Lois frets over her upcoming double mastectomy while Mannheim goes to extreme lengths to see his wife.
Tropes:
- Armor-Piercing Question: When Matteo confronts Bruno for lying to him, he asks him if he and Peia have ever killed anyone. Bruno deflects without denying it.
- As You Know: When Lois is nominated for the Metties, Clark says for the audience's benefit that it's the second most prestigious award in journalism, which she surely already knows.
- Auto Erotica: During the flashbacks, Clark and Lois have sex in the limousine after she lost the award.
- Big Damn Heroes: Downplayed. Superman tries to save John Henry from certain death at the hands of Henry Miller. But John ends up needing to save himself when Superman proves unable to contain Miller.
- Flashback: There are several to 17 years back, where Clark attempts to convince Lois to come to the Metties with him, in the titular dress he buys for her. It ties into present events because Lois resists the idea of looking conventionally feminine at the time, and now feels she won't be able to do so after her surgery.
- Godzilla Threshold: Having been powered up and revived by Mannheim's treatments, Henry Miller is so dangerous in their fight that Superman at one point tries to blast him with heat vision. He misses and Miller beats him up. Miller would have proceeded to kill John Henry had the latter not finally succeeded in getting a signal to his hammer.
- Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Clark, Lois, Sam and Nat all seem to struggle with the idea that just because Peia has cancer does not mean that she and Bruno are not murderous mobsters. To the extent that even with Bruno having committed well-documented crimes (including theft of DoD assets) and Peia being an enforcer who murders people, they think that they need to try to reason with them and that more aggressive reprisals are wrong because Bruno and Peia are a loving couple facing a tragic illness.
- Group Hug: Enforced by Sarah, who insists that Jordan and Jonathan hug it out after Jordan apologizes for his derogatory remark about Jon's job at the firehouse last episode, and then she joins in.
- Hypocrite: Natalie points out Jonathan's hypocrisy when he says she should avoid Matteo because his parents are dangerous criminals, given that Candice's father is also a criminal and violent. Jon realizes she's right and makes it up to her by arranging for Matteo to meet with her.
- I Did What I Had to Do:
- In response to Matteo asking if they ever killed anybody, Bruno replies that all he and Peia ever did was for him and Hob's Bay.
- The episode's principal battle occurs on Main Street, and the news flashes around town more or less instantly. When Natalie demands to know whether it's true that her dad killed his opponent, John Henry answers with this.
- Informed Deformity: Lois talks about losing her hair, which looks the same as always.
- Internal Reveal: Bruno shows Matteo Bizarro's body, saying that it's the key to save Peia.
- It's Personal: Between Mannheim and John Henry, even admitted by the latter after the assassination attempt on him and Nat.
- Knight Templar Parent: John Henry has not only forbidden Nat to see Matteo, he's taken away her phone, put a locator on her bracelet, and made her carry a shock stick.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: The assassins who attack John Henry beat it after he starts beating them up.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Superman manages to talk Bruno into giving up the stolen DOD items in exchange for seeing his wife. At the same time, John bursts in with a team to raid his office in response to Bruno trying to have him killed, which sours Bruno on being cooperative.
- No-Sell: When John Henry tries to use an electric batton on Miller, it breaks apart.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: In the final scene, when Clark is waiting for Lois to join him outside the house, he is lookin' sharp.
- Ship Tease: John Henry and Lana continue to be teased, with the latter worried about the former's well being.
- Sympathy for the Devil: In contrast to John Henry, who only sees Peia as a bargaining chip, Superman empathizes with Bruno over wanting to see his dying wife and tries to make a deal.
- Villain Ball: Played with. Henry Miller could've very easily and quickly killed John Henry, but he was ordered to make him suffer by Mannheim, so he doesn't. This keeps John alive long enough for Superman to intervene and for John to recall his hammer from the shop.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Clark, Sam and later also Nat call out John Henry on keeping a dying woman from seeing her husband and son, and also for letting his anger and desire for revenge cloud his judgement. That their own judgement is clouded by Lois's condition is overlooked.
- The Worf Effect: Superman seems unable to stop Henry Miller and gets beaten up in a fight that is tearing apart Main Street in Smallville. John has to summon his hammer and kill Miller to save his own life (and the town).
- You Are Not Alone: Lana goes to talk to Lois after hearing about the dress, empathizing with her over her fears of losing her breasts and convincing her to keep it.
