Written by: Lawrence DiTillio
Directed by: Anthony Shaw
Sheriff Metzger assumes his younger brother, the black sheep of the family, is guilty as charged, of murder.
Tropes:
- Black Sheep: Mort's brother, Wayne Metzger, is this, apparently from constantly screwing up in the past, so much so that Mort is immediately upset upon his arrival in Cabot Cove and wants him to pretend to be unrelated to him. Later, Mort immediately zeroes in on him as a suspect for a murder.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Will Nye's
adorable Deputy Floyd has disappeared with no explanation and is now replaced by a new deputy, Deputy Andy Broom. - Contrasting Replacement Character: Unlike Deputy Floyd, Deputy Andy is portrayed as more serious and less silly.
- Faking the Dead: Zach Franklin staged his own death as well as that of his partner Terry Montagne so that Wayne Metzger could be blamed.
- If I Had a Nickel...: Mort says this for every time he tried to support Wayne, and he'd be driving a German sports car.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Jessica is immediately alerted that something's up with Sheriff Metzger when he's grumpier than usual and he hits his table and throws some papers around.
- Running Gag:
- Whenever the citizens of Cabot Cove are unhappy with the Sheriff (whether it's Amos or Metzger), they always threaten them that they will not be voted on the next election. Dr. Hazlitt continues that here. Metzger finally counters by pointing out that the Sheriff is appointed by the city council, not by voters (directly).
- Dr. Hazlitt has unpaid parking violations that he refuses to pay in full. He keeps hastily avoiding the Sheriff throughout the episode.
- Tell Him I'm Not Speaking to Him: A very tragic, cruel example. Mort, in an unusual example of Disproportionate Retribution, does not acknowledge his brother Wayne (a recently paroled, repentant ex-con whose only wish is to reform and prove himself to Mort and earn forgiveness) in any way whatsoever, pretends he isn't there, and when he finally has to listen, it's with very forced politeness and professionalism. He's basically being a very cruel jackass. Wayne's weight comes in gold plated diamonds when he stops the Big Bad of the week from killing everyone, taking a bullet to the chest in the process. Thankfully, everyone gets better and the siblings reconcile after Mort offers the most cathartic and satisfying apology in the show's history.
- The Voice: Adelle, Sheriff Metzger's often referred to but never actually seen wife, is finally heard in this episode. We still don't see her though.
