Gareth is terrified of Friday the 13th, which happens to be today. He decides to spend the day at home for his own safety, but bad luck is about to find him.
Tropes:
- 13 Is Unlucky: Referenced throughout the episode, which is set on Friday the 13th. At one point, Gareth recounts a history of why the number is considered unlucky.
- Absurd Phobia: Gareth suffers from Paraskevidekatriaphobia, the fear of Friday the 13th.
- All Just a Dream: Subverted. Gareth awakes, looks at the calendar, and sees that it's Friday 13th; dismissing the previous events of the episode as a dream. His wife tells him it's now Saturday, they just hadn't changed the calendar yet.
- Arc Number: Thirteen, naturally: Friday the 13th, Gareth rants about all the examples of it being unlucky throughout history, and he wins £130,000 in a contest.
- Born Lucky: Applies to Gareth. He was the only survivor of a crash that killed his entire class; his "bad luck" in the episode turns out to be a setup to help him cure his phobia; he wins £130,000 in a radio contest; and as a result of winning the contest, is safely at home when his wife is hit by a car (he might otherwise have been crossing the road with her.)
- Calling Your Nausea: After being locked in the toilet, Sue is feeling claustrophobic and announces she's going to be sick.
- Cruel Twist Ending: Gareth conquers his fears and wins a lot of money. And then Dana gets hit by a car and likely dies. What's more, this will probably reinforce Gareth's superstitions and make his work on overcoming them All for Nothing.
- Dead Man Honking: Towards the end, Gareth is having an auditory Third-Person Flashback to the bus accident of his classmates that ends with screams and the bus horn ringing out after the crash.
- Disaster Dominoes: This appears to happen to Gareth throughout Friday the 13th. He gets a postwoman who he can't get rid of, a builder who insists on bringing along his young granddaughter, and they get locked in the bathroom. Subverted with The Reveal that this was enforced by his therapist.
- Face Your Fears: The psychologist cures Gareth by using exposure therapy which aims at putting the subject in direct contact with their greatest fears.
- Foreshadowing:
- The black cat is first seen at the start of the episode, waiting outside when Dana leaves the house.
- Early in the episode, Dermot jokes about car accidents on Friday the 13th. A road accident turns out to be the cause of Gareth's fear all along; and Dana is hit by a car the following day.
- Friendly Scheming: The entire plot turns out to have been a scheme by Gareth's wife and her psychologist to help Gareth overcome his fear of Friday the 13th.
- Get Out!: Gareth finally has enough of the shenanigans and tells the handyman and the dancer in harsh words to get out of his house.
- Headphones Equal Isolation: Gareth is oblivious to his wife's car accident outside as he is listening to the radio on his headphones.
- Lifesaving Misfortune: As a child, Gareth was sick and could not go on a school trip, which saved his life when the whole class was killed in a fatal road accident.
- Meaningful Background Event: Dana can be seen getting hit by a car while Gareth happily listens to music.
- Mood Dissonance: The Happy Ending Override has a smiling Gareth in the foreground listening to an upbeat song on the radio while his wife is hit by a car and probably dies on the street outside the window.
- Newscaster Cameo: Dermot O'Leary appears as himself, hosting a radio show that Gareth calls into, and then comes to his door with his winnings.
- Not What It Looks Like: "Barry" keeps asking how there came to be a strange woman shut in the toilet - much to Gareth's embarrassment.
- Playing Sick: Gareth calls in sick to his job so that he won't have to go to the office.
- Shout-Out:
- Sue references Friday the 13th (1980), which she thinks is a true story.
- Sue mentions Dr Mikos.
- Superstition Episode: The story showcases Gareth's belief in many different superstitions, from common ones (Friday 13th, black cats, lone magpies, walking under a ladder, breaking a mirror, spilling salt, a horseshoe as a good-luck charm) to lesser-known ones (peacock feathers, crossing someone else on the stairs, opening an umbrella inside).
- Survivor Guilt: Gareth has it as a result of being the only child in his class not killed in a road accident.
- Umpteenth Customer: Gareth turns out to be the million's caller on the radio show earning him the prize money of £130,000.
- Wham Shot: Dana being hit by a car in the background as Kylie Minogue's 'I Should Be So Lucky' plays, which also doubles as Soundtrack Dissonance.
- Your Television Hates You: Gareth switches on the radio and hears Dermot O'Leary cheerfully talking about listeners encountering bad luck because it's Friday the 13th.
