Jarod investigates the crash of an airliner that he was almost on. Miss Parker, Sydney and Broots crash a high school reunion and learn about Mr. Lyle's past.
This episode contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Mr. Lyle's adoptive father. Could have been a Freudian Excuse for Mr. Lyle, except for the bit where he got his revenge by faking his own death and framing his father for murder (in the process murdering one of his schoolmates to obtain a suitable corpse).
- The Atoner: Jarod gives a college freshman he befriended his plane ticket so he won't miss registration. The plane crashes, and Jarod becomes an FAA inspector to investigate what happened, just because he feels responsible. At the end, he even visits Daniel's family and apologizes for the ticket exchange. Fortunately, the parents don't blame him, and ask him to tell them about his time with their son.
- Class Reunion: Jarod sends Sydney, Miss Parker and Broots to a high school reunion. While they're there, they discover that this was where Mr. Lyle went to high school under a different name.
- Death of a Child: "Crash" provides an example that is not a major plot point, but illustrates the overall tragedy of the plane crash. While waiting at an airport terminal, Jarod briefly plays with a little girl holding a doll. Later while investigating the plane crash, Jarod sees the recovered personal effects of the killed passengers, including a charred doll. During Jarod's Imagine Spot of the passengers' last moments, among the screaming and panic, the girl can be heard crying out for her mother.
- Empathy Doll Shot: When Jarod is examining the plane crash wreckage, he finds the charred doll belonging to one of the passengers.
- Faking the Dead: One of the things Miss Parker and her team learn about Mr. Lyle is that before he reinvented himself as Mr. Lyle, he faked the death of his former self (and took the opportunity to frame an enemy for his own murder).
- The Gadfly: Mr. Bowman's cell is adorned with paper cutouts resembling padlocks. He says he's been getting them consistently from an anonymous person ever since he got sent to prison. He doesn't realize it's his Not Quite Dead foster son's way of mocking him, with the padlocks being like what Mr. Bowman used to lock young Bobby in the shed.
- Irony: Daniel's last words to Jarod, in reference to Jarod letting Daniel take Jarod's spot on the plane, are "Thanks, Jarod, you really saved my life." The words haunt Jarod after the plane crashes and Daniel is killed.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Jarod gives a college freshman he befriended his plane ticket so he won't miss registration. When the plane goes down and his young friend is a confirmed fatality, Jarod is beside himself with grief.
- Not Quite Dead: In high school, Mr. Lyle faked his death by murdering his best friend and mutilating the body so that it could pass for him. Due to recent events, Sydney realizes that Jarod having the pursuit team attend the reunion was his way of saying that Lyle is still alive.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Broots, of all people, delivers one to Miss Parker for taking such a dim view of some people living in Nebraska:Broots: Oh, okay. And what's so great about your life? You're forced to stay at the Centre till you catch a guy they stole from his parents. You're haunted by the... by the murder of your, your mother. Competing for your father's attention with a bald-headed lunatic who drags around an oxygen tank—
Miss Parker: Careful!
Broots: Well, I'm just sayin'. I'd take a Sunday sermon and a Little League game any day of the week over that. - Sanity Slippage: Between the supposed death of her beloved foster son and her husband being framed for it, Mrs. Bowman lost her marbles. She keeps talking to a pair of dogs that aren't actually there.
- Wham Shot:
- Miss Parker wants to leave the reunion just as a presenter shows a photo of a supposedly dead classmate: a young Mr. Lyle.
- Mr. Bowman receiving another paper padlock in the mail confirms Sydney's suspicion that Lyle is still alive.
- With Friends Like These...: In high school, Mr. Lyle murdered his best friend and used the corpse for Faking the Dead.
