Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: Annie says that she's running from a man who's always following her. He claims to be her father, and beats up Robin and Batman to get to her. Given Clayface created her, he's not far from the truth.
- Actually Pretty Funny: Annie giggles when Robin remarks on how she doesn't remember anything, after she said he was the first person she could remember showing kindness.
- Animesque: A little more so than TMS's other episodes, with the look and feel of it in particular more closely resembling that of Studio Ghibli.note
- Art Evolution: Clayface's BTAS design is updated for the TNBA-era redesign. The basic template's the same, but he's now bulkier, the coloring scheme's changed, and it's much more streamlined.
- Bait-and-Switch: Annie gets a flash of memory upon seeing a pair of spotlights. From her description of the memory, Robin guesses she was seeing the lighthouse on Gotham Shore. With the reveal that she was a part of Clayface, it's more likely the spotlight memory came from a red-carpet premiere from Matt Hagen's acting days.
- Big "OMG!": When Batman discovers what the mud was.
- Break the Cutie: Happens to Tim Drake after Clayface absorbs Annie, causing Tim to brutally attack Clayface.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Robin calls out Batman for not caring about Annie's safety when she's alone, in trouble, and scared.
- Came Back Strong: Whatever those chemicals were, they seem to have made Clayface more powerful than ever—he certainly showed no ability to create duplicates before, nor does he seem to have the issues with keeping himself together he was suffering from in "Mudslide".
- Darker and Edgier: The episode has a far more bleak and grim tone than the rest of the series, and spends most of its time showing how much of a Crapsack World Gotham City is and ends on a brutal Downer Ending.
- Deader than Dead: Annie is gone and Clayface can't bring her back even if he wanted to. If he could, she might not even be the same Annie Robin knew.
- Death of a Child: Annie is forcefully assimilated back into her creator.
- Downer Ending: Annie dies, being reabsorbed into Clayface.Batman: Sometimes, there are no happy endings.
- The Dulcinea Effect: Annie inspires this in Tim.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Implied. The reason Clayface has no issue reabsorbing Annie is that he honestly doesn't think she is her own real person.
- Futile Hand Reach: The last thing Annie does before Clayface re-merges with her.
- GPS Evidence: Subverted: Batman takes a random mud sample, but rather than discovering an obscure location from which it came, he instead discovered that it was part of Clayface.
- Hand Wave: After "Mudslide" spent so much time hammering in that the only thing that could stabilize Clayface is the compound he stole from Wayne Enterprises, passing through random runoff from a nearby chemical plant is coincidentally able to heal him.
- Heroic BSoD: Robin on learning Annie's true origin says he's going to save her from Clayface. Annie despondently responds, "Save what? I'm not real." It's only when Robin risks his life to give her a chance to run that she regains her spirit to save him in turn.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Annie let herself be absorbed to save Robin.
- Hidden Eyes: Annie has them as soon as she realizes she's a part of Clayface.
- Line-of-Sight Name: Robin names Annie after seeing a girl holding a Brand X version of a Raggedy Ann doll.
- Little "No": Robin, as Annie is being reabsorbed.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Robin tells Annie that he's helping her because he was also a runaway and had a dad who wasn't a prize either.
- Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: Batman and Robin encounter this problem when fighting the girl's "father".
- Obliviously Evil: Clayface reabsorbs Annie because he honestly did not think Annie was real.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Annie when a motorcycle gang corners her.
- Batman when he realizes who "Daddy" is.
- Robin when he sees Annie's father melt into Clayface.
- Robin when Clayface overpowers him and prepares to drop him into a vat of acid.
- Mythology Gag: The spotlights that end up giving Annie a memory flash are in front of a building labeled "Kane", as in Bob Kane, Batman's co-creator.
- Really Was Born Yesterday: Annie reveals that she's technically only a few months old. The memories return to her that Clayface was hiding out while he reformed, and sent her out to explore the world. She was supposed to come back and re-merge with Clayface, but she forgot due to the nature of her creation and the process gave her sapience.
- Sequel Episode: To "Mudslide", concluding Clayface's arc (at least in the context of BTAS, as Hagen's storyline will get picked up on Justice League).
- Shout-Out: Annie looks like a palette-swapped version of Mathilda Lando from The Professional.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: Batman stops Robin from crossing this line.
- The Unfettered: After Clayface absorbs Annie, Robin nearly kills the villain by pouring chemicals on him. Batman has to restrain him from delivering the final blow.
- Wham Line:Annie: I am "Clayface"...
- Wham Shot:
- The man dissolving into Clayface.
- Annie's skin absorbing the clay that falls on her hands.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Annie after she remembers the truth doesn't believe she's real; neither does Clayface. Robin begs to differ, trying to protect her to the bitter end.
