After a raw diamond is found at the crime scene of the murder of a man named Shaun McHale, Major Crimes sets up a stakeout to take down suspected gem smuggler Hanif Reda, but an undisclosed team connection between Deputy Chief Tennant and her informant Otto Hart threatens to derail the investigation.
Tropes:
- Ambiguous Criminal History: McHale's autopsy reveals him to have old gunshot wounds and his fingerprints to have been burned off, the latter of which Charlie points out as suspicious due to it being something only people with criminal records would do to avoid leaving DNA evidence at crime scenes. It's because McHale is, or rather was, the real diamond smuggler, not Reda.
- Asshole Victim: Otto's rationality for killing McHale, believing that it was okay since he was a criminal. Not helping his case is that he killed him out of the desire to cash in on McHale's diamond stash.
- Beyond Redemption: Even after Otto confesses to having killed McHale so he could steal his diamonds, Tennant still refuses to believe that her nephew is responsible for everything until Donovan reveals to her the video evidence. It coupled with Otto’s lack of remorse for his actions or almost costing his aunt her career and then demanding that she save him from jail ends up being what finally convinces Tennant to give up on him completely.
- Bittersweet Ending: The truth behind the diamond smuggling operation is uncovered and Reda is cleared of any wrongdoing, although Otto's incarceration for all his crimes means that Tennant ultimately failed to uphold the promise she made to her late sister to keep him out of trouble.
- The Bus Came Back: Deputy Chief Tennant makes a return since "Rex to Riches", helping to solve the case with assistance from her informant Otto.
- Cassandra Truth: When the circumstances of the case and Otto's information start to not add up, Charlie tries to warn Tennant that it might be dangerous to assume everything her informant says is true, only for Tennant to brush him off insisting that Otto is a credible source. The detective’s suspicions are proven right, as Otto is revealed to have been behind everything the whole time.
- Caught on Tape: Charlie and Sarah set up a sting to catch Otto on tape proving him guilty of the murder, where he is shown holding the buyer at gunpoint and trying to make off with both the diamonds and the money.
- Dramatic Irony: Tennant makes an offhand comment that despite Otto being a little squirrely, he isn't to be underestimated. She’s proven right, as he is revealed to have orchestrated the events of the whole episode and has been manipulating the SJPD into helping him get away with his crimes.
- Entitled Bastard: Otto, did you really think your aunt, the Deputy Chief of police, would save you from being sent to prison after you tried to trick her and her subordinates into helping you get away with murder? After she took you in when your mother died and risked her career to keep you safe?
- Evil All Along: Otto is first presented as Tennant’s shifty, yet allegedly trustworthy informant helping her to investigate a possible diamond smuggling ring that McHale was part of. That is until Otto turns out to have been the one who murdered McHale to cash in on his diamond stash, going on to manipulate Tennant and the SJPD into helping him get away with it and locate McHale's buyer. Tennant is not pleased with any her nephew’s actions upon finding out about it and orders him to be locked away in a cell.
- The Farmer and the Viper: Tennant had taken her nephew Otto in after his mom died and, up until the events of the episode, did nothing but show him kindness and try to keep him out of trouble even if it meant risking her job. Otto decides to take advantage by murdering a diamond smuggler to cash in on his stash, all the while manipulating his aunt and the Major Crimes team into helping him get away with it. After he's arrested, Otto thinks Tennant will still be on his side even after he admits to her himself that he's responsible for everything while showing no remorse for any of his actions. She immediately proves him wrong.
- Foreshadowing:
- Otto’s first appearance has him enter the SJPD's office and hesitates to get any closer to Rex, claiming that he isn’t good with dogs. It was actually because he knew that Rex would smell scents linking Otto to the crime and give him away as the culprit.
- After Otto is brought in to help with the investigation, Tennant is oddly hesitant about involving anyone else and avoids all questions regarding her and her informant’s relationship until Charlie secretly gets Jesse to look into Otto’s past. He's actually Tennant's nephew. She took him in after his mother died and recruited him to help with her investigations despite the fact that she is risking her job doing so.
- When Tennant has Otto sneak in to Reda's garage to plant a camera, the process for some reason takes a lot longer than what it should. Then when Charlie later sends in Rex to investigate Reda doing a game night with his friends, he does not find anything linking Reda to the crime, until they later find the gun used to kill McHale hidden in one of his toolboxes with Reda claiming to not know anything about the murder or the diamonds. Reda is actually innocent, with Otto having planted evidence to frame him for the murder.
- Frame-Up: Reda claims that he is being framed for everything after the gun used to kill McHale is found in his garage, claiming to have no knowledge of any diamond smuggling operation. He’s telling the truth, Otto was the one who planted it there while he was setting up the camera to frame him.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: Shaun McHale, or rather Shaun Leary according to the facial recognition database, was a Canadian Armed Forces deserter who had been smuggling diamonds from his former post in Sierra Leone into St. John's. That was until Otto killed him to profit from the latest shipment for himself.
- The Informant: Otto is an informant working for Tennant and is also her nephew, investigating a possible smuggling operation supposedly led by Hanif Reda while working undercover as one of his employees at his garage. However, when Otto’s information starts turning out to be useless at best and misleading at worst despite Tennant vouching for his competency, the Major Crimes team become suspicious. It's because Otto has been deliberately feeding them false information to frame Reda for the murder.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Invoked by Donovan in regards to keeping Tennant in the dark about the team’s plan to arrest Otto, not wanting to risk her tipping her nephew off even inadvertently.
- Manipulative Bastard: Otto is the real culprit behind McHale's murder. He had been using his aunt's influence within the SJPD to gain their trust, feed them false information, and trick them into helping him find McHale's buyer to cash in on the diamonds, frame Reda and get away scott-free. Upon figuring it out, the team is quick to admit to how well Otto played all of them, with Donovan saying that they fell for one of the oldest tricks in the snitch handbook.
- Rapid-Fire "No!": Otto's response when Tennant orders him to be taken to a holding cell after he remorselessly admits to being behind McHale's murder and that his reason for doing so.
- Stealing from Thieves: Turns out there is no diamond smuggling ring. McHale was acting all on his own until Otto swooped in and killed him out of the desire to cash in on McHale's stash for himself.
- Thicker Than Water: The reason why Tennant defends Otto despite his questionable information is because he is her nephew, who she has been trying to keep out of trouble ever since she took him in after his mother died. She later regrets it after finding out Otto had been using her to get away with his crimes and almost lost her job because of it, only for Charlie to assure her that she isn’t completely at fault as she was just trying to help her family.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Otto. Holy crap, did he bite the hand that fed him. His idea of repaying his aunt’s kindness after she took him in when his mother died is to try and manipulate her into helping him get away with murder and cash in on his victim’s diamond stash. Then after he’s outed as the one behind everything, he has the audacity to demand that Tennant save him from being sent to jail while showing no remorse for his actions nor apparently caring that she risked her job for his own well-being. Needless to say, she isn’t too pleased with any of it and orders her nephew to be taken to a holding cell.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Charlie calls out Tennant for almost compromising the case upon discovering that Otto is her nephew. He eventually comes to an understanding when she explains things a little more and he even convinces Donovan to let it slide by asking whether or not he would do the same if he was in her shoes. Although after Otto is outed as the culprit and the case is solved, they later discuss that Tennant is likely to receive a chewing out for her actions by her superior.
