Bones, season 13!

[@rubygracemoseley8144]

Ugh! Again! Nathan Harris! Also made me cry! He was so sad and pitiful 😭😭 I wanted to hug him and I felt so bad for him

[@Aemilius46]

Same here!! 😢 Heartbreaking!! 💔

[@GCKMimi]

.... I snorted at the "red-shirted ensign in Star Trek" bc her dad was played by Jonathan Frakes.

[@glen7137]

What about Randy Jacobs from the episode the bond? His mother forced him to participate in the murder of his father

[@DorvellTStewart]

Another couple who should've at least made the "honorable mentions," Gary and Irvin from the episode "Children of the Dark".

[@Aemilius46]

Heartbreaking what they went through! The trauma destroyed them!!

[@kaleighcoutermarsh4922]

The Tobias episode is my favorite! Probably because Reid is my favorite.

[@janeentumbao8690]

#6 With Don Swayze looking like the Undertaker. Loved his performance!

[@leonardolim8976]

Some of these unsub is relatable to a point that youd actually support their actions (in the series only) like the last one i just watched about a woman who got into a car accident and damaged her frontal lobe that prevents her from knowing right from wrong. A woman she worked with stole her representation ideas at where she work. Not only did she stole her idea she didnt give a mere credit to her and chastised her. So u know you r going to die when u piss off the unsub

[@brennathecatlover4360]

That doesn’t excuse her killing tho

[@leonardolim8976]

@@brennathecatlover4360 well yeah. I'm not condoning her but the bitch kinda had it coming

[@leonardolim8976]

@@brennathecatlover4360u know what episode I'm referring to tho rite?

[@JudesChan]

Yeah, if I recall correctly, she ripped out her own hair as well?!

[@leonardolim8976]

@@JudesChan yeah. And stabbed her own hubby and almost her daughter

[@Tiekin515]

True Night is so creepy The Big Wheel is Sad Tobias Hankle was well written and sad also scary snd horrific with the dogs Shelly Chamberlain was sad and emotional Riding the light was confusing Jones was really good. Reid admits is drug problem and j.j meets her future husband I love The Uncanny Valley is amazing written one my favorites

[@James.Oakleaf]

How come Kevin Decker and Adam Rain aren’t here

[@birdword111]

One of the ones I feel empathetic towards is the puppet master. A lot of attention is devoted to how creepy what he does is, and rightfully so. However, what gets me is that yet another thing making his father's murder memorable is the fact that the puppets didn't intervene. He of course goes on to live a normal life (until an injury brings back those thoughts from that developmental stage) and realizes that the puppets were not alive and could not have intervened, but before that point, I can't even begin to fathom how abandoned and confused he must have felt that his friends-or any bystander for that matter- wouldn't save his father.

[@haileyhardin1997]

I love both criminal minds and criminal minds:evolution.

[@James.Oakleaf]

Desi got snake eyes. Was that part of her transformation

[@jaykanou7331]

Johnny Mchale was by far the one I can relate to the most, he was the unsub I was rooting for to do more damage!

[@BigBWolf90]

Jeremy Sayer, it's easy to sympathize with him. I mean when your own mother treats you as an absolute monster from birth, cuz in the fetal stage his twin merged/was "cannibalized", I mean is it any word the kid turned into a killer?

[@Aemilius46]

Couldn't agree more!! I mean, he was basically hated from the beginning, it's heartbreaking!

[@HeatherWine]

I think Sarah Jean was the saddest to me.

[@alessiaburgani1496]

although I am currently only in season 6. Episode 20 of season 6 is the most touching for me.

[@dawnpowers7626]

I know the Uncanny Valley episode was tragic, but I didn't catch the "red-shirted ensign in Star Trek" line when I saw this originally. That's freakin' funny, given Jonathan Frakes is in this episode.

[@Aemilius46]

Sarah Danlin and Steven Fitzgerald absolutely broke me to tears!! 😢

[@nightwingman666]

Can’t believe Steve McGarrett was once a serial killer.

[@stephenking5852]

Shelley Chamberlain was one of the first episodes I ever saw.

[@danevanaarde7301]

I would love to see them do a another victim gets revenge on the bullies plot, but from a girls point of view. So here is how i think they should start the episode... the victim invites one of the bullies from highschool for some afternoon tea. It is only after the bully has driken the tea that she suddenly blacks out only to wake up later strapped to a table and then being stabbed to death by the victim/unsub.

[@rainglow_5787]

Omg I forgot Alex O’Laughlin was in criminal minds

[@kleine.5438]

10, 8, 4 and The pact, are ones I've never seen so I'm guessing they were in season 12 and beyond cuz I stopped watching after season 11

[@ShadowMichaelFawcett]

This whole Video I was hoping Samantha Malcolm would be on the list. I was beginning to lose hope of that until she came in at number one. I did pity her quite a lot.