Team Westen is still on the run from Agent Riley, when things take a turn for the worst. Sam gets shot, Jesse gets captured.
- Armor-Piercing Response: Riley is unnerved by how far Michael takes things on the boat, but she still thinks he wouldn't go as far as to get them both killed, so she claims he completely misread her and that he's wrong for thinking she would try to pin doing business with the cartel on him.Michael: Then I guess we have nothing more to talk about. [accelerates the boat]
- Badass Boast: In the hospital, as Riley begins what may be the worst and most pointless torture session ever, Sam delivers one on Michael's behalf.Sam: Before you go, I do have one thing to say. [...] You know, I was slowing Mike down. I'm not any more. You took the gloves off, sister. You called in a hit on his mom. So you don't have to worry about finding Michael Westen. 'Cause he's gonna find you. And when he does, he is gonna end this.
- Bittersweet Ending: They're free and clear, the organization that burned Michael is finally completely gone... but Michael can't keep his promise to leave with Fi as he's stuck working with the agency as part of the deal for their freedom.
- Bookends: If this had been the series finale, then the show would have begun and ended with Mike escaping pursuit on a dirt bike.
- Bulletproof Human Shield: Michael blocks automatic rifle fire with a guy. He's wearing a vest, but that wouldn't do much.
- The Bus Came Back: Jason Bly, former antagonist, shows up to offer Michael a deal.
- Concealment Equals Cover:
- Mike ducks behind a sofa to avoid more rifle fire. In this case, it works because he's lying on the floor and the guy's aiming too high.
- IN the fight against the cartel, everyone is hidden behind wooden crates or empty barrels.
- Deadpan Snarker: Michael reports the Coast Guard was "very, very interested" to hear how a well-armed cartel boat was operating right under their noses.
- Due to the Dead: One reason Michael won't just walk away is because that would mean Bly died for nothing.
- Heroic Vow: Mike said he promised Sam that he would make things right, and he's prepared to do anything to make that happen.
- Hope Spot: The group gets solid evidence of Riley's misdeeds, with Bly noting this will indeed help their case with the government. Bly is killed soon afterwards, with the evidence destroyed in the process.
- I Surrender, Suckers: In the face of Michael's gambit, Riley immediately agrees to surrender and hands over her gun so that he'll call off the Coast Guard. Michael, however, doesn't buy it for a second, saying she'd wiggle out of anything she says right now and have forged evidence to claim that he was the one doing business with the cartel.
- Knight Templar: Riley's so far off the rails she goes to the cartel for soldiers to go after Micheal.
- Nerves of Steel: The reason Michael's gambit succeeds is because he remains calm as can be, even as the Coast Guard opens fire, whereas Riley cracks under the pressure. He is fully prepared to die, and she most definitely isn't.
- Oh, Crap!: Riley when she realizes the cartel boat she's on has started moving into open water.
- Out-Gambitted: Riley intended to cover her tracks by preparing forged evidence that Michael was the one who got in bed with the cartel. In the face of the Coast Guard about to open fire, she is prepared to surrender to Michael under the belief she can save herself and play that card later, but Michael reveals he anticipated the trick and won't budge until that phony evidence is turned over. He concedes it's a very good plan and that it might even still hold up if she doesn't confess now, but he points out she won't live to enjoy that possible victory.
- Sacrificial Lion: Agent Bly, definitely a Hero Antagonist, dies helping Michael prove that Riley's sold out the CIA and DEA to the cartel to take out Michael.
- Series Fauxnale: The seventh season was ordered only a month before this episode aired, so they didn't know if they'd be renewed. The back half of the season was written for the possibility that it really would be the grand finale.
- Stop, or I Will Shoot!: As Michael and Riley have their stand-off, the Coast Guard keeps attempting to make contact, but Mike deliberately won't answer. As he says, the Coast Guard isn't known for their patience in such situations. They fire some warning shots and, when still not getting an answer, do so again with the heavier artillery. After that, it's clear there will be no more warning shots.Michael: [hands Riley a phone] I think it's time you make that call.
- Underestimating Badassery: Discussed in one of Michael's voiceovers, about the Coast Guard.Michael: Most people don't think of the Coast Guard as being particularly well armed. Most people are wrong.
- Xanatos Gambit: Combined with an Indy Ploy. Michael's final play is to force Riley to confess everything she's done to try and catch him, including faking records to cover her tracks. The alternative is that they both get killed by the Coast Guard. Either way, Mike's friends and family are free.
