Talk about killer tracks.
Jones' suspicions about Marconi behind behind the disappearance of his girlfriend Zoe prompts him to drag the player to Marconi's famous nightclub, The Blue Flamingo. However, their investigation into Marconi's affairs is put to a halt when they find the body of DJ Kalua Kaboom, who died after receiving a high-voltage jolt of electricity to the neck.
Tropes:
- Accidental Murder: Deconstructed. While it's doubtful Kalua actually intended to kill Robyn's sister Piper, she still neglected to follow Robyn's instructions to avoid using flashing lights during her party despite repeatedly being told so. However, the court still ruled it as an accident and Kalua got away scot-free due to her expensive lawyers protecting her from Robyn's family, which is why she decided to kill her in Revenge.
- Alliterative Name: Kalua Kaboom.
- Ambiguously Evil: As of this case, not even DreamLife is safe from the department's suspicions when it's revealed they've hired Marconi's security company to guard the crash site where the satellite fell a year ago, all while trying to keep it a secret for unknown reasons.Tony: Something smells fishy about the whole satellite bidnis, <Player's Name>! Trust me, Tony Marconi's got a nose for shady dealings, and this DreamLife is as dodgy as they come!
- Asshole Victim: Kalua screwed over Teddy's music career by bailing on him, ruined her endorsement of Tallulah's cheese by going on rants against cheese despite Tallulah paying her, and ticked off Ziggy by remixing classic music into dubstep, whether it made any sense or not. But all that pales into comparison to what got her murdered; she killed Robyn's younger sister Piper by putting on a massive display of strobe lights at the former's 21st birthday party that triggered the latter's epilepsy, despite being specifically told not to do this and why, even promising not to do it, then going back on her word and "apologizing" by giving Robyn VIP tickets for her next show. Robyn feels worse and more regretful over Kalua's death than the player could ever feel.
- Bleed 'Em and Weep: Downplayed. After killing Kalua, the culprit took a photo of her corpse only to immediately tear it apart. As a result, Gabriel deduces they felt guilty about murdering her, but during the arrest, Robyn clarifies that she didn't felt bad about Kalua herself, but the fact that she felt no real satisfaction after enacting her revenge.
- British Stuffiness: Teddy hails from London, and he acts like an Insufferable Genius when it comes to his music.
- Call-Back: Tony Marconi and Rozetta Pierre reappear, the former as a suspect and the latter during the Additional Investigation.
- Continuity Cameo: In the Record Store crime scene there is a poster of Ian Devine.
- Continuity Nod: The Blue Flamingo, Marconi's nightclub last seen in Case 11 of the first season, reappears as a crime scene.
- Disproportionate Restitution: Kalua "apologized" to Robyn for killing her sister by... gifting her VIP tickets for her next show.
- Dreadful Musician: Both Teddy and Ziggy are seen criticizing the victim's music at some point, the former for being too shallow and the latter because she was remixing classic music into dubsteps, which he found appalling.Teddy: I only knew this DJ Kaboom through her so-called oeuvres, which were the perfect example of the kind of dross that passes for music these days!Come to think of it, her music was a bit like this waffle pop - pretty and saccharine, but offering a short-lived pleasure with minimal depth of flavor!
- Dumbass DJ: Considering the fact she put strobe lights at Robyn's birthday party despite being asked not to and indirectly killed her sister with no consequences, it's safe to say Kalua fits this role.
- Employee of the Month: Ziggy Sparks, one of the suspects, works at a record store where he's this.
- Epileptic Flashing Lights: Kalua used these in Robyn's 21st birthday party despite being explicitly requested not to, which led to Robyn''s sister suffering a fatal seizure.
- Exact Words: During one of her interrogations, Robyn tells you she was mad at Kalua because she used strobe lights that gave one of Robyn's "squad" a seizure, which ruined her party. It's only when you arrest her that you find out this squad member was actually her sister, and the seizure had much harsher consequences than ruining a party.
- For Science!: Gabriel's reason for ingesting the same weed snacks the killer does is because he wanted to learn more about their psyche.Jones: I thought Gabriel had more sense than to take drugs, but I guess for him it was all in the name of science!
- Green-Eyed Monster: Teddy Brooks, one of the suspects, is a musician who resented Kalua's successful music career while he barely makes any money out of his, specially because he and Kalua used to be in a band before she left him.
- High-Voltage Death: Kalua was killed by being shocked in the neck with a homemade electrical gun.
- Hipster: Ziggy makes clear you won't catch him hearing modern music, as he's convinced that Older Is Better.
- Impossibly Delicious Food: One of the killer's traits is that they eat waffle pops (basically waffles and ice cream on a stick), which according to Jones are the rage in The Greens.
- Impossibly Tacky Clothes: One of the killer's traits is that they're wearing a wooden bowtie, which both Jones and Rupert finding it ridiculous.
- Just One More Level!: During the Additional Investigation, Rupert gets so hooked up in DreamLife's VR game he forgets to attend a meeting with Amir and collect the change of a $100 dollar bill for a 10$ purchase.
- Karma Houdini: The victim got away for indirectly killing Robyn's sister, since court ruled it as an Accidental Murder despite the fact Kalua was still responsible for not letting it happen. This led to Robyn taking matters into her own hands.
- Mushroom Samba: At the start of Chapter 3, Gabriel get high when he ingests marijuana edibles as an experiment, where he proceeds to tell how much he loves you and claim there's two of you.
- Noodle Incident: Amir recalls how Jones once got all hyper on s'mores during a camping trip they had, which got Jones in hyperactive mode.
- Not So Above It All: Rupert, your technophobe Technologically Blind Elder teammate, becomes so hooked in DreamLife's VR game he actually starts neglecting his duties, making him guilty of what he accuses technology to be doing to the new generations.
- Oh, No... Not Again!: Marconi has this reaction when Jones and the player interrogate him again during the Additional Investigation, wondering what Jones is going to blame him for now.
- Older Is Better: Ziggy has this mentality regarding music, preferring classical and old themes over modern ones, which is why he got so furious with the victim when she started remixing them with dubstep.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: It's doubtful Kalua Kaboom was the victim's real name, but if she had a different one, we never learn it.
- Pun: Jones and Tallulah constantly make a lot of cheese puns while speaking with or about each other.Jones: It would be "Gouda" to talk to Tallulah!Tallulah: Will do! Until then, may the force "Brie" with you!
- The Reveal: The satellite that fell in the forest a year ago is owned by DreamLife, which in return is being protected by Hawk Eye Security, Marconi's company. What's more, it seems that DreamLife is trying to keep their involvement as secret as possible and forcing the security guards to sign non-disclosure agreements about what's inside the dome, leading to a lot of questions about the company's veracity.
- Revenge Is Not Justice: Both Jones and Judge Powell agree that, while Robyn's motivation for killing Kalua was understandable, that still doesn't excuse her for taking revenge and killing her.
- Shout-Out:
- Tallulah Shropshire says "May the force Brie with you".
- In the Dancefloor scene, there is another pink teddy bear.
- In the Record Store scene, there is artwork of a mermaid resembling Ariel above a bright red crab, as well as a picture of a deer-headed person in a tuxedo.
- David Bowie and John Lennon are mentioned.
- Kameroid is a parody of Polaroid.
- One of the killer's attributes is that they take an edible known as Scrappy Snacks.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Teddy acts like an Insufferable Genius regarding his music and how talented he is, but during is second interrogation you learn he's not really earning much with his career.
- Spooky Photographs: The killer took one of the victim's body before tearing it apart, which you discover as a clue. Robyn later tells you she took it as proof of a satisfactory revenge before realizing that Vengeance Feels Empty.
- The Stoner: One of the killer's traits is that they eat edibles called Scrappy Snacks, which are one of the few (if not only) legal ways of consuming marijuana in Grimsborough.
- Straw Vegetarian: Kalua became a vegan who badmouthed animal products and anyone who consumed them, including cheese. This put her at odds with Tallulah, a cheese vendor who made a partnership with Kalua to promote her cheese.
- Sympathetic Murderer: Robyn murdered Kalua because she couldn’t afford to sue her for causing the death of her sister Piper. Because of this, Judge Powell sentences her to just 7 years in prison.
- Take This Job and Shove It: Kalua threatened Marconi with quitting her job if he didn't raise her salary for a great amount, which Marconi couldn't afford as she brought a lot of clients to his nightclub.
- Valley Girl: Robyn Ash.
- Vengeance Feels Empty: During her arrest, Robyn says she really doesn't feel better after killing Kalua.Robyn: I totes thought taking a photo of her would be satisfying proof of my revenge... but it just made me feel worse. Nothing will bring my sister back! Nothing!
- Verbal Backspace: Marconi does this twice during his interrogations.Marconi: I tell you one thing - if I find out who killed her, they're dead meat!Figuratively speaking, of course...Marconi: What was she thinking, threatening a reformed monster?! Didn't she know that I am the KING of blackmail!I mean, I was..
- Verbal Tic: Tallulah is prone to speaking with cheese Puns and metaphors, with Jones often following her in this regard.
- We Used to Be Friends: Kalua and Teddy used to be in a band together until she left him to start a solo career, becoming rich and famous while he Teddy was stuck earning almost nothing.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It's never left clear what happened with Ginger, who became the owner of The Blue Flamingo after Marconi's arrest. It's possible she just gave it back to Marconi after he got out of jail, but her absence leaves a lot of unanswered questions.
- You Killed My Father: Robyn murdered Kalua because she killed Robyn's younger sister and didn't face any consequences for it.
