In order to get the shrapnel out of Luke's indestructible body, Claire must find the doctor from the Seagate experiment.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Artistic License – Chemistry: Burstein claims that he doesn't know the exact temperature to catalyze the reaction that gave Luke his powers, but if he knows the exact composition of the acid, he could figure it out pretty easily because the temperature would literally just be the acid's boiling point.
- Artistic License – Geography: Luke and Claire drive from New York to Georgia in what seems to be a single day and drive back in about the same amount of time. That's at least 12 straight hours of nonstop driving on Interstate 95, assuming they never stop for gas, sleep, food, or restroom breaks, and barring traffic congestion in the metropolitan areas along the way (Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore, Washington DC and Richmond). Given that Luke is also very seriously injured with two Judas rounds in his body at the time, it's really darn impressive he doesn't bleed to death along the way.
- Bad Boss: Diamondback shoots one of his own mooks in the shoulder when demonstrating that they shouldn't be looking for Luke Cage in the most obvious places, and comes really close to killing Shades.
- Blatant Lies: Misty's claim that she "had coffee" with Luke Flashback Cuts to them having sex.
- Blood from the Mouth: Luke's internal bleeding is so severe that he starts to cough blood.
- Call-Back: While Claire is driving Luke, she says, "you are not dying in my mom's car," which may remind some folks of Trish Walker yelling, "I will kill you if you die in my car!" after Simpson was wounded in a blast caused by Kilgrave.
- Continuity Nod:
- When Mariah and Domingo are discussing which crime lords to bring to the table for their secret meeting, Domingo mentions that "the Chinese, they got their own thing downtown," subtly referring to how season 2 of Daredevil (2015) showed that Madame Gao had moved her drug operation to Chinatown after Fisk's capture.
- After recovering his hard drive, Dr. Bunstein asks if Reva died because of it, but Claire states that Luke refuses to talk about it.
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends when Luke goes into cardiac arrest.
- Clothesline Stealing: The public laundry version when Luke exchanges his bloody shirt.
- Converse with the Unconscious: A guilt-ridden Mariah to her cousin's body.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Invoked by Mariah to Diamondback, who points out that he could make a fortune selling his Judas bullet legally to police departments and anyone else who is worried about the threat posed by superpowered criminals.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The dashcam footage—which later goes viral and becomes a national news story—of Luke being stopped by the two police officers and being shot while resisting arrest is evocative of the footage and controversy surrounding a number of controversial police-on-black shootings that had happened in the two years prior to the series release. Of course, here, the bullets bounce right off of Luke.
- Double Standard: Misty complains about this trope, by name, to the shrink, claiming that she Can't Get Away with Nuthin' while male cops make excuses for or even approve of each other's questionable behavior. She's implied to have a point, but also to be deflecting—being almost killed by Diamondback really does have her rattled, and she really does need to acknowledge that before she can do her job properly again.
- The Dreaded: Diamondback's status as this is established on two separate occasions; when he walks into different meetings, everyone instinctively is put on edge. Given that he non-fatally shoots one of his own men in the first meeting, and in the second one he kills all the other Harlem crime lords (except Domingo so he can spread the word) as well as their men outside, their fear of him is justified.
- Hollywood Acid:
- Boiling acid gives off a lot of acid vapors that would literally melt your lungs if you're standing over it, but Burstein and Claire seem to be fine without any masks.
- Surprisingly, the typical bubbliness of Hollywood Acid is not shown where it should actually appear, namely when the acid is eating at Luke's skin. Played straight when some of it spills on the floor, though.
- Horrible Judge of Character: During Misty's session with the therapist, he questions her about her misjudgments regarding Scarfe:Misty Knight: I apply foot to ass. And match lead for lead. I put murderers in handcuffs. I don't just seek justice. I stalk it. And that much should go in my record!
Dr. Gabe Krasner: With your resume you could have been downtown years ago. Hell, you could've been a Fed! You chose to stay in Harlem.
Misty: I know this place. I know the players, and I can make a difference here.
Krasner: Or use some of those old-school connections to make a little money on the side, like your partner.
Misty: I didn't know anything about Scarfe, or anything he was doing. He didn't buy new clothes, no new watch, no new girlfriend, no loose cock, nothing!
Krasner: But he'd been working for Cottonmouth for years.
Misty: And I trusted him! So I didn't see it, and neither did anybody else in this damn department! So why do I get singled out for it?
Krasner: Because you're the closest to him. [Misty shakes her head] It's written all over your face. Not seeing it bothered you, didn't it?
Misty: 'Cause seeing is my thing, right? That's what made me such a good point guard. 'Cause I could see everything in my head. I knew exactly where people were gonna be, so I put the ball right where it needed to go.
Krasner: But you couldn't see Scarfe for what he was? Or were you blinded by your emotions?
Misty: [scoffs] You wouldn't say that if I was a man!
Krasner: Oh, that is not true.
Misty: Bullshit! Male cops can screw cop groupies in the back of their unmarked RMP, and you guys cheer. They get drunk, they fight each other in the parking lot and it's called "blowing off steam." There's always a double standard. - I Always Wanted to Say That: Luke greets Dr. Burstein by saying, "What's up, Doc?" and quips he always wanted to say that.
- Medical Horror: The attempts to cure Luke include shoving a needle down his throat and dipping him in boiling acid.
- Nerves of Steel: Mariah doesn't even flinch when Diamondback brutally kills four people in front of her. He notices this, and sees an alliance with her as a better option than killing her as well.
- Never Found the Body: Diamondback tells Zip and Shades that "Luke Cage ain't dead until you find his goddamn body."
- Not So Stoic: Misty is called on being a Control Freak who is more rattled that she's willing to admit by the one-two punch of having her partner turn out to be corrupt without her noticing, and Diamondback taking away her own gun and threatening to execute her with it.
- One-Hit Polykill: When killing the bosses, Diamondback shoots one of them in the head from a distance, then throws a knife into the second guy's head. To take out the last two, he puts his pistol to the back of one guy's neck, then fires, with the bullet going through the first guy and fatally hitting the other guy.Willis "Diamondback" Stryker: Two for the price of one....
- Properly Paranoid: Misty is right to think her 'therapy' session isn't private and confidential.
- Revealing Cover Up: Mariah and the other underworld bosses call a secret meeting at Colon's Gym to discuss the transfer of Cottonmouth's assets from Mariah to everyone else—except for Diamondback, who controls the weapons supply. This backfires by guaranteeing Diamondback's appearance, and he promptly kills all of the bosses except for Domingo just to send a message.Peter: ...Why do I find that hard to believe?
Diamondback: [enters, grinning] Because you're smart and stupid at the same time!
Jacques: Diamondback, what are you doing here?
Diamondback: You invited me. By not inviting me. - Rule of Symbolism: The impossibly strong hero of the community, weakened by his enemies and subject to torture and humiliation, brings down his enemies by destroying the pillars of the temple and bringing it down on himself and his enemies alike. Sampson or Luke?
- Stewed Alive: Luke is dipped into boiling acid to try and weaken his skin, in order to get the shrapnel out of his body.
- There Are No Therapists: Averted. Misty is forced to take therapy after losing her temper at Claire. Losing her partner (her dirty partner) would've mandated it anyway, but losing it at Claire probably accelerated it.
- This Cannot Be!: Luke refuses to believe that Willis is his brother, because that would mean his father, a fire-and-brimstone preacher, had an illegitimate son.
- You're Insane!: Domingo's response to Diamondback killing the other four crime bosses.
- You Will Be Spared:
- Diamondback comes this close to executing Shades for believing that he murdered Cottonmouth (while Shades didn't kill him, it's clear he definitely would've done it himself had Mariah not beaten him to it, he definitely approved of his death, and did everything he could to protect Mariah). It's only Zip, of all people, who prevents Diamondback from killing him by pointing out that killing Shades won't find him Luke Cage any faster.Diamondback: [laughs] You're smarter than your name implies, Zip.
- When Diamondback crashes the mob meeting, Domingo is the only mobster not killed by Diamondback, just to pass this message ahead: You either buy Diamondback's merchandise or "you die."
- Diamondback comes this close to executing Shades for believing that he murdered Cottonmouth (while Shades didn't kill him, it's clear he definitely would've done it himself had Mariah not beaten him to it, he definitely approved of his death, and did everything he could to protect Mariah). It's only Zip, of all people, who prevents Diamondback from killing him by pointing out that killing Shades won't find him Luke Cage any faster.
- You Kill It, You Bought It: Shades informs Mariah that like it or not, she's now the face of Cottonmouth's business because she killed him.
