History Recap / TheHardyBoys2020Season2E3TheMissingCamera

* RightForTheWrongReasons: The Hardys and friends believe that Tom Elroy has Dennis's tape because he's the one who kidnapped him and torched the shack, and took the tape with him to hide the evidence, breaking into his house to find and steal it. Tom ''does'' turn out to have the tape, but it's because he found it in the woods during one of his walks, and the video-tape-adjacent electronics he bought was so he could try to get it working again. Once the gang befriends him, he willingly hands the tape over to them for their investigation and reveals what he knows.

* ChekhovsSkill: An indirect version. The beginning of the episode establishes that Phil works as a paper boy. During the planned break-in at Tom's house, Phil states that, as part of the job, he's become really good at dealing with dogs, and manages to [[FoodAsBribe bribe Tom's dog with treats]], befriending her and getting her to happily come with them.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Biff calls a florist to track down who ordered flowers that were left on her birth dad's grave, in hopes of finding her birth mom. She doesn't want Jessie to know she's looking into this, so instead of using her own name and phone number for a call back, she gives them ''Joe's'' contact info--someone she hasn't told yet about her search--rather than Phil's, who is actively helping her. Of course, when the three kids are at the Hardy home later, Trudy gives the message to Joe, forcing Biff to fill him in on the spot regardless of whether or not she wanted to yet.

* {{Nepotism}}: Callie is horrified to learn from Gloria that Frank's and her acceptances to Rosegrave ''were'' indeed fixed, even if they didn't personally cheat; they were always guaranteed to be admitted, even before the exam, due to being Gloria's grandson and protegee.

* ThereAreNoCoincidences: Gloria reveals that Frank and Callie being the final two standing in the Rosegrave entrance exam in "In Plain Sight" wasn't because they happened to be the two students with the best scores; it was rigged in their favor from the start because of them being Gloria's grandson and her protegee.

* DidYouActuallyBelieve: Gloria asks Callie if she really believed that she and Frank--Gloria's protegee and grandson, respectively--just happened to be the two students who did the best on the entrance exam for Rosegrave Prep. She reveals that ''everyone'' who took the exam aced it, but outright states the school's admission is not a meritocracy; Callie's acceptance was guaranteed from the start, long before she took the test, because--unbeknownst to her--Gloria was grooming her to be part of the innermost ring of the Circle of the Eye.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Downplayed, but when Joe learns that Biff's discovery about her adoption, which she's mentioned to him before, is that her birth father is dead, he feels terrible about having repeatedly lightheartedly pushed her for information about her bio parents and immediately apologizes, as he can certainly relate to the tragedy of having a dead parent. She assures him that it's okay and she's not mad at him.

* AngryGuardDog: Elroy's dog is kept in her own fenced area, but barks at trespassers on the property. She's more of a BigFriendlyDog to the Hardys and co once they [[FoodAsBribe lure her away with food]], but plays this very straight with the teens who come to prank Tom once Belinda siccs her on them.
* BrickJoke: Chet tells the Hardys about the rumors that Tom Elroy, who owns much of the East Woods, burying bodies there at the behest of the Bridgeport Demon, and Wilt notes that it's ridiculous, because "the Demon lives in the West Woods." Later, when Frank, Belinda, and Chet are confronting Tom and he states that he's heard all the names people call him and things they say about him, he offers his own thoughts:

* DealWithTheDevil: Gloria offers one to Callie; she'll use her connections to get her un-blacklisted from prep school if Callie gets Frank to visit her there in prison. She flatly refuses, unwilling to let Gloria use her to get to and potentially hurt Frank.
* DidYouActuallyBelieve: Gloria asks Callie if she really believed that she and Frank--Gloria's protegee and grandson, respectively--just happened to be the two students who did the best on the entrance exam for Rosegrave Prep. She reveals that ''everyone'' who took the exam aced it, but outright states the school's admission is not a meritocracy; Callie's acceptance was guaranteed from the start, long before she took the exam, because--unbeknownst to her--Gloria was grooming her to be part of the innermost ring of the Circle of the Eye.

* GoodCopBadCop: A variation in that Joe plays both roles. He's been playing Good Cop since Dennis was found, including when they first go to the East Woods, gently asking him questions to try to prompt memories of what happened. But after Elroy chases them through the woods while shouting "I know what you did, Dennis!", Joe switches to Bad Cop once they're safe, being much rougher and more accusatory with his questioning. It ultimately doesn't help, though, since it just causes Dennis physical pain and makes Lucy angry, and they both storm off.

** Frank's and Callie's entrance exam to Rosegrave Academy, and them being the two who passed and were admitted, is discussed at length in Callie's scenes with Gloria. The latter also mentions how she mentored the former for years when revealing her motive for doing so.
* DidYouActuallyBelieve: Gloria asks Callie if she really believed that she and Frank--Gloria's protegee and grandson, respectively--just happened to be the two students who did the best on the entrance exam for Rosegrave Prep. Gloria reveals that ''everyone'' who took the exam aced it, but outright states the school's admission is not a meritocracy; Callie's acceptance was guaranteed from the start, long before she took the entrance exam, because--unknown to her--Gloria was grooming her to be part of the innermost ring of the Circle of the Eye.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: Biff calls a florist to track down who ordered flowers that were left on her birth dad's grave, in hopes of finding her birth mom. She doesn't want Jessie to know she's looking into this, so instead of using her own name and phone number for a call back she gives them ''Joe's'' contact info--someone she hasn't told yet about her search--rather than Phil's, who is actively helping her. She also says they can leave a message with Trudy, who is ''dating'' Jessie and could potentially tell her about it. Of course, when the three kids are at the Hardy home later, Trudy gives the message to Joe, forcing Biff to fill him in on the spot regardless of whether or not she wanted to yet.
* FaceOfAThug: Tom Elroy initially sparks Frank's suspicions due to having similar black boots that their unknown arsonist wore, but his grumpy, loner-like tendencies and {{Perpetual Frown|er}} don't help at all. But when he catches Frank breaking into his house and establishes his innocence, he's revealed to be a MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold, a war veteran who plants trees and picks up trash in the woods during his walks. Tom was only unfriendly to the Hardy gang because he has a long history of teens trespassing on his land and pranking him, and befriends Frank, Chet, and Belinda when they drive off one such group of pranksters.
* TheKindnapper: With a dog instead of a person. The gang lures Tom's dog into coming with them using treats, and she's more than happy to do so and acts like a BigFriendlyDog to them. Naturally, they have no intention of hurting her in any way or even trapping her somewhere; the plan is to call Tom and let him know they found his dog to get him out of the house to come get her so Frank can sneak in in the meantime.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Downplayed, but when Joe learns in that Biff's discovery about her adoption, which she's mentioned to him before, is that her birth father is dead, he feels terrible about having repeatedly lightheartedly pushed her for information about her bio parents and immediately apologizes, as he can certainly relate to the tragedy of having a dead parent. She assures him that it's okay and she's not mad at him.

* RightHandAttackDog: Elroy's dog is kept in her own fenced area, but barks at trespassers on the property. She's more of a BigFriendlyDog to the Hardys and co, who [[FoodAsBribe lure her away with food]], but plays this very straight with the teens who come to prank Tom once Belinda siccs her on them.

* TheoryTunnelVision: Thanks to the Eye's visions making Frank suspicious of Elroy, he becomes completely certain the man ''must'' be guilty and doesn't even consider otherwise until Tom catches him breaking in and disproves all his arguments, and Frank realizes he's really a MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold. He laments this Joe later, saying "I was so sure, and so wrong," and promises not to make this mistake again.

* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: Frank's plan to break into Tom Elroy's house is fully stated and shown happening as he's explaining it, so naturally, it doesn't go as planned; Frank gets caught in the act by Elroy, and it turns out that the latter is innocent.

** The final shot of the episode shows JB listening in on the boys' conversation over a radio from his motel room (and learning that they still have access to the Eye), revealing that he bugged their house during his previous visit.