Directed by David Barrett
Written by Hank Steinberg
The team searches for a student who disappeared during a break, and they soon learn the boy has serious personal problems and his disappearance may have been something other than a kidnapping.
Tropes for the episode:
- All Abusers Are Male: Subverted. While some of the bullies are boys, the team realizes it was a Girl Posse that drove Eric to disappear.
- Berserk Button: Eric's main bully doesn't like to be reminded of his home situation.
- Everyone Has Standards:
- When one of the mothers finds out that her daughter is part of a "Queen Bee" bullying group that may have driven a classmate to run away, she is less than pleased. She gives her daughter, Brandee Case, a Death Glare and says they have to discuss a few issues.
- Danny asks how the hell can kids can be so mean to each other. Samantha explains it's not that simple.
- When the posse humiliating Eric over what he said to Emily realizes he's not reacting to them mocking him by getting mad or embarrassed, they all look at each other and realize they might have just made a bad problem worse.
- Happily Failed Suicide: The episode ends this way, with Eric sounding relieved to be alive, and asking his parents to never send him back to that school.
- Mundane Solution: How did Eric disappear from the school grounds? Simple; he walked out. No one stopped him because they didn't see him leaving.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Emily bursts into tears when her twin brother Darren says that Eric is going to kill himself. She was already feeling bad when Eric disappeared, but knowing Eric is doing to die because of her was the snapping point.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Jack doesn't exactly let Eric's primary bully go without a word when he finds the eighth-grader in his house drinking a beer.
- Self-Harm: When they realize Eric has been bullied, the team deduces that he smashed the mirror and cut himself.
- Suicide Note: Eric calls Darren, who tells him that his parents are worried about him. He goes Oh, Crap! when Eric tells Darren he's going to kill himself and that Darren has been a good friend to him.
- Token Good Teammate: From the look of it, Darren is the only one who was more than nice to Eric at school, becoming A Friend in Need.
- Villains Never Lie: The girls involved in the bullying ring tell the truth about what happened, enough for the team to put together a narrative.
- What Were You Thinking?: The agents are not happy when they find out that Emily was one of Eric's bullies. They confront her and ask if she even thought about her actions. She's forced to admit that she wasn't thinking and that she didn't expect Eric to go that far.
