The Unsub Moments That Criminal Minds Fans Hate To See
The beloved CBS procedural "Criminal Minds" ran for a staggering 15 seasons and still has legions of old fans rewatching their favorite episodes and a new generation of fans bingeing them. Currently sitting at an 86% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, "Criminal Minds" centered on a special unit of the FBI known as the Behavioral Analysis Unit. This specialized investigative team profiles heinous criminals known as "unknown subjects," or "unsubs," in order to track them down before they commit another crime.
The revolving BAU team members on "Criminal Minds" have a diverse set of skills. Everyone works together and shares their unique insight in order to both understand and apprehend unsubs. The cast of "Criminal Minds" is legendary, and features the impressive talents of Thomas Gibson, Matthew Gray Gubler, Kirsten Vangsness, and so many more. Fans of the show often take to the show's subreddit to share their opinions, including the moments they hated watching. In particular, some viewers found these unsub moments difficult to watch.
Fans hate when unsubs are killed by the BAU
During a recent Reddit discussion, fans voiced their annoyance around one common trope in the show. The conversation was started by Reddit user Imagineer_101 who asked, "I'm currently on season 4, but I've noticed that in a few situations where an unsub is killed, it wasn't absolutely necessary. Wouldn't you think they would use deadly force only in extreme situations, I mean they want this unsub to pay for what they've done, and I'm sorry but I feel like getting shot is the easy way out. Anyone else feel this way? Also, in a few situations, it looked like to me that the unsub was trying to get shot (suicide by cop) they shouldn't just let them 'win' like that should they?"
This posed an interesting question and illustrates the moral dilemma often faced by members of the BAU. "There are multiple cases where they told the cops not to shoot or that suicide by cop is what the unsub wants but they can't completely control the outcome and all the variables," noted Reddit user Jiffyfly6. Other Reddit users also agreed and believed that justice is sometimes hard to come by when dealing with warped criminals. Reddit user 420Moosey brought up a scene in which Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) was forced to shoot a criminal because they were attempting to drown an innocent bystander.
Will unsubs get 'capped or slapped'?
Reddit user Jedisouth joked, "Me and a friend like to play a game while watching Criminal Minds called 'Capped or Slapped' where towards the end of the episode we try and guess whether the unsub gets 'Capped' (Killed) or 'Slapped' (Arrested)." It seems that the ultimate fate of unsubs was a reccurring trend, but not all are entirely comfortable with the choices "Criminal Minds" made. Original Reddit poster Imagineer_101 added, "I never like when anyone is killed; however, There were a few situations where I could see there was no other way than to shoot, but there were also many times where they could've taken the unsub alive."
One comment noted that it wasn't always the BAU team doing the killing. Reddit user Psychological_Bat865 write, "I've noticed that more often than not, unsubs are killed by local police unjustly. Like the local PD totally just goes panic mode and fires an excessive amount of rounds at the unsub whereas Hotch and the team are almost always trying to talk the unsubs down so they can make the arrest." However, another user taekken brought up a scene where an unsub is clearly killed out of vengeance. "It was presented like a noble thing but uhh...it was definitely murder," they wrote. In spite of these infuriating tropes, it seems as though fans ultimately still enjoy watching "Criminal Minds" again and again.