Val and Damon have just moved into Mulberry Close, a quiet residential street. They seem to be a happy couple - but other residents have noticed their frequent arguments and the strange noises coming from their house at night. When Val disappears under mysterious circumstances, the neighbours take it upon themselves to investigate.
Tropes:
- Accident, Not Murder: After being brought into Sheila and Kenny's gossipy paranoia and finding his dog Popcorn's body in Val and Damon's bin, Larry becomes convinced that his Popcorn was murdered as part of a Satanic animal sacrifice and kills Val in revenge. The ending then reveals that Sheila killed Popcorn, by accidentally running it over, and dumped the body in the bin.
- The Alcoholic: Damon has a pretty serious drinking problem.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Val and Damon have an unhappy marriage, with frequent shouting arguments. But when Damon calls Val, he clearly misses her, and he ends the call with a (hesitant and complicated, but genuine) "I love you".
- Attention Whore: Kenny and Sheila use the apparent murder of their neighbour in a plan to sell the story as a true crime documentary. When she's actually murdered, they are eager to speak to the police and press.
- Bad People Abuse Animals: Subverted. When Val mentions putting down poison for foxes, Larry suggests she use a brick; she says that's cruel, but he actually meant to put it on top of the bin so the foxes can't get in. Later, Larry kills her after thinking she deliberately poisoned Popcorn - who in fact was accidentally run over by Sheila.
- Bait-and-Switch: The shot of a man in a skull mask walking towards the camera with a knife turns out to be a drunk Damon in his Halloween costume.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Implied. Both Shelia and Larry get quite excited about Netflix turning the events into a True Crime Documentary, even hoping they can participate. The ending reveals that said documentary proceeded to expose all their illegal deeds and what loathsome people they were for the world to see.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Larry is much nicer than Kenny and Sheila, but suddenly snaps and beats Val to death when he thinks she poisoned his dog.
- Black Comedy Pet Death: Popcorn's death is ultimately this. Though the comedy becomes even blacker with the foreknowledge that it ultimately leads to Val's brutal murder.
- Chekhov's Gun: At the beginning, Val mentions that she has considered putting poison down to deal with the foxes that keep going through her bin. She is ultimately murdered when Larry finds Popcorn's body in the bin and thinks that she poisoned Popcorn. In-universe, this is also Fauxshadowing.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Sheila is fixated with Michael Ball, whom she and Kenny apparently met once. He turns out to be hosting the episode, which was all part of the documentary she wanted to make.
- Chekhov's Hobby: Or, rather, Chekhov's lack of skill. It's mentioned early in the episode that Sheila is an inexperienced driver and is learning to drive. This comes into play at the end when it's revealed she accidentally ran over Popcorn, and dumped him in Val and Damon's bin.
- Cordon Bleugh Chef: Sheila brings over a cauliflower quiche she made for Val and Damon. Later in the episode Damon mentions that it tasted just as bad as it sounds.
- Cruel Twist Ending: Subverted. This appears to be the case at first as it ends with the police arresting the innocent Damon for Val’s murder, whilst the unpleasant Shelia and Kenny are free to smear his character. Only for an officer to notice the doorbell camera, with its footage revealing what really happened, and exposing the trio for the world to see.
- Fauxshadowing: In-universe. Larry accuses Val of Foreshadowing how she intended to poison Popcorn with her light-hearted comment about putting down poison for the foxes. In reality, Popcorn wasn't poisoned and Val had nothing to do with it.
- Felony Misdemeanour: Shelia’s disdain for Damon and thus conviction that he’s murdered his wife stems from a variety of petty minor social faux pas, such as him opening the door whilst in his pyjamas, celebrating Halloween by decorating his drive and having garden gnomes with visible bottoms.
- Foreshadowing:
- Popcorn's disappearance about halfway through the episode is clearly leading to something ominous.
- Early on in the episode, Larry tells Popcorn to "mind the road" as they're about to cross over. Popcorn later dies after he runs out into the road and gets hit by a car.
- Sheila wants the Netflix documentary about the case to be called The Mulberry Close Murders even though there's seemingly been only one murder. By the end of the episode, Val is murdered because Larry thinks she deliberately killed Popcorn, which would have made two murders.
- Gory Discretion Shot: The doorbell cam doesn't record Val's murder (Larry seemingly followed her inside the house), and all the viewer sees is the empty street while her screams are heard out of shot.
- Happily Married: Kenny and Sheila, by all appearances. It's their neighbours they have a problem with.
- Happy Marriage Charade: Val and Damon seem to be happy but often argue and verbally abuse each other behind closed doors.
- Hollywood Satanism: Referenced when Kenny and Sheila tell the police that Val and Damon were devil-worshippers putting up satanic paraphernalia in the garden (although Kenny admits it was at Halloween.)
- Insistent Terminology: Sheila insists the documentary she wants to pitch be called The Mulberry Close Murders, even though it's just one murder.
- Lower-Class Lout: Sheila doesn't like Val and Damon putting up Halloween decorations because she thinks it will attract rough kids from the local council estate.
- Malaproper: Kenny thinks Damon is named after a type of gin. Sheila corrects him that he's thinking of damson.
- Manipulative Editing: In-universe. The documentary about the Mulberry Close murders used this trope by editing out the footage which revealed that Sheila killed Popcorn (albeit accidentally) and then, after Larry kills Val, they rewind the footage to reveal the truth.
- Nested Story Reveal: The ending of the episode reveals that the cam footage is used as the material for the Netflix documentary.
- Never the Obvious Suspect: Damon is arrested as the most obvious suspect in Val's murder. No one finds out the truth until police review the doorbell cam footage.
- Nosy Neighbor: Kenny and Sheila are constantly spying on their neighbours.
- Not What It Looks Like: What looked like Damon chopping up and dumping a body was actually him disposing of a futon he accidentally ruined.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Shelia defends their spying upon Damon and breaking into his home, as simply being a concerned neighbour worried about Val’s wellbeing and safety. However, it is transparently obvious that she is really a noisy, obnoxious snob who has it out for Damon, even before she reveals her hopes for the events to be made into a True Crime drama.
- One-Neighbor Neighborhood: Mulberry Close is suggested to have several people living there, but only Kenny and Sheila across the road and Larry next door appear.
- "Rear Window" Investigation: Sheila, Kenny, and Larry engage in this after thinking Damon murdered Val, and Sheila sneaks into the house while Damon is out.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Damon gives one to Sheila and Kenny about how they are always spying on him and sneaking around his house.
- Satanic Panic: A very localized example. Sheila and Larry (with Kenny's reluctant support) turns Val and Damon's Halloween decorations into Satanic symbols, and turn Popcorn's accidental death into proof of their complicity in animal sacrifices.
- Show Within a Show: The whole episode turns out to be a true crime documentary hosted by Michael Ball, after Kenny and Sheila apparently managed to actually sell their story.
- Skewed Priorities: Sheila is carefully documenting everything she sees at Val and Damon's house - not for the police but because she wants to sell the story to Netflix.
- Take a Moment to Catch Your Death: Larry (along with Sheila and Kenny) are convinced that Val has been murdered by Damon when he claims she's actually gone to her sister's after an argument. They find out that Damon is telling the truth - and then Larry murders Val because he becomes (wrongly) convinced that she killed his beloved dog Popcorn.
- Trashy True Crime: Sheila is very enthusiastic about the idea that Damon might have killed Val because she's hoping to sell the story to Netflix and get a true crime documentary out of it. The documentary is revealed to be the Framing Device of the episode, and it's very exploitative.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Sheila and Kenny's efforts to cover up the fact that she accidentally ran over Popcorn lead to Val being murdered for real when Larry thinks she poisoned Popcorn.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: Damon is apparently supposed to be from Liverpool, but Shearsmith's accent doesn't sound particularly Scouse.
