A two part series finale. Alan realizes that he doesn't actually have any proof of Charlie Harper's death, and that the only reason why he believed that Charlie was dead was because Rose told him. His suspicions are raised further by a series of threatening messages sent to him and Evelyn, while several of the women that Charlie had relationships with receive large checks and apologies. Rose comes clean and admits that Charlie survived her attempt to kill him, and that he's been imprisoned in her basement for the last four years. It soon becomes clear that the escaped Charlie plans to kill Alan and Walden.
Tropes
- Arc Number: The episode starts with Alan discovering that there are two and a half million dollars in unclaimed royalties on Charlie's musical works, and the fact that an unknown party claims it is the first thing that makes Alan suspect Charlie is still alive. Later in the episode, Jake reveals that he gambled the two hundred and fifty thousand dollars that Charlie gave him up to...two and a half million dollars.
- Art Shift: Rose's flashback of what happened between her and Charlie in Paris is an All-CGI Cartoon sequence done in the style of Looney Tunes.
- As Himself: Christian Slater, who gets mistaken for Charlie based on the description the boys gave Wagner.
- Back for the Finale:
- Jake, who hadn't appeared on the show for a couple years due to Angus Jones becoming a Seventh-day Adventist and feeling the show conflicted with his new religious views, shows up for a few minutes to let Alan know that he's gotten married and is now rich courtesy of Charlie and gambling winnings.
- Evelyn, who had her role reduced to almost nothing after Charlie's departure, shows up as one of the people Charlie is after.
- Jenny, who was a lead character during season eleven before being switched out, cameos as one of those receiving money and an apology from Charlie.
- Many of the women Charlie had flings with, such as Dolores Pasternak, Mia, and Chelsea, show up when Charlie sends them apology notes and generous checks.
- Many of the previous wives/girlfriends of Alan and Walden get a little screentime after several seasons away, as both of them want to let them know that they cherished the time they spent together, even if it ended poorly, as they're both afraid Charlie is about to kill them.
- Played with when it comes to Charlie. Yes, he's the primary antagonist of the episode, and the driving force behind everything that happens in it. However, almost everything is done off-screen. His 'appearance' ends up being a five second scene of him ringing a doorbell and getting a piano dropped on him, with him only being shown from the back. It's also very obviously not Charlie Sheen playing the character, so while the character returned, the actor did not.
- Averted with Herb, Gordon, Russell, and Eldridge, who are not shown or mentioned at all in this episode.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: There's a lot of this throughout the episode. When explaining the Charlie situation to Lieutenant Wagner, Alan explains many of the occurrences of the show's twelve year runtime as if he's aware of the fact that it's a television show. We also get some looks straight at the camera to acknowledge the fourth wall breaking nature of some of the gags.
- Character Check: Lieutenant Wagner brings up Walden's introduction to the show in how he went to the beach to commit suicide but gave up because the water was too cold. Walden (whose more idiotic traits were phased out as the show went on) can only sheepishly reply "It... seemed like a good idea at the time."
- Contrived Coincidence: Charlie, after having been imprisoned in Rose's basement for several years, finally breaks out at the same time he suddenly had royalties to collect and Alan and Walden were just beginning to realize they don't have proof of his death.
- Criminal Doppelgänger: The police are informed about Charlie sending threatening messages to Alan, Walden, and Evelyn. Later in the episode, they arrest someone they believe to be Charlie, but is actually just Christian Slater wearing attire similar to what Charlie liked to wear. Something of a parody, as Christian Slater doesn't really look all that much like Charlie Harper.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: Well, piano.
- Fake Shemp: Charlie only appears in the flesh in the very last scene of the episode, only seen from the back. This is because he was played by an uncredited actor in Charlie Sheen's place.
- Killed Off for Real: Although it doesn't mean that much since this is the final episode of the show, Charlie Harper actually dies in this one. The ambiguity of his previous off-screen death which allowed them to bring him back here is prevented by actually dropping a piano on him on-screen.
- Never Found the Body: It finally comes to light that nobody had actually witnessed Charlie's death or seen his body afterwards besides Rose (he had a closed casket funeral, allegedly due to the mangled state of his remains), and even when Alan points out that he has Charlie's ashes, Walden asks how he can be sure those are his ashes. As it turns out, Rose had been faking Charlie's death and the ashes actually belong to the goat Charlie had sex with who was hit by the train instead.
- Retcon: Charlie’s death is now revealed to have been faked by Rose, despite what was established in season 9, including his literal ghost coming back from Hell.
- Self-Deprecation:
- The scene with Lieutenant Wagner pokes fun at the show's various absurdities, such as Jake's increasing incompetence, how Walden was introduced, and Alan continuing to live in the house (including by way of marrying and divorcing Walden). Walden admits this all sounds ridiculous when explained, with Alan adding things do fall apart by the end. As the two leave his office, Wagner suggests they wrap it up on the grounds this has lasted way too long.
- During a stopover in Las Vegas, Jake turned the money he got from Charlie into an even larger sum.Jake: I kept playing Craps because, y'know, crap. Oh, and I kept betting on Come because... [starts giggling]
Walden: Wow. Amazing that you've made so much money with such stupid jokes.
[Walden, Alan, and Jake glance at the camera]
- Show Stopper: When Jake, who had been absent from the show for years, shows up, the audience gives a lengthy bout of cheering and applause.
- Take That!: The subject of Charlie's rage problems leads to a reference to a certain someone's show at the time.Wagner: Has he tried anger management?
Alan: Yeah, but it didn't work. - The Unfavorite: Alan gets a double whammy here: Not only is he (along with Evelyn) the only person who was a part of Charlie's life that doesn't recieve any of his royalty money as a gift, but when he calls Judith, he discovers Jake actually split some of his Vegas winnings with her... Alan didn't get any of it.
- Wealthy Ever After: Jake, having left the Army and gotten married, gets a quarter-million dollar check from Uncle Charlie. He stops by Las Vegas on his way to visit his father and decides to gamble with it...turning it into two and a half million dollars.
