Unlike many of the show's more malicious killers, Samantha is portrayed with immense pathos.
Dr. Spencer Reid plays a pivotal role, using a gentle, empathetic approach to talk Samantha down without handcuffs at the end. He eventually returns her original dolls to her, which immediately makes her docile.
Samantha uses a wheelchair lift in her van to abduct victims. She dresses them in meticulously tailored chiffon clothes and even sews wigs directly into their scalps to ensure they perfectly match her lost dolls. The Heartbreak: Samantha’s Trauma
" The Uncanny Valley " (Season 5, Episode 12) of Criminal Minds is widely considered one of the series' most unsettling yet heartbreaking episodes. It explores the tragic case of Samantha Malcolm, an "unsub" who abducts petite women and uses paralyzing drugs to transform them into living dolls, recreating a childhood doll collection she lost years prior.
The episode features a notable performance by Jonathan Frakes (of Star Trek fame) as the predatory Dr. Malcolm, and a chillingly moving performance by Jennifer Hasty as Samantha. S5E12 - “The Uncanny Valley”
The team identifies the unsub as a "collector" with a deep-seated psychopathology, likely stemming from damage to the pre-frontal cortex that prevents her from distinguishing between living beings and objects.
The title refers to the psychological theory that human-like figures (like dolls or robots) become increasingly unsettling as they look more, but not perfectly, human.