Liz takes Jack to her high school reunion, set to celebrate her success to the kids who bullied her. Sadly, Liz discovers the reality of her high school years.
Tropes
- The Beard: Although the very campy Rob vehemently claims he's straight, his evidence is boasting that with his wife he raised three beautiful...dogs. When he goes off to dance out his frustrations, his wife just shrugs at Liz as if she knows but has made her peace with it.
- Deconstructed Character Archetype: Liz's teenage self is one for the same type of character of Daria Morgendorffer and Angela Chase. Liz saw herself as the Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold, having few friends and coping with harassment from the local Alpha Bitch and her Girl Posse by making witty comebacks. Liz's classmates on the other hand saw her as the true bully and her "snarky comebacks" as mean-spirited insults, her few friends were more like acquaintances who only hung out with her due to proximity, and the supposed "alpha bitch" was actually a Class Princess who was popular because she was genuinely a nice person who tried to befriend Liz.
- Heel Realization: It dawns on Liz that rather than the put-upon nerd in high school she saw herself as, she was the verbally abusive bully who was making everyone else miserable.
- Mistaken for Gay: Liz is happy to see Rob, a very effeminate man who she considered her gay best friend. She's jarred when Rob rails on how horrible it felt all those years for Liz to make one gay joke after another with him. When Liz says she "just wanted to give you the courage to come out," Rob scoffs "come out of what?" He then introduces his wife.
- Older Than They Look: Liz is amazed Jack is able to pass himself off as a classmate of the school he's at least 20 years older than.Jack: Rich 50 is middle-class 38.
- Reunion Revenge: Liz goes to her high school reunion in the hopes of flaunting her adult success to all of her classmates that bullied her. Turns out that everyone else considered her the bully and are upset that she showed up. They then decide to do this themselves by recreating the prom prank from Carrie.
- Schoolyard Bully All Grown Up: Liz realizes she's the bully here.
- Self-Serving Memory: Liz realizes that what, to her, were jokes to cover up the bullying of her classmates, to everyone else, Liz was making horrific putdowns and insults to them for no good reason.
