Sue tries to find her estranged brother, Louis, to make amends for outing him to his parents in a burst of desperation. Bill is enrolled in a "scared straight" program with the local police after the brawl at Fort Rustland, and Frank swallows his pride and accepts the changes at work under Alahican's new management while continuing to try and solve the mystery of "Box 16." Rosie continues his campaign to save his neighborhood from Mayor Tangenti, and "Skineee's," Bob Pogo's all chicken skin restaurant, has its grand opening.
Tropes:
- Bait-and-Switch: After the cops give the boys guns to clean, they say that they passed the first test by not trying to shoot them, which is what the previous group of boys did, and says that they didn't do so well. Then one cop reveals the bullet holes on the wall behind him that resulted from that attempt.Cop: Thank Christ he was a bad shot.
Bill: Why didn't you unload it first?
Cop: We do now smart guy! - Call-Back: Morehead recognizes Bill as the kid who ratted him out for crashing a train.
- Contrast Montage: The episode's opening. Several characters try to adjust to the major upheavals in their lives. The scenes switch between Frank training in Alaquippa policies and procedures, Bill, Philip, and Jimmy being oriented to the junior police program they were sentenced to after the brawl at Fort Rustland, and Karen very grudgingly trying to acclimate herself to motherhood and making a home with Vic and Vic Jr. The interspersed sequences end with a split screen of Ed, Officer Glanney, and Vic all saying, "aren't you glad you did this?" Frank admits that he is glad he stuck with it, the boys are shown enjoying being thrust into positions of power conferred by police uniforms, but Karen doesn't seem any happier with motherhood and homemaking. Later in the episode, she leaves Vic for good to raise Vic Jr. as a single dad and never comes back.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!: A non-verbal example. When Frank arrives late to an early morning (unpaid) training session, Ed lightly chastises him, then says that he's going to give Frank "the finger." It turns out to be the "shame, shame" gesture (extending his index finger while lightly stroking it with the other index finger.)
- Hypocritical Humor: After Maureen tells Megan to "Shut the fuck up!", Frank scolds her because that's a parent's job.
- Prison Rape: The cops tell Bill, Phillip, and Jimmy that if they don't fall in line, they'll go to juvie, where this will happen to them.Cop: If you don't fall in line, you'll get stuck up real good juvie.
Phillip: I think he's implying buggery.
Cop: You're goddamn right I am!
[boys have a Mass "Oh, Crap!" look on their faces] - Rhetorical Question Blunder: When Frank asks himself what he has to lose if he doesn't learn Alaquippa policies and procedures, Ed happily reminds Frank that he'd lose his job.
- Volleying Insults: Rosie and his friends show up at Tangenti's restaurant to confront him, where he has just taken a bribe from Gagliardi. What follows is an increasingly vulgar exchange of insults and threats, with the wealthy white customers responding "OHHH!" to Rosie's insults, and Rosie's friends responding "DAMN!" to Tangenti's insults.
