Reid’s Prison Time On ‘Criminal Minds’: Why Is He Behind Bars?


Criminal Minds Season 12 Episode 16 left fans fearing for Spencer Reid’s life. Reid, played by Matthew Gray Gubler in the CBS series, is serving time for a murder he believes he didn’t do, but showrunners tease that Reid’s prison life is about to get even worse.

While Criminal Minds fans cannot watch a single episode of the show without biting their nails ever since Spencer Reid was sentenced to prison, showrunner Erica Messer tells the series fans to “hang on tight” as the worst of Reid’s prison life has yet to come, according to TV Line.

Just when Criminal Minds fans thought Spencer Reid had fully adapted to the brutal reality of prison life – Reid even made a cellmate friend recently – there are now theories that Reid may be killed off from Criminal Minds in Episode 17.

Spencer Reid is serving prison time for a murder he believes he didn’t do. Reid was trying to find a cure for his mother in Mexico, but he got dragged into Rosa Medina’s murder. While Reid remains the main suspect in the murder case, his BAU team is trying to get him out of prison by finding the real murderer.

But the prospects of getting Spencer Reid out of prison don’t seem promising anytime soon, as there are contradictory rumors that the Criminal Minds character, who has become one of the fan favorites, could be either freed or killed in that prison soon.

While many Criminal Minds fans are cowering behind their sofas every time any suspicious guy approaches Spencer Reid in prison, Reid recently became pals with a cellmate named Calvin Shaw (Harold Perrineau), who helped Reid get out of Gen Pop and move into a single cell.

In between reading books and playing chess with his new friend, Reid is getting beaten up by the other inmates in prison. And while it sure seems that Reid is finally becoming adapted to his life in prison, and Criminal Minds fans are hopeful that Spencer Reid will steer clear of danger in the upcoming episodes, showrunner Messer tells fans not to be so hopeful.

Criminal Minds‘ Messer says that the TV show’s fans have yet to witness the worst part of Spencer Reid serving his time in new episodes.

“There are a lot of internal and external factors that are yet to come in that storyline, so hang on tight.”

Some Criminal Minds fans are speculating that the CBS show’s plummeting ratings may have something to do with showrunners playing with Spencer Reid’s fate like it’s a toy.

And while there’s no denial that Reid has become one of the fan favorites this season, Messer says it’s “a combination of factors across the board” that are responsible for the show’s recent downward ratings trend.

“I think [the downward ratings trend started] before the Reid arc even got kicked off, so I don’t think it has anything to do with that.”

In fact, on March 1, Criminal Minds drew its smallest audience ever, only 6.5 million viewers, according to TV Series Finale.

While Spencer Reid hasn’t been killed off from Criminal Minds yet, many fans are concerned that he could die in prison as soon as in the next episode, which will air on Wednesday, March 22.

Criminal Minds has six more episodes to air before it wraps Season 12. There have been no spoilers indicating that the TV show’s fans could see Spencer Reid in Season 13. Last December, CBS confirmed the series for Season 13.

[Featured Image by PLS Pool/Getty Images]

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