Trochin transacts his deal with Benda. Moritz snoops in Wolter's cellar. Gereon and Graef undertake a dangerous mission to recover evidence of the secret German airfield based in Russia.
Tropes:
- Belly-Scraping Flight: There is a scare as the "cutting-edge" Junker 52 nearly fails to clear the trees at the end of the runway.
- Flawed Prototype: Rath and Gräf hitch a ride on an early prototype of the Ju-52/3m transport and bomber plane
. Despite being (rightfully) exalted by its pilots as having tremendous potential, the plane is so faulty that it barely manages to take off and at one point almost falls out of the sky after after a lightning strike. - It Will Never Catch On: Implied with the Junkers 52 transport plane, which was little more than a prototype back 1929, and is depicted as appropriately faulty and clunky. Only a few years later, it would become one of the world's most iconic airplanes, being used by the Third Reich as a medium bomber and airborne troop transport.
- Just Plane Wrong: The Junkers Ju 52 makes a prominent appearance, however this airplane did not fly until 1930, the year after the series takes place.
- The Main Characters Do Everything: Sending a police detective and a Lab Rat, both flight-inexperienced and with weak stomachs, onto the mission to gather evidence about a secret airbase on Russian territory was probably not the smartest move but it kept the drama within the known cast.
- Once More, with Clarity: Last Season we only saw fragments of what happened that night Gereon left Dr. Schmidt's office. In this episode he suffers a nightmare, wherein his hands are plastered with cement – he flashes back to the memory where he killed Saint Josef and attempted to bury him in cement.
- Pensieve Flashback: When Gereon flashes back to his childhood we see him as an adult staring through the window of the barbershop where his father and younger self are sitting.
- Plot-Driven Breakdown: For added drama, the plane enters a major storm, experiencing severe turbulence. Lightning strikes the plane and knocks out the engines. The pilots manage to restart them on the third attempt with the help of a rapid descent.
- Running Gag: Gereon visits Graef in the darkroom, once again ruining a developing photograph.
- Take My Hand!: When the plane takes anti-aircraft fire from the base, Graef is nearly thrown out of the plane. He recovers by holding on to Gereon's hand.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Moritz, holding the G88 rifle, watches Gereon break down in the kitchen.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Both Gereon and Graef peruse their canisters during the shaky flight – Graef misses at one point. Later we see the content of his canister dumped all over the floor.
- You Should Have Died Instead: Gereon flashes back to the death of his mother. His father despairs over her death, and at the fact that the "wrong brother" returned home, which Gereon overhears.
- Zip Me Up: Gereon helps Helga zip up her dress.
