Evil Cripple: Nellie pretends to be one – a cripple, that is; she still gets to be evil toward Laura.
Faint in Shock: Hilariously. Once that Nellie stands up in the water after her ride down the hill, Harriet exclaims, "It's a miracle!" and dramatically falls backward off of her stagecoach.
Hilarity Ensues: Arguably, this is among the funniest scenes in the entire series' run, but in real life, the outcome of Nellie being pushed down a hill to expose her phony paralysis really could have ended in very-real serious injuries ... or worse, if she hit her head on a rock or landed wrong in the creek ... surely, very unfunny outcomes. And Laura's parents wouldn't be chuckling at it just because Nellie got her comeuppance, but (given that this was the 19th century and parental discipline was more, well, stern) she'd get a severe whipping to be sure.
Last Note Nightmare: After a largely serene episode that climaxes in one of the funniest scenes of the entire series, we end with Nellie destroying her room and vowing revenge to genuinely stressful and frightening music.
Obfuscating Disability: A prime example of this trope … Nellie faking paralysis to gain sympathy from the community and torment Laura.
Averted in real life – Shortly before filming of this episode began, Alison Arngrim broke her arm and wore a cast for several weeks. To avoid production delays, Michael Landon had Alison's arm injury written into the story and dressed her in 1870s-era cast dressings. (By the way, it was a stunt double who took Nellie's tumble into the pond, with Arngrim doing only close-ups as required, to show Nellie's terror in riding down the hill in an out-of-control wheelchair.)
Revenge: Laura gets it – big time – and the classic comedy scene of Nellie being pushed down a hill and landing headfirst into a nearby pond is one of the standout scenes in the entire series.
Throwing Off the Disability: Nellie is "suddenly healed" and – her phony paralysis exposed – can walk perfectly after landing in the pond.
