Matthew Gray Gubler who plays Dr. Spencer Reid practiced to be a magician when he was younger and performs a magic trick as part of the plot. In interviews, he has mentioned magician Harry Anderson as an influence. One of the hostages on the train is named Harry Anderson.
Susan Gibney (Dr. Linda Deaton) is a main character in the action movie of the same name, Derailed (2002). The main plot centers around a hostage situation on a train.
This episode presents the first time in the series that a quotation voice over is done by an actor other than Mandy Patinkin . The concluding one is preformed by Matthew Gray Gubler .