- Story Arc: The Illuminati
- Characters: The Manhattan Clan, Matt Bluestone, Martin Hacker, and Mace Malone
- Enemy(ies): Mace Malone
Matt watches Goliath struggle against a gauntlet of traps in a Hell Hotel run by Mace Malone, thinking back on what got him into that situation in the first place.
Tracking down Mace Malone in his search for The Illuminati, Matt learned not only that the Illuminati were real, but that the gargoyles were too; and Mace wanted Matt to capture a gargoyle for the Illuminati. Elisa introduced Matt to Goliath and the rest of the clan, and Matt agreed to keep the existence of the gargoyles a secret, in return for a favor.
Matt led Goliath to the Hell Hotel, but had also given him the means to escape from the traps, and together they trapped Mace in a prison of his own making. Matt's old partner from the FBI, Martin Hacker, tells him that he has passed the test and is now a member of the Illuminati.
Matt Bluestone returns in Protection. Jack Danforth returns in Turf. Martin Hacker returns in Invitation Only.
- Armor-Piercing Response: "This is the end, Elisa! The end of all the lies and deception! Only your gargoyles can save us now!"
- Bad "Bad Acting": Played with. Matt's inflection when watching Goliath in the hotel and talking to Malone is extremely suspicious on a second viewing, but not quite enough to alert unsuspecting viewers to his deeper game.
- Blackmail: Matt knows that organized crime itself is beholden to the Illuminati, due to Mace sharing their darkest secrets with them.
- Blatant Lies: Subverted after the Drives Like Crazy example. Matt expects Elisa to lie about the clan's existence, but she reluctantly remarks, "They don't follow me everywhere."
- Continuity Nod: A few.
- Back in the episode "The Edge", Matt saw Elisa carrying a TV around the station that she claimed was something she bought and was going to take to her home. In this episode, Matt finds that same TV, along with some furniture, books, videos, and seemingly "enough food for a family of gorillas", up in the attic of the Police station. In a Blatant Lie she claims that she was making clock tower portion of the station her secret getaway.
- Back in "Legion", Matt complained about how Elisa never let him drive. In this episode, he brings up that complaint again, with nearly deadly consequences...
- Didn't See That Coming: Hacker admits that Matt finding Malone through Flora's son Jack Danforth (who hadn't seen Mace in decades), along with connecting Flora's real name with her stage name, floored the Illuminati.
- Drives Like Crazy: Matt, angry at Elisa for lying to him about the gargoyles, nearly drives her car off a cliff in a bout of road rage.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Jack Dane, a retired mobster himself, is still pissed Mace Malone walked out on him and his mother Flo, speaking with a mournful tone about burying Dreedle under her maiden name and telling Bluestone to give Malone a piece of his mind.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Malone visits the grave of his wife every year and made sure to attend her funeral.
- Eviler than Thou: Xanatos is referred to merely as a "lower echelon member" of the Illuminati.
- Fake Defector: Matt does this in an effort to win Mace Malone's and the rest of The Illuminati's trust. He was actually working with Goliath against Mace.
- False Friend: Hacker reveals he was made Matt's partner explicitly to derail his Illuminati investigations. Hacker still acts friendly towards him, but Matt is nonetheless pissed.
- From Bad to Worse: How Mace describes the Hotel Cabal to Goliath. However, Goliath having Matt's key causes those plans to go awry. It instead goes from bad to worse for Mace, who dreads getting a black mark from the Illuminati for this screw-up and ultimately suffers an even worse punishment.
- Hell Hotel: Hotel Cabal was designed as a maze of torture chambers, with the intent of breaking the subject's grip on reality to then break their mind. Rooms rotate, numerous false doors, exit windows that are actually life-like pictures, etc. and all of them have deadly traps. Eventually, the subject becomes a "mindless cretin", if they survive at all, and the Illumanti can pluck out all their secrets.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: The Hotel Cabal was developed as a torture technique to learn the secrets of people of interest. Mace ordered Matt to bring Goliath to it, but it is he himself who is driven mad. Based on Hacker's apathy to his fate, he was likely left there until he died of thrist
- How We Got Here: The episode opens with Goliath in the Hell Hotel, as Matt watches Mace get to work. Matt's narration takes us back to when he last saw Hacker and fills in the gap from there.
- I Just Want to Be Special: Matt and Elisa bond over this: Elisa admits that she didn't want to "share" the Gargoyles, which Matt confesses that part of his obsession with the Illuminati was to stand out.
- Irony: Matt's hotel key has the number 13 on it, an ironic touch, since it certainly does not bring him or Goliath bad luck.
- Karmic Death: Mace Malone is left to die in his own Hell Hotel.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: Mace Malone had quite a notable criminal career under his belt, as well as stole loot from Dominic Dracon (with the added indignity of ensuring a wild goose chase with a note mocking him at the end of it) and spilled the mob's most intimate secrets to the Illuminati. He is ultimately left to die by the Illuminati when he fails to break and contain Goliath.
- Male Gaze: Just before Matt speaks with Jack Dane, Malone's stepson, at a gym, the scene focuses a bit on a woman in some leg-revealing gym attire drinking some water at a drinking fountain before going off. At least one male gym member is shown getting an eye full of her.
- No Honor Among Thieves: We already know that Mace betrayed Dominic Dracon, but Matt reveals he also revealed all sorts of secrets about organized crime to the Illuminati. Mace disappeared from the scene to avoid the wrath of his former colleagues, while the Illuminati made sure they got a piece of the action by becoming a silent partner.
- Noir Episode: The second of two of these to use the genre, the other being "The Silver Falcon". Once again, Matt is a key element of it. He has the private eye monologue as he looks back on his investigation, and ultimately double crosses the episode's criminal mastermind.
- Older Than He Looks: Downplayed, as Mace certainly looks old but not to the extent he's said to be. Matt observes that he looks pretty good for someone that's almost 100-years-old, which he muses is due to the Illuminati providing rejuvenation drugs (which presumably focus on physical ability rather than appearance).
- Product Placement: A tie-in was planned, but to the relief of people who have a disdain for this practice it was averted. The episode was considered as a tie-in with Disney's "Tower of Terror" ride, and the Hotel Cabal went by the name of the "Hollywood Tower". Disney later on changed its mind, however, while the script was being worked on, and the "Tower of Terror" references were promptly dropped.
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!Elisa: You haven't said three words all night.Matt: Let. Me. Drive.
- Sanity Slippage: Being left trapped in the hotel quickly takes a toll on Mace's sanity. He's left desperately checking door after door, all while sweating and increasingly twitchy.Mace: I'm close, so close! One more door. Yes! Just one more door! Just one more door, and I'm home free!
- Secret Test of Character: The Illuminati administer a "loyalty test" on Matt Bluestone: an assignment to bring a gargoyle to the Hotel Cabal. Matt brought a gargoyle there and subsequently helped him escape, condemning a senior Illuminatus to a Fate Worse than Death in the process. Needless to say, Matt demonstrated that he was not loyal to the Illuminati. In fact, the Illuminati weren't testing Matt's loyalty at all; they were testing his cunning and treachery. Needless to say, Matt passed the test and was inducted into the Illuminati.
- Shout-Out: While the Illuminati is a very obvious topic in conspiracy theory circles, but there is also a more subtle reference to another one to common conspiracy theory lore. Mace Malone's hotel key has the number 23 on it, a number that has frequently featured in conspiracy theories.
- Signed Up for the Dental: Mace quips that the Illuminati's dental plan is more impressive than the rejuvenation drugs. He then sports a nice smile of perfectly even, white teeth.
- Superdickery: Matt Bluestone apparently betrays Goliath to Mace Malone. However, it turns out to be a plot to expose the Illuminati.
- Villain Respect:
- Mace speaks admiringly of Goliath's willpower and fortitude, and says that breaking his spirit will take much longer than other "guests" to Hotel Cabal.
- Mace fully admits that Matt impressed the Illuminati by persevering over every setback they arranged for him. Hacker confirms in the final scene that Mace wasn't selling him a line.
- Unknown Rival: Averted. According to Mace, the Illuminati is well-aware of who Matt is and his efforts to reveal their existence. They have tried to covertly sabotage him over the years, but he just keeps going at it.
- We Will Meet Again: Realizing Matt had never betrayed Goliath, Mace promises to get even for all this. Matt isn't worried, as he had already seen that Mace lost his key down the elevator shaft and will be in no position to make good on his threat.
- Mace himself would never see Matt again, but Martin Hacker makes it clear that Matt hasn't seen the last of the Illuminati. From Matt's response, he's looking forward to it:
Martin Hacker: See you soon, Matt!Matt Bluestone: Yes, you will! And that's a promise. - Wham Line: Two back-to-back in the opening scene, after we get a little of Mace putting Goliath through the wringer.Matt: [off-screen] Goliath is some piece of work, all right.
Mace: The Illuminati will be pleased, Mr. Bluestone. You make an excellent Judas. - Wham Shot: Hacker pinning an Illuminati pin to Matt's jacket.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Matt calls Elisa out on constantly lying to him about the Gargoyles when he's been completely open about his FBI past and Illuminati research.
- "You!" Exclamation: Matt upon learning that Hacker was a False Friend.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: The Illuminati leaves Malone to rot in the Hell Hotel after he failed in his task to break Goliath.
