Gloria: Whoa, <Player's Name>... that yoga teacher is in pretty bad shape... I didn't even know humans could make that shape at all!
With first-hand knowledge of how addictive DreamLife's VR game is and their hiring of Tony Marconi's security company, the department is now certain the tech firm is up to something suspicious. However, their investigation on DreamLife's affairs is put on hold when Chief Parker sends Gloria and the player to investigate a murder in a yoga studio, where instructor Scott Morris was drowned in the studio's water feature after being ambushed doing a complex yoga pose.
Tropes:
- Ambiguously Evil: During the Additional Investigation, Cathy discovers that DreamLife's VR game is programmed to alter its player's perception of time so they'll be stuck playing for hours while believing only a few minutes have passed, essentially hypnotizing them with the headset. Cathy says this feature was purposefully implanted on the game, but Rozetta claims it's a bug she had no idea about and that she'll look into it, leaving unclear just how misleading her game is.
- Bald of Evil: One of the killer's traits is that they're bald, and Max planned a premeditated murder for ten years, making him quite unsympathetic even if his motive for killing Scott were understandable.
- Better as Friends: Downplayed. Rozetta and Scott decided to end their engagement after Scott became a Celibate Hero, although it seems Rozetta resented him for this and thus didn't want to be his friend.
- By the Hair: The killer grabbed Scott by his hair while drowning him, and even teared off his dreadlocks during the ensuing struggle.
- Call-Back: Rozetta Pierre reappears as a suspect, while Zoe Kusama makes her first physical appearance since Case 12.
- Call It Karma: Gabriel briefly touches upon the subject of how the concept of Karma tends to be oversimplified when you discover the killer sent a threatening message to the victim using the Bhagavad Gita telling him how he'd receive his karma.Gabriel: <Player's Name>, how familiar are you with the concept of karma?Gloria: Isn't that when what you do comes back to you?Gabriel: Well, it's a little more complex, but essentially, that's true. What goes around comes around!
- Celibate Hero: After becoming a spiritual and ascetic yoga teacher, Scott told Rozetta he couldn't continue in any kind of romantic involvement, which led to them breaking up their engagement.
- Cliffhanger: The case ends with the department going to attend a tech fair where DreamLife will have a booth, intending to find out what the company is up to.
- Continuity Nod: When the player interviews Guruji for the second time, he says the last time he had a student as free-thinking as he felt Scott was becoming, the student ran off to "start some cult about a flashlight or something." It's heavily implied that said student was Om Padmasana.
- Cool Old Lady: Captain Clementine, a 70-year-old boot camp owner with some impressive physique for her age and an amicable attitude to boot.
- Cool Teacher: Guruji, the owner of the yoga studio, flicks between being this and a Stern Teacher, although the latter mostly applied to Scott since he nicely accepts helping Jones with Zoe's memory problems without asking anything in return.
- Curse Cut Short: During his arrest, Max calls Scott "a liar, thief, general bast-" before Gloria cuts him off to ask about the thief part.
- Door Slam of Rage: Rupert does this after Gloria tells him DreamLife's game is programmed to trick players into staying inside the virtual world more than they should and how it's been greatly affecting him, claiming there's nothing wrong with either him or the game.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Max claims he was kicked out of anger management therapy for this reason, and considering how he spent 10 years planning a revenge that could've easily been solved in a legal dispute, it's clear to see why.
- Holier Than Thou: Lyle, Scott's roommate, explains how Scott saw himself as holier-than-thou about everything, hiding Lyle's video game store loyalty card so he wouldn't keep wasting his time on them and replacing Lyle's favorite coffee with homemade chai tea.
- Human Knot: How the victim is found. Interestingly, he did it to himself, as he was practicing a complex yoga pose when his killer sneaked from behind and drowned him.
- Hypno Trinket: It's discovered that the headsets of DreamLife's VR game are programmed to make the players completely lose notion of time, inciting them to play continuously for hours and think only a few minutes have passed. What's more, it seems that this game also possesses some pretty serious withdrawal effects, which make Rupert irrationally angry when the team momentarily takes away his headset.
- Just One More Level!: Rupert gets so hooked up to DreamLife's VR game that he entirely dismisses work in this case, forcing Amir to perform all of the lab analyses by himself.
- Muscles Are Meaningful: Max spent ten years getting ripped for this very reason, considering taking his revenge on Scott would be easier if he were far more stronger than him.
- Only One Name: Guruji and Captain Clementine.
- Operation: [Blank]: Captain Clementine had one named Operation: Slay Scott, which according to her only involved convincing Scott to let her take the last fitness instructor slot on a reality TV show about extreme weight loss instead of him.
- Proverbial Wisdom: Guruji tends to speak like this, requiring Gabriel to translate his personal diary for the player.Gabriel: From what I can tell, the notes were written by Scott's guru. He likened Scott to a mongoose on hot ground! Which meant that Scott was behaving wildly...He went on to say that Scott was like sesame seeds in the forest. I believe the victim was failing to live up to the guru's expectations!
- Punny Name:
- The very ripped Max Gaynes has "max gains" when it comes to his muscles.
- Guruji is a guru.
- Regained Memories Sequence: While we don't get to see it, Zoe regains some memories of Jones and the time she met their dog Astrid after a therapeutic yoga session with him, giving the team some hope of a speedy recovery.
- Reincarnation: Guruji firmly believes in this, and claims that Scott's death doesn't affect him since he's certain they'll meet again in the future.
- Revenge: Max's reason for killing Scott. Ten years ago, Scott came with a business proposal to him, then ran off with the money after Max invested on it, which led to...
- Revenge Before Reason: ...Max spending those 10 years planning to take revenge on Scott instead of, you know, pressing charges against him. Both Gloria and Judge Powell remark on this.Judge Powell: And there were legal solutions to this problem, Mr. Gaynes!
You had ten years to calm down and get past this, but you chose to plan revenge instead...Gloria: Man, <Player's Name>, can you believe that Max Gaynes spent ten years planning to get revenge on Scott Morris?
That's ten years he could have spent addressing the problem by legal means, then learning to let go of the past and build a future... - Roommate Drama: Lyle and Scott often conflicted due to Scott seeing himself as Holier Than Thou to him as explained above.
- Shout-Out:
- Lyle Bass is a parody of Kyle Gass. He even wears a shirt reading "Audacious Q".
- Captain Clementine is a parody of Ernestine Shepherd.
- In the Yoga Mats scene, there is a box of "Silkies", parodying Kleenex.
- Skewed Priorities: Guruji doesn't seem that concerned about Scott's death, despite him being one of his best students and dying in his own yoga studio. Partially Justified, though, as he firmly believes in Reincarnation and that death isn't the end.Guruji: You must be here about the murder. I am the one who called you before my meditation practice.Gloria: You called us about a murdered yoga teacher, then went to meditate? I guess you were restoring your inner calm...
- We Used to Be Friends: Max and Scott were good friends in university, with the former claiming Scott defended him when Max was just a nerd. Of course, all of this changed after Scott scammed him out of his money.
- Worth It: Max says this at the end of his trial when Judge Powell sentences him to 25 years in prison.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Max acts all distraught when you inform him about Scott's death, calling him a generous and kind person. He's also the killer.
