Cindy's deception is revealed and the JSA is split on what to do, and Courtney's secret is revealed.
Tropes:
- An Aesop: Don't keep secrets from people if you want them to trust you. To wit:
- Courtney keeping the rest of the JSA out of the loop about Cameron causes them to have doubts about her leadership.
- Cindy hiding the truth about her mutation and having stolen the laptop means that Yolanda isn't willing to hear her out when she finally does try to explain herself. Courtney, while still willing to help her, is also upset that she didn't just tell the truth in the first place.
- Berserk Button: The shiv doesn't come out until Wildcat says Cindy is just like her father.
- Car Fu: Hourman, knowing how resilient Cindy is (and eager to use his now 24-hour strength), joins Wildcat by tossing a van at Cindy.
- Chekhov's Gun: The noisy juicer Mike makes his breakfast with, since the Crocks took his cereals. At the end of the episode, Beth uses it for Cacophony Cover Up when she shows Courtney and Pat they're under surveillance.
- Continuity Nod: During Sylvester's pep talk with Courtney, he not only discusses his sister Merri and her being involved with Brainwave (and her death thanks to Icicle's influence), but mentions that Henry Jr. was his nephew and only family he had left, whom he never got to meet. This also leads Courtney to mention the circumstances of the latter's death.
- Death Glare:
- Cameron's grandmother Lily gives this to Pat and Barbara.
- Yolanda and Rick give this to Courtney later on.
- Double-Meaning Title: The obvious meaning regarding Cindy (whether over her having stolen the laptop and possibly killed the Gambler or having hidden her mutation) ends up also applying to Courtney once the other JSA members find out she knows Cameron has his father's powers and has been helping him learn to control them.
- Downer Ending: The JSA is falling apart even more, with both Cindy's and Courtney's secrets being exposed. Cindy ends up leaving the team, and Courtney is forced to step down as leader. If that isn't enough, Beth learns that they are all being spied on by an unknown enemy. The only hopeful part is that Beth goes to Courtney first instead of Sylvester, suggesting that she still trusts her on some level.
- Foil:
- Yolanda and Cindy. Cindy spends her time being afraid of becoming like her father due to her mutation, whereas Yolanda is unknowingly making a slow transformation to becoming her parents (unforgiving and judgmental).
- More subtle with Yolanda and Beth. While both get upset with Courtney for hiding Cameron's powers, Beth is still more willing to work with Courtney and see her as the leader of the JSA, whereas Yolanda announces Sylvester as their new boss. Also, Yolanda never informs Courtney about Cindy having the Gambler's laptop for a full day. However, the minute Beth finds out about the surveillance cameras, she goes to Courtney first.
- Foreign Queasine: Subverted; the Mahkents serve Pat and Barbara lutefisk, but Pat seems to like it.
- Hiding Behind the Language Barrier: Lily uses Norwegian to ask Sofus if he poisoned the lutefisk, and berate him for not doing so.
- Hypocrite: Everyone is mad at Courtney for keeping quiet about Cameron's powers, yet they went most of the day without telling her that they found the Gambler's laptop at Cindy's house. Also, Rick kept quiet about Grundy last season until Eclipso manipulated him into exposing the secret and Courtney had to get Yolanda to tell everyone else that she killed Brainwave. They mention that she hasn't been around, but later on in the episode, she is at home before the fight happens, so they could have called her then.
- Ignored Expert: The priest tells Yolanda to be careful that she doesn't follow her parents' example, but she brushes him off. In general, she spends most of the conversation ignoring everything he says.
- Internal Reveal:
- Courtney tells Barbara and Pat what Cindy told her about Lily manifesting ice powers.
- The team finds out from Cindy that Courtney has been teaching Cameron to control his freezing abilities.
- Everyone learns about Cindy's mutation.
- Beth and the Whitmore-Dugans finally learn about the cameras.
- Kick the Dog: When Courtney confronts Cindy about keeping her mutation quiet, Cindy lashes out and reveals that Courtney is training Cameron to everyone else.
- Last-Second Word Swap: Yolanda tells her confessional priest that there are people in Blue Valley with terrible secrets, then adds "Especially Cin—" before catching herself and finishing, "sinners."
- Let's You and Him Fight: Deconstructed. Yolanda is just looking for a reason to fight Cindy, regardless of whether or not she killed the Gambler.
- Liar Revealed: Twice over, in rapid succession, and only to be expected after all the Poor Communication Kills building over the last couple episodes. The discovery of the laptop, and Cindy catching Yolanda in her bedroom, eventually leads to the truth about Cindy's mutation coming out, and Courtney trying to offer sympathy and help (which, after the previous fight, Cindy finds highly insincere) leads to the truth about Cameron's powers coming out. End result, Cindy leaves the team and the others have their trust in Courtney broken so that she feels forced to step down as leader of the JSA.Beth: I've been on your side this whole time. Trusting everyone, because you think we should. But Rick and Yolanda are right. You should have told us, Court.Yolanda: All this talk about trusting each other...turns out the person I'm closest to is the one that can't be trusted.
- Nobody Touches the Hair: Cindy is more pissed by Wildcat slicing off a lock of her hair than scratching her face, likely because hair is mostly dead and doesn't grow back as fast as her skin.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Sylvester prefaces his pep talk to Courtney with the observation that the two of them are very much alike, unable to find the needed balance between superhero-ing and a normal life because they are too impetuous and convinced they're the only ones who can do what needs to be done.
- Only Sane Man:
- With Mike insisting that their "team" of two should try to solve the murder before the others, Jakeem states that everyone is supposed to be trusting each other and working together, like Courtney wanted, but instead are doing the opposite since the Gambler's death.
- While Lily is carrying a grudge against the Whitmore-Dugans, and Barbara and Pat are suspicious of the Mahkents, Sofus insists that the only thing that's important is that Cameron and Courtney are happy.
- The Reveal: Cindy's transformation started soon after she and Courtney left the Shadowlands. Cindy isn't certain if it's a coincidence or the dimension's dark powers exacerbated Dragon King's gene treatments.
- Shout-Out: A Catholic superhero goes to confession and tells the priest that "I'm not asking forgiveness for what I've done. I'm asking forgiveness for what I'm about to do." Sounds familiar.
- Sins of Our Fathers: Cindy and Cameron get hit with this hard. Cindy is repeatedly referred to as a monster, like her father. And when the truth about Cameron comes out, everyone but Courtney is convinced that he will turn out like either his father or grandparents.
- Wham Shot: The episode ends with a shot of the jigsaw puzzle put together by whoever is watching the hidden cameras. It looks like a skull, implying either the mysterious figure is, or is aligned with, Mister Bones.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Courtney gets this from everyone about keeping Cameron's secret.
- Worf Had the Flu: Cindy's mutation hampers her in the fight against Yolanda and Rick, and she's still down a blade from Eclipso ripping one out.
