The episode provides examples of:
- Actor Allusion: Who better to voice a crazed clown terrorizing a city than the Joker himself?
- Beard of Sorrow: Fred goes without shaving for quite a while after he’s lost everything and is looking for his birth parents.
- By Wall That Is Holey: Scooby springs Shaggy from military school with a tank.
- Coat, Hat, Mask: The Mysterious Figure who lets the Mayor know to get Mystery Inc. Velma lampshades their resemblance to Rorschach.
- Did Not Think This Through: We see Fred's approach for searching for his birth parents, which seems to consist largely of knocking on random doors and asking whoever's there, rather than searching even when he has the names of his birth parents. And, later on, Crybaby Clown points out leaving their trap next to the town's fireworks factory was not the best idea when dealing with someone who's got explosives.
- Downer Ending: The trap doesn't work (because Fred counted on Daphne's return) and Crybaby Clown escapes. Fred is depressed that the villain escaped and states that Mystery Incorporated won't be the same since Daphne is never coming back.
- Female Gaze: Bayler's Abs and his butt in "Grass Green Jeans"
- Goo Goo Getup: Not only is the Crybaby Clown dressed like a clown, but also like a giant baby - diaper and all.
- Great Escape: Scooby makes one of these as he’s escaping from the prison-like farm he was sent to by Shaggy’s parents.
- Insane Troll Logic: Good old Sheriff Stone. He believes that when a mayor is arrested, he should still be mayor, and refuses to acknowledge the new mayor, Janet Nettles, despite her having been elected to office.Stone: That's not how democracy works in my America!
- Monster of the Week: Crybaby Clown, a monstrous Manchild causing destruction and havoc throughout Crystal Cove.
- Never Say "Die": The Farmer's "Double Barrel Surprise".
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Bayler Hotner is a parody of Taylor Lautner, as does his role as a were-turtle in the "Dusk" movies which parallels Lautner's role as Jacob Black, a werewolf in the Twilight movies.
- Previously on…: Notable since this was the first use of this trope in franchise history.
- Putting the Band Back Together: After the events of the previous episode, the gang's split up. Scooby's on a farm (read: prison), Shaggy's in military camp, Fred is looking for his parents, Daphne's happily with a new beau, and Velma's gone through a Heroic BSoD. But it's Velma who tells Nettles to gather the others up. She rescues Scooby, who rescues Shaggy, and they find Fred.
- Recognition Failure: Because Fred is so bedraggled when he returns to Crystal Cove, when Daphne first sees him she thinks he's a hobo, despite that he's still wearing the same outfit underneath his beard.
- Sherlock Scan: Fred is able to figure out who the mysterious figure is after just one sentence. Unsurprisingly, it's Velma.
- Rube Goldberg Device: Like all of his traps, Fred’s attempt to catch the Crybaby Clown is this.
- Shout-Out:
- To Watchmen
Fred: Velma!Velma: Who were you expecting? Rorschach?- During the meeting, Crybaby Clown scratches his nails on the chalk board and mentions how the townspeople know him and how he earns a living, this is a reference towards the film, Jaws, when Quint scratches his nails on the chalk board and says the exact same lines. Likewise, his mention of what happens if they pay his bribe homages how Quint outlines catching the shark.
- Various parts of the episode reference The Great Escape, Full Metal Jacket and Dawn of the Dead (1978).
- The title is a reference to the infamous unreleased movie The Day the Clown Cried.
- Sure, Let's Go with That: On seeing Shaggy out of military camp, his mom wonders how he got out. Shaggy claims he's been made a general, and is undercover with Scooby to stop the clown. She buys this.
- Title-Only Opening: Because the gang is still apart, the usual opening sequence is replaced with one.
- Ungrateful Townsfolk: Guess. Aside from Mayor Nettles, none of Crystal Cove's populace want Mystery Inc back, and in Sheriff Stone's case are willing to pay Crybaby Clown's "Begone" Bribe.
- Shaggy: We're all responsible, Fred. We're a team, remember?
Fred: That's just it, Shaggy. We're not a team. Not without Daphne. And now I know... she's never coming back.
