Directed by Mark Pellington
Written by Meredith Stiehm
May Pearson is caught in Atlantic City and brought back to Philly to answer as to why she left her friend Clem dead on the side of the road in 1988.
Tropes for the episode:
- Bittersweet Ending: In the end, there is no one to arrest as Petey killed Mac after he killed Clem and he will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars, if that wasn't the case before. But Petey and May seem to have made peace with what happened and are happy to have seen each other one last time, and Sally finally learns what happened to her husband.
- Continuity Nod: When Will and Lilly are reviewing Clem's case box, the case boxes of Paige Pratt and Jeff Kern can be seen on the shelf above them.
- The Dead Guy Did It: The entire episode built up Clem's three friends as suspects. None of them did it. Clem's killer was Mack, who died the same night. Petey killed Mack, but because Petey was already in prison, Mac was killed outside the detectives' jurisdiction, and Mac was an Asshole Victim, this is treated as no big deal.
- Flashback Effects: The flashbacks are filmed on the same music video style as the epilogues.
- Future Loser: Petey went from a promising football star to a Jaded Washout all the way to a jailbird.
- Growing Up Sucks: The theme of the episode. It starts in 1980 when Clem and his friends were hopeful and ambitious high-school graduates. By 1988, every one of them are jaded as their lives fell apart in the interval. Eventually culminating with Clem dying after he tried to elope with May in hopes of reliving better days.
- It's All My Fault: May and Petey both blame themselves for Clem's death. May for giving him the idea to elope with her and Petey for snitching on Clem after Mac threatened to kill him.
- Jaded Washout: Petey is this by 1988 as he flubbed his football career and became a petty thief. May is a lesser example, as she had gone from an aspirant singer in her youth to a cynical casino waitress in the present.
- Honorable Marriage Proposal: Deconstructed. Clem and Sally got married almost straight out of high school after he got her pregnant. This causes problems later down the road, as they lose the spark between them and don’t know how to keep their marriage afloat, because they Married Too Young and did not mature or develop in their relationship.
- Married Too Young: Clem and Sally's marriage took place due to an Honorable Marriage Proposal after he got her pregnant, but it ends up giving way to an Awful Wedded Life because they don't know how to keep the marriage afloat due to no maturing or development in their relationship.
- Minimalist Cast: This episode probably has the smallest poll of suspects in the show: four people, one of whom is dead by the present day and only has a few short scenes. The only other credited characters in the episode are the detectives, Stillman's ex-wife, and the victim himself.
- Teen Pregnancy: Sally's pregnancy by Clem their senior year resulted in an Honorable Marriage Proposal from him. Sadly, they Married Too Young and their marriage suffers as a result.
- Tragic Keepsake: May kept the car that Clem had stolen and got killed for.
