The FBI gets a new bank theft case with an unusual twist — the robber wore a Santa Claus suit. While they're hunting down the naughty criminal, Bobby runs afoul of sharp-tongued reporter Darcy D'Angelo. Meanwhile, Sue tries to assert her independence when her parents visit for Christmas and her mother begins to take over her life.
This episode includes examples of the following tropes:
- Always a Child to Parent: Sue's mother insists on doing things for her and ignores her wishes more than once. Sue, feeling that her mother doesn't recognize her freedom to direct her life, eventually blows up at her.
- …And That Little Girl Was Me: When Sue isn't getting along with her mother, Lucy tells Mrs. Thomas a story about a childhood friend who grew up and had a fight with her mother over some silly thing. The two stopped talking for two years. Eventually Lucy reveals that she was talking about herself.
- Bad Santa: The thief hits two banks dressed in a Santa suit and makes his getaway by throwing some of his ill-gotten gains into the air, causing chaos as people grab for the money.
- The Charmer: Bobby is confident in his ability to handle Darcy because most ladies quickly fall for his charm and the foreign lilt to his voice. He lampshades it before leaving.Bobby: It's the accent. Gets 'em every time.
- Chekhov's Gun: While discussing Christmas decorations, Sue and Lucy decide not to have a full-size Christmas tree because Levi would probably knock it over. Later, when Sue's mother brings in a full-size tree over her protests, Levi does indeed knock it over, breaking one of the ornaments.
- Continuity Nod: Charlie gives Sue a piano, saying that it belonged to his late wife.
- Christmas Episode: Sue is trying to feel independent from her mother on her first Christmas since moving out, and the team is trying to track down a bank robber in a Santa suit.
- Deaf Composer: Sue sings Christmas carols. She jokes that she can tell when she hits the wrong notes by the faces other people make. In her autobiography, the real Sue Thomas describes learning to play piano by memorizing the keys and learning to sing by feeling the vibrations of her mother's voice box.
- Either/Or Title: The episode is also known as "Mysterious Santa".
- Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Bobby talks a little too freely during his interview with Darcy. When he mentions the security cameras that are positioned around the city, Darcy asks if he thinks that's too Big-Brother-ish. Bobby claims that the FBI needs to make use of these and people shouldn't worry if they're not committing crimes. This finds its way into Darcy's next report as a statement that Bobby thinks violating your privacy is his right.
- Profiling: Serial bank robbers disguise themselves in Santa suits. The FBI apprehends a guy dressed as Santa near the scene of the crime, but he turns out to be just a department store Santa — and then a Strawman Political reporter accuses them of profiling for targeting men in Santa suits.
- Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: While pulling Darcy's past articles, Tara finds one she wrote much earlier in her career about the Fourth of July. In it, Darcy states that while there may be some controversy about the holiday, she likes it. When Bobby brings it up as an example of what she could do if she weren't always looking for the worst spin on everything, Darcy says that it was written by a younger, naiver her. She regains some of her idealism.
- Tempting Fate: Bobby is confident that he'll be able to handle an interview with Darcy D'Angelo without any trouble, despite the others pointing out that she's got a reputation for putting things in negative terms. He realizes they were right when the same thing happens after their interview.
