S2E14 three dogs are killed by an FBI agent. We see them growling, and the scene cuts and we hear gunshots. In the next episode, S2E15 (a continuation), we see one of them dead on the ground with blood on its stomach.
There are heavy implications that spencer Reid experienced several forms of abuse throughout childhood. He was often neglected by his parents and other adult figures and was insulted, beaten, and sexually assaulted by his classmates. Most of his abuse isn’t shown, and what is shown is subtle, but it is discussed and affects him a lot in his adult life.
S2E15 an FBI agent is injected with a drug several times.
S2E16 there are flashbacks to this, and we see the drug bottles. Also in S2E16, several victims are drugged unknowingly and kidnapped.
season 13 episode 7, the unsub uses snakes to envenomate their victims and keeps like 15 different snakes (different species) in one tank who are pushed off the side of a table onto the floor, it's not obvious abuse to someone who isn't knowledgeable about snakes but for those who are its quite upsetting
S2:E21 “open season”
People are hunted in a popular hunting tourist town. You see a dead deer in the back of a truck and animal heads on walls.
S3:E6 “about face”
Duck is shot (you don’t see it) but a hunting dog goes to retrieve it in the water. It’s pretty mild but still sad for the duck.
S5: E7 “The Eyes Have It”
Tons of taxidermy of multiple animals
Avoid Season Three episode 4 (I think, will double check) to avoid the cat death scene...one of a pair of unsubs works as a euthanizer at a shelter and uses dead cats as a way to get people to open the door for home invitations. Watched the rest of the series and never noticed another cat death though I may have missed an episode, I have seen most of them. It's that one episode above that messed with my mind the most.
I dont know the exact episode and i dont remember how graphic it gets specifically but there is an episode where girls are raped and filmed during it and that video is sent to their parents and we see the parents watch the video and im pretty sure theres sound and a brief show of the video but probably not long
Season 1 episode 2. An arsonist sets multiple fires across a college campus, killing multiple people. One professor is seen entering a classroom, which is caught on fire by chemicals planted at the scene. He is burned alive and the team is unable to get to him on time.
Some of the Unsubs, mostly cannibals, cut off their victims fingers or limbs. Floyd Ferrell, a cannibal, in season 3 episode 8 and season 13 episode 5 is known for cutting of his victims fingers and either eating them or force feeding them to his victims.
Season 1 episode 8. The undercover officer is seen tied up with blood covering his mouth. A tray is shown on a table next to tools with two teeth on it.
There are many torture scenes, this show deals with criminals who oftentimes are sadists. If you’re sensitive to torture scenes of any kind I would highly recommend not watching this :)
In s2e11, a kid cuts his wrists to attempt suicide. The action is not shown on screen but a woman witnesses it and calls Reid, who attempts to save the kid. There is a lot of blood from it and the kid asks Reid to let him die. 41:40 is approximately when the knife is pulled out
S2E14 or 15 we see a child being submerged in a bathtub full of water several times. He doesn’t drown, but he struggles for air. S2E15 an FBI agent starts to foam at the mouth and collapses.
a character that is very important in the first (i think 2) season(s) dies in s10e13 but you don't see their body. they haven't really appeared in the seasons in between
S2E14 or 15 a clothed child is submerged in a bathtub full of water several times. S2E15, nothing is seen other than the character’s face and blood running down the drain.
They’re are no ghosts but some Unsubs see people they’ve created in their minds. Reid also has visions in some episodes of Maeve, his murdered girlfriend.
i did my best to catch them all, please forgive me if i’ve missed one !! s1e9 10:50 - 11:00 audio only, s2e13 6:45 audio + visual it’s sudden and jarring, s4e15 12:18 audio mostly, s4e25 , s5e7 20:30 audio, s5e9 at 4:00ish minutes a guy says “i’m gonna be sick” he doesn’t actually get sick though, s5e20 3:20 a guy Almost gets sick but he doesnt actually, s6e7 27:37, s6e17 39:30 audio semi-visual + VISUAL at 40:48, s6e23 25:18-25:50 visual & audio, s7e7 31:12 casually mentioned, s7e8 27:30 audio, s7e12 THIS EPISODE IS MISERABLE!!! be careful with the first 2 minutes it’s audio + visual and then 4:27-5:00 there’s a photo of sick in the back and they discuss it, more discussion at 7:50, s7e22 09:00-9:30 audio visu, s8e2 16:40 audio + a visual of a toilet, s8e5 visual at 2:40 + discussion of it at 6:28 + mentioned again at 7:20 and 8:20, s8e8 26:48 audio, s8e18 26:20 audio + visual, s8e23 it’s more just people coughing up blood so be careful if that bothers you, s9e1 6:00 audio & a small visual + 21:27 super sudden audio visual, s9e2 13:20 not exactly puking but it’s uncomf + a mention at 17:12, s9e14 21:42 audio & slight visual, s10e3 8:45 mention & a visual of mess + 14:30 mention, s10e6 14:30 guy acts like hes going to be sick, s11e1 25:05 audio, s11e7 2:25 a guy coughs up blood, s11e21 15:58 it’s someone spitting out chewed up food but was triggering to me + 29:26 audio, s12e18 16:04 it’s a mention, s13e1 29:30 mostly audio, s13e7 10:30 VERY VISUAL and then mentioned afterwards, s13e20 15:40 a guy coughs up blood, s14e3 12:25 only a mention, s14e5 23:05 audio.
Season 12 episode 5. The Unsub spares one of his victims, one of his school bullies, because he is found in a puddle of his own urine, after he wets himself in fear.
all main characters are fbi agents who work with the police, so yeah, but a surprising amount of episodes have a corrupt cop/security guard as the killer
It isn't explicitly said, but a character who has previously been self-harming makes comments about not being around, and another girl mentions previous characters suicidal ideation.
Doctor Spencer Reid is heavily implied to be autistic. There are many, MANY occasions where he is interrupted, teased, or shot down for infodumping. While most people don’t actually mean any harm (the team is like a family, they just sometimes don’t fully understand) it can be painful for autistic people to watch. There are also jokes about his issues with social queues. I definitely don’t speak for everyone, but as an autistic person these gags don’t really bother me. They’re very lighthearted and typically really funny and relatable. That’s just my opinion though, so if you’re autistic as well and feel differently that’s 100% ok!!
I'll update as I watch through the show
S1e1, S2e15, S2e16, S4e20, S8e14, S12
Some episodes talk about split personality, multiple personality as passing theories with no expansion. I haven't included these in the list as it's only ever one sentence long.
SPOILERS
S1e1 mentions of using DID to plea insanity
S2e15 killer has DID and alters of his abusive father and archangel Raphael. The killings are based on messed up "Christian" beliefs
S2e16 Spencer's ongoing trauma from previous episode
S4e20 killer and r*pist has DID. Targets "alpha males"
S8e14 (haven't watched yet) "sadistic" alter
S12 (haven't watched yet) killer targets DID systems, pr*gr*ms and t*rt*res them to create new alters. The systems go on to harm others
Season 13, episode 21. The Unsub and his wife can hear a low pitched humming sound. Only the Two can hear the sound and they react violently to it, attacking and killing their victims as they are not able to locate where to sound is coming from, as they cannot hear it.
These are all I could find/remember: s2e11 (attempted), s3e15, s5e13, s5e20, s7e9, s8e23. Some do end up being murders made to look like suicide, but I hope this helps even a bit
Several of the main characters develope and suffer from ptsd. Most notably though is spencer Reid, as A. He is severely traumatized on several occasions and B. The signs/symptoms of his ptsd are shown more prominently throughout the seasons. In addition, Jason gideon suffers from ptsd and it is discussed a whole lot in the first season
Season 1 episode 7. The team is able to locate the Unsub in his newest visions basement. They have taken the families baby, who is crying and screaming quite hard.
There are no N-Words used but in the episode A thin line the Unsub targets and murders African-Americans and Immigrants, due to a home invasion by two black men that occurred when he was younger
Not “jokes” necessarily but some unsubs dress in woman’s clothing. Most of these characters are not actually queer in any way but it may feel a bit uncomfortable if you’re trans. It didn’t bother me (trans) but if it bugs you that’s totally valid.
s3e5 csa, implied s4e19, implied s6e8, s6e13 it’s throughout the whole episode but graphic csa description 10:40-11:40 and heavily at 27:00, s7e2, s7e19 brief,
Yes, but shown briefly. The unsub was on medication that made him gain a significant amount of weight. Doctors talk about the risks of him going off of medication because of the weight.
most of the time the BAU catch the person / people responsible for the crime and save the last victim- however lots of people die, sometimes specifically happy seeming people, and sometimes these episodes don’t end with someone being saved. additionally, if it’s a plot oriented episode (aka parts of an arc that spans over multiple episodes etc) it can be sad or unsatisfying. it’s a show about crime, death, and beyond - there’s a lot of tragic and dark content, but it’s still a good show. just be careful- if sad things or possible sad endings aren’t your thing, this probably isn’t the show for you. it deals with a LOT of heavy topics.