Release date: February 3, 2018
WARNING: Untagged spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
Tropes
- All According to Plan: Invoked literally by Deceit when the real Patton reappears, but bearing in mind that Deceit usually lies, this is a subversion of the trope, as Logan quickly remarks.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Deceit-as-Patton taunts Thomas and warns him that if he digs too deep into different sides of himself, he might not like what he finds. Ultimately subverted, as while Thomas is unnerved by Deceit's existence, he's still glad he knows.
- Finger-Tenting: Deceit's first appearance after taking his Patton disguise off is doing this gesture with his hands, showing off his yellow gloves.
- Foreshadowing:
- Once you learn the twist, rewatching the episode reveals numerous odd tics from "Patton." Going back in the series, little unexplainable actions gain a much more significant meaning.
- Some of Virgil's facial expressions when "Patton" is talking hint that he knows something is up, even if he can't put his finger on what.
- As Thomas considers lying, the skull on Thomas's reversible sequin shirt is half plain, half patterned... not unlike Deceit's face.
- Fun with Homophones: This piece of dialogue is a good example of how an innocent word causes an embarrasing misconstruction because of how it sounds exactly the same as another word.Patton: Let's look at Kant.
Thomas: Whoa! Good night, everybody!
Patton: No, Immanuel Kant, K.A.N.T.! - Knight of Cerebus: Deceit, and by extension the Dark Sides, provide the closest thing to antagonists since Virgil's Heel–Face Turn. However, given that Deceit is still part of Thomas, he shows some characteristic Sanders goofiness to prevent the tone from darkening too much.
- Lampshaded the Obscure Reference: When Roman shifts to Thomas' mom shape, Thomas asks with a British accent, "Are you my mommy?" Just in case there were any confused viewers, Logan is quick to say: "Doctor Who reference? Fantastic!"
- Milholland Relationship Moment: Thomas is really afraid to confess to Joan that the reason he forgot to attend a show they were doing was that he was dating a cute guy he had just known, and he fears he's going to lose Joan's friendship because of this. In the end, when Thomas finally tells Joan the truth, it turns out that Joan doesn't mind at all and everything is okay.
- Rewatch Bonus:
- Given Deceit was playing as Patton the entire time, it's interesting to rewatch the episode with that knowledge in mind and see all the foreshadowing that comes with it.
- The skull on Thomas's reversible sequin shirt. Throughout most of the episode, it's half white and half floral, symbolizing Thomas's conflict. After Deceit is revealed, it becomes a full skull, and after Patton's return it changes to full flowers. Could be said to reflect the episode's Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism and Sliding Scale of Silliness vs. Seriousness.
- Spot the Imposter: Deceit does an amazing job pretending to be Patton. Unfortunately for him, he went just a bit too far in trying to push Thomas to lie to Joan, and Virgil caught on. It's ambiguous how long Logan knew of the deception, given how casually he was about to state the fact before Deceit shut him up.
- Tranquil Fury: When Deceit enters the fray, just look at Virgil's face
. - Trust Password: Roman asks for Patton to go through one of these after the trouble with Deceit, and Thomas and the others make him a couple of questions to find out if Patton is the real Patton or if he's another impostor like Deceit. Patton's goofiness is unmatchable by anybody else, so it's not long before they deduce he's the real Patton.Patton: I know my Plato! I've been eating since I was, like, five.
Logan: Eating Plato...? Oh, my goodness, are you talking about the non-toxic modeling compound?
Patton: Is there any other kind?
Virgil: That's for playing, not eating!
Patton: Mama told me never to play with my food.
Roman: Definitely Patton. - We Used to Be Friends: Invoked by Deceit disguised as Patton. Whether if he was acting as Patton trying to deceive Virgil or if he already knew Virgil had recognized him and wanted to stress that it was him, Deceit, his old friend, is up to interpretation.Deceit: Virgil? It's me! Aren't we friends?
Virgil: I'm not so sure we are... - We Will Meet Again: Deceit evokes this with his characteristic inversion:Deceit: All right, but you've seen the last of me...
- Wham Episode: With the revelation of the Dark Sides, this episode changes everything about the status quo.
- Wham Line: Two of the biggest of the entire series show up here.
- "Wow, I'm so proud of you Thomas, you're so mature," said by "Patton" in a sarcastic, decidedly un-Patton tone of voice. After an entire episode of thinking something was weird, it's what finally confirms to Virgil that something is wrong.
- And soon after, Logan reveals just what that "something" is: "DECEIT!"
- Wham Shot: The episode has two big ones. First, Patton waving his hand and forcing Logan to cover his own mouth. This is the first major clue that not only is "Patton" not really Patton, but something is very, very wrong. And, a minute after that, the first appearance of Deceit in the flesh.
