Directed by Karen Gaviola
Written by Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue & Carol Mendelsohn
"Skeletons" is the 15th episode of Season 4, and the 87th overall. It originally aired February 6, 2006.
Synopsis:
A male victim is unearthed during a beach volleyball tournament, strangled with a belt buckle, leading Horatio to suspect his old enemy from New York, Walter Resden, is back.Tropes for the episode:
- Cowardice Callout: Horatio confronts Walter Resden's abusive pig of a stepfather, and he smoothly deconstructs the latter's boasting about how he's a Social Darwinist by inviting the stepfather to try hitting him. Comparative to all the terrified foster kids he tortured years ago, the stepfather can't bring himself to even try to land a hit to Horatio. Specifically, Horatio says the stepfather is nothing more than both a bully and a coward, emphasizing the latter word as if it's even worse than everything else.
- The Social Darwinist: Like many bullies, Resden's physically-abusive ex-stepfather fancies himself one, to the point that the meatheaded prick is willing to mouth off to the cop who's saving his life. Horatio proves that he's truthfully nothing but a disgusting piece of trash who's using this trope as an excuse to terrorize those weaker than himself when he doesn't have the balls to raise a fist to Horatio, a grown man who's inviting him to land a punch at the time.
