Fans Agree This Is The Worst Unsub Sibling Rivalry On Criminal Minds
Over the years, "Criminal Minds" covers some interesting unsubs with trauma from severely unhealthy relationships. As the BAU team notes throughout the series, this is particularly common with serial killers, especially clinically diagnosed psychopaths. They struggle with empathy in general, which is key in any healthy familial, friendly, or romantic relationship. Some important and memorable killers in "Criminal Minds," such as George Foyet (C. Thomas Howell) and Stanley Howard (Michael O'Keefe), often have abusive parents, but sometimes the trauma that creates some of the most deranged and deadly killers of the series comes from relationships between siblings.
A recent fan thread on Reddit brought up a debate on sibling rivalries in "Criminal Minds," and the fans' findings may surprise you. There are at least five notable episodes featuring a strained relationship between siblings that influences an unsub, with a few in particular that viewers find hard to watch. While "Criminal Minds" fans seemed to agree on one episode that truly stands out because of the unsubs' sibling relationship, they also pointed out a couple others in the show that surprised them.
The Wheels on the Bus episode features the most intense sibling unsubs
User hpspnmag kicked off the debate by recalling Season 9, Episode 4, "To Bear Witness," in which, after chasing killer Anton Harris (David Anders), David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) tells the rest of the BAU team that Harris suffers from the worst case of sibling rivalry that he's ever seen. Although this was what Rossi says is the worst, hpspnmag went on to mention Season 8, Episode 8, titled "The Wheels on the Bus," as possibly the worst sibling relationship in the show, due to the complete lack of empathy from one brother when the other is killed.
In this episode, brothers Joshua and Matthew Moore, played by Andrew James Allen and David Gallagher, respectively, grow up competing heavily in graphic online gaming, and after getting banned from the game for verbally abusing other players, they decide to create a real-life game of their own, capturing a bus full of teenagers from their former high school. At the end of the episode, Joshua is shot and killed by Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore), and Matthew, having competed with his brother for so long, seems more satisfied that he "won" than sad about his brother's death.
Other "Criminal Minds" fans agreed that "The Wheels on the Bus" is intense and arguably the worst sibling relationship, and user Plz_dont_judge_me mentioned that they had recently watched the episode and found it to be "crazy." But alongside the Moore brothers, there are plenty of honorable mentions that take the cake for other fans.
There are other notable sibling rivalries on Criminal Minds
Further into the thread, user keldobby mentioned a storyline from the episode "Blood Relations" pertaining to incestuous activity between a brother and a sister, resulting in a pregnancy and pitting entire families against one another. The episode concludes with the reveal that the unsub is the son that the brother and sister conceive together. The plotline definitely makes "Blood Relations" a contender for the worst sibling rivalry, given the incredibly uncomfortable nature of the episode.
User mona__mayfair also pointed out the episode titled "Safe Haven." It follows a teenage killer named Jeremy Sayer (Sterling Beaumon) who has psychopathic tendencies, partially due to a mother that loathed him from a young age because he consumed his twin in the womb. Sayer hates both his mother and his younger sister, beginning a killing spree on unsuspecting families in order to get revenge on his own. User hpspnmag agreed that it's definitely one of the worst examples of sibling rivalries on the show, mentioning that they did not find Sayer as charming as many of the victims seem to in the episode.
Overall, "Criminal Minds" fans appeared to unanimously agree that episodes involving sibling rivalry and strained familial ties are particularly tough to watch, and speaking strictly on rivalry alone, "The Wheels on the Bus" game between brothers is still what sticks out the most to fans as the worst rivalry, contrary to Rossi's opinion.