Mr. Lyle, who was thought to have been killed in "A Stand-Up Guy", lures Jarod into a trap, planning to use him as a bargaining chip with the Centre. Jarod is rescued by his brother Kyle — who was thought to have been killed in "Dragon House".
This episode contains examples of:
- AB Negative: Deputy Miller's son needs a heart donation and is said to be having trouble finding a donor because of his AB- blood. This happens to be both Jarod's and Kyle's blood type.
- Actually Pretty Funny: Seeing the medical tools, Jarod points out it's illegal to impersonate a doctor. Mr. Lyle can't help but laugh over Jarod, of all people, saying such a thing.
- And This Is for...: Miss Parker to Mr. Lyle: "That's for my mother — and this is for me."
- Armor-Piercing Question: On the subject of his abusive foster father.Mr. Lyle: He got what he deserved.
Jarod: And what about your mom? Did she deserve what she got? - Back for the Dead: Jarod's brother Kyle returns after having been apparently killed the previous season. By the end of the episode he's dead again, and his heart is donated to another character to make it clear that he's really dead this time and not coming back.
- Batman Gambit: Mr. Lyle successfully baited Jarod into coming into the town by claiming to be Sydney in an email. He was able to sell it by using the two's old "Refuge" Safe Word.
- Berserk Button: Jarod talking about Mr. Lyle's sordid past and how he drove his foster mother off the deep end cause Lyle to almost choke him to death.
- Big Damn Heroes:
- Just as Mr. Lyle is about to work over Jarod, Kyle enters from behind and clubs him.
- After Kyle dies, Jarod is about to be recaptured, but the Sheriff intervenes on his behalf.
- Bittersweet Ending: Kyle dies for real this time, but Jarod ensures his heart is used to keep Deputy Miller's son alive.
- Buried Alive: Mr. Lyle buries a hostage alive in a remote location — with an air pump, but if he doesn't get what he wants before the pump runs out of fuel...
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: While a captive, Jarod actively presses Mr. Lyle's buttons. It gets Lyle so enraged that he threatens to murder Jarod, who retorts that he'd lose his only bargaining chip with Centre brass in such an event.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: What happens to Mr. Lyle when Jarod's brother gets hold of him.
- Deadpan Snarker: Jarod is in good form while Lyle's captive, such as when watching him struggle with a tie.Jarod: Now, where's a clip-on tie when you need one?
- Dramatic Gun Cock: Just count the number of times the shotgun gets cocked before it actually gets fired.
- The Dreaded: Neither the Sheriff nor his deputy want to cross Mr. Lyle, both of out of concern for his hostage and for recognizing what a depraved monster he is.
- Easily Forgiven: Mr. Lyle is certain that bringing in the Centre's most wanted man will cause the brass to welcome him with open arms and forget about the circumstances of his downfall.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: When confronted about framing Mr. Bowman for murder, Mr. Lyle feels he got what he deserved for years of abuse. When Jarod brings up how the whole incident also damaged Mrs. Bowman's mental state, Lyle looks momentarily regretful.
- Even Evil Has Standards: To prove he's not bluffing, Mr. Lyle intends to harvest a thumb from Jarod and mail it to the Triumvirate. Despite being a sadist, Lyle intends to sedate Jarod first, as he knows from his own personal experience how ghastly it can be to be fully awake for such a thing.
- Everyone Has Standards: Miss Parker realized that Jarod wasn't behind the ID card stunt mocking her mother's death. Upon seeing him, she immediately guesses that was Lyle's doing.Miss Parker: Jarod's a pain in the ass, but he's not heartless.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: The episode opens with the assorted preparations for the Buried Alive plan. We never see Lyle's face during this sequence, but a few quick shots of a Polaroid camera being used show a bandaged hand that's missing a thumb.
- Good Feels Good: The brothers narrowly save the Sheriff's wife, who hugs Kyle out of gratitude. Kyle admits to this trope when later talking to Jarod.
- Human Shield: Mr. Lyle uses Miss Parker as one.Mr. Lyle: Drop the cannon, kid.
Miss Parker: Shoot him, you moron! - I Have Your Wife: Mr. Lyle kidnaps a pregnant woman and buries her alive to gain the cooperation of her husband, the local sheriff.
- I Never Told You My Name: How Miss Parker identifies that the person she's talking to is working with Mr. Lyle.
- Ironic Echo: Playing on the well-known conversation from the first episode and title sequence: "Are you a doctor?" "...not at the moment."
- Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Used off-screen to get a kidnapper to reveal the location of his victim, who has been buried alive and has less than an hour's air left. The character who does it is explicitly presented as psychologically damaged and more inclined to violent solutions than he should be — but on the other hand, Jarod is right there the whole time and lets him do it his way.
- Karmic Jackpot: The Sheriff saves Jarod from being recaptured, saying he absolutely owes the man who saved his pregnant wife.
- Like You Would Really Do It: Invoked. A captured Jarod proceeds to push all of Lyle's buttons, which sets him off.Lyle: One more word, and you die!
Jarod: You kill me, and you have nothing to bargain with. - Line-of-Sight Alias: When Jarod arrives in town, he's between pretends and doesn't have a fake identity ready, so when he's introducing himself to Deputy Miller he borrows a surname off a nearby barber shop's sign.
- Little "No": Jarod, as Lyle injects him with the sedatives.
- Man Hug: Jarod and his brother share a heartfelt hug when they're reunited.
- Meaningful Echo: When Kyle rescues Jarod, their first words to each other are the same (but with the speakers reversed) as when Jarod rescued Kyle in "Dragon House: Part 2". (Made really obvious by including a flashback to that occasion for anybody who'd forgotten.)
- Not Quite Dead: Two characters come back from the supposedly-dead in a single episode. Miss Parker is not impressed: "Doesn't anybody ever really die any more?"
- One Phone Call: "Everyone who's arrested has the privilege of making one phone call," Jarod asserts.
- Race Against the Clock:
- Mr. Lyle's motivation is how the Triumvirate will soon be naming a permanent replacement for his old position. He wants back in and worked to capture Jarod to use as a bargaining chip.
- By the time Jarod wakes back up, there is less than one hour to save the Sheriff's wife. Once talked into helping, Kyle gets the location from Lyle, and the brothers race off to save the woman. They arrive just as the pump runs out of fuel, so they quickly get to work digging and pull her out.
- Sadist:
- Mr. Lyle is quite satisfied with himself for kidnapping and burying a pregnant woman alive, as well as how doing so secured him the loyalty of the local authorities.
- Kyle is only too happy to perform the Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique on Mr. Lyle.
- Safe Word: The old "Refuge" one gets used against Jarod, as he's fooled into thinking Sydney sent him an email when it was really Lyle. When asked how he knew about that secret, Lyle points out that (while Jarod did steal the DSA discs) there was still an abundance of security camera footage of his time in the Centre.
- Taking the Bullet: Kyle jumps in front of the bullet when Mr. Lyle tries to shoot Jarod.
- We Can Rule Together: Mr. Lyle tries it on Jarod. It's not clear whether he's sincere or just trying to get under Jarod's skin.
- With Friends Like These...: Jarod chides Mr. Lyle for murdering his best friend in high school without a second thought.
- You're Insane!: After Mr. Lyle cheerfully explains what he's been up to recently:Jarod: You're insane.
Mr. Lyle: Psychological diagnosis can be really subjective.
