Berserk Button: When Archie realizes that his niece, Linda, is going out with Lionel, his 21-year-old black neighbor. Later, when Henry Jefferson is told the same thing.
Continuity Nod: When Edith struggles to try to get Archie to not notice a framed photo of Lionel and Linda on the side table, Archie tells her she'd not be going through "another change." This is a reference to Edith going through menopause in "Edith's Problem," aired about 10 months earlier.
Girl of the Week: As it turns out, Linda — the first onscreen girlfriend for Lionel — is just a one-episode girlfriend. Presumably the two remain friends afterward.
Racist Uncle: Archie is definitely against the idea of his niece dating an African American. So is Lionel's uncle Henry Jefferson, who comes over to the Bunker house to collect Lionel after his date.
Where da White Women At?: Archie is irritated enough that Lionel has an interest in a white woman ... but blows his stack when its his niece, Linda, that he's taking out.
Lionel pulls this act on Archie when trying to show him the error of his ways. However, this time, Archie is determined not to let his argument against interracial dating self-destruct ... so this time, Lionel has to be direct and tells him that although they can still be friends, he needs to put a lid on his racial tirade.
When I Was Your Age...: Edith — uncomfortable with the situation initially, but only because she knows exactly how Archie will react — reveals that in her family, a man had to prove himself to be nice, polite "and a gentleman" before asking her out. note When Mike asks Edith how Archie passed the test, Edith replies that her father died a year before she met Archie. Her attitudes are ultimately excused, since she grew up in a white neighborhood where the residents rarely, if ever, interacted with black people ... and Edith ultimately accepts Lionel and Linda dating.
