Criminal Minds: Season 12
Season 12 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Picks up essential narrative continuity directly following the events of Criminal Minds Season 11.
- Character alliances, factions, and personal loyalties undergo significant shifts under escalating stakes.
- Addresses unresolved cliffhangers and thematic mysteries introduced during previous seasons.
- Establishes the primary seasonal conflict that drives serialized character arcs toward the finale.
Episode Guide
Season 12 Progress Shield
The Crimson King
Sep 28, 2016 · 42 min
Agent Luke Alvez (Adam Rodriguez) joins the BAU team, which is tasked with capturing a killer who escaped prison with 13 other convicts at the end of last season.
Sick Day
Oct 5, 2016 · 42 min
When JJ arrives home shaken after a rough case, she breaks down and tells her husband about the abduction of two children.
Taboo
Oct 12, 2016 · 42 min
The BAU welcomes back Emily Prentiss as they are called upon to investigate the disappearance of three women
Keeper
Oct 26, 2016 · 42 min
The BAU team searches for a serial killer along the Appalachian Trail in rural Virginia.
The Anti-Terrorism Squad
Nov 9, 2016 · 42 min
The BAU investigates if bullying may be the link between two high school students who are the sole survivors after both of their families are killed.
Elliott's Pond
Nov 16, 2016 · 42 min
When three children disappear while riding their bikes on the same path as a similar unsolved disappearance 30 years ago, the BAU team comes in to investigate.
Mirror Image
Nov 30, 2016 · 42 min
The BAU team opens an investigation when a man who fully believes he’s Dr. Tara Lewis’ brother arrives in town, knowing everything about her and her family, and she is unable to m
Scarecrow
Dec 7, 2016 · 42 min
The team heads to Yakima, Washington when the remains of a dozen people are found along a creek bed.
Profiling 202
Jan 4, 2017 · 42 min
While Rossi conducts a profiling course on his birthday, he receives a call from his nemesis Tommy Yates, who discloses the location of his latest victim.
Seek and Destroy
Jan 11, 2017 · 42 min
BAU team investigates a series of home invasions in upscale neighborhoods in San Diego involving casualties.
Surface Tension
Feb 1, 2017 · 42 min
Reid has returned from Houston, where he was visiting his mother who is in a new facility on an experimental drug program. He is called back home from the office while the rest of
A Good Husband
Feb 8, 2017 · 42 min
The BAU team is called in to investigate when male victims are found with no way to identify them.
Spencer
Feb 15, 2017 · 42 min
When a BAU member gets in trouble in Mexico, the team enlists the services of the International Response Team for their help.
Collision Course
Feb 22, 2017 · 42 min
The BAU investigates the cause of several fatal car crashes involving drivers and pedestrians. Also, Reid gets bad news.
Alpha Male
Mar 1, 2017 · 42 min
The BAU investigates when several young men and women are victims of disfiguring acid attacks. Also, Dr. Reid begins to settle into his new surroundings.
Assistance Is Futile
Mar 15, 2017 · 42 min
When three women in New York City are found dead with several bones broken, the BAU works with a single mother (Tatum O'Neal) who believes that her son is behind the heinous crimes
In the Dark
Mar 22, 2017 · 42 min
When two drastically different murder sprees are committed in Burlington, Vermont, the BAU concludes that a serial killer suffering from sleepwalking is responsible for both crimes
Hell's Kitchen
Mar 29, 2017 · 42 min
The BAU investigates an urban vampire who kidnaps his victims at night and holds them underground in the sewer system; Reid makes a difficult decision in prison.
True North
Apr 5, 2017 · 42 min
Three victims are found tied to stakes in the Arizona desert.
Unforgettable
Apr 26, 2017 · 42 min
The BAU investigates when several federal government employees, including a close friend of Walker's, succumb to symptoms of a heart attack; Reid anxiously awaits his trial date.
Green Light
May 3, 2017 · 42 min
When Reid fears his mother has been abducted, he asks the BAU to investigate while he's stuck in prison.
Red Light
May 10, 2017 · 42 min
Derek Morgan brings the BAU a lead in the case against serial killer and escaped convict Mr. Scratch.