Dr. Spencer Reid is the BAU's resident genius. His intellect has led him to deliver some memorable quotes over Criminal Minds' 15 seasons.
Fans are excited for the revival of Criminal Minds and are looking forward to seeing their BAU team back together. Although Matthew Gray Gubler, who portrays Dr. Spencer Reid, is reportedly not returning to reprise his role, fans love to look back at their favorite Dr. Reid moments.
Reid has no problem reminding people just how smart he really is, often inadvertently reminding the team of how intellectual he is with an off-hand comment on any given topic, leading him to say some great things.
When the husband of a victim asked him if he was a genius after hearing about his three PhDs, Reid is hesitant to say yes, instead, he relays that he doesn't believe "intelligence can be accurately quantified," but after a pause, he says this line.
With an IQ of 187, the aforementioned three PhDs to his name, an eidetic memory, and the ability read 20,000 a minute, the fact that he is a genius is definitely not a hidden detail about Spencer Reid. His genius is one of the things that fans love about him. This quote is an example of Reid knowing he is a genius and not being afraid to let others know it.
Reid's reluctance or refusal to give the people he meets handshakes can be seen throughout Criminal Minds. Fans have their theories as to why Reid prefers to wave rather than shake hands, the most popular is that he is uncomfortable with physical contact with strangers. Others believe that it's due to one of the many times Reid was almost killed in Criminal Minds. After he contracted Anthrax in season 4 he became more aware of bacteria and viruses that could be contracted through physical touch.
Whatever the reason Reid avoids handshakes, viewers enjoy details like this that make him a well-developed character. In addition, him suggesting a kiss rather than a handshake to a Police Captain is a pretty entertaining moment. This quote shows Reid's propensity for being unintentionally hilarious.
Reid often says things that make the viewer really stop and think. This line comes from an episode where a graphic novelist subconsciously becomes one of the BAU's unsubs. Garcia states that the graphic novelist is a genius for his work, but Morgan disagrees and Reid delivers this thought-provoking quote.
For fans of the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, this quote may sound a little familiar as a similar thing is said in the movie. Whether or not the line in Criminal Minds is supposed to be a nod to that movie is unknown, but it proves that Reid is a character with an intellect that leads him to say some powerful and thought-provoking things at just the right moment.
When Hotchner suggests that "there are lots of ways sons defeat their fathers," Reid offers this as an example of how he defeated his father. When Spencer Reid was young his father left him and his mother, Reid grew up thinking that his father no longer wanted him and abandoned them.
Everyone deals with the abandonment of a father figure differently, Reid gets a new Ph.D. Reid is often the butt of the joke due to his high intelligence and habit of misunderstanding references, but this line shows that Reid is capable of delivering a good joke. While the context of this line has a pretty sad background, the line itself is hilarious.
When one of his fans becomes an unsub determined to outsmart him, Reid utters this line while looking through the two-way mirror.
Reid fans are pretty die-hard and the Criminal Minds writers are well aware of this. While this quote is said in the context of a fan-turned-killer, Criminal Minds viewers can't help but think this is a slight nod to real-life Reid fans and/or fans of the actor Matthew Gray Gubler. This line, a subtle example of meta-comedy, is definitely one of Reid's most iconic quotes.
While Reid is incredibly intelligent he is not the most pop culture-savvy television character to ever grace screens. In an episode involving an entertainer with a vampire persona, Garcia tells Reid and JJ that the password to a vampire fan's laptop was "Cullen" and Reid asks this question.
Dr. Reid has proved time and time again that he is a genius, but when it comes to popular trends he can be a bit behind - nothing proves this more than him not knowing what the widely popular novel and movie series Twilight is. Reid is also entirely serious which is what makes this line so amusing.
Sometimes Reid's fun facts are anything but fun. In season 5 episode 19, an unsub decapitates his victims and while talking to the medical examiner and Rossi, Reid gives this quick little fact.
It is pretty safe to say that this line from Reid is an odd one. Rossi comments on the peculiarity of the sentence when he replies to Reid's fact with "You don't often hear the words 'popular' and 'decapitation' in the same sentence." Because Reid remembers everything he reads, he is full of facts that are sometimes not very useful. His habit of sharing facts like the one no matter the circumstance makes for great comedic relief in an otherwise dark situation.
While on a stakeout with Morgan in season 1 episode 4, Reid says this line as a response to Morgan quoting the popular idiom "we're looking for a needle in a haystack."
This expression has been used countless times to explain the difficulty of a task, but it's typical of Reid to correct an idiom that is hundreds of years old. Reid knows that Morgan is using the idiom to express how difficult it is going to be to find the unsub but chooses to correct it anyway, which is what makes this quote even funnier.
When Reid successfully talks down an unsub that had taken a train hostage with Elle included, Elle tells Reid that he "probably" saved her life and this is what Reid said in reply.
Reid is often the agent found talking down the unsub and empathizing with them. Reid is an excellent profiler and is able to read people extremely well, making him good at empathizing with unsubs. Reid is not always the one to make a physical move to take down an unsub as he would rather use his intelligence. So when he saves Elle he has to make sure she knows it, making this quote both wholesome and funny.
This fan-favorite quote comes from an episode where the BAU is being questioned by the Senate Committee. Reid says this when Senator Cramer mistakenly refers to him as Agent when telling Reid to calm down.
Reid is no stranger to people mistakenly calling him "Agent," but what makes this time different is that Reid normally corrects the person politely. Reid is often more socially reserved and rarely pushes back to authority. This quote is out of character for Reid because of how indelicately he delivered it. This line is an example of how sassy Reid can be, especially when pushed, and it's definitely one of those quotes Criminal Minds fans will always remember.
