Spoilers are unmarked per policy. You Have Been Warned.
At a popular club, a fire breaks out during a concert by the rock band Wotan, who are known for the use of pyrotechnics in their act. 23 people are killed in the fire, including Wotan's bassist. The bassist may have been deliberately targeted, so Briscoe and Green are investigating the case as a potential multiple homicide. The detectives discover that Wotan's lead singer, Teddy Connor, asked the crew to rig a flamethrower that was used in the set. They said no, but Teddy could have tampered with it himself when left alone on stage. He is arrested.
The case is complicated when Teddy's lawyer successfully petitions to allow TV cameras in the court. McCoy's case is that Teddy wanted to improve the show's fire effects to boost ticket sales, so he put more explosives in the flamethrower than was safe, and flammable insulation in the ceiling caught fire. Teri Drozi, a young fan of Wotan, claims Teddy wasn't alone on stage before the concert because he went to have sex with her on the tour bus. McCoy doesn't believe this story.
After speaking to Teri and her mother separately, McCoy is convinced they're not being honest. So he calls them for a meeting with Teddy, then tells Teri that Teddy is facing the death penalty. She finally confesses that she's the one who rigged the flamethrower; Teddy is her father, and she wanted to help his career. He refused to acknowledge he has a child, so she posed as a fan in order to get to know him. Teddy harshly rejects her, while McCoy and Southerlyn are sympathetic to Teri and want to negotiate a plea for her.
This episode contains examples of:
- Age-Gap Romance: Wotan have apparently had several of these with young fans. Subverted with Teri who claims that she and Teddy were in a relationship, but it's not true.
- Bait-and-Switch: Most of the episode seems to indicate that Teddy is the culprit. Then, at the very end, it turns out the culprit is Teri.
- Broken Pedestal: Teri experiences this when Teddy bluntly rejects her after she confesses to her role in the fire.
- Classically-Trained Extra: Referenced. Wotan met at Juilliard and are all highly trained as classical musicians, but no one was interested in their music until they became known for the pyrotechnics act.
- Classic Rock: Wotan's music fits this genre and they are based on old-fashioned classical rock bands.
- Dirty Old Man: In court, McCoy highlights the alleged sexual relationship between 52-year-old Teddy and 18-year-old Teri to emphasize this trope.
- Downer Ending: 23 people are dead, with over 100 more injured and could die. Teri (who is only 18, didn't realize how dangerous the flamethrower she set up was, and is horrified by what she did) may well spend the rest of her life in jail, and Teddy still refuses to have anything to do with her. Wotan's careers will likely not survive the events.
- Glory Days: Teddy is obsessed with how big he used to be.
- Groupie: Wotan has no shortage of young female groupies, despite being in their 50s. Teri posed as one so she could spend time with Teddy Connor.
- Jerkass: Teddy allows Teri to provide him with a false alibi (even when told she could go to jail for perjury) and then completely rejects her upon finding out she set the fire.
- No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: Teddy's lawyer files a motion for TV cameras to be present in the court so that Teddy's career is not adversely affected by the trial. McCoy references this trope and says that even if he were found guilty, the notoriety would drive concert sales for Wotan.
- Nobody Loves the Bassist: At first this trope is played straight; the bass player Wotan's only member to never actually appear in the episode because he and 22 other people are killed off-camera in the opening scene. The trope is later subverted when the lead guitarist laments about how the band will never be the same because the bass player was a musical genius.
- Oh, Crap!: Teddy's expression when he finds out Teri set the fire.
- Parental Abandonment: Teddy allegedly never paid any child support and had refused to ever meet Teri, which is how she could get away with posing as a groupie.
- Parental Incest: While nothing actually happened, Teri tells the court that she and Teddy had sex on Wotan's tour bus before the concert, so she knows he wasn't on stage. No one knows at this time that he is her father, although the story falls apart when Teri's mother gets involved.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Based on the Station nightclub fire from the same year.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Famous!: Wotan's contract stated that they were not to use any fire effects during the performance, but the club's manager allowed them to do it anyway to sell tickets.
- Well Done Daughter Girl: The events of the episode come about because Teri wanted her father to pay attention to her.
