Claire's suspicions grow. Jim's mother invites Strickler over for a tension-filled dinner.
Tropes for this episode include:
- The Bad Guy Wins: Strickler snatches the amulet, with Jim none the wiser.
- Chaos While They're Not Looking: Jim and Strickler act cordial and enjoy their dinner. When Barbra leaves the room to tend to her apple pie, they both try to kill each other for the Amulet of Daylight. Jim conjures his armor, Strickler returns to his true form and throws his knives, but when Barbra returns, they are both out of "combat mode" and are sitting at the dinner table. The second time she walks in, they pretend that they are looking for Strickler's contact-lens.
- Continuity Nod: In conversation with Barbra, Strickler tells a PG rated version of the ending of "Gnome Your Enemy" (where he leads a security guard to Bular to be eaten) as a humorous routine."So, I said to my co-worker, 'I brought you a midnight snack.' Too bad for him he had indigestion for days. Well, that's the problem with eating Italian."
- Cool Teacher: Strickler lightens the mood at the beginning of the episode by cracking jokes about how bored some of his students are by the class and even cracks a pun as class ends.[Bell Rings] "One last lesson. Who can tell me where Napoleon kept his armies? In his sleevies." [students groan as Strickler laughs]
- Cryptic Background Reference: During Jim's fight with Strickler (in his true form), one could spot a portrait of a man similar looking to Jim but with glasses and wearing a naval uniform. This could possibly be Jim's absent father.
- Failed a Spot Check: No one upstairs hears Claire's scream. Draal does, since he's standing right in front of her. Although Jim somehow reacts, which implies he heard something besides Barbara in the kitchen, but Strickler attacks him.
- Foreshadowing: After finding the secret room hidden in Strickler's office, they find scrap-pieces of a pocket watch strewn about on a table. Later on, it is revealed that Strickler constructed a fake Amulet of Daylight to be swapped with the real one.
- Fork Fencing: Strickler and Jim briefly with forks and knives while Barbra fixes her pie.
- For Your Own Good: Strickler claims that he is only there himself in order to protect Jim and Barbara from the arguably more dangerous Bular, who would not be so hesitant to kill them.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Watch closely and you can see the moment where Stricker replaces the amulet with a fake several frames before the Wham Shot.
- Hand Signals: Jim tells Draal that if he stomps once, everything is fine, he stomps twice and he comes up and helps him fight off Strickler. This winds up going wrong due to a combination of Strickler messing up the signal intentionally and Claire's presence complicating things.
- I Know You Know I Know: The dinner conversation starts off with this.
- Lethal Chef: In an effort to make an apple pie for Jim and Strickler, Barbra ends up having to put out a fire with a generous amount of whipped cream.
- Line-of-Sight Name: It is hinted that Aaarrrgghh!!!'s name came from how others reacted to him when he was a savage Gumm-Gumm.Aaarrrgghh!!!: People ran away. Scream, "Aaaarrrgghh!!! No. No. Stop."
- Locked Out of the Loop: Since she hasn't been kept up to date on the troll hunter duties, Claire is utterly confused about what Strickler and Jim are talking about. She also is confused about the bridge that Toby and Jim mention.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Jim when Draal doesn't respond to the signal.
- Claire when she sees Draal.
- Jim when Strickler reveals his true form.
- "Rear Window" Investigation: Finding Jim and his antics more and more suspicious, Claire sneaks into his basement to see if she can find out what he is up to. She winds up encountering Draal as a result, screaming before accidentally knocking herself out against a pipe.
- The Reveal: In The Book of Ga-huel, it is revealed to Toby that Aaarrrgghh!!! was once a ruthless member of the Gumm-Gumms.
- Reverse Grip: Jim starts out the fight with Strickler holding his steak knife like this.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Hidden in a crystal in Strickler's office as security lurks an Antramonstrum, an amorphous smoke-monster "dormant until disturbed, shockingly fierce, and excellent at erasing snaky-snakes."
- Shame If Something Happened: During the dinner standoff, Strickler takes note of the people Jim cares about, and that he knows that Toby, Aaarrrgghh!!! and Blinky are sneaking into his office.
- So Much for Stealth: Thanks to some dust dislodged when Jim gave Draal the signal, Claire ends up sneezing, causing Draal to say "gesundheit" and accidentally alert Claire of his presence.
- Suddenly Always Knew That: Upon finding a piano in Strickler's office, Blinky casually plays an impressive tune on it briefly.
- Tap on the Head: Claire is knocked out when she bangs her head on the pipe. By the next episode she seems to be fine.
- Trouble Entendre: The parts of the dinner conversation in front of Barbara, and some that take place when she's gone.
- Villain Over for Dinner: Essentially the premise of the episode.
- Wham Shot:
- Strickler turning into a changeling to fight Jim.
- Strickler reveals to Not Enrique that he switched the amulet for a fake.
- Xanatos Gambit: Strickler when he goes to Jim's house for dinner has the whole situation in the palm of his hand. If Jim handed over the amulet for his mother's safety, then problem is solved. He can also fight Jim for it. He and Jim are evenly matched for the moment. Meanwhile he's planted a trap in his office, since he knows Jim would have Toby, Blinky and Aargh investigate. Then it's revealed he packed a fake amulet and switched it on getting the chance. Either way he would have won.
- You Will Be Spared: Strickler says that if Jim hands over the amulet, he won't kill his "favorite" student. Even though Jim refuses to hand it over and demands the location of the bridge, Strickler takes the opportunity to switch the amulets.
