The Lesson
Directed by Matthew Gray Gubler
Written by Janine Sherman Barrois
An old man wakes from a coma and has regressed to the age of nine, when his father was murdered in front of him by robbers, and the boy still believed that marionettes were alive. To recreate the scenario, the man-boy kidnaps people, dislocates their joints, and forces them to reenact the robbery in a play.Written by Janine Sherman Barrois
Reid: William Shakespeare once wrote, "Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind."
Contains examples of:
- Actor Allusion: A killer mixed up with dolls, played by Brad Dourif. Sound familiar?
- Contortionist: If you're worried about the actors being turned into puppets, don't be. They're all played by these.
- Bittersweet Ending: While the UnSub was apprehended, Reid and Maeve’s meeting is canceled because Reid believed her stalker is at the restaurant.
- Moral Myopia: Neither Maeve nor Reid seem to appreciate the seriousness of Maeve's stalker moving on to another victim, simply being relieved they can move forward with their relationship.
- People Puppets: The UnSub dislocated the joints of his victims so he could use them like marionettes, while they were still alive.
- Psychopathic Manchild: The UnSub's father died when he was a boy and he fell into a coma a year before the episode starts. When he wakes after nine months, he does not have the thinking capacities of an adult. He even thinks dolls are alive. To pick which body part to strike a bolt through first, he uses "eenie meenie miny moe". His doll companion mocks him for being such a baby.
- Stalker with a Crush: Both Reid and Maeve assume Maeve's stalker is a man who is in love with her.
- Through the Eyes of Madness: While it might be obvious to most watchers from the beginning, Adam hallucinates both Mr. Conrad and the audience to his performance.
- Reid: Thomas Merton once wrote, "Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone; we find it with another."
