Gwen is suspicious of Lucy when evidence of a mole amongst the Plumbers is found.
Tropes
- Aesop Amnesia: Gwen clearly forgot the lesson she learned when she was younger about pinning the blame on someone without having all the facts. In a flashback we see that when she and her cousin were little, Gwen was quick to blame Lucy for getting mud on her hairbrush after the real culprit ended up being Ben. This mirrors the present day situation she’s in, with her immediately accusing Lucy of being the mole only to be proven wrong later.
- Annoying Laugh: Lucy’s laugh is a high-pitched giggle followed by a snort.
- Ascended Extra: Lucy appeared in the original series episode "Big Fat Alien Wedding", being the girl Ben was nervous to dance with during the wedding reception. She gets A Day in the Limelight in this episode.
- Batman Cold Open: The episode begins with Ben and Magister Patelliday chasing Liam, Tummyhead, and Sweet-Eels Sparklefunk through Undertown and confiscating their weapons when they stop them.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: Every time Lucy tricks Gwen, she yells “Psych!”. Gwen borrows this phrase when she reveals to Ben that the Annihilarrgh was a fake the whole time Psyphon had it.
- Brick Joke: When Max says there’s a mole at Plumbers headquarters, Ben makes a joke that he thinks it’s Jerry from Inhuman Resources, saying “I wasn’t going to say anything, but he looks exactly like a mole!” Later, Jerry goes running by and he is indeed an alien that looks like a mole.
- A Day in the Limelight: Gwen and her conflict with Lucy are the focus of this episode.
- Doomsday Device: The Annihilarrgh, a powerful weapon that the Plumbers are trying to keep out of Psyphon’s hands.
- Duck!: Gwen tells Ben to duck, and he quickly corrects her that he’s actually in the form of Astrodactyl now. He finally gets what she means and dodges the blasts from Psyphon’s men just in time.
- Fakin' MacGuffin: The Annihilarrgh that Psyphon and his team steals ends up being a fake made by the Plumbers.
- Gasp!: All of the Plumbers gasp in horror when Max tells them they need to move the Annihilarrgh out of headquarters.
- Hey, That's My Line!: When trying to shut down the exploding generator, Ben as Eye Guy tries to give a badass one-liner saying, “And that’s the end of that chapter!” When he isn’t able to stop the fires right away, he has to try a different method that finally works; after which, Gwen says the exact same one-liner he had used just seconds before.Ben: Hey, you stole my line!
- Impact Silhouette: Ben, as Crashhopper, punches Psyphon so hard that it leaves a Psyphon-shaped hole in the wall as well as in the shipping container outside.
- Insult Backfire: Lucy thanks Psyphon when he tells her that she ruined everything.Lucy: Aw, thanks! That’s so kind of you to say!
- Kissing In A Tree: Lucy sings this rhyme in a flashback when teasing Gwen about her crush on Kevin.
- Malaproper: Ben can never seem to pronounce “Annihilarrgh” correctly.
- The Mole: Discussed as it happens around them. A mole was stealing Plumber weapons for the gangs in Undertown, so Max recruited Lucy to infiltrate those gangs and find where the weapons are going. Max later tells Gwen that withholding information and Dirty Business are necessary in their line of work.
- Not Me This Time: In the last flashback, Gwen finds that Lucy wasn't the one who dirtied her hairbrush— it was Ben, using Lucy's status as a mud monster to prank Gwen and redirect the blame. Lucy's actual prank involved stealing Charmcaster's spellbook.
- Pun-Based Title: A play on the proverb, “Blood is thicker than water.”
- Red Herring: As the episode is from Gwen's point of view, her biases lean the viewer to believe Lucy is the mole. She is a mole, but for the Plumbers, not Psyphon's gang. Gorvan was the actual infiltrator in the Plumbers.
- Refuge in Audacity: Lucy disguises herself as Vilgax to get Psyphon to lower his guard. He nearly wets himself at the sight of his boss looking at him disapprovingly.
- Running Gag: The people Gwen talks to being Lucy in disguise.
- Shapeshifting Trickster: Lucy constantly uses her power to pull pranks on Gwen. She thinks it’s hilarious, but Gwen is a lot less impressed.
- Suspicion Aesop: Gwen is convinced that her and Ben’s cousin Lucy is the spy, not only because she doesn’t like her but also because Lucy is never around when things are stolen from the headquarters. However, the mole turns out to be Gorvan and the reason Lucy was always mysteriously gone is because she was undercover as Liam in Psyphon’s headquarters.
- Synchronous Episodes: This episode happens at the same time as most of "OTTO Motives", with Ben receiving calls from Kevin and Rook as their situation rapidly deteriorates. After Psyphon is defeated, Ben runs off to help them out.
- Take Our Word for It: We never get to see what the Annihilarrgh actually looks like, neither the real or fake version.
- Wink "Ding!": Lucy does this each time she promises Gwen she won’t get mud on anything.
