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Context Recap / InspectorLynleyS01E01WellSchooledInMurder

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1[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/51czmaa7nel__sx300__7900.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:300: "One tug on the old school tie and you come running, eh, sir?"]]
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4-> '''Thomas Lynley''': I wanted you here because you'll come to the school with fresh eyes - without prejudice.
5-> '''Barbara Havers''': Without prejudice? Apart from my opinion that a system which dumps kids with relative strangers is fundamentally rotten?
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7Twelve-year-old Matthew Whateley, a pupil at the prestigious boys' school Bredgar Hall, is found dead and mutilated in a cemetery. Lynley, who went to Eton with one of Bredgar Hall's housemasters, decides to take Havers along to investigate, since she can look at the institution with fresh eyes. As they probe into the truth, the school's respectable facade of "proper" British upbringing begins to crumble to reveal a subculture of blackmail and oppression, of which Matthew isn't the only victim.
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9!! Tropes
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11* AdultsAreUseless: Several schoolmasters in Bredgar Hall fit this trope to a T; for example, Lockwood, the headmaster, is much more concerned about preserving the school's reputation than he is with helping to find Matthew Whateley's killers.
12* TheAtoner: [[spoiler: Cowfrey Pitt sponsored Matthew Whateley to make up for having [[DrivenToSuicide driven Matthew's biological father to suicide]]]].
13* BeleagueredChildhoodFriend: John Corntel is in considerable danger of being a victim of PaedoHunt, thanks to his house prefect's insinuation that AllGaysArePaedophiles.
14* TheCastShowoff: Hardly obnoxious, but Lynley is shown riding dressage in this episode. Creator/NathanielParker is an equine enthusiast and amateur equestrian in real life.
15* DepravedHomosexual: Corntel fears that this is how he is perceived by everyone, including his old friend Lynley.
16* DiabolicalMastermind: Subverted with [[spoiler: Clive Pritchard]]. He believed himself to be this, but as it turns out, he wasn't the only one pulling the strings.
17* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Chas Quilter]].
18* HomoeroticSubtext: Brian's feelings for Chas seem borderline romantic. [[spoiler: This explains [[LoveMakesYouEvil Brian's part in Matthew's murder]]]].
19* KidsAreCruel: The Bredgar Hall boys range from children to young adults, and yet some of them are capable of deeds no less shocking than the works of the most depraved criminals.
20* LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler: Why else would a nice, bright kid like Brian Byrne commit murder?]]
21* MamasBabyPapasMaybe: [[spoiler: Matthew Whateley]].
22* MeaningfulName: Erebus, the name of the house under Corntel's supervision. It's "the primal darkness that emerged after chaos."
23* PaedoHunt: A boys' school and a [[AllGaysArePaedophiles gay housemaster]]. 'Nuff said.
24* PastimesProvePersonality: Lynley is shown riding dressage in this episode. There is no more stereotypically "snooty", aristocratic sport than English riding, and ''especially'' dressage.
25* PrincelyYoungMan: Chas Quilter, Head Boy.
26* ScholarshipStudent: Matthew Whateley was one -- meaning that he was not only a StrangerInAStrangeSchool but also too smart to blindly put up with "accepted" norms. This proved to be a fatal combination.
27* TeacherStudentRomance: The reason [[spoiler: John Corntel]] was being blackmailed. [[spoiler: In reality, [[JailBaitWait he waited until the student left school]], but there was no evidence to prove this.]]

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