Spencer Reid in Criminal Minds Show Essay Example

Spencer Reid is one of the main characters on the popular show 'Criminal Minds.’ His character and others are FBI criminal profilers that make up the Behavior Analysis Unit, also known as the BAU. On the series, we watch the team use their skills to navigate and solve cases that involve things like serial killers and terrorists. Although each team member has a unique skill set and personality, the one member that stands out the most is Dr. Reid. His geeky personality, lanky appearance, and incredible mind makes him one of the best television characters to appear on screen.

His tall, lanky appearance also makes Reid stand out compared to the other profilers on the show. Spencer Reid has more of a boyish and smaller stature than what most people would expect for an FBI agent to have. This look really played into the younger, geeky personality that he had. He has dark hair that is usually longer, although it has been short, and is on the messier side. Reid looks younger than the rest of his team because he is. He was able to graduate high and college earlier, which has allowed to be the youngest criminal profiler. His younger looks earned him the nickname “pretty boy” by Derek Morgan, the muscle of the BAU. Dr. Reid has always dressed in business attire for his everyday wear. Khakis, cardigans, vests, and the occasional glasses made up the majority of his wardrobe. He stays away from the suits that a lot of the agents wear, which gives Reid more of a brainiac aesthetic compared to the more professional one of the rest of the team. Spencer Reid’s looks and academic style hint at just how smart he is.

Dr. Reid’s genius abilities are one of the most important aspects of his character and is the reason why he was put on the BAU. Spencer was named a child prodigy when he was a young child. He would enjoy reading books, learning, and playing chess rather than other childhood activities like sports or video games. Reid also skipped grades, which led him to graduate high school by the age of twelve and was soon accepted into CalPoly. He earned two BAs there before transferring to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned three PhDs before the age of twenty-two. One of the reasons for Spencer being so smart is because he has an eidetic mind, which means that he recounts every single detail of every minute. This helps him recall certain facts quickly and helps him recognize patterns. This is why Reid is used to find geological patterns and more of the profiling more often than being in the field. Other things that he boasts about is the fact that he can read twenty thousand words per minute and knows three different  languages. He frequently displays knowledge in a large variety of topics ranging from history to forensics. This often surprises and impresses other personale that are not on the team. His genius capabilities help the team tremendously in solving the cases in time. 

Reid has one of the most unique personalities of anyone on the show and this is what helps make him so special. Spencer Reid is very socially awkward with people that reside outside of his usual social circle. Most of the time, he does not interact with the public during investigations because he struggles to connect and speak properly with them. Stuttering over words and awkward pauses always happen during simple conversations. Another quirk that Dr. Reid has are his long tangents of information on random topics like the Star Wars franchise or old latin books. They usually are unwarranted and he talks very fast without any pauses while delivering. Some of the time the rants aren’t even about relevant topics to the conversation. Even though Reid is not the best social person, he tries to be a funny guy every now and then. He will crack a mostly science related pun every so often, but is mostly met with silence because not a lot of people will understand the punch line. His socially awkwardness and brilliance soon became his brand for the show. Spencer Reid struggles to show and to deal with his emotions. He does always know what he is feeling, which makes it harder to express what he is feeling. Very few times in the show do we get to see the more vulnerable side of Reid and only then it is nothing more than a few tears or a slight outburst of anger. This also affects him when dealing and understanding other people's emotions, especially when dealing with some of the victims. It is stated multiple times in the show that he doesn’t understand what other people are feeling and that he doesn’t know how to help them deal with it. 

Spencer Reid embodies all of the great attributes of not only a good criminal profile, but of a great television character. Watching the show and not loving this character would be a near impossible task. Reid’s genius capabilities and personality allow him to be a good criminal profiler. Everything about him just makes him the ultimate character for fans and helps the show be as good as it was.