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. [S1E9] Derailed
The episode begins with Special Agent Elle Greenaway on what should have been a routine business trip to Dallas for a custodial interview with a convicted child murderer. Her journey is interrupted when a passenger, Dr. Theodore "Teddy" Bryar—a former renowned physicist—suffers a severe psychotic break. The episode "[S1E9] Derailed" is a standout installment