It's work experience week, and while Jay has sorted something for himself and Simon at his dad's plant hire, a mix-up leaves Neil at a newspaper and Will at a garage. Mr Gilbert is either unable or unwilling to change things.
This episode contains examples of:
- Always Someone Better: Neil ends up doing very well at the newspaper job that Will was supposed to do during their week of work experience, to the point they want to keep him on, whereas Will ends up alienating everyone at the garage job Neil was supposed to go to by condescendingly saying he's too clever for a menial job. Played With in that Neil is suggested to be liked at the newspaper job precisely because he's too stupid to bother asking questions to his supervisor (who implies that all of their previous work experience hires were toadying Will types) and generally keeps out of the rest of the staff's way, rather than for any actual skills he possesses.
- Digging Yourself Deeper: If Will had just kept his mouth shut and not gone on and on about how he was too "clever" to work at a garage, he probably would've survived the two weeks without being hazed.
- Disproportionate Retribution:
- Mr. Gilbert forces Will to attend his work experience at the garage simply because Will told him he made a mistake. Though it is suggested that he might have (grudgingly) been willing to correct the error had Will not broached the subject rather snottily.
- Danny Moore physically assaults Simon at the disco for accidentally bumping into him the day before.
- Fan Disservice: The sight of a girl coming onto Simon and giving him a handjob on sight is not the least bit sexy, ranging from Hannah being clearly underage to Simon making eye contact with the other boys.
- Groin Attack: When Danny spots Simon at the disco, he pushes him to the ground and repeatedly kicks him in the crotch. For bumping into him.
- Food Slap: Charlotte pours a drink on Will's head when she finds out that he has told his work experience co-workers that she is his girlfriend and a pornstar.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Danny will pick a fight with anyone for no reason at all. Even after giving Simon the beating of a lifetime doesn't satisfy him, as he rounds up a posse to finish him off along with the other lads.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While Mr. Gilbert takes delight in Will's bullying during his work experience, he still believes that Will must've said something for him to get bullied that badly. In fact, part of the reason for Will's hazing is his own insensitive comments.
- Of Course I'm Not a Virgin: Will claims to have had sex with Charlotte lots of times during the work experience episode, a lie that's easily found out.
- Snipe Hunt: Will nearly embarks on one of these whilst on work experience at a car garage. However, the know-it-all way he reacts to seeing through the prank results in a much worse hazing by the mechanics, with Will being abducted, locked into a car boot, stripped and thrown into a freezing lake.Jimmy: Didn't think of that one did you, Mastermind?
- Training from Hell: Will is subject to institutionalized bullying on his work experience at a car garage, after being a bit too cocky and brash about his intellectual abilities. On the other hand, on his work experience placement at a newspaper, Neil is rewarded and showered with praise for having no intelligence or sentient thought at all. Given that the guy he's working under rolls his eyes when he hears he has a kid on work experience, it's possible that he's relieved not to have someone hanging around constantly asking questions and getting in the way.
- Valentine's Day Episode: The episode opens with Jay showing the Valentine's cards he supposedly received, each with sexually explicit messages inside, which Will and Simon instantly suspect are all fakes written by Jay himself. Simon, however, receives a genuine card from Hannah Fields.
- Valentine's Day Vitriol: Will refers to Valentine's Day as "his favorite annual humiliation". The only card he gets is from his grandmother (which doesn't count, according to his friends).
- Would Hurt a Child: Simon claims he would have battered Danny Moore if it wasn't for Northwood backing him up...and, in all fairness, he totally deserves it.
