Neal and Peter must locate a stolen T-rex skeleton. Meanwhile, Neal's lies to Rebecca about being an FBI agent can no longer be sustained.
Tropes:
- Bait-and-Switch: Rebecca initially seems upset when Neal tells her that he lied about being an FBI agent and seems to be about to leave. In truth, she doesn’t mind at all and initiates intimacy right after finding out.
- Blackmail: Hagen returns at the end to continue blackmailing Neal, having talked to June, and coerces him into steal the window.
- Briefcase Full of Money: Neal discovers that Forsythe has a briefcase full of cash in his lab, intending to use it to pay Holt.
- Brig Ball Bouncing: A variant; Neal throws a tennis ball and catches it several times while waiting at his desk for Peter.
- Confession Triggers Consummation: When Neal confesses to Rebecca that he lied to her, he also assures her that his feelings for him are real, and scene ends with them sleeping together.
- Digging Yourself Deeper: One of the two meanings of the episode's title. Until the end of the episode, Neal keeps lying to Rebecca and starts lying to Peter about why he pretended to be an FBI agent.
- Double Date: Peter is suspicious when he finds out that Neal has been meeting with Rebecca and convinces Elizabeth to crash their dinner for a double date, surprising Neal.
- Double Meaning: Peter and Neal’s dialogue is both about catching Forsythe and about Peter knowing that Neal hides something from him:Neal: You think I'm hiding illicit goods under my bed?
Peter: I think you're hiding something. But I don't have enough for a warrant to search Forsythe's office.
Neal: You should stake it out, see what happens. Especially around 6:00 PM.
Peter: I'll keep an eye out for anything suspicious. - Dramatic Irony: When Peter inquires why Neal told Rebecca he's an FBI agent, Neal clarifies that he merely mentioned that he was working with the FBI, and Peter concludes that Neal let her assume the rest. Unbeknownst to Peter, he, too, is making assumptions, believing Neal lied out of fear that Rebecca wouldn't want to date a criminal. Neal chooses to let Peter continue with that assumption without correcting him.
- Honesty Aesop: Upon discovering that Neal lied to Rebecca about being an FBI agent, Peter and Elizabeth encourage him to be honest with her. They believe that, even knowing the truth, she might still love him.
- Impersonating an Officer: Peter calls out Neal for pretending to be an FBI officer in front of Rebecca and asks him why he would do that.
- Internal Reveal: Neal tells Rebecca that he has lied about being an FBI agent and actually is a CI.
- Kids Love Dinosaurs: Peter is very excited that his new case involves a dinosaur egg and hunting down a T-rex skeleton:Peter: Hunting a T-rex. Seven-year-old me would be going crazy.
Neal: Adult you isn't exactly serene. - Like Father, Like Son: Mozzie makes a joke referencing this trope because both Neal and the dinosaur egg he forged have trackers on them.
- Not Bad: Peter’s reaction when Neal shows him the fake dinosaur egg:Peter: Not bad.
Neal: I was gonna give it to you after this, but if you don't think it's very good—
Peter: "Not bad" doesn't mean "Not good."
Neal: It doesn't mean "Good." - Properly Paranoid: Peter is suspicious of Neal dating Rebecca and keeping it from him, even though Elizabeth tells him that it is probably nothing.
- Raptor Attack: Discussed. Peter notices that Forsythe has a velociraptor skull in his office and starts to talk about the misconceptions around them:Peter: Thanks to Jurassic Park, everyone thinks they're an expert on them. Except the movie got everything wrong. Velociraptors were most likely feathered, based on the quill knobs found by paleontologists. And the film made them much larger, more like the size of a deinonychus.
Forsythe: That's true. Velociraptors were closer to the size of a chicken. - Replaced with Replica: Neal creates a replica of the T-rex egg with a tracker inside so that Forsythe leads the FBI to the location of the T-rex skeleton.
- Safe Behind the Corner: When Forsythe returns while Neal snoops around his lab, Neal hides behind the door that Forsythe opens.
- Shame If Something Happened: Hagen, after talking to June when Neal shows up at June's house:Hagen: Quite the life you've built. Hate to see things fall apart over one little window.
- Statute of Limitations: The FBI can't charge Forsythe for stealing the macuahuitl because it was stolen eight years ago. Still, he hid it from Peter because he did not want to draw attention to himself due to his other criminal activities.
- That's an Order!: Peter invites Neal to have dinner with him and Elizabeth, then admits it's an order, so they can talk about Rebecca and advise him to tell her the truth.
- Title Drop: Mozzie worries that Peter will dig deeper into Neal’s lies to Rebecca and find out the truth about everything.
- This Is the Part Where...: Neal says "this is the part where you pay me" to Forsythe after Forsythe says he believes the egg is authentic. Unfortunately, he wants to make a CAT scan to be sure.
- The Unpronounceable: Peter has trouble pronouncing “macuahuitl.”
- Wrong Assumption: Peter jumps to the conclusion that Neal faked being an FBI agent because he likes Rebecca and is worried she would not date a criminal, and Neal plays along.
