13 Years Later, This Episode is the Hardest to Watch for Criminal Minds Fans

The CBS crime procedural about a team of talented FBI profilers traveling around the US solving the craziest and most intricate cases has been a major hit for the network since the first episode premiered back in 2005. Fans loved that the series was never afraid to tackle complex issues, showing a plethora of crimes based on real-life events.

But it seems that some episodes of Criminal Minds are too realistic even for viewers with strong stomachs, and one particular episode still haunts fans almost 13 years later.

The 9th episode of season 6, titled "Into the Woods", has so far been remembered by many in the fandom, as the investigation on the Appalachian Trail managed to scare a lot of people. The team went into the wilderness in search of a horrible criminal who was chasing children all over the trail.

While all stories with children as victims are pretty hard to watch, this particular investigation surpassed everything else, truly breaking fans' hearts.

People were particularly moved by the scene after the monstrous criminal attacked little boy Robert, and the audience was left alone with the boy reliving his trauma. Although it was already heartbreaking, Robert's determination to let his sister escape while he himself chose to stay was a real gut punch. Fans loved this boy and were rooting for him, so the person who had caused him so much pain was and still is hated.

If the middle part of the episode was hard enough as it was, the finale was even worse.

When the criminal was apprehended and the boy rescued, fans began to feel a little better, looking at the horrors that had occurred as a thing of the past. However, all these feelings disappeared when the criminal escaped into the wilderness again, leaving fans and the boy without any closure. Unsurprisingly, this menacing figure haunts fans to this day.