Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Directed by Charles Haid
Written by Erica Messer
A boy kills himself to get away from his bullies at a military academy. In revenge, his bullies are murdered during a camping trip.Written by Erica Messer
Morgan: "Things do not change. We change." Henry David Thoreau.
Tropes
- The Alcoholic: Strauss is revealed to be one. At the end of the episode, Morgan and Hotch more or less force her to go into rehab.
- Bully Hunter: Josh Redding, the missing student, is revealed to have been one.
- Everyone Has Standards: Josh didn’t like the abusive environment of the academy despite initially being sent there to control his violent temper.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: When told that Josh killed a man in self-defense, Colonel Massey claims it’s no different than premeditated, cold-blooded murder. However, he might have told the BAU this because he doesn’t want them to side with Josh.
- Failed a Spot Check: Chris Sheldon attempts to kill Josh despite the fact there was no mention of him in Bailey’s diary that implicates him as a bully. It’s most likely he’s caught up in his rage of losing his son that it never occurred to him that Massey lied about Josh being responsible for Bailey’s death.
- Irony: Presumably, Tucker Calhoun was a bully before being sent to the academy, and his parents hoped that Colonel Massey would be able to discipline him. Instead, Massey encouraged their son’s bullying behavior.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: Tucker Calhoun and the other bullies were allowed to torment the other cadets and were never punished for it. When the father of the cadet who hung himself found out about it, he kills them all (with Tucker getting the worst of it).
- Mama Didn't Raise No Criminal: While she doesn’t deny that Josh had serious anger issues, Mrs. Redding doesn’t believe her son would stoop to Kick the Dog behavior. She backs up her claim by pointing out that he personally handed Chris Shelton his son’s belongings so she wouldn’t have to pass the room where he committed suicide.
- Military School: The setting of the episode. It is revealed to have been an extremely abusive and controlling place.
- Misery Builds Character: Colonel Massey apparently believes in this. Unfortunately, that misery comes in the form of throwing new cadets into large clothes dryers and turning the machine on among other things.
- Out-of-Character Alert: What first tips of Morgan that something is not right with Strauss. She lays into the director of the school, saying things Morgan says he was thinking himself, which he thought very weird but positive, and then he smelt the alcohol.
- Papa Wolf: Chris Sheldon is a widower who still wears his wedding ring, meaning his Bailey is all he has left. When he reads his son’s diary and learns about the bullying encouraged by the man in charge of the academy, he goes ballistic.
- Parental Favoritism: While not his actual sons, Colonel Massey claims to see his cadets as this. His favorite cadets are the ones that bullied the boy the took his own life. Presumably, Josh Redding was The Un-Favorite because he refused to be a bully to the younger cadets.
- Red Herring: It looks as though the missing student, Josh Redding, might have committed the murders, but he is innocent.
- Revenge Before Reason: The father of another student who had killed himself before turns out to be behind it, he wanted revenge.
- Shout-Out:
- Josh recites a speech by Churchill as he strides through the woods.
- The suicide victim is named Bailey.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Josh’s parents sent him to the academy to help control his temper. After seeing the abusive treatment that goes on every day in the academy, Josh channeled most of his energy into protecting the younger cadets.
- Wham Episode: Strauss is revealed to be an alcoholic.
- Morgan: "Beware, so long as you live, of judging men by their outward appearance." Jean de la Fontaine.
