Directed by Alex Zakrzewski
Written by Sean Whitesell
Tropes:
- Acquitted Too Late: Andre was arrested for Kate's rape and murder, since he had found the body first before her dad had, witnessed her last moments, and then ran away with her blood on his boots. The team actually has evidence of his innocence, but the DA stonewalls their attempts to acquit him until it’s too late. By the time they arrest the real killer, it's the day after Andre was executed for the murder.
- Amoral Attorney: ADA Willaim Danner, who knew that about Andre's letter all along, but tampered with evidence and testimony to make him look guilty, and stonewalled every attempt to exonerate him until it was too late. Even when Will finds out the truth, Danner remains adamant that Andre was the killer. This ends up costing him his career.
- Ate His Gun: After setting up Andre, Joey Norman ended up being guilt-ridden and committed suicide this way. After finding out how he tampered with evidence, Jeffries comments that if Norman hadn't done this, he would've fed the gun to him.
- Career-Ending Injury:
- Andre injured his leg playing basketball in the 9th grade, ending his chance at playing college basketball.
- Jeffries mentions tearing up his knee as a linebacker.
- Cassandra Truth: No one truly believes Andre’s claims that he is innocent until it's far too late to save him.
- Dirty Cop: Joey Norman, the officer who arrested Andre, is mentioned to have planted evidence and accepted bribes. He also persuaded Kate's father to give a false testimony that he saw Andre inside the house the night she was murdered.
- Disappointed in You: Both the spirits of Kate and Andre give Lilly and Jeffries, respectively, a nonverbal version of this at the end of the episode for their earlier refusal to believe Andre and only taking his claims seriously when it was far too late.
- Downer Ending: Even though Kate's real killer is arrested and Danner is fired for withholding evidence (and will likely be disbarred), Andre is executed the day before, leaving the detectives with the knowledge that they had failed him and if they had taken him more seriously, he would still be alive. The episode ends with Lilly somberly putting Kate's case away and Stillman, Kat and Jeffries attending Andre's funeral, with Kate and Andre’s spirits looking at them with disappointed expressions before they fade away.
- Fall Guy: Wayne Nelson was the person who raped and murdered Kate. However, Andre's past as an ex-con and the fact he'd blown up at Kate's father Mike Lange that day, combined with Joey Norman convincing Mike to give a false testimony and Danner hiding the key piece of evidence that could have proved Andre's innocence, resulted in him taking the fall for the crime.
- Fatal Family Photo: The camera pans away from where Wayne has pushed Kate to the floor to focus on a picture of her and her parents taped to the refrigerator, driving home not just the tragedy of her murder, but that her father will have to deal with the loss of his wife and daughter within only one year.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Kate struck up a conversation with Andre during the day of moving into her new home.
- Ironic Echo: Stilman threatening to dropkick Danner out of his office after he and Will were given the same treatment by Danner earlier in the episode.
- Laser-Guided Karma: William Danner, the ADA who withheld evidence of Andre's innocence, is seen at the end packing up his desk, and his part in Andre’s wrongful execution is shown in the newspapers, meaning that everyone knows an innocent man was killed for a crime he didn’t commit because of him, thus, his life is pretty much over.
- Last Words: Kate's last word to Andre before dying was "faith". Andre thought Kate meant that she found faith in her last moment. She actually meant Wayne's daughter Faith, who he thought Kate was as he sexually assaulted her.
- Parental Incest: Wayne molested his daughter until she left home after graduating high school.
- Police Brutality: Jeffries punches Danner in the face and is later seen getting rough with Kate's killer while arresting him, though both of them had it coming.
- Rape Discretion Shot: The camera mercifully pans away as Wayne pushes Kate to the floor.
- Rule of Three: Andre once did 3 years in prison for assault.
- Tranquil Fury: Will when he discovers that Danner knew about Andre's letter he wrote to Mike all along, after he refused to give them a search warrant the day after Andre was executed.Danner: The Lange Case is closed. Do... I... need... to... say... it any slower?
Jeffries: No. [punches Danner in the face] - Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Kate's promiscuous friend Barbie flirted with Andre and got his pager number, daring Kate to call him. Kate eventually did, but unfortunately, Andre left his pager behind and the call was answered by his boss Wayne instead. Wayne, whose daughter recently fled after repeated sexual abuse, took advantage of the situation and pretended to be Andre, raped and murdered Kate, and caused Andre to be convicted and ultimately put to death for the crime.
- Worth It: Due to punching Danner, Jeffries is seen getting lectured at the end. The grin on his face shows that he feels this.
- You Remind Me of X: Played for Horror. Wayne raped Kate because she reminded him of his daughter Faith, his previous victim.
