History Recap / DannyPhantomS1E7BitterReunions

* AnAesop: Danny tries to invoke one to cheer up Jack, that it's not who he and his friends were then, but what they made of themselves today.

Vlad returns to the reunion, where he possesses Jack and begins causing chaos. Jack tries to fight him from within, but can do more than tell Maddie to run. She does, dragging Harriet to the RV while the other guests flee in terror.

They make the trip in the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle – an RV loaded with so many ghost weapons that Danny accidentally zaps several innocent birds and covers Jazz in ectoplasmic goo just by trying to open the window. (Jazz is also kind enough to inform us that, [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield wherever Amity Park is]], it’s a four day drive from Madison, Wisconsin.) Jack stops for the night to exposite about his old friend, roommate, and research partner from college, Vlad Masters, who’s since become a famous billionaire. Apparently, Vlad, Jack, and Maddie were ThreeAmigos in college twenty years ago; according to Jack, they were best friends who did everything together... until the day the aspiring ghost hunters completed their first attempt at a portal into "the ghost dimension." Vlad, who insisted it wouldn’t work, was standing near it when Maddie discovered the calculations weren’t right, just as Jack fired it up for the first time. Sure enough, there was an explosion, and Vlad took the full force of an ecto-energy blast to the face. When it was over, his face was covered with "ecto-acne," which sent him to the hospital for years and pretty much ended their friendship. Even though they haven’t spoken since that accident, Jack’s confident his old friend will have forgiven him after twenty years. Danny, however, looks uneasy about the eerily-familiar story...

-->'''Danny:''' I can’t believe they fired Harry.

* StatingTheSimpleSolution: When Jazz learns that Vlad is a Green Bay Packers fan, she asks why he doesn't just buy the team instead of a bunch of memorabilia. Vlad angrily replies that the city of Green Bay stubbornly refuses to sell the Packers to him.

* NeverMyFault: Jazz blames Danny for being cramped in the Fenton RV for four days, even though it only happened because of ''her'' comment.

* MurderTheHypotenuse: Vlad’s goalie to kill Jack and marry Maddie. Danny manages to stop him, but there’s always next time.

** Harriet blames Jack for ruining her career as a reporter, when it was “her” who decided to do a story about Jack being a Ghost. Luckily, after the existence of ghosts becomes public knowledge, she gets her job back and becomes News Anchor.

* MurderTheHypotenuse: Vlad’s goal. Danny manages to stop him, but there’s always next time.

* AbsenteeActor: The only episode Sam and Tucker do not appear, not even a brief mention.

** Harriet blames Jack for ruining her career as a reporter, when it was “her” who decided to do a story about Jack being a Jack. Luckily, after the existence of ghosts becomes public knowledge, she gets her job back and becomes News Anchor.

!This episode provides examples of the following tropes:

* AlwaysNight: Almost the entire episode, including all fight scenes, takes place at night.

* BaitTheDog: Vlad tricks Jack into staying the castle for weekend by the Dairy King's ghost could haunt the place, so Jack could be vulnerable for Vlad's vulture ghost minions to kill him.

* CallBack: The ectopusses from the very first scene of the first episode make a return, along with Skulker, who is still bound to the schedule in Tucker’s PDA.

* ChekhovsGunman: The Wisconsin Dairy King, though it's implied at first that Vlad [[AccidentalTruth made him up]] so that Jack would stay at his castle long enough for Vlad to kill him.
* CoolCar: The Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle – no ghostbusters should be without one.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The tone of this episode is rather darker and more serious compared to its predecessors.
* DontTouchItYouIdiot: Jazz warns Danny not to press ANY buttons in their parents’ RV. (He doesn’t listen and Jazz ends up getting green slime splattered on her face again).

* EvilMentor: Vlad wants to be this for Danny, who insists he’s not interested, but, as Vlad points out, by the end of the episode, he’s already learning something from him.
* FictionalEarth: Harriet mentions she covered a guerilla uprising in a place called "Rumackistan". This appears to be a fictional country set in Danny's universe, as there is no real world location by that name.

* GoingForTheBigScoop: Harriet, a reporter for the ''Milwaukee Journal'', is thrilled to have found a great story about ghosts and ghost hunters at her college reunion… which gets her fired.

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Jack never catches on that his “best friend” is trying to kill him and steal his wife and son and won't until [[WesternAnimation/PhantomPlanet the very end of the series]].
* MidSeasonTwist: First appearance of Vlad Plasmius.

* NeverMyFault: Jazz blames Danny for being cramped in the Fenton RV for four days even though it only happened because of her comment.

* TheReveal: Vlad is one who sent the ectopuses and other ghosts, including Skulker, Danny that has faced in previous episodes to test Jack's skills.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: The Dairy King only has a few minutes in this episode, but by freeing Danny from the trap he is in, the Dairy King has Danny realize not all ghosts are evil in the series.

* TemptingFate: Harriet thought reporting news about the ghost happenings at Vlad's mansion would boost her career. According to a [[GilliganCut cut scene]], she was fired. Subverted in the long run as once the public realized ghosts do in fact exist and she ended up being an anchorwoman by the end of the season.

* ToiletHumor: Danny tells the ghost vultures at the beginning to not leave any droppings on any windshields. So what do they do? Drop one on Danny's head instead.
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: A promo for the episode already reveals to the viewers that Vlad Masters and Vlad Plasmius were one and the same.
* TruthInTelevision: The Green Bay Packers are indeed owned by the City of Green Bay and are impossible to buy.
* VillainExitStageLeft: The most Danny can do is get him to call a truce for now.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Upon learning that Danny is also part-ghost, Vlad tries to make this proposition. Naturally, Danny refuses.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The Dairy King. Despite that Vlad lives in what was once his home, he's never seen again. We don't even know what happened to him after the final fate of the mansion in season 3.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: In contrast to the villain Vlad has become, Danny lauds Jack as an awesome ghost-hunter, a decent father, and an all around good person.

Danny turns around to find himself facing a sinister-looking new ghost with a goatee, fangs, a HornedHairdo, and a long white cape – Plasmius. Unconcerned, Danny prepares to fight his new opponent like any other ghost, only to be stunned by how the guy effortlessly rebuffs his first two attacks and addresses him as Danny Phantom. "You... you know me?"

* TheReveal: Vlad is one who sent the ectopuses and other ghosts, including Skulker, Danny that has faced in previous episodes to test Jack.

* TemptingFate: Harriet thought reporting news about the ghost happenings at Vlad's mansion would boost her career. According to a [[GilliganCut cut scene]], she was fired.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: The Dairy King only has a few minutes in this episode, but by freeing Danny from the trap he is in, the Dairy King has Danny realizes not all ghosts are evil in the series.

* NotSoDifferent: Vlad attempts to use this on Danny as an incentive to [[WeCanRuleTogether join forces with him]]. Of course, Danny refuses with good reasons.