Cosgrove and Shaw are called to the scene when an Army veteran is found dead in his home.
- Driven to Suicide: Shane Risner overdosed on pills. In addition to falling on hard times due to his dishonorable discharge, with the court-martial signed off by the Colonel Lockett, he was also in pain from pulmonary fibrosis, caused by exposure to the burn pits on base.
- Drowning My Sorrows: After the deceased and his girlfriend had an argument, she left and he remained at the bar, "sulking in his whiskey."
- Hollywood Military Uniform: The public affairs NCO introduces himself to Sam and Nolan as Sergeant Major Crawford, yet the rank on his sleeves depict him as a Sergeant First Class, with three chevrons and two arcs. Sergeants Major have three chevrons, three arcs and a star in the middle of the insignia.
- Insanity Defense: Fallon's defense changes the plea to this, with his previously undiagnosed glioblastoma coming to light.
- Just Following Orders: This is ultimately what it boiled down to with Lockett, in both his military and civilian careers. Despite his objection to the burn pits, he still used them as ordered by his military superiors. He fraudulently applied for a loan on orders from the CEO, bypassing Sonya the CFO. But as Sam points out, does that make it right?
- My God, What Have I Done?: Luke Fallon killed Lockett because he blames him for the continual use of burn pits that ultimately lead to his friend's death. On the stand, he reads out loud Lockett's retirement statement, where he outlined that he repeatedly requested to stop the use of burn pits, and his superiors forced him to keep using them. He breaks down upon realizing that his former commanding officer had stood up for his troops.
- Nice Guy: His neighbors saw him as this. According to the maitre d, he was also a generous tipper.
- Ripped from the Headlines: The military's use of burn pits and the deteriorating health effects they have on military personnel come to the limelight.
- Title Drop: Fallon does this on the stand. He claimed he was ordered to shoot someone, ergo he believes it changes his culpability in the outcome. Yet he held Lockett responsible for the health problems and subsequent deaths of his soldiers because he wasn't following orders, he was giving them. Maroun also does this at the end of the episode, saying Lockett died for following it.
