In noir-style, private detective Peter/Mac Bookpro investigates the disappearance of a nun by the name of Meg/Sister Megan.
Tropes:
- Affectionate Parody: The episode is one huge parody of noir films.
- Artistic License – Religion: It really isn't scandalous for a priest to have an adult child as the episode seems to think, as widowers are allowed to enter the priesthood.
- Asshole Victim: Sister Megan/Meg, a cruel and abusive nun, and cardinal St. Louis/Carter, a hypocritical bootlegger. It's not sad to see them go.
- Better Manhandle the Murder Weapon: Mac/Peter gets framed for the murder of Cardinal St. Louis because he stupidly pulls the knife out of his back.
- Boom, Headshot!: How Marion/Stewie kills Sister Megan.
- Cerebus Call-Back: Mac/Peter was fired from the cop force for defecating on the sidewalk, which caused Marion/Stewie to slip and injure himself while going to the play to audition for The Nutcracker, prompting her to seek vengeance against him.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Seamus appears early on as a grateful client saying he owes Mac/Peter a favor. He repays the favor by telling him where Heady/Lois is and saving his life during the final confrontation.
- Convenient Photograph: After spilling open the luggage, Mac/Peter sees a photo of orphans and notices how one has a football-shaped head.
- Detective Patsy: Marion/Stewie wanted to frame Mac/Peter for the murders to get back at him for ruining his chance to be a dancer.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: During Marion/Stewie's final flashback, when going to the theater to audition for The Nutcracker, Mac/Peter is seen rushing away while wearing a cop uniform and trying to keep his pants up. To anyone who recalls him defecating in the street, you might see where this is going.
- Freudian Excuse: Marion/Stewie's motive for killing the Cardinal and Megan? Megan abused him at the orphanage he lived in and the Cardinal turned a blind eye to the abuse in order to focus more on his beer bootlegging operation. His reason for framing Mac/Peter at one point? Well, Marion/Stewie tried to assuage his bad feelings at the orphanage by having a dancing dream but when he went to audition for the lead in the play The Nutcracker, he wasn't watching where he was going and slipped on some feces on the pavement courtesy of Mac/Peter, injuring himself and leaving him unable to audition.
- Gender-Blender Name: Mac/Peter confronts Carol/Chris, who without any prompting insists that plenty of men during this time period have that name. Marion/Stewie gets in on this, too, during the reveal.Mac: That's a very defensive response for something I didn't bring up.
- In the Back: Cardinal St. Louis is killed by being stabbed in the back with a switchblade.
- Noir Episode: Natch, with the regulars in the standard roles, like Peter as the private detective, Lois as the sultry dame hiring him for the case, Stewie as the secretary, Joe as the friend on the force, and Brian and Quagmire as newspaper men assisting on the case.
- Nun Too Holy: Sister Megan/Meg was an abusive nun to the orphans at the orphanage, especially to Marion/Stewie.
- Private Eye Monologue: Naturally. Mac/Peter acknowledges that he makes use of a thesaurus to pull it off.
- Red Herring: Carter/Cardinal becomes the top suspect in killing Sister Megan, but he's killed when Mac/Peter confronts him at the church. From there, Mac/Peter thinks Heady/Lois is the killer, and he catches her trying to leave town, only to learn her secret was that the Cardinal was her father.
- Self-Deprecation: Mac gets a phone call that his narration says he's been dreading.Mac: American Dad!'s been picked up for three more seasons?! God, when do I get a weekend?!
- Sinister Minister: The cardinal is a bootlegger in reality.
- Shout-Out: During a flashback, when Marion/Stewie asks Sister Megan/Meg for more soup, the other nuns laugh at him, like another orphan who asked for soup.
- Straw Hypocrite: The cardinal is vocally against alcohol and is believed to have rigged the vote in favor of prohibition. In truth, the cardinal is an alcohol bootlegger and rigged the vote so he could have the alcohol market all to himself.
