Criminal Minds season 12 episode 20 sneak peek: Mr. Scratch search takes a toll

As the Criminal Minds season 12 episode 20 sneak peek below reveals, searching for Mr. Scratch is not a particularly easy proposition. It also is one that has some damaging results on families and loved ones.

This preview is one of the best insights that we’ve had to Stephen Walker’s life away from the show since Damon Gupton first joined. You get a small opportunity to see his home, and also some of what he’s given up since joining the BAU from the BAP. While this may be a much more action-packed job, one of the biggest problems with it is that all of that action does come at the expense of having anything closely resembling a normal life. He’s having to work late and dealing with a lot of different physical and emotional stresses.

It is in seeing scenes like this that we start to realize even further that Mr. Scratch may very well be one of the best adversaries that we’ve seen over the course of the series’ run. He is intense, determined, and sadistic in a way few others are. he can operate in the shadows and make life a living hell for everyone.

Will Walker eventually leave the BAU to get a little more rest? It doesn’t seem like it; instead, dealing with Scratch seems to just have him more determined than ever to try to track the guy down and stop him once and for all. The longer he’s out there, the more deadly he could end up becoming.

Aside from Walker

Be prepared to see Reid’s trial date approach in the episode, and the BAU could be looking for whatever means necessary in order to further help him. This episode is also going to feature the return of Jane Lynch as his mother Diana, who will be in two of the final three episodes this season. Having her condition deteriorate at the same time as Reid’s been locked away is probably in part what makes this situation for him so stressful. We’ll have to wait and see precisely how all of this shakes down when the episode tonight airs.

If you are curious to learn more about the state of things on Criminal Minds tonight, our advice is pretty clear — watch it live, and then come back after it airs to get our full review for everything that ended up transpiring. We’ll have it for you online over at the link here. (Photo: CBS.)