Derailed - [s1e9]

The episode "[S1E9] Derailed" is a standout installment from the first season of Criminal Minds , originally airing in November 2005. Set aboard a passenger train traveling from El Paso to Dallas, it delivers a high-stakes hostage situation that tests the BAU's ability to negotiate with a mind untethered from reality.

Egged on by a delusion he calls "Leo," Bryar becomes convinced that the U.S. government is monitoring him via an implanted microchip. After witnessing a police officer (present because of a suicide on the tracks ahead) speaking with Elle, Bryar snaps, kills the officer, and takes the entire train car hostage using Elle’s service weapon.

: A woman traveling to Dallas to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. [S1E9] Derailed

: Bryar’s own psychiatrist, who was traveling with him to a conference to present him as a success story for treating severe psychosis.

: The character of Teddy Bryar was loosely inspired by Ralph Tortorici, a man with paranoid schizophrenia who took hostages at the State University of New York in 1994. Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 9: "Derailed" summary. The episode "[S1E9] Derailed" is a standout installment

When the BAU arrives on the scene, they realize standard negotiation tactics won't work on someone in a deep delusional state. Gideon and Hotchner decide to play into Bryar’s fantasy, positioning themselves as "The Higher Authority" he demands to speak with.

The tension of the episode is amplified by the eclectic group of hostages, each carrying their own "baggage" that complicates the negotiation: government is monitoring him via an implanted microchip

The situation reaches a boiling point when Josh Patel's unhelpful assistance makes Bryar even more unstable, leading Bryar to shoot Dr. Deaton. In the final confrontation, Reid manages to communicate with Bryar on a psychological level, pretending to see the "strings" of the universe as Bryar does—a reference to Bryar's expertise in M-theory . The crisis is ultimately resolved when Harold Anderson, the "Chekhov's Gunman" of the car, shoots Bryar, allowing the authorities to take him into custody.