Tropes in this episode include:
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Danny calls out Luke on the fact that he has no problem believing that his own skin is bulletproof or that Danny's fist glows, but still refuses to accept that dragons exist.
- This one's particularly strange, given that the final battle in The Defenders literally took place inside a dragon's skeleton.
- Audience Surrogate: D.W. Griffith is basically the avatar for everyone in the audience who was looking forward to Luke and Danny teaming up.
- Butt-Monkey: Turk Barrett is back again, though this time he gets off relatively easy, as Luke only breaks one of his expensive bongs.
- Celebrity Paradox: Luke makes a reference to Game of Thrones when trying to defend himself against some Harlem residents who feel he's not doing enough to stop Bushmaster, specifically one person who thinks he should go all Daenerys Targaryen on Bushmaster. One wonders if he ever has noticed how much Loras Tyrell resembled Danny Rand, or how much Nymeria Sand resembles Colleen Wing.
- Characterization Marches On: Luke lampshades the fact that Danny seems "different" than from their previous interactions in The Defenders; Danny attributes this to him rebalancing his chi by focusing on stillness.
- Continuity Nod:
- Luke recalls how when Matt, Jessica and Luke fought him in The Defenders, Danny was able to cause a big shockwave that knocked everything over within a 50 foot radius by punching Luke with the Iron Fist. So Luke decides to do the exact same thing as a finishing move to their fight in the marijuana lab.
- When Turk recognizes Danny, he points out how Danny took on Madame Gao and scared the criminal element of Chinatown, which Danny did during the first season of Iron Fist.
- Crimefighting with Cash: Luke points out to Danny that the Iron Fist is the least useful thing about him. By the end of the episode Danny comes to agree on the advantages of throwing preposterous amounts of money at a problem when it comes to being a vigilante.
- Cultural Posturing: Mariah calls Anansi out on the fact that his and Bushmaster's constant claims of Jamaican badassery is really just this, pointing out several holes in their "we descend from the Maroons and therefore we are awesome" theory.
- Curbstomp Battle: Misty kicks Nandi's ass quite easily.
- The Dreaded: When Luke and Danny arrive at Turk's shop, Turk is mostly resigned at seeing Luke. But when Turk recognizes Danny, he's actually scared. Taking on someone as scary as Madame Gao has turned Danny into the boogeyman of Chinatown.
- Designated Girl Fight: The other cops at the aircraft hangar hold their fire and stand back as Misty fights Nandi by herself.
- Defiant to the End: Anansi is defiant even as Mariah lights him on fire, cursing her with his last breath.
- Double Entendre: When Mariah grabs Ben Donovan by the groin, she comments, "I thought they called you 'Big Ben'."
- Even Evil Has Standards: Sugar leaves Mariah's side before they arrive at Gwen's, knowing what's about to happen, and even Shades is horrified by the massacre of all patrons and workers and then Mariah's setting Anansi on fire.
- The Extremist Was Right: Anansi acknowledges that his nephew wasn't wrong in the lengths he was going in trying to get revenge on Mariah, now that he sees firsthand what a monster she is.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: Anansi's death is extended and horrific.
- Fastball Special: Luke launches Danny into some mooks as they are about to fire a rocket.
- Groin Attack: Mariah grabs Donovan by his manhood and squeezes in order to intimidate him.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Luke's reputation has taken some damage, as seens when he is walking down the streets and basically booed out by several pedestrians. His merchandise is also not selling very well, as D.W. hates to tell him.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: This episode continues what was started in The Defenders: having Luke and Danny grow into this.
- Hidden Depths: Turk Barrett actually knows about auras. Danny almost goes into an extended talk with him about it, but Luke urges him to leave.
- Hourglass Plot: Mariah and Bushmaster have now switched positions as villains from where they were last episode with Mariah know once again the Godmother of Harlem rulling from Harlem's Paradise with millions to her name while Bushmaster is on the low and only has the support of his loyal Dragon left.
- Idiot Ball: For a cop who should really know better, Nandi doesn't do a good job covering her tracks. Besides a key card reader that logs every swipe establishing her presence in the interrogation observation area while Misty was outlining her plan to Ridley, she's also spotted on an NYPD surveillance camera outside the loading dock at Harlem's Paradise.
- Insistent Terminology: In a dark Call-Back of what Bushmaster has been doing all season and an inversion of her previous stance on the subject Mariah corrects Stephanie about who she is before committing her latest atrocity.Stephanie: Ms. Dillard, please.
Mariah: The name is Stokes. Mariah Stokes. [One of her men shoots Stephanie in the head] - Irony: Pointed out by Mariah after Donovan explains that the transfer done under obvious duress can't be eligible and she gets back her funds, that she blackmailed out of Higgins.
- Motor Mouth: D.W. Griffith is so geeked out being a representative of the Heroes for Hire fandom that he doesn’t know when to shut up.
- Man on Fire: Mariah lights Anansi on fire, but when he refuses to die, she just shoots him.
- Meaningful Name: The episode's name comes from the fact that Luke and Danny go after a warehouse that's growing nightshade, the main ingredient in the concoction that gives Bushmaster his powers.
- The Mole: Donovan claims that his change of allegiance to Bushmaster was actually just him trying to find a way to reverse Bushmaster's theft of Mariah's money.
- Motive Rant: Nandi tells Misty that she couldn't bear to see Mariah get away with everything and when she saw the opportunity to get rid of her (the cash being a welcome bonus), she took it.
- Mythology Gag:
- D.W. Griffith calls Danny and Luke "Power Man and Iron Fist". The name of their comic book series. Furthermore, this episode seals the bond these two are known for having in the comics.
- While in Harlem's Paradise, Mariah comments to Donovan about how he used to be called "Big Ben", his comics nickname.
- Danny punching Luke's hand to defeat several enemies with a "patty cake" shockwave is very similar to Thor and Captain America's combo attack that they first used in Avengers: Age of Ultron; in their debut episode of The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, when a criminal thinks that Luke and Iron Fist are Avengers, Luke jokingly calls themselves Captain America and Thor.
- Paying for the Action Scene: Danny buys Bushmaster's warehouse so they can set it on fire and destroy his Nightshade while also avoiding any charges for the fire.
- Police Brutality: Some of the Harlemites complain to Luke that the police are profiling and harassing anyone with dreadlocks they see.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: When Mariah finds Stephanie at Gwen's and pieces together that she was the mole for Bushmaster within her organization, Mariah makes sure she gets a bullet in her head along with everyone else in Gwen's.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: An inversion, due to Luke's arc taking him down a troubled path. Danny, previously plagued with anger issues, now ends up counselling an angry and frustrated Luke about achieving inner stillness.
- Retired Monster: Turk claims to have gone legit and started a business with his cousin selling drug paraphernalia to out-of-state customers who can buy legal marijuana. He keeps the business in a basement just to keep up the gangsta facade in order to attract clientele.
- Revenge by Proxy: Mariah takes revenge on Bushmaster by killing all of his friends and family present at Gwen's. It also has the side benefit of leaving no witnesses, given Mariah's public persona.
- Rule of Symbolism: Cottonmouth's old Notorious B.I.G. portrait is back on the Harlem's Paradise office, signifying Mariah's embracing of her crime boss persona.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Sugar turns on Mariah and walks away when they're marching Anansi towards his restaurant, as he considers it way too much, even for the criminal life.
- Shout-Out: Luke receives some unsolicited advice from Torre about how he should be using his powers:Torre: Man. See, you ain't using your powers right.
Luke: Excuse me?
Torre: If I was bulletproof and strong, I'd be running shit. I'd be like... "Either you bend the knee, or you lay down, bitch!" And if they didn't? Dracarys! Like straight flames for them niggas.
Luke: State Property and Game of Thrones do not mix.
Torre: Nah, when you high, that shit sounds right. - Took a Level in Badass: Danny can now summon the Iron Fist at will and doesn't need to spend lengthy periods of time recharging his chi.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Averted. Nandi is about to board a private jet and flee the country but her escape is stopped by Misty and the NYPD.
