Pantalone has an audacious plan to steal a consignment of diamonds worth a tasty twelve million. But he's hired a complete bunch of double-crossing clowns to do it.
This episode provides examples of:
- 6 Is 9: In the opening scene, Arlo is having trouble finding the address to the hideout because he mistakes a written 9 for a 6.
- AcCENT upon the Wrong SylLABle: Scaramouche's Italianised pronunciation of English words, e.g. "whore tensia" instead of "Hortensia".
- Afraid of Blood: The Doctor Faints in Shock whenever he sees blood... or ketchup. Arlo points out how odd this seems for a doctor. Of course, it could also be a clue to the Doctor merely owning a Morally Ambiguous Doctorate.
- Anyone Can Die: Only two of the seven characters survive.
- Aside Comment: Besides Meta Girl Columbina, there is also Pantalone who at one point turns to the camera and says "You're with me now."
- As You Know: During the heist briefing Pantalone admits that the crew already knows the details of the plan but he is going to repeat them anyway to fill in the audience.
- Blast Out: The Mexican Standoff towards the end results in a shootout that only leaves Pantalone alive.
- The Caper: The A plot revolves around a diamond heist.
- Death Wail: Pantalone howls in grief over the death of his daughter.
- Derailed Train of Thought: During the heist briefing, Pantalone's As You Know speech gets derailed by the group deliberating possible channels their show may be watched from. Leads to a Big "SHUT UP!" by Pantalone who is having enough of the nonsense.
- Et Tu, Brute?: The Doctor's "Et tu, Scaramouche." when Scaramouche sides with Pantalone during their Mexican Standoff.
- Fun with Homophones: The episode is full of it.
- Gag Penis: Pantalone draws a penis on the blackboard by accident when explaining the heist.
- Genre Mashup: In her first monologue, Columbina lampshades that the episode is a cross between a heist movie and the Commedia dell'Arte.
- Germans Love David Hasselhoff: In-universe. The Doctor mentions that the show has a huge following in China.
- I Kiss Your Hand: Scaramouche tries to kiss Hortensia's hand but she pulls away in disgust.
- Karma Houdini: Arlo and Pantalone both survive the final confrontation, and Arlo gets away with the diamonds.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The season 6 opener starts with a close up on the number 6 written on a piece of paper.
- Literal-Minded: When the Doctor asks Mario to lower his voice, the latter starts talking in a baritone.
- Literary Allusion Title: The episode title is a pun on Wuthering Heights.
- Lighter and Softer: Like the season 4 opener "Zanzibar" this episode is farcical comedy full of slapstick, double entende and wordplay all cheerfully lampshaded by Meta Girl Columbina, right up until Pantalone slits her throat. From then on we are, as he points out, "with [him] now", and he's taking us into a classic Inside No. 9 bloodbath.
- Love Letter Lunacy: The B plot around Hortensia's love letter. Naturally it ends up in the wrong hands, leading to a chain of misunderstandings. Columbina questions the antiquated use of a letter in the age of E-mails and Whatsapp.
- Love Triangle: There is one between Hortensia, Mario and Scaramouche. Subverted when it's later revealed that Hortensia actually had an Age-Gap Romance with the Doctor.
- Malevolent Masked Men: The male heist crew (except for Mario) is using masks to hide their identities.
- Meaningful Name: Colombina is actually Detective Sergeant Janus and like the Roman god she has two faces, one a loyal member of the gang and the other an undercover police officer.
- Medium Awareness: Even the characters who don't directly break the fourth wall still happily discuss the international syndication of the TV show they're in.
- Meta Girl: Columbina who constantly breaks the fourth wall, points out existing tropes and reads ahead in the script.
- Mexican Standoff: One ensues in the climax between Pantalone, Mario, Scaramouche and the Doctor. Leads to a Blast Out that only leaves Pantalone alive.
- Mineral MacGuffin: The heist diamonds, worth 12 million pounds.
- The Mole: Columbina turns out to be a cop infiltrating the group to foil the heist.
- No Fourth Wall: There are characters addressing the audience directly, making fun of tropes, and being aware that they are characters in a TV show.
- Not Hyperbole: Arlo mentions that he shot himself in the foot when referring to the bothered caper. Columbina tries to console him by saying it wasn't his fault which prompts Arlo to clarify that he literally shot himself in the foot.
- Offscreen Crash: When Scaramouche accidentally pushes a wheeled chair off-screen, it ends up in a loud crash with glass shattering.
- One Dialogue, Two Conversations: When Mario talks to Scaramouch in private, they misunderstand each other because Mario thinks Scaramouch is in love with him and interprets everything he says as a sexual innunendo while the latter thinks they are arranging to escape with the diamonds together.Scaramouch: When Senior Pantalone gets here, then we will blow.Mario: You mean a three-way?Scaramouch: Si, si. The passage will be tight but I think we can manage it.
- Pietà Plagiarism: The shot of Pantalone carrying his dead daughter into the room, although it's a homage to King Lear.
- Please Wake Up: Arlo wants Columbina to get up believing she was only Playing Possum when getting her throat slit.
- Poor Communication Kills: During the Mexican Standoff, Mario wants his father to hand over the diamonds to Pantalone. However, his comments to "give it to him" and to "let him have it" are misunderstood by the Doctor as a call to shoot. A Mutual Kill ensues.
- Reckless Gun Usage: Arlo repeatedly points his gun into the face of other people and is called out for it. Then during the heist, Arlo shoots himself in the foot because he left the safety off.
- Replaced with Replica: Mario switches the pack of diamonds with a fake one.
- Running Gag:
- Arlo is constantly craving for a sandwich but never gets one. Eventually, he ends up with the diamonds because of this.
- Characters quoting "Bohemian Rhapsody" whenever the name Scaramouche is dropped.
- Seasonal Rot: Invoked:Columbina: It's series six, you've got to allow for some artistic exhaustion.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: Pantalone is irritated by the meta gags from the start, and one of his only fourth-wall-breaking lines after killing Columbina, "you're with me now", signals a change in tone. The episode is still very silly after this but it gets less meta and a lot Bloodier and Gorier.
- Shout-Out:
- Pantalone first enters the building when Columbina is addressing the audience, and he tells her to "stop Fleabaggin'". She responds by saying that she's doing a Miranda, and then trips and falls out of shot.
- Several references to Reservoir Dogs.
- Arlo's line "You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!
" during the Unfolding Plan Montage references The Italian Job (1969). Apparently, he Always Wanted to Say That. - King Lear is quoted during the Pietà Plagiarism by Pantalone as he carries Hortensia's dead body onscreen.
- Slapstick:
- The Overly Long Gag of Scaramouche trying to take a seat for the caper briefing.
- Columbina's pratfall immediately after referencing Miranda (2009)
- Slipping a Mickey: Part of the caper is Columbina spiking the guard's coffee with a sedative so that stealing the keys from him for the diamonds would be an easy task.
- Slashed Throat: Pantalone slits Columbina's throat after he figured out that she was The Mole responsible for Hortensia's death.
- Slow-Motion Fall: The scene of everyone falling down when the bomb goes off in the Unfolding Plan Montage is shot in slow motion.
- Sound-Effect Bleep: Apparently, the show couldn't afford the copyright to "Bohemian Rhapsody" and hence had to bleep out any reciting of the line "Scaramouch, Scaramouch, will you do the Fandango!".
- Subverted Punchline: A truly groanworthy Hurricane of Puns based on names of international destinations sets up the obvious "Jamaica?" "No, she wanted to!" exchange when the Caribbean is brought up. Instead we get "Trinidad & Tobago?" "Yes."
- Sweeping the Table: A table is cleared to lay down Hortensia's body.
- Trunk Shot: Shot used when Pantalone picks up the bag with explosives from the trunk of his car.
- Unfolding Plan Montage: The crew acts out the planned heist for the audience.
- Vomit Discretion Shot: Hortensia vomits off-screen in disgust over the Arranged Marriage with Prince Charming Wannabe Scaramouche.
- Who's on First?: The exchange near the end of the episode, when the Doctor is talking about his love affair with Hortensia and all the places they went to.The Doctor: Horsey and I have been having an affair for several months. It was an amour fou. It started on that business trip we took to Italy.
Arlo: Genoa?note
The Doctor: Yes, since she was a little girl.
