Gereon and Charlotte race to stop the train robbery in time, while Greta's conscience is torn when she falls into an assassination plot. Helga speaks her mind at a memorial.
Tropes:
- Big "NO!": Done by Gereon underwater when Charlotte gives up.
- Car Fu: Bruno uses his truck to force Gereon and Charlotte's car to swerve off-road into a lake.
- The Con: In order to keep Greta roped in, Otto presents her a "Wanted" memo for Fritz signed by Benda.
- Could Say It, But...: Benda refuses to help Gereon foiling the heist but "subtly" informs Gereon of the exact time that State Secretary Wendt will release the train for travel to the Soviet Union, clearly implying Gereon should take unofficial action.
- Dies Wide Open: Charlotte drowns and is shown with her eyes open and vacant, implying that she has died.
- Dramatic Irony: Greta attempts to call Charlotte at police headquarters in one last crisis of conscience, but is unsuccessful – Charlotte has advertised herself as an official homicide detective, but the department has no record of a detective by that name.
- Dude, Not Funny!: Benda dismisses Greta after dinner, but not without making a very poorly-timed joke about having her boyfriend arrested.
- Empathy Doll Shot: At the end when Frau Benda checks the childrens' room, she sees the daughter's bed empty with only her doll left behind. She starts screaming in horror.
- Extra! Extra! Read All About It!: Greta encounters a newspaper boy shouting "Extrablatt, Bribery in hospital supplies!" on the train station platform. Clearly, the Propaganda Machine has successfully suppressed the Black Reichswehr scandal.
- Faking the Dead: It turns out Fritz isn't really dead. It was all a fake in order to turn Greta against Benda and collaborate in his assassination.
- Hollywood Heart Attack: At the train station, Boess exits his train car to directly confront his Nazi hecklers. However he can’t handle the situation and suffers a heart attack on the platform using the standard chest-clutching pose.
- Internal Reveal: Greta spots Otto in the crowd of Nazi brownshirts at the train station, who glances toward another brownshirt with his back to Greta. When Greta looks at him, he glances back – it's Fritz.
- Kill the Cutie: Benda's little daughter.
- No Time to Explain: When Gereon asks Charlotte were she's been the past few days, she ignores his inquiry saying that she will tell him on the way.
- Oblivious Guilt Slinging: Greta can barely contain her emotions over Fritz's murder. Frau Benda attempts to comfort her in the kitchen. Also Benda's daughter lends her a doll which Greta later cradles in discomfort over her decision to aid in Brenda's assassination.
- Rule of Symbolism: When Charlotte dies in the car, the scene cuts to two white swans taking off. After Gereon comes back to the surface, the scene cuts to bells ringing in a clocktower... where are now in the church where Helga holds her speech.
- Spanner in the Works: Unbeknownst to Greta, Frau Benda and the children return home early.
- Those Wacky Nazis: Make their (belated) grand entrance to assassinate Dr. Benda, the Jewish chief of the Political Police.
- Throwing Out the Script: Helga during her speech before a veteran's organization sponsored by Nyssen AG. Partway through her speech, she stops, and begins to improvise. She instead begins to criticize the Nyssen family and Nyssen AG as arms manufacturers, and their complicity in the arms industry that led to the very war that killed their husbands.
- Trapped in a Sinking Car: Gereon and Charlotte's car is forced off the road and into a lake by Bruno in his truck.The car is sinking beneath the water and settles on the lakebed. Charlotte's arm is stuck, but neither of them is able to free her as the glass begins to buckle under the water pressure. Once the water has filled the car, Gereon opens the driver's door and goes for the surface. Spotting Bruno lurking above, Gereon goes for a hidden point in order to surface for air, and then dives back to Charlotte. He exchanges air with her mouth-to-mouth before going back to the surface once again. On the surface, satisfied with having waited long enough without seeing Charlotte or Gereon, Bruno gets back in his truck and leaves. Gereon attempts to find a lever with which to free Charlotte, but fails, frantically diving back into the water and going back for another exchange of air. Charlotte gives up despite Gereon's attempts to stop her.
- Underwater Kiss: The "Breath of Air" variant occurs when Gereon administers oxygen mouth-to-mouth to Charlotte who is stuck underwater in the car. Seems to work just fine, until she gives up.
- Westminster Chimes: Benda's wall clock at his home plays this tune on the full hour which we hear when the clock strikes 6.
- Wham Episode: Benda and his daughter die in the bomb attack and Charlotte drowns in the car.
