The Criminal Minds Unsub Storyline Fans Think Went Too Far
For nearly 15 years, "Criminal Minds" offered viewers consistently thrilling, often disturbing stories about its team of behavioral analysis experts trying to hunt down and stop some truly twisted individuals. The series produced over 300 episodes and, as a result, it introduced fans to plenty of memorable villains — or "unsubs," as they're referred to in the show itself. While many of the unsubs featured in "Criminal Minds" only appeared in single episodes or limited capacities as well, there were some who had larger presences on the show.
That includes Peter Lewis AKA Mr. Scratch (Bodhi Elfman), who is first introduced in "Criminal Minds" Season 10. A killer who manipulates others into murdering for him, Mr. Scratch appears in multiple episodes of "Criminal Minds," and even becomes a bit of a direct antagonist to Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) at one point. Throughout his run on the show, he frequently terrorizes Hotch and his son, as well as the entire BAU, and it's made clear that his actions have a lasting impact on several of the series' central cast members.
However, there are some "Criminal Minds" fans who believe the series ultimately overused Mr. Scratch.
Mr. Scratch wasn't Criminal Minds' most realistic villain
During his time on "Criminal Minds," Mr. Scratch commits numerous heinous acts, including rigging an entire warehouse with a nail gun. He manages to catch the BAU by surprise multiple times and presents enough of a threat to Hotch and his son's life that the FBI ultimately sends both of them into witness protection. But while "Criminal Minds" certainly wanted fans to view Mr. Scratch as a terrifying and formidable villain, it didn't always succeed at doing that.
Indeed, in a thread on the official "Criminal Minds" subreddit, u/Monkepopo wrote, "I know I'm supposed to be mad at [Mr. Scratch] for what he does but I can't stop laughing at how super [villainous] he is." The user additionally joked that they just want to tell the character to "go home" because he's "doing too much." In the same thread, u/jinkies_5 echoed their fellow Redditor's thoughts, writing, "They really jumped the shark with the Scratch storyline, IMHO. It was all just so much, it veered into comic book territory for me. I couldn't get into it."
Elsewhere, u/less-than-stellar similarly observed that "Criminal Minds" turned Scratch into a "comic book villain by the end," adding that "the episode with Tara's brother was just so outlandish." The Redditor did, however, reveal that they were able to enjoy the show's Mr. Scratch storylines once they "stopped trying to look at 'Criminal Minds' as [being] anything even close to reality."
In other words, it sounds like "Criminal Minds" may not have actually had as compelling of a villain in Mr. Scratch as it thought it did.