The Boxing Episode: The recurring character of Joe Kagan, a once great boxer who is now a shadow of his former self, is introduced in this episode. Enforced in the climactic scene where he fights his own son, Timothy, in what turns out to be his final fight. As this story is set in the 1870s, fans will get a glimpse of how the sport was conducted before modern-day rules and regulations took hold.
Bungled Suicide: Charles and Dr. Baker go visit Joe Kagan after he was abandoned by his manager only to find him fallen on the floor with a rope around his neck after attempting to hang himself on the cellar of his room.
"Battle" may be far too generous. Oleson/Kagan was a two-hit fight: Joe hits Nels- Nels hits the mat.
A less extreme example happens when Joe Kagan forces his ex-manager to stage a match between him and his aspiring boxer son Tim Kagan, whom Moody was looking forward to exploiting just like he did Joe. Despite his declining health, Joe is a much more skilled fighter and promptly defeats his son in less than a minute, to help convince him to take another path in his life.
Dramatic Irony: Joe spent years fighting to an inch of his life, ignoring his declining health, so he could keep doing the one thing he was best at, and at the same time send whatever money he made to his family. As it turns out, there was no money left to be sent, so his family never received a penny, his wife overworked herself to death and his son Tim grew resentful of him, thinking he abandoned his family. For extra irony, Tim intends to follow his father's footsteps in boxing which would send him down on the same self-destructive career as Joe.
Evil Cripple: Joe Kagan's amoral manager L. Moody walks with a cane, showing a visible limp in his right leg.
Hates Their Parent: Tim Kagan has come to despise his father for allegedly breaking his promise to send money for him and his mother after leaving their house. Little did he know that Joe's amoral manager hadn't bothered to send a penny either because he was embezzling what little money Joe made or because Joe had declined so badly that there was no money to be sent.
N-Word Privileges: Tim Kagan uses the word when commenting on the story of his mother, who was overworked to death when declaring that nobody cared about a "n***er like her". Moody asks the reporter not to write that part.
Harriet's reaction to seeing her husband get knocked out cold with one punch. She leaves him there unconscious outraged at his loss and says she'll wait for him at the Mercantile, not making any effort to help him recover.
Joe Kagan's manager has this reaction when Dr. Baker informs him Joe can no longer fight lest he'll die. When an injured Kagan wakes up and says he's thirsty, Moody coldly tells him to get water beside his bed, uncaring about his physical state, and later abandons him in Walnut Grove.
Oh, Crap!: Nels' reaction upon first laying eyes upon his boxing opponent, Joe Kagan.
Papa Wolf: An interesting example where the father gets physical against his own son to protect him: In order to keep his son Tim from going through the same self-destructive steps as himself in the boxing business, Joe forces his manager Moody to set up a fight between them, in which Joe promptly defeats his son (who doesn't know that's his father) and then Moody uses it as an excuse to give up on him (by Joe's orders) and motivate him to live a much quieter life helping his aunt at her grocery store in another state.
Scary Black Man: Even in his declining years, Joe Kagan cuts a very imposing figure. Nels (pressured by his family into accepting a fight with Joe sight unseen) is instantly intimidated upon seeing his opponent leave the stagecoach.
