The difficult year of Dr. Spencer Reid continues.

Poor Reid. Just being a dutiful son eventually lands him in a Mexican jail on Criminal Minds Season 12 Episode 13.

In jail in a foreign country where he doesn't speak the language without his most lethal weapon: his beautiful mind, as Garcia puts it.

Apparently, the unsub behind this frame-up knows Reid well, enough to know what he's doing.

The BAU team members naturally assume that Peter Lewis, Mr. Scratch, is behind this. Why? Because he's this season's boogeyman.

Good a guess as any, since nothing was proved in this draggy first part of a two-parter spotlighting Reid.

The why for Reid's trip is simple: to find a holistic treatment for his mother that might slow her Alzheimer's.

So that's where that swamp water he's been giving his mom came from.

What's not so simple is why he shut out his teammates from his plans.

After all, a U.S. agent heading into Mexico, without letting anyone know what he's up to, that's just asking for trouble.

And that's what he got: drugged up, framed for murder and drug possession.

If it hadn't been for the technicality of the victim of the crime being a dual citizen, which won Reid a trip back to the U.S., he would have been in deep doo-doo.

I can't imagine the life expectancy for American law enforcement in a Mexican maximum-security prison is terribly long.

Heading into a dangerous country alone is a pretty stupid move for an awfully smart guy.

Reid also got his teammates annoyed and confused by not consulting with them.

Lewis: He was making decisions with his heart and not his head.
Garcia: Which I am intimately familiar with, but none of this would have happened if he would have just let us help.
Lewis: Well, Penelope, that's what we're going to do now.

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The squad was scrambling to figure out why Reid was in Mexico and who was targeting him.

And while Reid and the others slowly somewhat pieced together what had happened to him, there were still all kinds of questions to be answered.

Who killed Rosa? Did that same person plant the evidence in his trunk?

How did Reid get the speedball and other drugs in his system? Surely, with his bad past experiences with drugs, he would have some idea that he had been shot up this time.

Who was Reid chasing at the beginning? I guess the killer, but only he can remember for sure.

And how about that depiction of Mexican police work?

You've got a gringo with cuts on his hands and drugs in his trunk, so he must be guilty.

They don't bother to take into account the testimony of his co-workers.

Castenada: You're not considering the obvious?
Rossi: You wouldn't either if you knew Spencer Reid.

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I guess that beats the other trope of all Mexican police being corrupt.

It was good to see Clara and Daniel from Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders again. Why CBS has held that while trotting out so many other weak-ass dramas (Pure Genius, Training Day) is beyond me.

I enjoyed Beyond Borders during its brief stay last spring and am looking forward to CBS finally bringing it back March 1. 

I guess I prefer my psychos in colorful settings rather than dank basements.

It will be interesting to see what Reid remembers next episode as he comes out of his drug-induced fog. Hopefully, that will clear up this well-constructed frame.

This whole thing's been a nightmare, but mark my words, kid, we're going to get you out of this.

to Reid}

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I'm hoping that they'll get Reid off. I don't want to see another original character written out, especially one of the most intriguing ones.

To catch up on what Reid's been up to, watch Criminal Minds online.

Who do you think is behind this? What was Reid thinking? Why is the FBI so quickly abandoning him? Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.