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Trivia: Mr. Butler submits an application to the non-existent "Demme University" in California. Perhaps writer Brian McAuley and/or director/producer Benjamin Arfmann was/were paying a tribute to film director/producer Jonathan Demme (1944 - 2017)?

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Trivia: Lucas told Principal Fermont that Mr. Butler gave him an "F" on his midterm grade report even though he got "A"s on all of his assignments. But Lucas actually got a "B+" on his "Othello" paper. Pathological lying is a major characteristic of psychopathy (although Lucas would be diagnosed with a "conduct disorder" if he was under 18-years of age). (00:23:55 - 01:03:35)

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Continuity mistake: When Lucas and Mr. Butler are playing chess, the timer clocks do not consistently move forward. The timer clock on the left goes from approximately 10.6 to 10.8 to 10.4 to 10.9 and back to 10.4. The timer clock on the right also goes backwards from about 10.95 to 10.8 and then stays at 11 for three moves. (00:12:10 - 00:12:35)

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Trivia: The "Iowa State University of Art and Science" / "Master of Literature" diploma on Mr. Butler's home office wall contains some blatant errors, suggesting it might have been an on-line "fake diploma" purchase from FakeDiplomamall.com, FastDiploma.com, or similar website. An example shown on these websites is for Science and Technology and it appears someone did not know the proper substitutions to submit - "Liberal Arts and Sciences" and "Master of English" (with Literature Specialization). (00:27:30)

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Plot hole: Principal Fermont gave Mr. Butler a "solid recommendation" for the professorship position he was applying for and Mr. Butler thought he was going to be hired. However, colleges/universities typically require applicants to hold a PhD in the field of study. Mr. Butler would not be likely to get through the Search Committee's initial screening with his M.A, and would not get hired. [There are far many more people with PhDs than there are openings and tenure-track positions are rare these days.]. (00:33:34)

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Character mistake: After Mr. Butler was late getting to his first period English class (due to having a flat tire), he picked up a few markers to write on the white board, but none of the markers had any ink in them. Mr. Butler then told the class, "Let's have a reading day." Public school teachers have daily lesson plans to follow, and a "reading day" would not meet his teaching obligation or fulfill his responsibility. (00:29:30)

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Other mistake: Mr. Butler was late getting to his first period English class the morning he had a flat tire (which Lucas slashed). He went directly into his classroom from the door that opens to the outside of the building (which is odd for a school classroom). Typically, teachers must sign in as "present" and have a homeroom period before their first class. Someone would have had to cover Mr. Butler's homeroom and someone (perhaps Principal Fermont) would have gone to his first period class until he arrived. (00:28:35)

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Mr. Butler: I'm sorry to tell you this, but your son threatened me.
Mr. Ward: What did he say, exactly?
Mr. Butler: Well, he uh... just he was using a book as a metaphor.
Mr. Ward: So, you came here to tell me my son...what? Assaulted you with a poem? (00:41:13)

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Continuity mistake: The final classroom scene contains some continuity errors. The podium is closer to the board/wall a couple times and is later at an angle instead of being parallel to the wall. The words Lucas wrote on the board - "I have not deserved this" - is in bolder/darker writing during the fight and the word "deserved" is not underlined after Lucas underlined it. There is also no explanation or even hint as to how the detective knew to go to Mr. Butler's class (or the school in general) that night. (00:12:25 - 01:19:18)

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Continuity mistake: After Mr. Butler uses tongs to put salad on his plate, he takes a second scoop - but the first scoop has disappeared and his roll has moved (about 90°) on his plate. (00:06:10)

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Other mistake: Mr. Butler is in Lucas' bedroom, finds a small (4"?) camera, and plays the part where Lucas is setting it up in the classroom to (hopefully) film Becca putting moves on Mr. Butler. Mr. Ward (Lucas' father) is standing in the doorway several feet away and cannot possibly see what is on the small screen, but asks if the girl on the tape is the one who died. (01:07:25)

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Stupidity: In chemistry ("Greg's") class, Dylan teamed up with Alex so that he could cause an injury and be able to take his #1 spot on the chess team. The teacher tells the class they will be looking at alkaline metals under the microscope and to remember "alkaline metals are highly reactive, so proceed with caution." None of the students had goggles/ protective glasses, which are standard and required when doing such things in chemistry class. (00:14:55)

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Other mistake: What Lucas supposedly did to one of his teachers at his previous high school (Paul Garrett at Milton High School in San Francisco) is far-fetched. Paul told Mr. Butler that Lucas also blackmailed him for an 'A' by videotaping him in his house drinking alcohol with an old friend. Lucas hunted down Paul's old friend (how would Lucas know about this friend?) and paid him to get Paul - a recovering alcoholic - to start drinking again (how would Lucas know that his teacher was an alcoholic, eight years sober?). Moreover, it doesn't make sense that someone's old friend would accept money from a teenager to get his eight-years-sober friend to drink. Lucas may be clever and conniving, but he was still a kid - someone educated adults should be able to outsmart... or at least not get duped by him.

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Other mistake: Mr. Butler told Principal Fermont that he'd like to talk to Mr. Ward about Lucas, and she gave Mr. Butler Lucas' home address. Mr. Butler went to Lucas' home without notice more than once and even went upstairs into Lucas' bedroom after Mr. Ward - a lawyer - told him to leave. If a teacher wants to talk to a student's parent, the parent would be asked to come to the school for a conference.

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Factual error: Mr. Butler called the school that Lucas previously attended and was able to acquire contact information for a former teacher (who longer worked at that school). This type of information is not given out.

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Stupidity: Principal Fremont did not even consider the possibility that what Mr. Butler was saying about Lucas could be true. She basically laughed it off ("dismissed" it as absurd). On different occasions, Mr. Butler tried to tell her that he didn't think Lucas was who he pretended or appeared to be and that Lucas was blackmailing him for an 'A' in his English class. Because all of Lucas' grades from his previous school were 'A's, the Principal took for granted that they were legitimately earned despite Mr. Butler's concerns. A school Principal should be willing to at least look into Mr. Butler's accusations against Lucas, not merely blow them off as false. [The fact that Mr. Butler could not be more convincing is also problematic.].

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Character mistake: It is highly unlikely that the recipient of Mr. Butler's application for the professorship position would not only call him so soon, but ask him to come to her office right away (where she would humiliate him for the things he wrote in his essay on "qualities that make me a good teacher"). Moreover, her failure to listen to Mr. Butler and give due consideration to his assertion that someone else actually wrote those offensive things showed poor judgment, especially since she knew the person who referred Mr. Butler and spoke highly of him. Someone tampering with his application would make more sense than believing that Mr. Butler actually wrote those things that criticized the very college he was applying to and boasted so much about himself. That Mr. Butler was not able to say more to make his point believable is also problematic. He is an English teacher, so should have the vocabulary and mastering of techniques to make a convincing argument, but he failed to defend himself.

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Plot hole: It seems highly unlikely that Lucas would be able to "mess with" Mr. Butler's application for a professorship position, or be able to accomplish what he did in such a short amount time. Off-screen, Lucas went into Mr. Butler's briefcase (foolishly left on his desk in the classroom during lunchtime) and (correctly) assumed Mr. Butler's application was on his laptop. Lucas would have to be able to figure out Mr. Butler's password (something that could take forever), find the right file on his laptop, read or scan the application to determine what he could do to mess it up, write a new answer for "qualities that make me a good teacher", and leave the classroom before anyone saw him. Lucas would also have to assume that Mr. Butler would not notice the change when he printed the application, made a photocopy, and double-checked the application before inserting it in the envelope and mailing it.

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Character mistake: Mr. Butler leaves his briefcase (containing his laptop) in his unlocked classroom during lunchtime. There's no rational reason to not take his briefcase with him to the teacher's lounge beyond furthering the plot.

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Stupidity: Becca was presented as a good student (earned an 'A' in Mr. Butler's class) and intelligent person yet was easily fooled and influenced by Lucas to pursue her English teacher, Mr. Butler, romantically. Even after Becca (under direction from Lucas) went to talk to Mr. Butler after class, and she made Mr. Butler uncomfortable, she followed Lucas' advice to try again. After Mr. Butler made it clear to Becca that he was her teacher, she was a student (and child), and told her to leave, Becca still went along with Lucas' suggestion that she write Mr. Butler a letter/love note.

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