Written By Tracey Stern, Clifton Campbell, and Jeff Eckerle
Directed By Jean De Segonzac
A young gymnast is murdered, and both her demanding coach (Philip Casnoff) and wealthy, older male benefactor (Armand Schultz) end up as prime suspects. However, in the highly-competitive world of gymnastics, it's not just the coach who has a motive.
This episode provides examples of:
- Accidental Murder: Lori didn't mean to hit Kristy's head with the brick she threw.
- And Starring: Philip Casnoff in the guest-stars lineup.
- The B Grade: Maureen is frustrated at herself for getting an overall B+ in her transcript fearing that it would ruin her college aspirations. Elliot tells her to chill out.
- Casting Couch: Subverted. Lori sees Kristy this way, but the latter's relationship with the sponsor is consensual.
- Creepy Gym Coach: Downplayed. Hubert wasn't actually a coach when he slept with the barely legal Kristy, but he did have a great deal of power over the team due to being a major sponsor.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Korska will push his students to the limit in order for them to become champions.
- Evil Redhead: Lori (played by Kate Mara), who was described as a cute redhead, turns out to be Kristy's killer.
- First Period Panic: A version. One of the other gymnasts Benson speaks to is upset at having gotten hers (although at her age, she's likely been menstruating for several years) because she thinks it means that she has too much body fat. Sadly Truth in Television in the gymnastics world; as recently as 2020, Olympic coach Maggie Haney was suspended for emotional abuse that included telling girls that getting their period meant they were fat and not working hard enough.
- Job Title: Pixies are a nickname given to certain type of gymnasts.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Lori detests the attention and acclaim Kristy gets.
- Karma Houdini: Korska isn't Kristy's killer nor is he a pedophile, but his brutal training played a role in Lori's actions and he is unrepentant about it, the episode ending with him having not learned a thing while continuing to subject other girls to the same regimen.
- Lack of Empathy: Korska only cares about winning. When he learns about Kristy's death, he appears to be more upset about losing her potential for glory than losing her.
- May–December Romance: The nineteen-year-old Kristy is revealed to be in a relationship with the middle-aged Kyle Hubert.
- Mistaken for Pedophile: Korska was the main characters' initial suspect. Also goes for Kyle Hubert; he acts very creepy to the younger gymnasts and has a Lolita fixation, but only slept with Kristy after finding out she was 19.
- Never My Fault: In the end, Lori never takes responsibility for her Accidental Murder of Kristy, even Victim-Blaming her.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Korska is heavily based on Bela Karolyi.
- Older Than They Look: Kristy was nineteen but was passing for sixteen, and looked young even for that. Truth in Television for female gymnasts at the time, because the small and prepubescent look (known colloquially as a "pixie", hence the episode title) was favored by judges and coaches in women's gymnastics, so girls would intentionally try to retain that body type as long as possible, often by keeping their body weight extremely low to delay puberty.note
- Percussive Therapy: Deconstructed. Lori throwing a brick out of frustration led to the aforementioned Accidental Murder.
- Training from Hell: Korska's program, at least at the elite level. He strictly monitors the girls' weight, expects them to spend every spare moment of their days training, and berates or ignores them when they don't perform to his standards.
- Weight Woe: One of the gymnasts believes herself to be fat, to Olivia's disbelief... because she got her period.
- Stern Teacher: Korska is a cruel subversion. He's very strict but is shown to be appreciative — as long as his students meets his standards. Failing him, however, will only get you his Lack of Empathy.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Lori really wants Korska's approval.
