Chief King: Inspector Jones, when a student commits suicide in the middle of College grounds, I'll damn well make sure it's not the beginning of a series!
The body of movie history student Lisa Edwards is found hanged inside the university's library.
Tropes:
- Bully Hunter: Caroline Fitzgerald, the president of the university's Anti-Bullying association. She wanted Lisa to come forward and give a talk during one of her assemblies, and started to harass her when Lisa refused.
- Call-Back: Prof. Luke Harris, Tess Goodwin, and The @rtist all return as suspects.
- Cannot Tell a Joke: Jones.Jones: Could you please come with me to see how Luke is doing? Make sure we stay in Grace's... good graces?Okay, that joke sounded better in my head...
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Non-romantic example. Penelope was so attached to Lisa that she started sending threatening messages under the guise of others so she would be afraid of making friends with other people. When Lisa found out about it, the ensuing confrontation ended up with Penelope killing her.
- Cyberbullying:
- At the beginning of the case, Jones informs you that he has found a Friendnet group that posts embarrassing pictures of him.
- In a less humorous example, Lisa Edwards was also being bullied by her companions (who ends up being her best friend and killer Penelope Rivera), which makes the theory behind her suicide more plausible.
- Delayed Reaction: Alex when you tell him The @rtist is a girl.Alex: Whoa, her secret hideout! That's so nif- wait a second, did you say "HER secret hideout"? The @rtist is a GIRL??Ohmygodohmygod I can't believe it! This is so exciting!
- I Did What I Had to Do: Penelope tells you this during her Motive Rant as for why she murdered Lisa. Even she can't explain it for some reason.Penelope: Next thing I knew, she was on the floor, unconscious. I think I must have pushed her. And then I saw the rope under a desk. I don't know how it got there, but suddenly I knew what I had to do.Jones: What you HAD to do?!Penelope: Yes. It was like... like everything suddenly clicked together and showed me the solution, you know? Like in those movies.Lisa's Friend status, that movie we watched in class... When I searched Lisa's bag to find some paper, there was a book about death. When I saw the chapter about Hanging, it almost felt like a sign.I'm sure... I'm sure Lisa's better now, anyway, wherever she is. I'm the one left stuck here, after all.
- Foreshadowing: After you arrest her, Penelope mentions that she talked to Tess before the meeting where she murdered Lisa. At first, this just seems like an off-handed remark, but when you arrive to Case 41...
- Full-Name Ultimatum: As we learn in this case, Grace does this whenever she gets angry.Grace: David Jeremiah Jones! What are you implying, exactly?! Of course I'd never fall in love with a criminal! Luke is a great guy, and you'd better watch what you say about him!
- Gender Reveal: The @rtist finally reveals herself as a woman.
- Jack the Ripoff: Penelope copied the killer's M.O. in a movie she saw in Prof. Luke Harris' class, up to hanging the body inside of a library. Thanks to knowing this fact, you're able to follow her steps.
- Lampshade Hanging: When you find the smashed webcam in the library, Jones asks why the hell everything in Grimsborough seems to break so easily.
- Mysterious Backer: The @rtist continues with her helper-from-the-shadows role in this case, letting you enter Lisa's Friendnet account and Caroline's emails to give you leads.
- Never Suicide: Lisa's killer hung her from the ceiling to make it look like she committed suicide, even writing a fake suicide letter using the same words Lisa posted on her Friendnet account. Everyone except from Luke and you buys it.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Once again, Tess shows herself as this, being excited about investigating Lisa's death on her own and admitting being surprised that she didn't kill herself by jumping onto the subway tracks.Jones: What a lovely mental image Tess has put into my brain. That girl's really morbid, don't you think?
- Ship Tease: This case starts dropping hints that Alex and The @rtist might be onto something, with Alex getting excited when he finds out she's a girl and The @rtist calling him cute.The @rtist: I'm sorry, Alex, I'm not that kind of girl. You'll have to at least buy me dinner before I drop any piece of clothing in front of you!
- Shout-Out:
- The victim's last FriendNet post was "To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream."
- A brand called Carry Klain is mentioned, a clear parody of Calvin Klein.
- A superhero named Hyperman and his mild-mannered alter ego Claus Kernt is mentioned.
- Luke Harris mentions the film A Trip to the Moon.
- In the Hacker's room scene, a replica of V's mask can be seen on one of the computer screens. There's also a wall of green digital text and pixel art of a Space Invader.
- Skewed Priorities: Jones asks Chief King if the reason why he called them into his office was to take care of his Cyberbullying problem.Jones: The Friendnet group! The one that posts pictures of me! ... surely that's why you called us to your office?Chief King: Sometimes I get so very tired...
- Stealing the Credit: Tess accuses Jones of this after she congratulates you for solving the murder of Case 32.Jones: Well, yes, we did a pretty good job.Tess: I was actually speaking to <Player's Name>. Do you often take credit for others' success, Officer Jones? Fascinating...Jones: Hey, <Player's Name> and I are a team!
- Stern Teacher: Luke Harris, Grace's fiancee and the university's movie history professor, is pretty harsh whenever he corrects essays, but according to him, he only does it for the student's own good as he doesn't want to feed them delusions.
- Verbal Backpedaling: After Chief King asks you to uncover The @rtist's identity, Alex has this to say:Alex: I can't wait to know who's behind that mask! King can say whatever he wants, I know she's an awesome and beautiful woman!Uh, I mean... I'm sure she's a nice person, a beautiful human being, honest and everything... You know, she's a hacker, but I don't think she's really a criminal and...
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Penelope, Lisa's killer, is also the one who reported her body.
