Michael asks Diego to look into Strickler, while a 13-year-old boy breaks into Fiona's place to steal a gun and kill his abusive stepfather, Erik Luna, a well-connected politician.
- Actually Pretty Funny: To ensure the final plan works, Sam listens in on Erik packing his bags. He openly laughs at Erik's sheer panic.
- …And That Little Girl Was Me: In response to Joey saying he's perceived as a delinquent, Michael talks about "this kid" that had a rough childhood, got into trouble a lot, and eventually got a job doing the kind of things he got in trouble for. Joey picks up on who Michael is really talking about pretty quickly.Joey: So, you're saying I should eat a lot of yogurt.
Michael: Can't hurt. - Batman Gambit: The plan is to get Erik to miss the custody hearing by making him a paranoid mess. After assorted games to make it look like some mysterious criminal is gunning for Erik, Michael gets him to hire supposed assassins (really Fiona and Sam) to find and deal with the problem. The team instead makes it look like they all got violently cut down, leaving Erik in a complete panic and trying to skip town. However, Quinn, wanting to see this supposed murder site, forces some last-minute tap dancing.
- Berserk Button: The gang once again step in to help a kid.Madeleine: For a couple kids getting knocked around by an abusive stepfather? Michael would take on the Chinese army, honey.
- Big Brother Bully: Erik lives in fear of angering Quinn.
- Big Brother Instinct: Erik was poised to gain full custody of his son and stepson. Older brother Joey wanted to shoot his stepdad to spare his little brother from future beatings.
- Big "SHUT UP!": At the supposed chapel, Quinn in response to Erik desperately trying to tell him about what really happened.
- Comically Missing the Point: Fi chides Joey for wanting to kill his stepfather... without having properly planned how to dispose of the body.
- Corrupt Politician: The villain of the week is an abuser, hitting his wife and children. He's also a well-connected politician with a gangster for a brother.
- Crazy-Prepared: Fi has a handgun stashed in her umbrella stand.
- Don't Explain the Joke: Strickler has a lady friend give Michael some lotion as a peace offering. When Mike goes directly to him to say he's not interested, Strickler appears annoyed that the joke is being ignored, saying the lotion is good for burns.
- The Dreaded: Diego sending Strickler's name up the chain set off all the alarms and gave Diego four days of hell from all the agences.
- Foreshadowing: Sam mentions a navy buddy, now out of country, who ran a mission near the alley where they fake the hit. The team then turns it back into a mission to make Luna look crazy.
- The Gadfly: As Erik is thought insane and taken away, Michael can't resist giving him a sly wink just to tweak him even further.
- Gaslighting: The gang takes Luna down by making him look insane to his brother.
- It's Personal: Michael is naturally invested in a case involving an abusive dad beating the wife and kids. In his narration, he notes that spies are usually supposed to be emotionally detached, even when dealing with someone that truly disgusts them. This time, though, he gets to use his anger to sell his cover and, as a bonus, gets to repeatedly punch said abusive dad.
- Large Ham: Sam goes down in the most glorious fashion when he gets "shot".
- Loophole Abuse: Michael wants Diego to look into Strickler, but he knows Diego is uninterested in doing him any favors. That's why he called the Homeland Security office in advance to say he was dropping off the paper with Strickler's name on it, which means Diego can't simply throw it in the trash.
- Karma Houdini: Downplayed. Quinn is still at large at the end of the episode, but Sam reports the loss of a good face-man has left his operation exposed and that the police are starting to look into it. The team doesn't expect to hear from Quinn in the future.
- The Man Behind the Man: Erik is the guy with the good public image and thus the in for assorted legitimate ventures. Big brother Quinn is the gangster with the muscle and ambitions who needs Erik to stay clean and appear sane.
- Mean Boss: Erik is verbally abusive towards his receptionist and lawyer.
- Noodle Incident:
- Erik's history of drug use is why Quinn's in no mood to entertain his claims.
- The final play is based on something Michael and Sam did in Moscow back in 1999 to trick a Russian colonel. Sam points out they had weeks to fully put that stunt together, though.
- Product Placement: This episode was brought to you by MGD 64.
- Race Against the Clock:
- The team has to make Erik paranoid and crazy enough to miss the upcoming custody hearing.
- The supposed shootout has succeeded in making Erik want to skip town, but Quinn gets to him first and wants to see the scene he's ranting about. Sam estimates about a half-hour before the the brothers get to that location. Michael's plan is to use that time to pass off the abandoned building as a chapel and clean up what they used to fake the shooting.
- Trauma Button: Sam lampshades how Joey's case hits close to home for Michael more than the kid could've ever imagined.
- Would Hit a Girl: Erik regularly hit his ex-wife April.
- Would Hurt a Child: April says Erik hitting the kids was the last straw.
- "You!" Exclamation: Erik in response to Michael not dead and instead posing as a priest at the supposed chapel.
- You Have to Believe Me!: Quinn wants to see where the supposed shooting took place and the dead bodies. Michael decides to opt for this approach by redressing the building as a chapel and posing as a priest. He says all the right things to trigger Erik into screaming and trying to attack him. Sam, meanwhile, poses as a street vendor, while Fiona walks by as if she were just doing some shopping. Erik insists that this is all a scam and talks about his other experiences, all while sounding absolutely crazy. According to April, Erik ends up in a mental institution.
