Criminal Minds
Summary
Criminal Mindsdropped its Spencer Reid drug addiction arc , and many viewers wondered why . An original extremity of the FBI ’s Behavioral Analysis Unit ( BAU ) in the show , the character ( played by Matthew Gray - Gubler ) was known for his smart . But , Reid ’s life was n’t a walkway in the green ; while all characters onCriminal Mindswent through a lot , he ’s arguably had the most traumatizing experiences among them . Throughout his 15 - time of year arc onCriminal Minds , Reid was in several nigh - destruction experience .
One of the most memorable case happened fairly early in season 2 , episode 15 , entitle " Revelations . " In it , psychotic series killerTobias Hankel ( James Van Der Beek)kidnaped Reid and proceeded to torment and drug him for two days directly until the BAU rescued him . While Reid pull through , he developed an habituation to Dilaudid — a narcotic painkiller . Reid ’s personal struggle wreak out but was mostly a secondary plot line until he abruptly baffle sporty by later season 3 .
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How The Show Mishandled Reid’s Addiction Arc
Despite showing Spencer Reid overcoming his kernel revilement , the drug addiction narrative was n’t properly undertake . There were merely a handful of installment that refer his personal struggle , and they only vaguely bear on to it . There ’s no unclouded cause whyCriminal Mindsdidn’t follow through with the set - up regarding its Spencer Reid drug addiction , other than claim that Gubler personally request for the plot product line to be dropped . There are also speculations thatReid was an integral part ofCriminal Minds’BAU , and moving forward with the aforementioned electric discharge would ’ve hinder him in performing as an FBI federal agent .
Without his involvement , most ofCriminal Minds ' cases would ’ve been unmanageable to work . Gubler has submit in interviews that Reid has " hints of schizophrenia , " and therefore if the show need an excuse to stop him from aid the BAU , they could ’ve easily had the character take a hiatus for his mental health . or else , incorporating a Spencer Reid drug addiction plotline gravel a couple of storytelling issues onCriminal Minds .
Aside from distracting Reid from actively doing his job , there would also be complications regarding keeping his job , as his addiction could have also go through him suspend if not in a flash fired . As previously mentioned , Criminal Minds ' Spencer Reid was important to the BAU ; a lot of the squad ’s event were solved thanks to his reason , and it would have been a monumental loss if he had been suspend or dismiss from the FBI .
What Drugs Spencer Reid Got Addicted To
The Spencer Reid drug addiction storyline featured the drug Dilaudid . Spencer Reid became addicted to Dilaudid after the suspect in a case repeatedly inject him with it . ab initio , Tobias Hankel injected Reid with the drug while the FBI federal agent was being make captive . Hankel to begin with believed he was helping relieve the pain sensation cause by his own father , but the repeated injections in a short amount of time have Reid ’s body to become dependent on the drug .
In realism , Hankel suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder , and one of the identities he dissociate with was that of his begetter . Tobias ’ DID symptoms were only heighten by his own usage of Dilaudid to numb his annoyance inone of the bestCriminal Mindsepisodes , " Revelation of Saint John the Divine . " Dilaudid , also call hydromorphone , is a differential of morphia . Like morphine , it ’s an opioid , and if used improperly or too often , it ’s easy for a user to become addicted .
Some parking brake personnel favor to use Dilaudid because the sum has a higher solubility pace , meaning it can be break down and absorbed by the body very quickly . The onanism symptoms for someone hook to Dilaudid might terminate more cursorily than they would with another drug ( less than 72 hour in most cases ) , but they ’re also more intense . That ’s part of the grounds it ’s so surprising that Spencer Reid was capable to overcome his drug addiction inCriminal Mindsso speedily .
Reid’s Dark Stories Were Some Of Criminal Minds' Best Moments
Whether related to his drug dependance or the schizophrenia to which Gubler has alluded , Spencer Reid providedCriminal Mindswith its darkestmoments , as well as some of its best . These kitchen stove from heartfelt interaction in the show between Reid and his mother , who had more stark schizophrenic disorder , to the fully believable theory that Reid was a serial killer himself .
All of this think of that Spencer Reid’sCriminal Mindsseason 16 absence has been keenly palpate since the show was always at its good when lean into this dark persona . There was even public lecture of Reid returning to Paramount+‘sCriminal Mindsrevival as a villain , but alas , it seems that Gubler ’s time on the series is at an last .
What Episodes Deal With The Spencer Reid Drug Addiction Story?
For anyone who wants to catch up on the Spencer Reid drug addiction storyline , it plays out in episode in seasons 2 and 3 of the show . The story all started inCriminal Mindsseason 2 , instalment 14 , " The Big Game . " This was where the unsub Tobias Hankel kidnap Reid . In the next episode , " Revelations , " Tobias inject Rid with Dilaudid , which caused his original dependance . At the end of the episode , Reid inject the unsub and takes the drugs from his scoop . In episode 16 and 17 , " Fear and Loathing " and " Distress , " Reid lose from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and flashbacks of his snatch .
InCriminal Mindsepisode 18 , " Jones , " Reid met with an old friend from his puerility , who realized something was not right with Reid . At the destruction of that episode , Gideon found Reid and severalise him that anybody who had been through his trauma would struggle . That was when Reid realized he settle he needed to quit engage drug . However , that was not the destruction of its mention . InCriminal Mindsseason 3 , episode 16 , " Elephant ’s Memory , " Reid was give ear a musical accompaniment group called The Beltway Clean Cops get together for addicts in jurisprudence enforcement .
