The Boogeyman
Directed by Steve Boyum
Written by Andi Bushell, Andrew Wilder, & Edward Napier
Written by Andi Bushell, Andrew Wilder, & Edward Napier
Hotchner: Plato wrote, "We can easily forgive a child who's afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."
An UnSub is angry and disappointed that his dad doesn't have time for him. Since he's in elementary school, children generally assume he's not dangerous to be around, and assume the recent child murders are the doing of an old grumpy man who lives alone in a big house.
This episode provides examples of:
- Alone with the Psycho: The "go home with a fellow student" policy almost gets a little girl killed, when the boy who agreed to accompany her turns out to be the UnSub. She was lucky she evaded him long enough for our heroes to stop him.
- Bait-and-Switch: In the middle of the episode, a young boy named Matthew is presented as if he was going to be the Hostage of the Week, but turns out perfectly fine.
- Batter Up!: The UnSub's weapon.
- Blatant Lies: Elle turns in her gun and credentials, stating "This is not an admission of guilt." She then almost immediately says that if she had to do it all over again, she wouldn't change a thing.
- The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes: James is a guidance councilor who throws himself into being a father figure and mentor to everyone's children. Everyone's except his own son, who not only feels neglected, but so much so he wants to kill off the other children so it'll just be him and his dad.
- Continuity Nod: A trophy in the police station is engraved with "Sheriff John Bridges", which is the same name as the sheriff from a previous episode. Doubles as Foreshadowing, as the UnSub of this episode is also an underaged son of someone assisting the BAU on the case.
- Enfant Terrible: The UnSub.
- Exact Words: J.J. snarking about Elle:Reid: Elle was cleared?
Morgan: It was self-defense.
Reid: So it was a good shoot?
J.J: Well, she hit what she was aiming for. - Good Cop/Bad Cop: Morgan and Gideon use this approach the guidance counselor; Morgan is furious with him and Gideon is calm and relaxed. Though for good reason, as Morgan believes that he is a child killer, but Gideon is trying to gently break it to him that his young son is the killer.
- Karma Houdini: Elle faces no legal consequences for killing the UnSub of the previous episode. In fact, since she resigned rather than being fired, she effectively faced no professional consequences either since she won't lose out on any financial remuneration based on her employment.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Part of the UnSub's motivation was because his father was always preoccupied with working with other kids. He wanted his father's attention and reasoned that if he killed the other children off, he'd have him all to himself.
- Put on a Bus: Elle Greenaway leaves the BAU and the show.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: Lola Glaudini, Elle Greenaway's actress, left the show because she was unhappy living in Los Angeles and wanted to return to the east coast. This is why Elle's gradual breakdown and erratic behavior was written into the series during the beginning of Season 2, culminating in her quitting the BAU at the end of this episode, so that her send-off wouldn't be as sudden and jarring.
- The Sociopath: The UnSub:Gideon: Why did you hurt those kids?UnSub: Because I wanted to.
- Troll: J.J. of all people, feeding Morgan and Reid a Slasher Film Back Story to explain why she's afraid of the woods.Morgan: You're serious?
J.J.: [Beat] No! I mean, you fell for that? Come on! I don't know why I'm afraid of the woods! I am. - Turn in Your Badge: An inversion, as Elle willingly turns her belongings over to Hotch and resigns after her Vigilante Execution in the previous episode.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Ironically enough, the town's "go home with a fellow student" approach only made it easier for the UnSub to kill off his targets without being noticed. The little girl he went home with was just lucky she evaded him before our heroes stopped him.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?:
- JJ is afraid of the woods. She doesn’t know why, just that she is.
- Reid is afraid of the dark “because of the inherent absence of light”.
- Workaholic: The guidance counselor became this after his wife left the family. This triggered the UnSub's resentment of his classmates, because his father seems to care more about them than him.
- Window Love: The killer and his father put their hands on the police car window before they drive off.
- Wrong Assumption: The BAU profiles the killer as small of stature and trusted by children so they suspect the guidance counselor, who is small and his job means children trust him. The actual killer is a child, both small and trusted by fellow children.
- You Just Told Me: Gideon informs a suspect that the man's son is allergic to milk, to the reply of "how did you know?" Well, that's how.
