Spencer Reid

"I find that I do some of my best work under intense terror."

Dr. Spencer Reid is a Supervisory Special Agent with the BAU. He is hailed as a genius and an autodidact.

Background
Reid graduated from high school at age 12. In his youth, his father left him and his mother as he could no longer deal with her paranoid schizophrenia. Reid once mentioned that he was a victim of bullying in school where he was stripped naked and tied to a goalpost in front of other students. After waiting for all the other teenagers to leave, he walked home, only to find that his mother had not noticed he was so late to return because she had been having one of her schizophrenic episodes. Reid grew up learning nearly everything he knows from books, with his mother (a college professor) often reading to him. Still, Reid knew that the way his mother was living wasn't healthy.

When he was eighteen, he had his mother, Diana Reid, a professor of 15th century literature, placed in a mental institution. His mother still resides in that same mental institution and Reid has stated that he sends letters every day because of the guilt he feels for not visiting her. Reid is also worried about the fact that his mother's illness can be passed on genetically; he once told Morgan that "I know what it's like to be afraid of your own mind."

Reid has an eidetic memory, meaning that he can remember an exceedingly large amount of information with extraordinary detail. This, however, only applies to information gathered visually (especially things he's read, as implied with the word eidetic); he has not been so successful in auditory information, as evident when he once noted he could not remember "that new tech girl's name."

Personality
Reid is socially awkward. He often fixates on things (prompting Morgan and other team members to have to tell him to be quiet), and misses social cues at times (for example, unknowingly changing the subject of a conversation). The unknown subject in "Broken Mirror"undefinednoted this, and Gubler stated in an interview in the show's second season "[Reid]'s an eccentric genius, with hints of Schizophrenia and minor autism, Asperger's Syndrome. Reid is 30 years old with three Ph.D.s and one can not usually achieve that without some form of autism."

Gubler has also commented on the differences between Reid and similarly odd character Penelope Garcia: "She represents everything he is not, she is very tech oriented and I would like to imagine he is more like 1920s smart, books and reading etc." Kirsten Vangsness agreed, adding Garcia is more extroverted and available emotionally, whereas Reid struggles with his emotions. Reid is a technophobe, and does not use either email or the new iPads. Gubler tweeted that Reid is also germaphobic. In general, Reid dislikes shaking hands,undefinedand shows adverse reactions when touched by strangers.undefinedIt is speculated the character may also have slight Obsessive–compulsive disorder, particularly from a scene in "Out of the Light" where Derek Morgan slightly moves an item in an OCD unknown subject's home, and Reid immediately places it back to its previous spot.

On the Job
Reid joined the BAU at age 22 (stated in an article on his father's computer in "Memoriam"). One of his first cases was that of The Blue Ridge Strangler (Tabula Rasa). Though he went to the FBI academy, he had trouble with just about everything that wasn't book-related, including marksmanship, physical training and obstacle course. In the end, they had to make special exceptions to get him into the field (What Happens at Home).

Season One
Reid turned 24 in the episode "Plain Sight". He also asked JJ out on a date, after being handed tickets to a football game by Jason Gideon; who tells Reid that JJ is a big fan of football. In the following episode, Reid only said that the date was "top secret" and it was never mentioned again.

In "L.D.S.K.", despite failing his gun qualification, Reid still manages to deliver a fatal shot to the head of Phillip Dowd (with Aaron Hotchner's backup weapon, a Glock 26); thus saving himself, Hotch, and a room full of hostages. He later joked that he was "aiming for his leg". Hotch is so proud of Reid he lets him keep the gun. It is not clear whether or not he kept the weapon as he is never seen using it again.



In "Derailed" Reid reveals that he is capable of impressive sleight-of-hand magic tricks, which he uses to trick the deranged hostage taker. He then shows remarkable insight into the mind of the delusional man, successfully distracting him to protect the hostages. After Elle Greenaway admits that Reid saved her life, she asks about how he gained such insight, implying that Reid may have some personal experience with mental illness. Reid explains that he was just pretending, pats Elle on the knee, and walks away; leaving Elle and the audience wondering if he is hiding something.

In "Somebody's Watching", Reid garnered the affection of Hollywood starlet Lila Archer, who was being stalked by an unsub who killed people to further Lila's career. Lila gives Reid what may have been his first kiss. It is unclear whether Reid tried to pursue the relationship further, but JJ teased him about it briefly in Season 5 episode "The Performer" asking if he still talked to Lila. Reid declined to answer and quickly changed the subject back to the current case.

Season Two
In "The Fisher King II" Reid reveals to the rest of the team that his mother is "a paranoid schizophrenic who wouldn't remember to eat without being properly medicated and supervised". He mentions to Garcia that schizophrenia is passed on genetically, something he is evidentally worried about.

In "Aftermath" Reid seems to be the only team member who notices Elle's odd behavior, and confronts her; he gets her to open up to him but it does not stop her from spiraling out of control. Reid later blames himself for not having done more to help her.



While being held hostage by Tobias Hankel, Reid was repeatedly tortured and forcibly injected with dilaudid, which caused hallucinations of his past and he became addicted. He had a near death experience when he went into a seizure where he saw shadowy figures and a bright light (and, as he later pointed out to Morgan, it couldn't be like other cases where these visions are just doctors in the emergency room). Reid was forced to kill for a second time using the revolver that his captor used to torment him. Reid's addiction was noticed by Hotch and Gideon over time, as well as an old friend of Reid's in New Orleans ("Jones"). He has since become clean; in Elephant's Memory, he attended a support group (called The Beltway Clean Cops) meeting for addicts in law enforcement. He said he'd been experiencing cravings recently and spoke of the young man shot in front of him (in "3rd Life") before being interrupted by multiple calls summoning him to work. He was surprised to find one of his superiors attending the same meeting. The older agent, named "John", loaned Reid his one year sobriety coin, making Reid promise that he would return once he earned his own. He is still very particular about staying clean, as seen in Amplification when he strictly refused to take any narcotic painkillers after being infected by anthrax.

When Gideon does not show up at work and fails to answer phone calls ("In Name and Blood"), Reid drives out to Gideon's cabin in his own car. Upon arrival, he finds a note addressed only to him explaining why Gideon chose to leave the BAU. Later, Reid explains to Prentiss that his father did the same thing when he abandoned Reid and Diana.

Season Three
In the episode Damaged, he managed to save himself and Hotch from Chester Hardwick (who intended to kill them as a way to evade the execution of his death sentence) by giving a thirteen minute lecture on the medical explanations for Chester's condition and behavior. When the situation had been diffused, he stated that he didn't know if the profile was accurate, thus revealing it had been improvised on the spot using his encyclopedic knowledge. He also stated that he does some of his best work when under 'intense terror'.

Season Four
In the season 4 episode Minimal Loss, Prentiss and Reid went undercover as "child interview specialists" to determine if the polygamist cult leader was sexually abusing young girls. Prentiss took a severe beating in order to protect Reid, causing him to feel guilty about her having to protect him. In The Instincts, a young boy disappears, and it leads Reid to some questions about his own past. He visits his mother, who inadvertently helps him solve the case.



In "Memoriam," Reid reunites with his estranged father, William Reid, whom he hasn't seen in 17 years. It is not a happy reunion, as Reid is still very angry and suspects his father of murder. However, William is eventually cleared of any suspicion. At the end of the episode, Reid meets JJ's newborn son, Henry, and JJ asks him to be Henry's godfather.

In "52 Pickup," Reid impressed a female bartender named Austin while investigating a serial killer. On Morgan's advice (who told him "chicks dig magic"), he performed an impressive illusion with a pen and a flier showing a police sketch of the unsub. When she asked for his number, he told her she already had it behind her barrette, which she pulled out of her hair. The bartender would later call him and ask him out, though nothing appears to have come of it.

Season Five
In Nameless, Faceless, Reid is shot in the leg by an unsub while protecting a doctor whom the killer had targeted. It is a non-life-threatening wound, and Reid tells the doctor to treat the unsub instead of him. In the next episode, Haunted, he carried crutches. Later in the season, he moved on to use a cane and continued doing so until the episode The Uncanny Valley.

In "100," Reid manages to figure out that George Foyet is using the alias "Peter Rhea," which is an anagram of "The Reaper". The team finds out Rhea's address and storms his apartment, only to find that Foyet had posted an Internet alert on the name Peter Rhea (to alert him if the name was ever investigated) and has disappeared.

Season Six
In J.J., Reid takes antacids from the desk of Emily Prentiss. Prentiss says, "Again with the dairy?" Reid replies with, "I can't help it, I love dairy". This implies that he is lactose intolerant but, in retrospect, could have been a cover for his headaches that were revealed later. On the jet he is later shown to be feeling sick and went into the bathroom. When he comes out he is wiping his mouth as if he had been vomiting.



In 25 to Life, Reid appears to be rather disheveled. His shirt is partially untucked, his hair was unkempt, he reads very slowly, and he is much quieter and more subdued than he had been in past seasons. The rest of the team seems oblivious to these signs.

In Corazón, Reid is revealed to be suffering from intense headaches, and possibly hallucinatory episodes, while working the case. In the end of the episode, he goes to see a doctor, who finds nothing physically wrong with him, suggesting it may be a psychosomatic disorder. Terrified of having inherited his mother's schizophrenia, he vehemently denies this and storms out of the office. Prior to this episode, Reid exhibited multiple signs of being in pain-- such as gripping and rubbing his leg, rocking in his chair, cringing in pain while in the background, and putting a hand over his stomach as if he felt ill.

He appears to be well in the following episodes, though in Coda, he is seen carrying a book about migraines. In With Friends Like These..., Reid confides in Morgan about his problems, remarking that he only read five books the previous week. In Valhalla, Reid tells Prentiss about his headaches. By then, Reid had gone to several doctors but no one has been able to diagnose what is wrong with him. He tells Prentiss that he has not told any of the team members because he is afraid that they will make him "feel like a baby."

In Lauren, it is Reid and Garcia who react strongest to the news of Emily's death; when he's told, he tries to run out of the room and winds up sobbing on JJ's shoulder after telling her that he "never got a chance to say goodbye."

Season Seven
When Hotch and JJ told the team they'd faked Prentiss' death, Reid became very upset with JJ. He told her he felt betrayed because he "came to her house for 10 weeks, crying" and she didn't say anything. He also mentions that he considered taking dilaudid again after Emily "died." Reid also angrily referred to JJ as Jennifer, something he had never done before. He later made amends with both Emily and JJ.

In Painless, Morgan plays a practical joke on Reid by giving his phone number to the press after Reid hustled him. The non-stop calls irritated Reid to the point he yelled into his phone, but from Morgan's reactions to the calls, Reid realized what he'd done and declared revenge. On the plane, Morgan's music is interrupted by a recording from Reid, which warned him against entering a prank war with MIT graduates, followed by Reid screaming. Reid smiles as Morgan's phone rings, apparently a call from Garcia. Morgan answers but is interrupted by more of Reid's screaming. Morgan then declared "it's on".

For the second time since the start of the series, he celebrates his birthday during an episode, this time his 30th during True Genius, with the team.

Season Eight
In God Complex, Reid makes a series of phone calls via payphone to a mysterious woman. It is revealed that she viewed the MRI scans of his brain and has suggested a course of treatment for his headaches. He also appears to suffer from sleep deprivation. It is later suggested that perhaps the woman is possibly a geneticist. Reid behaves rather strangely when he needs to speak to the woman during the case, causing Alex Blake to come back and confront him after she dropped him off at a payphone. Reid does not want the rest of the team to know about his mystery woman. It also appears that the woman is in some sort of danger and she fears that an unidentified male does not know about her relationship with Reid and she fears that "he" will hurt Reid. Morgan worries that Reid is suffering from migraines, but Reid has not been having them for awhile. He and his mystery woman have been in contact for six months and only on Sundays up until this point. Reid wants to have more frequent conversations and possibly meet her, but the mystery woman is afraid for his safety. She does say "love you" before hanging up, leaving Reid in awe. In Zugzwang, the woman, identified as Maeve Donovan, is abducted by her stalker, also identified as Diane Turner, and despite his efforts to rescue her, he watches in horror as Diane simultaneously kills herself and Maeve with a single .45 caliber bullet at the end of the episode. He breaks into sobs of grief.