"Damn, there was a buzz in the air that morning. College acceptances, our futures, and best of all, my parents were out of town. I turn to my lab partner, Brett, I say, "Spread the word. We're having a party."
— Walt
Walt tells Danner what happened the day of that fateful St. Patrick's Day party fifteen years ago. Aniq had a scholarship to Stanford and was unable to make a move on Zoë, Chelsea had just broken up with Ned, and Yasper dissolved his ska band with Xavier (then Eugene) due to creative differences. At the party, Aniq tries to confess to Zoë with a mixtape, but Xavier, upset at Yasper breaking up their band, pushes him into the pool, giving Brett time to hit on Zoë. Meanwhile, Chelsea and Xavier bond over their recently ended "relationships" and head to a bedroom in full view of their classmates. Xavier tries to sleep with Chelsea but is rebuffed; he claims to the onlookers outside the bedroom that they had a threesome with Walt, causing his reputation to skyrocket and hers to plummet.
Furious at Xavier's attitude, Aniq takes a baseball bat to Xavier's new car and the two get into an altercation. When the cops arrive, Xavier decides to press charges, costing Aniq his scholarship.
In the present, Aniq reveals the threatening note he found in the bathroom, only for Danner to dismiss it as one of Xavier's discarded drafts
Tropes:
- Call-Forward: During the flashback to high school, Yasper mentions his “one shot in life” mantra emphasized two episodes ago, clearly having not yet amended it.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: Unlike the previous episodes, Walt’s testimony does not cover the reunion and afterparty, but an incident from their school days in 2006: the St. Patrick’s Day party. It's also not solely told from his point of view, unlike the previous recollections — tellingly, it's titled "High School" instead of the usual interviewee Character Title.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: The only effort put into making the then-30-and-40-something actors look like their high school selves is to stick them in hairstyles and outfits that were trendy in 2006. Aniq has a flat top, Xavier has an unflattering bowl cut, and Zoe has choppy bangs.
- Implausible Deniability: Zoe is outraged to find out Aniq made the mixtape Brett claimed was his and their entire relationship started on a lie. Brett pathetically tries to claim he made a mixtape that looked the same but the fact Zoe and Aniq have to tell him what songs were on it more than slightly undermines his case.
- It Will Never Catch On: It turns out it was Yasper who broke up the band because he honestly though ska was going to be the dominant genre and pop just a passing fad.Yasper: Pop is just a fad, dude. Ska is forever.
- My God, What Have I Done?: A twofer, first with Ned and the others realizing Chelsea never hooked up with Xavier and been slut-shaming her all this time. Then Zoe realizing Aniq made the mixtape and her entire relationship with Brett started on a lie.
- The Precious, Precious Car: Xavier rolls into school with a shiny new red convertible, but Yasper somberly comments that it doesn't make him look any cooler. After Xavier ruins his chance with Zoë, Aniq promptly takes a baseball bat to it.
- The Reveal: This episode clears up a lot of ambiguous character motivations:
- What did Xavier do to earn Aniq's animosity at the party? After Yasper broke up their band, he pantsed Aniq in a fit of rage and shoved him into a pool, leading him to desperately attempt to salvage his mix CD for Zoe. Later, he loses the CD only for Zoe to find it and Brett to take credit for it, causing Aniq to lose his chance with her. Xavier callously mocks him over it, causing Aniq to reach his Rage Breaking Point and attack Xavier's new car. Finally the boys fight on the yard, leading the cops to arrive. Xavier dodges arrest thanks to his father's wealth and refuses to exonerate Aniq, causing him to get arrested and lose his college scholarship.
- The reason why Chelsea wanted revenge on Xavier? At the party, Xavier got her drunk and attempted to have sex with her. She rebuffed him, but when their classmates asked, he confirmed they had sex. Chelsea is promptly slut shamed by Jennifer 2 before vomiting all over her, ruining her reputation.
- Meanwhile in the present, it is revealed that Xavier wrote the torn up death threat Aniq found, which was actually a poor attempt at songwriting.
- Running Gag: To reinforce Walt's status as a Forgettable Character, not only does everyone not remember it's his house the party is being held at, they all think it's Brett's soldier uncle's for some reason.
- Slut-Shaming: During the St. Patrick’s Day party Jennifer 2 proceeds to judge Chelsea, who has gotten drunk with Xavier and rebuffed his advances before he claimed to have slept with her. She is less concerned over her friend’s well being and more over how it affects her and that fact that it was with then loser Xavier.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Xavier narrowly escapes getting arrested for his fight with Aniq by mentioning that his dad owns a chain of popular coffeehouses.
- A Threesome Is Hot: Played With. Xavier claims that he had a threesome with Chelsea and Walt, which makes him look like even more of a badass than when he just claimed he had sex with Chelsea. But due to the double standard, Chelsea is slut shamed for it instead.
- Wild Teen Party: Walt hosts a fateful party at his house for the graduating high school class, complete with free-flowing alcohol, empty bedrooms, people walking into walls, and the cops arriving and everybody scrambling.
- Wimp Fight: Aniq and Xavier make fighting stances amid everybody clamoring "Fight!" but resort to just spinning around and slapping each other.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Walt's reaction to how, after he lays out what happened at the party, everyone instantly ignores him to focus on the revelations. Oh and they still don't get it was Walt's house.
