While driving uncle Phil's law firm partner Mr. Firth's Mercedes down to Palm Springs at the man's request, Carlton and Will are arrested for Driving While Black by some cops and are forced to find some way to get in contact with their family.
This episode provides examples of the following tropes:
- Actually, That's My Assistant: Of sorts. The officers dismiss Vivian and Phil as nobodies, especially the superior, who's more spiteful. When Mr. Firth comes in, the superior speaks to him about finding his car... and then promptly pales when they realize the black man they'd just been blatantly racist and dismissive towards is a lawyer, and Mr. Firth is his partner.
- The Alleged Car: Will tells Carlton the reason they were arrested was that they were two black men driving a nice car rather than a "burnt-out Pinto".
- Anger Born of Worry: This is why Will gets mad at Carlton's naivety at the end of the episode. He points out that how they were treated was not fair, and it's how Carlton will be treated for the rest of his life, for the crime of being black. It's clear he was scared that Carlton would get them killed, and one day Carlton won't have a street-smart cousin like Will or a father who knows the system. Phil's solemn expression when he reveals he was also stopped for driving while black in a strange neighborhood, showing for once he agrees with Will that Carlton has to learn this lesson.
- Armor-Piercing Response: Carlton gets into an argument with Will over whether or not the cops that arrested them were targeting them for being black. As Carlton tries to deny Will's thoughts, he asks his father a Trial Balloon Question whose answer begins to shatter his optimism.Carlton: If you were a policeman, and you saw a car driving 2 miles an hour, wouldn't you stop him?Phil: I asked myself that question the first time I was stopped.
- Break the Cutie: Carlton's face falls at the end of the episode when it sinks in that Will was right. He insists he would have stopped a man driving a car too slowly from getting lost. Even so, he stares at the floor as the realization hits.
- Cassandra Truth: Carlton's bizarre explanation as to why he and Will were driving Mr. Firth's car—"His wife flew them in her helicopter!"—would be met with skepticism by even the most non-bigoted cop. Will lampshades it with his Face Palm.
- Cool Old Guy: Mr. Firth is just as angry as Phil and can be seen smirking as Phil begins his rant, clearly enjoying the two officers' defeat.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Subverted. Carlton says next time he's driving, he's bringing a map. Will tells him the map wasn't the problem; they would have been stopped anyway for driving a nice car in a nice neighbourhood while black. Phil reveals he is not in disagreement with Will on this one.
- Cruel to Be Kind: In the end, Will hammers Carlton over the reality of their arrest so that he won't be so wide-eyed about future occurrences.
- Danger Takes a Backseat: Will lunging up behind Carlton—in a Freddy Krueger mask, no less—frightens him enough to make him nearly lose control of the car, as he angrily points out—"Way to go, Will! You almost made us crash!"
- Dramatically Missing the Point: Carlton refuses to recognize that he and Will were being racially profiled, mostly because he doesn't have as much experience with racism as Will does due to his privileged upbringing.
- Driving While Black: Carlton thinks they were arrested for driving too slowly, only for Will to state and Phil to all but agree that his son and nephew were arrested because they were two black men in an expensive car in a white neighborhood.Will: Oh, I see. We were breaking the "slow limit law". We were driving too slow. But see, I didn't hear about that law. But I did hear about this other law. It's called the "if you see a black guy driving anything other than a burnt out Pinto, you have to stop him because he stole it" law. But I thought I was breaking the "black guy" law when we were actually breaking the "slowness law"! Thank you for clearing that up, Carlton. Good night.
- False Confession: After Geoffrey hangs up on their One Phone Call, Will intentionally confesses to the crimes he and Carlton are being accused of so they can hopefully be seen on the news by the Banks.
- Generation Xerox: Phil acknowledges how he had the same wide-eyed reaction to getting stopped that Carlton had throughout the episode.
- Good Parents: Phil and Vivian sacrifice their precious vacation time to get Will and Carlton out of jail, noting this time that it wasn't their fault they got into trouble. They then let the boys stay in Palm Springs for the rest of the weekend, to try and get their minds off what happened though Phil said no one could stop talking about it. When Will tells Carlton bluntly that they were stopped for being black, Phil listens quietly before encouraging his son to go to bed. He's also honest about the fact that you can get stopped for such a reason, with an apologetic look on his face.
- I Want My Mommy!: Carlton stares into the camera on the nightly news and calls for his dad. His parents' reaction is pure concern, and they hustle to the police station.
- Idiot Ball: While most of Carlton's mistake can be chalked up to naivety due to his sheltered upbringing, his audacity to threaten the cops with an admittedly-deserved lawsuit rather than demanding he have a lawyer present was rather stupid for someone planning to go to law school.
- Large Ham: Will milks the False Confession on live TV for everything it's worth.Will: YEAH, WE DONE IT!
- Mama Bear: Vivian is ready to throw down with the police for imprisoning her boys. Phil reassures her that he's got charge of this.
- Oh, Crap!: The police officers when Mr. Firth reveals that the two young men they arrested hadn't stolen his car. Then again when Phillip reveals he's a lawyer.
- One Phone Call: Will and Carlton try to call home to tell the others they've been arrested. Unfortunately, Geoffry, thinking it was something trivial, blew them off and hung up before Will could explain.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Normally, Phil would be furious at Will for tagging along with Carlton and trying to enjoy a weekend in Palm Springs, as well as making a False Confession on television Will-style. However, both boys were invited, and Phil and Vivian correctly deduce why they were on TV. When they get the boys out of jail, however, after a long weekend, everyone is subdued. Phil merely tells the boys to go to bed because they have school, not arguing when Will tells Carlton that they were stopped for being black.
- Papa Wolf: Phil at his finest when he utterly verbally demolishes the police officers by threatening to tie them up in so much legal trouble if they don't let his son and nephew out.Phil: Now I've got a few questions for you. When you got this alleged confession from these two young men, did they have a lawyer present? No. Because I'm their lawyer. Did you notify their parents? No. Because we're their parents. So Officer, don't tell us to wait and don't tell us to sit down. Just open that damn cell and let those two boys out of there or I'm going to tie this place up in so much litigation that your grandchildren are gonna need lawyers!
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: While the cops detained Will and Carlton for racist reasons, an off-hand remark by Will reveals he was in possession of a fake ID which would've given them just reason to detain Will.
- Sheltered Aristocrat: Carlton is completely naive about profiling because of his sheltered upbringing and sees no harm in doing things such as informing the police the car doesn't belong to him or that he lives two houses from the Reagans, much to Will's frustration.
- Shout-Out: Will surprises Carlton from the backseat while wearing a Freddy Krueger mask and glove.Will: Four, get the stick out your ass!
- This Is Gonna Suck: Will over him and Carlton sharing a jail cell with a burly white guy.Will: Anytime you see a white guy in jail, you know he did something bad!
- Trial Balloon Question: Carlton, refusing to believe that the cops that arrested him and Will earlier were targeting them for being black, asks his father a hypothetical question and gets an Armor-Piercing Response in return.Carlton: Dad!...If you were a policeman, and you saw a car driving 2 miles an hour, wouldn't you stop him?Phillip: I asked myself that question the first time I was stopped.
- Very Special Episode: Will and Carlton are pulled over trying to get to a fancy party. After Uncle Phil bails them out and threatens the arresting officers with litigation over it, Will and Carlton debate police racism, with Will believing they were victims of racial profiling while Carlton insists the whole thing was a misunderstanding and the police were just doing their jobs.
- Wham Line: Carlton asking his father if he would stop a car for going too slow, leading to the reveal that Phil has been pulled over due to racial profiling before.Carlton: Dad, if you were a policeman and you saw a car driving 2 miles an hour, wouldn't you stop it?Phil: I asked myself that very same question the first time I was stopped. Good night, son.Carlton: ...I would stop it.
