Attempted Rape and Near-Rape Experience: Gloria, when she is grabbed and assaulted by a lecherous construction worker. Late in the episode, Edith reveals that she went through a similar experience as a young woman.
Change the Uncomfortable Subject: Played for Drama when Gloria finally begins to tell Edith exactly what happened to her while she was walking past the construction site. Edith realizes what Gloria's about to say and desperately starts talking about a new sofa a neighbor recently bought. It's clear that she's trying to keep herself from imagining what the would-be rapist did to her daughter.
Continuity Nod: Played for Drama with the police detective's questioning. He warns the Bunkers that defense attorneys will drag up Gloria's past to prove she was "asking for it" and incidents from previous episodes, such as her posing in the nude for an artist friend, are mentioned as possible ammunition.
Devil's Advocate: The police detective uses this questioning — that she "asked for it" and "wanted it" — with Gloria to make sure she's filing a founded claim and as a subtle way of warning her she will face a much more vicious form of this questioning in court. Mike — in an era long before #MeToo — is aghast that this is even allowed.
Downer Ending: Mike and Archie force Gloria to not press charges against the man who nearly raped her, leaving her feeling powerless and robbed of agency in her own home. It's also clear that the would-be rapist will continue to attack women, and that his next victim likely won't be able to escape.
Groin Attack: When Edith tells the story about the time a man nearly raped her, she remarks that her father taught her self-defense that had "something to do with knees", implying that she used this tactic to attack the rapist and flee.
Hidden Depths: It turns out that Edith survived a rape attempt as a teenager, and that she furthermore has never told anyone about the incident, even though it still troubles her.
Lecherous Licking and Perverted Drooling: A shaken Gloria describes — graphically — that several times prior to the incident where she was grabbed by a construction worker, she had walked by a construction site, where workers were making catcalls, hooting and hollering, etc. at young, attractive women, hoping (somehow) to woo them in. Gloria tried to avoid the area, but took a shortcut one quiet Saturday when she assumed no one would be working, and it was then that she was attacked. note None of the events Gloria describes are seen by viewers, the events having taken place before the start of the episode.
My Greatest Failure: Edith tells Gloria that, when she was a young woman, she went on a double date to a boardwalk and was nearly raped by the man she was seeing. Though she successfully escaped, she never told anyone about it because of her generation's discomfort in discussing such topics. Edith then remarks that she regrets not doing something, and that she's been haunted her entire life by the thought of "all the other girls that man got under the boardwalk—and how many didn't get away...".
Nothing Is Scarier: We don't see exactly what happened to Gloria, and while she describes the lead-up to the attempted rape, she never specifies just what the man tried to do to her (especially because she passed out from the shock). The lack of specifics forces Edith (and the audience) to imagine the scenario instead.
"Not If They Enjoyed It" Rationalization: The police detective warns Gloria and the rest of the family that a good defense attorney will play the "she asked for it" or "she wanted it" card in court, and that said tactic is frequently successful.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Gloria usually comes home from work in a cheerful mood, so when she enters the house looking disturbed and desperately wanting to talk to Edith, it's a sign that she is deeply upset.
Thousand-Yard Stare: The episode ends with a slow zoom on Gloria's face as she stares straight ahead, not blinking, as Archie remarks that it's a good thing that they won't be pressing charges. She's clearly imagining her would-be rapist walking free.
