Why Criminal Minds Fans Keep Rewatching These Spencer Reid Scenes

Criminal Minds is one of those shows you can revisit over and over again. The beloved members of the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) have become like family to many viewers over the show's 15 seasons. We've watched them grow up, get married, and seriously crush their career goals.

One of the most beloved characters on the show is the incomparable Dr. Spencer Reid, played by Matthew Gray Gubler. We've watched Spencer grow from an awkward prodigy to a seasoned vet of the FBI. Who hasn't laughed and cried at the sweet moments of friendship he's shared with Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness), Derek Morgan (Shamar Moore), and the rest of the team?

Criminal Minds may have come to an end earlier this year, but the love for Spencer Reid has not. Sometimes, you just need a man who has the answers to everything, and Reid is definitely that. He's also endured more than his fair share of trauma from working in the BAU, which makes you just want to give him a hug. Whatever your reason for needing some Reid time, we can't say we blame you. He's had some seriously unforgettable moments that fans can't help but go back to every now and then.

Reid is used to knowing it all, so season 1's first look at when he doesn't teaches us a lot about his character. In "L.D.S.K" (Episode 6), Reid's struggling to get his gun certification that he needs to be in the field with the team. He's not exactly a natural and worries he won't be able to keep the position because of his hang-ups around guns. It's not until he has to shoot an unsub to save a room full of hostages that he gets it right. 

Early on, they let us know that you could always count on Reid in the clutch. IMDb's ratings show that the episode ties with "Somebody's Watching," another episode heavily featuring Reid, as the highest-rated of the season. In that episode, a young Hollywood actress who has a number of deaths occur around her starts falling for Reid. He starts falling for her as he tries to protect her and even saves her life. 

Love was a tough area for Reid throughout the series. Though a number of women show interest in him, he's not always clued into it. It's his aloofness to the things others focus on that endear viewers to his character, even if it holds him back in the dating department.

There are countless reasons for fans to love Reid and revisit his episodes frequently. As one Reddit user pointed out, it doesn't seem like a stretch for Matthew Gray Gubler to play a genuine, quirky good guy. 

"I really like him because part of me truly believes that he isn't acting and that he's just being his regular real life self with a camera pointed at him. Something about him just comes off so genuine and human that I sometimes forget I am watching a TV show (until something obviously dramatic happens)," they wrote. "MGG is a weird guy, in the best way, and I think it was the type of quirk that the producers/casting directors intended for the character, so he was a perfect fit. I think the most noticeable difference in Spencer and MGG is that MGG appears to be a little more outgoing."

But above all, it's Reid's mind that draws viewers in. He's introduced as a young prodigy, but you watch him grow into something so much more. He's a man who has all the literal answers while still figuring out the bigger things in life. It's a kind of vulnerability that not enough male characters on TV possess and a big reason why we'd watch 1,000 more episodes of Criminal Minds if given the chance.