Oracle’s memories challenge Tigress’s decision to trust her new allies.
Tropes
- Bait-and-Switch: As the group make it closer to where Orphan is held on Santa Prisca, Onyx makes her move and holds Cassandra at knifepoint. It turns out she is still insistent that Cassandra Savage is the mole... and this time, Cassandra confirms it herself.
- Big Damn Heroes: Tigress and Onyx are outnumbered and outmatched after Cassandra reveals her true colors and call for backup. A moment after, Cheshire arrives to help even the odds, after initially backing out last episode.
- Cassandra Truth: M'gann found out that M'comm was plotting to kill Green Martians for his White Martian cause, but is too angry to believe that he didn't know about the Kryptonite added to the gene bomb... until he lets her read his mind.
- The Chessmaster: Shiva already suspects that Tigress, Onyx and Cassandra will try to save the latter and Orphan. She makes plans to ensure they fail and even capture them all. However, she does not expect Oracle's involvement, and thus the data theft is averted.
- Cliffhanger: Tigress, Onyx, and Cheshire (along with a drone controlled by Oracle) find Orphan. Unfortunately, Lady Shiva has Cassandra and a handful of the League of Shadows surround them, giving them an ultimatum to surrender or die.
- Continuity Nod: Cassandra mentions after revealing herself as The Mole, she used the Glamor Charm in the same way Artemis did when she was a Fake Defector to the Light back in Season 2.
- Curse Cut Short: Cheshire calls Artemis a true Crock for never doubting she would help them, following it up with a "crock of sh-" before circumstances cut her off.
- Don't Explain the Joke: Taking a page out of the Riddler's book, Joker uses a riddle as an announcement when he decides to get back at the Light by plotting an "UNtimely, UNcomfortable, and UNfortunate" revenge. He then gives away the answer to reveal his target.Joker: "UN." Get it? "U... N...?"
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: M'comm is so deep in his anti-Green/Red racism that he's confused why M'gann is attacking them over the death of a "mere Earther"....even though said "Earther" was her fiancé.
- Five Stages of Grief: M'gann is solidly in Anger for the first part of the episode, then falls into Depression. She even mourns the fact that she has no suspects who murdered Conner, as she has no one to blame.
- Foregone Conclusion: In the last two episodes, Cassandra and Onyx argue who is The Mole and who is the defector. Oracle warns Tigress that one of them is indeed the mole and, near the end, it turns out to be Cassandra.
- Heroic BSoD: M'gann completely shuts down after her rampage, having no one to blame for Conner's death and no way forward.
- If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: Barbara stops Orphan from killing Joker not for his sake, but for Orphan's.
- Literary Allusion Title: To The Lady, or the Tiger?, a short story Artemis (Tigress) recites throughout the episode, fitting the themes of dangerous choices.
- Locked Out of the Fight: Invoked by Tigress. Oracle offers her a chance to call for the entire Bat family to aid her in Santa Prisca, in case the mole in her group makes her move. Remembering Lady Shiva's warning last episode, she decides against it.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Joker reveals he was the only member of the Injustice League that was unaware their attack was just a distraction to keep The Team and Justice League from discovering The Light. After he finds this out from Poison Ivy, he is not happy that he apparently wasn't good enough to be told and attempts to bomb the United Nations as revenge.
- Mama Bear: Oracle is the most worried for Orphan's safety.
- Mission Control: Without Cassandra Savage or Onyx knowing, Oracle is covertly assisting Artemis through the use of a cloaked drone.
- My Friends... and Zoidberg: The Joker was not happy to learn from Poison Ivy that he was the only one who wasn't told that the Injustice League attack he was a part of back in Season 1, eight years ago, was a distraction to keep the Light's true intentions out of the JL and the Team's focus. He is especially pissed that the Riddler, of all people, was not treated like this while he was.
- Not His Sled: A flashback shows the Batfamily, including a still-abled Barbara, up against the Joker. Fans familiar with The Killing Joke might think this is a take on the story, where Joker shot Barbara Gordon, resulting in her paralysis and retirement from the Batgirl mantle. However, it turns out that Orphan is actually responsible, having accidentally slashed Barbara after the latter did a Diving Save to keep her from killing Joker.
- Not Me This Time: Zig-zagged; M'comm did plant the gene bomb and does not deny it when confronted by M'gann about it. However, when she accuses him of adding Kryptonite to kill Conner, he says he doesn't even know what Kryptonite is, and after she takes a moment to read his mind she confirms he isn't lying about it.
- Origins Episode: A set of flashbacks reveal how Orphan joined Batman Inc. as well as what led to Barbara becoming Oracle.
- The Reveal: Near the end, it's revealed that Cassandra Savage is a Fake Defector, using a Glamor Charm to fake her missing arm and scars. Her mission was to gain access to Justice League intelligence, which she was able to do with Infiltrator nanites when brought into the Vault.
- Right Behind Me: After discovering his attack on the United Nations has been foiled, followed by the lights going out, Joker correctly anticipates that not only is Batman close, but behind him.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge:
- M'gann is enraged at Conner's death and attacks M'comm's White Martian cell for allegedly installing Kryptonite on the gene bomb. She stops her rampage when she reads M'comm's mind to confirm his claim that he doesn't even know what Kryptonite is. It clears him of suspicion, but M'gann is left with no one to blame.
- A flashback reveals that Joker wasn't too pleased about the Light using him for their agenda and tried to take it out on then-Secretary General Lex Luthor and the rest of the United Nations with bombs filled with Joker Venom.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!:
- Confused about M'gann's rampage, M'comm uses a boom tube to escape before J'onn catches him.
- Emotionally broken after losing Conner, M'gann decides it's time to leave Mars. Her parents believe the tragedy means she may never return home.
- Stay with the Aliens: In an inverted sense, Em'ree asks to join J'onn and M'gann back to Earth to learn of their culture. J'onn welcomes her, but M'gann is not in the right mind to argue.
- The Stinger: Artemis reads a passage from The Lady, or the Tiger? over J’onn, M’gann, and Em’ree flying back to Earth.
- Unobtainium: Kryptonite is so rare and so tightly controlled that Hawkwoman knows the location of every piece in the Milky Way galaxy, though J'onn immediately points out that someone could have found a previously undiscovered source. When M'gann confronts M'comm about the kryptonite used with his gene bomb, he admits that he doesn't even know what it is.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: After M'comm confirms he wasn't responsible for the Kryptonite added to the bomb, he uses a Father Box to boom tube out before J'onn can stop him.
- Wham Shot: Cassandra lifts the sword Onyx has aimed at her with seemingly nothing but thin air, revealing that she was wearing a Glamour Charm to make it look like she lost an arm to help her case. Justified as she was using it to hide a swarm of nanites that held Justice League intel.
