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Recap / Sue Thomas FB Eye S 2 E 5 The Newlywed Game

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When a pair of suburbanites come up on the radar for getting calls from "The Prince of Terror", the FBI moves in to investigate. Unfortunately, in a quiet neighborhood, too much normal surveillance would stand out...so Sue suggests that she and Jack could go undercover as a newly married couple in the house next door.

This episode includes examples of the following tropes:

  • Continuity Nod: Myles launches into a rant about Randy when he's told to crash his current car, complaining that he just went through the experience of having to deal with him to get this one.
  • Dead Person Impersonation: Arif Dessa stole the name of a Holland native named Joseph Vanderwylen after the latter died of a heart attack, helping him disappear from the FBI's radar.
  • Did Not Die That Way: Downplayed; Myles comes back from Pamplona at the beginning of the episode, claiming one of the steers from the Running of the Bulls gored him in the leg. Bobby mentions he got a different story from two people he knows; Myles actually strained his leg landing oddly after stepping off the curb.
  • Dropping the Bombshell: At the end of the episode, Tara pulls up two clips, one of Joseph walking home and the other of Arif Dessa walking down a street. They have the same gait, implying they're the same person.
  • Grandma's Recipe: When they are talking about what dessert to serve the Vanderwylens, Sue claims that simple ice cream isn't something you serve a guest. She instead plans to replicate an ice cream sundae-type recipe that her mother used to make. Jack and Levi both approve of the result.
  • Honey Trap: A canine example; Levi hits it off with the suspects' dog, Lilly, immediately; Mrs. Vanderwylen even says he's won Lilly's heart. When Lilly starts barking at the FBI agents searching the house, Jack makes an excuse to take Levi and brings him over to distract her. She shuts up immediately.
  • Mugging the Monster: A hindsight example; attempting to keep Joseph away from the house, Myles causes a minor accident with his car, leaving Joseph steamed but unharmed. Though they suspect Joseph may be involved in terrorism from the start, it turns out he is actually a long-time, high-ranking terrorist.
  • Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: Sue and Betty have been bonding while Sue is undercover as Betty's neighbor. Sue likes her and is relatively convinced that she isn't involved in her husband's terrorist work. Naturally, Mrs. Vanderwylen is hurt and uncooperative after Jack and Sue reveal that they're FBI.
  • Red Baron: Long-time terrorist Arif Dessa is known as "the Prince of Terror".
  • Running Gag: When they're trying to get their story straight about how they met, Jack initially suggests that he picked Sue up in a bar. She rejects that story, but it keeps popping up throughout the episode.
  • Sentimental Sacrifice: While the FBI are looking in the Vanderwylens' house, Joseph starts making his way back. Dmitrius says he'll need ten minutes to set up the listening equipment, which is unfortunately too long. Jack instructs Myles to get into a fender bender with Joseph to delay him. Myles complains about it, griping that he just got through groveling to Randy for this car. He reluctantly does it, though.
  • Ship Tease: The episode is full of Jack/Sue teasing. The office pokes at them incessantly, treating them as actual lovers. Partway through the episode, Sue is standing on an unsteady piece of furniture as she tries to read Joseph's lips through the blinds. When she teeters, Jack grabs her waist to steady her.
  • Shout-Out: The episode's title refers to a game show of the same name.
  • Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: When Sue tries to say she doesn't believe Betty is involved, Jack comments that it must be nice to see the world through rose-colored glasses.
  • Undercover as Lovers: Sue notes that the house next door would be ideal for lip-reading surveillance and that Mrs. Vanderwylen's interest in service dogs would give Sue and Levi an "in". Of course, she would need a reason to be there. She suggests that she and Jack could pose as newlyweds and observe the suspects in question as their next-door neighbors. Though Garrett points out that she has no experience, he still thinks it's a good idea and allows it, albeit telling the more experienced Jack that he's responsible for her.

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