
"World War Three starts the minute my laptop's plugged in."
Riley: Look, I know you guys thought I was pulling a Nikki. I wasn't.
Patricia: No, you weren't, but unfortunately, "I did it for mommy" is not a defense for treason, Riley.
Patricia: No, you weren't, but unfortunately, "I did it for mommy" is not a defense for treason, Riley.
Trouble is afoot when the NSA accuse Riley of hacking their database. It turns out a group have Riley's mother hostage, and the trail will take Phoenix all the way to the Chinese secret service.
Tropes:
- Alliterative Name: Riley's mother is called Diane Davis.
- Batman Gambit: To gain access to the building targeted by The Collective, Mac sets up an improvised air raid siren in an alley. Then he, Jack and Riley barge their way into the building pretending to be lost tourists. When the siren goes off, they're taken to a secure lounge for later questioning, from which they escape.
- Bolivian Army Ending: A non-lethal version. The main plot of the episode winds up with Mac, Jack and Riley gazing out of the window over Shanghai as the Chinese Army burst into the room and surround them, aiming guns and shouting. They're calmly taken into custody, only to appear in the next scene back in L.A. with everything apparently smoothed over and passing reference made to their ending up in a Chinese prison.
- Call-Back: Remember how Riley was recruited from Supermax? This episode reveals how she got there: she was recruited for some minor jobs by The Collective. At first it was morally grey at worst, but when she refused to hack the NSA and steal a cyberweapon they took her mother hostage and threatened to kill her unless she complied. She Took a Third Option by doing the hack but getting caught on purpose.
- Christmas Episode: Bozer introduces Riley to his tradition of Christmas pastrami and wears a bad Christmas sweater. In L.A.Bozer: Look, we all know Christmas is the most special time of the year. Families come together to celebrate their own traditions in their own special way…and they're all wrong! Because the only right way to celebrate Christmas is with pastrami.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Jack reveals what happened between him and Riley's mother; Riley's father got drunk and tried to beat her mother, but Jack beat him instead. Riley didn't understand why Jack beat up her dad and her hatred of him ruined the relationship.Jack: I've known her since she was 12. Riley and I met because I was dating her mom. As weird as that sounds, it was going pretty good. Till that drunk of a dad started to come back around. Now, he come by one night all wasted and pissed off and throw his ex around for old time's sake, so I threw him around for old time's sake. [...] For years I tried to gain that kid's trust. I bent over backwards to connect with her, and all I ever wanted was to be that person she could come to if she had a problem. You know? And no matter how hard I pushed, she wasn't having it. After a while, it put a real strain on her mother and I.
- False Flag Operation: The Collective's plan is to send a declaration of hostilities to China from the hacked White House. Then, once the Chinese move their nuclear subs into position in response, hack the submarines and send a missile at the California coast, starting a war from which they can profit.
- I Have Your Mom: Riley steals a superweapon for a group that has her mother hostage.
- MacGuffin: Riley steals a cyberweapon that remotely controls vehicles.
- Noodle Incident:Bozer: Now, usually a brisket has to grill for hours and hours, but Mac worked his magic on our grill, so now it only takes 30 minutes, when it doesn't suddenly burst into flames. Which it doesn't anymore. Mostly.
- Not So Harmless: The cyberweapon allows the user to take control of smart cars. No big deal, right? Ah, but it can be altered to control other things... nuclear subs, for example.
- Shout-Out: The trap on Riley's mother is straight out of Saw I.
- Title Drop: Mac uses the scissors on his Swiss Army Knife to cut the trap on Riley's mother.
- Trail of Bread Crumbs: Riley follows The Collective's instructions, hacking the NSA to download the cyberweapon to a laptop and giving it to the collective. However, she used a brand-new laptop bought from a supplier she'd already introduced to Bozer and instructed the supplier to add tracking software. When the team activate the tracker, they find Riley and almost catch the Collective operative who takes the laptop from her.
- Trapped with the Therapy Session: Jack and Riley get in an argument about Riley's recent actions and Jack's prior relationship with her mother. Since they're in a lift and he can't leave, poor Mac suddenly becomes fascinated with the panelling on the walls as they have it out.
