History Recap / TheHardyBoys2020Season2E5HeadingForDestruction

** Anya Kowalsky and Paul [=McFarlane=] were both name-dropped in the season premiere as two other people besides the Hardys and their TrueCompanions who might know that the Eye has magical properties. This comes back in some way for both of them here:
*** Anya was introduced last season as a woman who was wronged by the Circle; her father died in the mine explosion caused by Ahmed, George, and Sergei claiming the Eye, and they went on to become rich and powerful. Now, as Fenton hunts down the remnants of the Circle, he meets a woman trying to do the same thing; she claims to be Olivia Kowalsky, Anya's daughter, who's seeking revenge for her family.

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Olivia Kowalsky has a noble goal on paper: bring down the Circle of the Eye to take vengeance on the people who destroyed her family, not unlike what Fenton is doing. Unlike him, though, she's crossed the line into murder.

* WhamEpisode: Once again for the mid-season finale. The Hardy Boys are captured by Stratemeyer Global and spend most of the episode out of the action as {{Distressed Dude}}s, but are released when, for some reason, the tracking device picks up a signal from a completely different location. Phil is also knocked out and locked in a car trunk during the parade. The gang figures out that the bomb is at Wilt Deli's and that Vanessa and Lola are behind it, but fail to stop them from detonating it, causing major damage to Wilt's while Jesse Hooper is critically injured in the explosion. Fenton Hardy is revealed to be hunting down the remnants of the Circle and finds Paul [=McFarlane=] dead, and meets Anya Kowalsky's daughter Olivia, who is also fighting the Circle to get revenge for her family. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And Chet and Belinda finally hook up.]]

** The boys immediately suspect, and the Eye promptly confirms, that Tom Elroy is [[FrameUp being framed]] for planting a bomb by the real culprit(s), but the mayor refuses to listen to their warning that they need to shut down Demon Day [[SlaveToPR because of the bad publicity it would bring]], while the police initially brush off the boys' protests that Tom's innocent, though Jessie and Riley soon start to believe them. Of course, the true bombers, one of whom is the Demon Queen, do set it off during the parade, causing mass panic and critically injuring Jessie.

* FrameUp: Tom Elroy is framed for the Demon Day bombing plot after evidence is planted in his car. At first, the police seem content to believe he did it, but when Tom talks to Frank, he reminds him that he's a war veteran who has experience with explosives and would never make such an amateur bomb, which is enough for Jessie and Deputy Riley to start second-guessing. He's released offscreen after the bombing.

** As the Hardy Boys try to convince Jessie that Tom is innocent, Riley comes in to inform her that their suspect refuses to speak with anyone except Frank, who befriended him and offered his help in "The Missing Camera". The boys triumphantly grin at Jessie, and she insists, "You're not going in there. It's not gonna happen." Cut to Frank entering the holding room to talk to Tom.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Despite Mayor Krassner previously telling the Hardy Boys to come to him if they need anything and stating that he cares about the security of Bridgeport, he's completely dismissive when they tell him about the bomb plot and Tom being framed, even stating when the boys call him out on his hypocrisy that he was "just being congenial" when offering his help and--while [[JerkassHasAPoint not totally wrong]] that the boys have no evidence for their claims--refuses to even consider their warnings. Even after Jessie and Riley begin believing them, Krassner still doesn't take action and just tells them to keep pushing Tom.

* MeaningfulEcho: When Jessie scolds the Hardys for not coming to her sooner with what they've found on the case, she says, "This is my job. Trust me to do it." Later, as she prepares to try to disarm the bomb at Wilt's, Callie asks, "What are you doing?!", and Jessie responds, "My job!"

** Jessie Hooper's eye widen in horror when she sees that the bomb she's attempting to disarm has been armed and is about to blow.

* WhamEpisode: Once again for the mid-season finale. The Hardy Boys are captured by Stratemeyer Global and spend most of the episode out of the action as {{Distressed Dude}}s, but are released when, for some reason, the tracking device picks up a signal from a completely different location. Phil is also knocked out and locked in a car trunk during the parade. The gang figures out that the bomb is at Wilt Deli's and that Vanessa and Lola are behind it, but fail to stop them from detonating it, causing major damage to Wilt's while Jessie Hooper is critically injured in the explosion. Fenton Hardy is revealed to be hunting down the remnants of the Circle and finds Paul [=McFarlane=] dead, and meets Anya Kowalsky's daughter Olivia, who is also fighting the Circle to get revenge for her family. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And Chet and Belinda finally hook up.]]

* JerkassHasAPoint: Mayor Krassner may be a SlaveToPR, but he does make one salient point when the Hardys are urging him to shut down Demon Day: the police apparently have the suspected bomber in custody, and this is one of the biggest and most beloved holidays of the year in Bridgeport. He can't just shut the entire thing down on the say-so of two teens who insist without proof or even solid evidence that they've got the wrong guy. That being said, he's still a massive {{Hypocrite}} who cares far more for his own image than public safety.

** As Callie, Biff, Belinda, and Chet check the list of who's both on the track team and taking senior chemistry, they find one name in common: Donald Dukay, whom Callie earlier accused of lying about her cheating, and when they confront him, Chet and Belinda recognize his voice as one of the teen vandals who pranked Tom at his house. Donald does admit to being one of the pranksters, but emphatically denies knowing anything about the bomb plot, and the intel they pry out of him puts them onto the real bomber: his ex-girlfriend, Vanessa Bender.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Despite Mayor Krassner previously telling the Hardy Boys previously to come to him if they need anything and stating that he cares about the security of Bridgeport, he's completely dismissive when they tell him about the bomb plot and Tom being framed, even stating when the boys call him out on his hypocrisy that he was "just being congenial" when offering his help and--while [[JerkassHasAPoint not totally wrong]] that the boys have no evidence for their claims--refuses to even consider their warnings. Even after Jessie and Riley begin believing them, Krassner still doesn't take action and just tells them to keep pushing Tom.

* TheEasyWayOrTheHardWay: As Stratemeyer interrogates the Hardy Boys about the Eye's whereabouts, this referenced when Mack waves a knife near their faces and tells them, "Answer honestly and we can avoid any unpleasantness." When the boys refuse to cave, Angela promises to come back later to "try things the hard way." Fortunately for the boys, the bomb going off in town not long before and the tracker picking up a signal from a different location both make Angela decide to let them go before they have to find out what "the hard way" is.

* ContinuityNod: Angela, who knows the Hardys "used" the Eye at the police station earlier that day (where Frank had a vision), asks if they stashed in an evidence locker for safekeeping. Joe snarks in response, "You think an evidence locker's safe?" He'd know quite well how much they're ''not'' safe considering that he himself broke into one back in "Secrets and Lies" to steal back his own soldering iron.

** The boys immediately suspect, and the Eye promptly confirms, that Tom Elroy is [[FrameUp being framed]] for planting a bomb by the real culprit(s), but the mayor refuses to listen to their warning that they need to shut down Demon Day [[SlaveToPR because of the bad publicity it would bring]], while the police initially brush off the boys' protests that Tom's innocent, though Jessie and Riley soon start to believe them. Of course, the true bombers, one of whom is the Demon Queen herself, do set it off during the parade, causing mass panic and critically injuring Jessie.

* DistressedDude: Quite a bit to go around in this episode, including two ''separate'' kidnappings for the Hardy family.

** Fenton briefly gets captured by Olivia, though she doesn't end up hurting him despite her many threats to do so.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Mayor Krassner may be a SlaveToPR, but he does make one salient point when the Hardys are urging him to shut down Demon Day: the police apparently have the suspected bomber in custody, and this is one of the biggest and most beloved holidays of the year in Bridgeport. He can't just shut the entire thing down on the say-so of two teenagers who insist without any proof or even solid evidence that they've got the wrong guy. That being said, he's still a massive {{Hypocrite}} who cares far more for his own image than public safety.

* TheUnReveal: When Olivia releases Fenton and leaves, she's picked up by someone else driving a dark car, indicating that she's not working alone and either has a partner or is part of a larger group. We don't learn any more about this until Season 3.

* TheUnReveal: When Olivia releases Fenton and leaves, she's picked up by someone driving a dark blue car, indicating that she's not working alone and either has a partner or is part of a larger group. We don't learn any more about this until Season 3.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Despite Mayor Krassner previously telling the Hardy Boys previously to come to him if they need anything and stating that he cares about the safety and security of Bridgeport, he's completely dismissive when they come to him about the bomb plot and Tom being framed, even stating when the boys call him out on his hypocrisy that he was "just being congenial" when offering his help and--while [[JerkassHasAPoint not totally wrong]] that the boys have no evidence for their claims--refuses to even consider their warnings. Even after Jessie and Riley begin believing the boys, Krassner still doesn't take action and just tells them to keep pushing Tom. And then [[SlaveToPR shoots Phil a grin and a wave when he sees him filming nearby]].

* TheEasyWayOrTheHardWay: Angela gives this offer to the Hardy Boys when interrogating them about the Eye's whereabouts; the "easy way" [[SarcasmMode merely]] consists of Mack waving a knife near their faces to intimidate them enough to talk. When they refuse to cave, Angela promises to come back later to "try things the hard way." Fortunately for the boys, the bomb going off in town not long before and the tracker picking up a signal from a different location both make Angela decide to let them go before they have to find out what "the hard way" is.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Mayor Krassner may be a SlaveToPR, but he does make one salient point when the Hardys are urging him to shut down Demon Day: the police apparently have the suspected bomber in custody, and this is one of the biggest and most beloved holidays of the year in Bridgeport. He can't just shut the entire thing down on the say-so of two teenagers who insist without any proof or even solid evidence that they've got the wrong guy. He's still a massive {{Hypocrite}}, though, and still insists on continuing even after talking to Jessie.

* TroubleEntendre: Right after the Hardys' friends figure out Vanessa is the bomber, we cut to Trudy finishing up her Demon Day dress and telling her to enjoy her big moment. Vanessa responds with "For sure. It's going to be '''a blast'''." Not long after, when the kids catch up to Trudy and fill her in, she remembers these exact words and realizes this trope was in play, to her consternation.

* GilliganCut: As the Hardy Boys try to convince Jessie that Tom is innocent, Riley comes in to inform her that their suspect refuses to speak with anyone except Frank, who befriended him and offered his help in "The Missing Camera". The boys triumphantly grin at Jessie, and she insists, "You're not going in there. It's not gonna happen." Cut to Frank entering the holding room to talk to Tom.

** Frank and Joe are kidnapped by Stratemeyer Global--who now know thanks to JB that they have the Eye or know where it is--being [[VehicularKidnapping stuffed into a van with bags over their heads]] and tied to chairs in their lair, and spending more than half the episode out of the action.

* TheEasyWayOrTheHardWay: Angela gives this offer to the Hardy Boys when interrogating them about the Eye's whereabouts; the "easy way" [[SarcasmMode merely]] consists of Mack waving a knife near their faces to intimidate them enough to talk. When they refuse to cave, Angela promises to come back later to "try things the hard way." Fortunately for the boys, the bomb going off in town not long before and the tracker picking up a signal from a different location both make Angela decide to release them before they have to find out what "the hard way" is.

* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Vanessa Bender and Lola Burton are revealed to have held Dennis prisoner in Tom's shack after he witnessed them there planning a bomb attack on Wilt's Deli. When cornered, Lola insists that they only wanted the money that someone else paid them to do this, and besides nabbing Dennis and holding him captive, they didn't hurt him in any other way before handing him over to that someone else.

* TrespassingHero: Invoked by Angela. When she decides to release the Hardys for now, she tells them her intention to report to the authorities that the Hardys were trespassing on Stratemeyer Global property and detained for security purposes, which will ensure that they can't press charges for the kidnapping since it'll be their word against Statemeyer's.

* AndThenWhat: Frank asks this word-for-word when he and Joe are held prisoner by Stratemeyer and the latter suggests headbutting their captors to try to get away, pointing out that they're still tied up and, even if they could escape from their chairs and get to the door, there would likely be a bunch of Stratemeyer goons right outside to immediately re-capture them anyway. Lucky for them, Stratemeyer lets them go soon after.

* BackForTheDead: After just appearing in a few photos in the previous episode, Paul [=McFarlane=], who fled town to escape the Circle back in the first season, makes a proper reappearance here...just in time for Fenton to find him dying after Olivia poisoned him.

** The boys immediately suspect, and the Eye quickly confirms, that Tom Elroy is [[FrameUp being framed]] of planting a bomb by the real culprit(s), but the mayor refuses to listen to their warning that they need to shut down Demon Day [[SlaveToPR because of the bad publicity it would bring]], while the police at first refuse to listen to the boys' protests that Tom's innocent, though Jessie and Riley soon do start to believe them. Of course, the true bombers do set it off during Demon Day, causing mass panic and critically injuring Jessie.

** Frank and Joe are kidnapped by Stratemeyer Global, who now know thanks to JB that they have the Eye or know where it is, being [[VehicularKidnapping stuffed into a van with bags over their heads]] and tied to chairs in their lair, spending more than half the episode out of the action.

* TheEasyWayOrTheHardWay: Angela gives this offer to the Hardy Boys when interrogating them about the Eye's whereabouts; the "easy way" [[SarcasmMode merely]] consists of Mack waving a knife near their faces to intimidate them enough to talk. When they refuse to cave, Angela promises to come back later to "try things the hard way". Fortunately for the boys, the bomb goes off in town before this and the tracker picks up a signal from a different location, both of which make Angela decide to release them before they have to find out what "the hard way" is.
* FrameUp: Tom Elroy is framed for the Demon Day bombing plot after evidence is planted in his car. At first, the cops seem content to believe he did it, but when Tom talks to Frank, he reminds him that he's a war veteran who has experience with explosives and would never make such an amateur bomb, which is enough for Jessie and Deputy Riley to start second-guessing. He's released offscreen after the bombing.

* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Vanessa Bender and Lola Burton are revealed to have held Dennis prisoner in Tom's shack after he witnessed them there planning a bomb attack on Wilt's Deli. When cornered, Lola insists that they only wanted the money that someone else paid them to do this, and besides nabbing Dennis and holding him captive, didn't otherwise hurt him before handing him over to that someone else.

* WhamEpisode: Once again the case for the mid-season finale. The Hardy Boys are kidnapped by Stratemeyer Global and spend most of the episode out of the action as {{Distressed Dude}}s, but are released when, for some reason, Frank experiencing a vision from the Eye seems to cause the tracking device to track its power source to a completely different location. Phil is also knocked out and locked in a car trunk during the parade. The gang figures out that the bomb is at Wilt Deli's and that Vanessa and Lola are behind it, but fail to stop them from detonating it, causing major damage to Wilt's while Jessie Hooper is critically injured in the explosion. Fenton Hardy is revealed to be hunting down the remnants of the Circle and finds Paul [=McFarlane=] dead, and meets Anya Kowalsky's daughter Olivia, who is also fighting the Circle to get revenge for her family. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And Chet and Belinda finally hook up.]]

* AndThenWhat: Frank asks this word-for-word when he and Joe are held captive by Stratemeyer and the latter suggests headbutting their captors to try to get away, pointing out that they're still tied up and, even if they could somehow escape from their chairs and get to the doors, there would probably just be a bunch of Stratemeyer goons right outside who would immediately recapture them anyway. Luckily for them, Stratemeyer ends up letting them go soon after.

* BreakUpMakeUpScenario: Downplayed since they don't actually break up, but Callie keeping her visit to Gloria a secret from Frank caused them to have a fight near the end of the previous episode, and there's still tension between them at the beginning of this one. By the end, though, after Frank and Joe survived being kidnapped and Callie and the others survived a bombing, they make up and promise not to hold out on or lie to each other from then on, with the heavy implication that Frank plans to tell her about the Eye very soon.
* CassandraTruth: JB told Frank at the drive-in that Stratemeyer found a way to trace the Eye's signal remotely, and will know the next time the boys use it. Joe convinces Frank when he tells him this that JB was just bluffing to try to scare him into handing over the Eye. They soon discover after being kidnapped, and lampshade to each other, that this was very much a sincere warning and ''not'' a bluff.

*** On that note, Wilt's was broken into and TP'ed a few days before Demon Day in "The Missing Camera"; Wilt chalked it up to a prank because nothing was stolen, but Frank and Chet noticed that one of the arcade games was moved out from against the wall, and put it back. The gang now realizes that the break-in was actually done to plant the bomb, and when they search Wilt's, Chet remembers that the game was the only thing out of place. Sure enough, they find the bomb there.

** Frank and Joe are kidnapped by Stratemeyer Global, who now know thanks to JB that they have the Eye or know where it is, being [[VehicularKidnapping stuffed into a van with bags over their heads]] and tied to chairs in their lair.

* {{Irony}}: A rather dark example. Joe told Frank in the season premiere about his suspicions of a dark blue van idling around town several times, stating they could be "kidnappers" (among other options), and despite Frank brushing it off, Joe was proven to be ProperlyParanoid when JB later confirmed the van belongs to Stratemeyer, who did indeed abduct him. Now, when the boys go to talk to JB again, this same van [[VehicularKidnapping ends up being used to kidnap]] ''them''.

** As Callie, Biff, Belinda, and Chet check the list of who's both taking senior chemistry and on the track team, they find one name in common: Donald Dukay, whom Callie earlier confronted about possibly falsely accusing her of cheating, and when they all confront him again, Chet and Belinda recognize his voice as one of the teen vandals who pranked Tom at his house. Donald does admit to being one of the pranksters, but emphatically denies knowing anything about the bomb plot, and the intel they pry out of him puts them onto the real bomber: his ex-girlfriend, Vanessa Bender.
** While already hinted prior, it's confirmed that Stratemeyer Global, despite kidnapping JB previously and the Hardys here, and whatever other shady stuff they may be up to with trying to get the Eye, doesn't have anything at all to do with Dennis's disappearance or the bombing on Demon Day; there's [[BigBadEnsemble another villain in play]] in Bridgeport with their own completely separate agenda.

* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Vanessa Bender and Lola Burton are revealed to have held Dennis prisoner in Elroy's shack after he witnessed them there planning a bomb attack on Wilt's Deli. When cornered, Lola insists that they only wanted the money that someone else paid them to do this, and didn't hurt Dennis before handing him over to that someone else.

** When Elroy is framed for being behind the bomb plot, he tells Frank that he saw someone in his yard by his car who fits the description of JB's most recent disguise, leading the Hardys to believe that Stratemeyer Global is behind it and forced JB to plant evidence. It's later revealed that Stratemeyer actually had nothing to do with the bombing; this was the plot of whoever kidnapped Dennis, which they ''also'' had nothing to do with, and JB was lurking around Elroy's place because he thought the Hardys might have hidden the Eye there and was looking for it.
** Frank and Joe, after being kidnapped by Stratemeyer, are released from captivity thanks to an in-universe one. Angela took them because she's certain that they have the Eye or know where it is, and she can only track it when it's actively being used. Frank starts to have a vision while they're in captivity, and despite his attempts to suppress it, it sets off Angela's tracking device...except the tracker pegs the energy as coming from a completely different location, making Angela think that the Eye is being used elsewhere by someone else and the boys are telling the truth about not having it.