After the events of the last episode, Ethan finds himself melting into clay. As he tries to adjust to his changing body and mind, the Joker's words about "one rotten day turns a man into a monster" comes back to haunt him deeply, resulting in the former detective to lash out at Chief Rojas for suspending him.
Tropes for this episode include:
- And I Must Scream: A terrified Ethan at first when he's trying to beg for help.
- Bat Deduction: Bruce and Yin have independent ones that make them realize Ethan is Clayface.
- Bittersweet Ending: Yin and Batman saved Rojas and decide to form a partnership. Ethan disappears, however, and sadly spies on his closest friends.
- Character Development: Yin finally sees that Gotham needs Batman, for better or for worse.
- Deducing the Secret Identity: Bruce is able figure out that Ethan is Clayface when analyzing a staple he got from during a fight, remembering how Ethan might have been affected by the "Joker Putty" the previous night, then Clayface being first spotted in Ethan's neighborhood, and how Clayface attacked Chief Rojas, who Ethan has been at odds with until the former suspended him also the previous night before his mutation. The same goes Detective Ellen Yin when she goes to talk Ethan and remembers how the "Joker Putty" affected him.
- The End... Or Is It?: During their coffee, Bruce and Yin see Ethan watching them from across the street and quickly disappearing. They're left realizing he could be anywhere and be anyone.
- "Eureka!" Moment:
- Bruce has one after saving Alfred from being attacked by the Clayface sample.
- Yin later comes to the same conclusion when on the phone with Bruce.Yin: Ethan just... hasn't been himself.
(Yin's memory flashes to Joker's threat and Ethan inhaling the Joker Putty fumes from the previous episode, then when she got that weird residue on her hand when talking to Ethan not too long ago)
Yin: (murmurs to herself In realization) …Because Ethan's not himself. - Later in the episode after Ethan kidnaps Chief Rojas, the police dispatcher mentions that he was last seen heading to east Gotham. Both Batman and Yin remember how Ethan was supposed to play basketball with Bruce at the gym in East Gotham, and realize that he is took Chief Rojas to.
- How Do I Shot Web?: Ethan justifiably needs a while to learn how to work his new powers.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Batman and Yin try to do this to Clayface before he can commit murder. Yin ends up succeeding by way of irony.
- Indy Ploy: During the final fight, Batman gets knocked into the gym's shower room. He turns one on full blast in the hopes of immobilizing Clayface, but this fails because of the lousy water pressure.
- Irony: Yin, of all people, defending Batman.
- Motive Rant: Yin calling Clayface by his real name prompts one.Clayface: [as Ethan] It's not cool to reveal secret identities, Yin. [as Yin] Not that it matters... [as Bruce] when I can be anyone I choose. [as Batman] And when I'm no longer sure what I am... [as Joker] except a freak! [laughs] Do you know what separates the freaks from the normals? Just one rotten day! Ever had a really rotten day, Batman? [as Clayface] Thought so.
Batman: Joker's rotten to the core by choice; a choice that's still yours to make, Detective.
Yin: Turn yourself in, Ethan. We can help you.
Clayface: You just don't get it, do you? Joker didn't just melt my skin; he melted my mind! I'm a freak inside and out, and Chief Rojas has zero tolerance for the likes of me! - My God, What Have I Done?: Yin sheds a Single Tear when she figures out Ethan is Clayface, having remembered the fact that she treated his Clayface persona like a criminal earlier in the episode without so much as an attempt to recognize him. If anything, she suspects that such treatment could mentally scar him and permanently put an end to their partnership.
- Mythology Gag: While taking the form of the Joker, Clayface repeats the clown's line from the previous episode about how the only thing that separates normal people and freaks is "just one rotten day."
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:Ethan: You? Defending the Batman? I never thought I'd see the day. Yin...(tearing up) what's become of us?
- Properly Paranoid: Clayface doesn't need Batman to answer to know he had a rotten day himself once.
- Tragic Villain: Ethan as Clayface. First his mind was warped by Joker, then his skin is melted by the clown's putty formula, and when he tries to ask for help, everyone assumes he's a monster and the fire department hoses him into the sewers, thus leading him to seek vengeance on Rojas. Bruce even says that he may be more victim than criminal.
- What You Are in the Dark: Ellen Yin has an opportunity to unmask Batman after he grapples with Clayface, who knocks him unconscious. She realizes that she can't do it, and waits for him to wake up.
