: A young man expelled from university for a drunk driving incident, whose confrontational attitude and conspiracy theory rants further agitate Bryar.
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. [S1E9] Derailed
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. : A young man expelled from university for
: 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. After witnessing a police officer (present because of
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: