Liz has to put on one final episode of TGS or NBC will have to pay Tracy Jordan $30 million. Liz must juggle Tracy’s buffoonery, Jack’s confusion, and Lutz not ordering a good lunch to make this last episode land...
This episode is the second of a two-parter with “Hogcock!”
The 30 Rock episode “Last Lunch” contains examples of:
- Bait-and-Switch: Two appear in the "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue:
- Jenna is seen giving an acceptance speech at the Tony awards, only for Alice Ripley to appear, saying it was her name that was called. Jenna makes a quick exit, but not before pulling the top of her dress down to reveal her (pixelated) breasts.
- The very end of the episode zooms out to a snowglobe of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, implying an All Just a Dream ending...before we see that Kenneth is in a pitch meeting in the far future.
- Brick Joke: In “Hogcock!”, Kenneth mentioned wanting a show where a man says, “Don’t even say it!” to his dog. During the credits, Liz is running a show starring Grizz where he does exactly that.
- Cannot Spit It Out: A platonic version. Jack spends a solid minute explaining that he’s going to use the word “love” to describe his feelings for Liz, only for her to guess it and say it first.
- Celebrity Paradox: Liz mentions watching Mad Men, but a few seasons ago was dating Drew, played by Mad Men star Jon Hamm. Likely a deliberate poke at this trope.
- The Dog Bites Back: Lutz gets back at everyone for the years of abuse he suffered from them by making everyone order their last lunch from Blimpies.
- Faking the Dead: Pete is apparently planning this, but his eagerness to explain HOW implies that it's going to backfire.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: In addition to Tracy’s example below, Liz also briefly sees the crawl at the bottom of the screen advertising a hypothetical spin-off starring Grizz.
- Never Got to Say Goodbye: Tracy’s inexperience with being told “goodbye” makes him leave the studio preemptively. Liz tracks him down and gives him a real goodbye to buck him up.
- Prelude to Suicide: Jack deliberately fakes this (quitting his job, giving away possessions, a fake suicide video) to draw Liz’s attention enough for a final goodbye.
- Shout-Out: The very end of the episode makes it look like the entire show took place inside Kenneth's snow globe.
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: Jack's new assistant in the epilogue is both this and a Statuesque Stunner. He is visibly very pleased with this development.
- 10-Minute Retirement: Jack sails off to find enlightenment and turns around in less than a minute with the epiphany he needed. Played for laughs.
- That's All, Folks!: Given by Tracy at the end, to the in-universe audience of TGS, and the real life audience of 30 Rock.
- Wham Line: The payoff to a seven-season long Running Gag.Jenna: I can't do this anymore. I've never met Mickey Rourke.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: The episode ends with a series of scenes set one year later, followed by a scene with Kenneth in the very-distant future:
- Pete is found in North Carolina after having faked his death, and is brought home by his wife.
- Grizz is starring in a sitcom produced by Liz.
- Jenna is on stage accepting a Tony award, only to be ushered away by the real winner.
- Tracy is meeting up with his Disappeared Dad.
- Jack is still at GE, and meets his new Sexy Secretary.
- In the far future, a young woman in a blazer and glasses similar to Liz's pitches a show about the goings-on in 30 Rock, based on stories her great-grandma told her. Kenneth immediately says that he loves the idea.
