Tropes associated with this episode:
- "Angry Black Man" Stereotype: Albert is always angry and hostile, especially when it comes to white people.
- Asshole Victim: Given how before his death, Albert has spent the entire episode acting as an angry hatemonger. Because he punched his own mother, tried to rob a grocery store and would knock out the owner with a baseball bat, it's hard to feel sad for him.
- Bigot with a Badge: Officer Frank Lawler isn't just racist towards African Americans, he's also prejudiced towards Mexicans and anyone else who isn't white.
- Bloodless Carnage: We see Officer Frank shoot Albert in point blank range, but we don't see a drop of blood whatsoever.
- Calling the Young Man Out: Martha gives Kevin a slap to the face after blaming Mark for indirectly putting away his father and for saying the N-Word. She then tells him that as much as she loves Frank, he alone is responsible for his own actions and that she won't let racism be a part of their lives anymore.
- Flora would also call out Albert on his behavior and would even slap him after he insults his late-father's memory.
- Give Me a Reason: Frank takes Albert outside and releases him from his cuffs as a false gesture of kindness. He correctly guesses that Frank intends to have Albert run so as to give him an excuse to shoot him. Frank would then beat Albert and then shoots him after he snatches the nightstick from him.
- I Did What I Had to Do: As painful as it was, Mark chose not to cover for his former partner after he shot and killed Albert.
- Irrational Hatred: When his mother points out that Jonathan has done nothing to earn his rudeness and contempt, Albert says that it's because he's white and as far as he's concerned, that's more than enough of a reason to hate him.
Flora: Mr. Smith has never done anything to hurt you.
Albert: He's WHITE! That's good enough for me
- Jerkass: While Frank's racism puts him in this category, Albert is just as much of a jerk himself.
- Police Brutality: Frank punches Albert in the face and then he beats him to the ground with his nightstick. He then shoots Albert after he snatches the nightstick from him.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: In his introduction scene, Frank openly called Gonzales a "Wetback" and later on in the episode, his son refers to Albert as "some nigger".
- Prejudice Aesop: Whether you're white or black, Racism and Irrational Hatred on both sides, can destroy one another and that in order to break the cycle of hate, we must get to know one another.
- Profiling: Frank pulls this twice. He caught Albert and his friends for trying to steal a car and on the next day he harasses an African-American man whom he suspects is a drug dealer due to his expensive car, but Mark quickly determines the man’s true identity and he is let go.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending: After death of Albert and Frank's impending prison sentence, both Jonathan and Mark had arranged for Kevin and Julius to meet each other in order to help reconcile all the hostile feelings that led to this tragedy. The episode ends as Kevin and Julius cautiously introduce themselves to each other.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Captain Friend.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: During their patrol, Frank and Mark had arrested Albert and his friends for trying to steal a car. While it was revealed that Albert WAS trying to steal a car with a metal tool, Frank was profiling the teens due to their skin color and would have arrested them regardless.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: While Albert is rude and hateful, Julius on the other hand is well behaved and friendly.
- Speak Ill of the Dead: Flora tries to take the opportunity to talk some sense into Albert, but to no avail. He then points out that his father, a marine who died serving in the Middle East, was merely a pawn of white society, while angers Flora so much that she slaps him.
- Turn Out Like His Father: Kevin would embrace and imitate Frank’s racist beliefs. However, Martha has had enough and would vow that she won’t allow hatred to destroy his life as it did his fathers’.
- With Us or Against Us: Albert expresses his belief that racial prejudice is part of a “war,” and when his mother tries to talk to him he punches her in the face and runs off.
