Original air date: 28 September 2003

Directed by Mark Pellington

Written by Meredith Stiehm

Recently transferred to the Philadelphia Police Department's cold case unit, homicide detective Lilly Rush reopens the 1976 murder of Jill Shelby, a teenage girl who had been beaten to death at a party hosted by wealthy neighbors, after a former maid claims she witnessed the murder taking place.

Tropes:

• The Alibi: Bobby for Tim.
• Artistic License – History: Chris claims that Lucy the Australopithecus died 6,000 years ago, rather than 3.2 million. The line is a testament to American non-cable TV's reluctance to alienate Young Earth creationists even in the early 2000's.
• Berserk Button:
  • Don't act like you're better than Todd Whitley. Don't be better at anything than Todd Whitley. Don't refuse to do whatever he tells you to do, and don't insult him, especially if you're a woman. Jill learned that the hard way.
  • Lilly points out that she's a living berserk button for Todd, one that he can't act on: She's a woman with power over him that he can't control, charm, or threaten to do what he wants.
• Big Brother Bully: Todd to Eric.
• By-the-Book Cop: All the cops in this episode.
• Camp Gay: Tim Dorn has very fey mannerisms and his alibi is that he was hooking up with a college guy.
• Confess to a Lesser Crime: When they realize the game is up, both the murderer and the accessory end up trying to pin the blame on the other, each claiming they were only the one who watched.
• Dies Wide Open: Jill's eyes were open when she was killed.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Jill is killed after being caught kissing her boyfriend Todd's brother. This, while Todd was sleeping with Jill's best friend.
• Domestic Abuse: Todd was hitting Jill back in 1976 and is implied to be doing the same to Melanie in 2003. He's also shown to be controlling and verbally abusive. At one point, he insults Jill's American flag-printed top by claiming she looks like a "patriotic streetwalker". Melanie also initially fears telling Lilly what she knows will cause Todd to hurt her and their daughters.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: As the pilot, it doesn't have the standard opening, justified by said opening having scenes from this episode, especially the iconic scene of Lilly in the rain in the epilogue here.
• Establishing Character Moment: The numerous confrontations between Lilly and Todd establish her character as an intelligent if hardened cop who firmly believes than even the long dead victims deserves justice they were denied and will back down at nothing to make it happens. When Todd accuses her of being a crusader, she bluntly admits he's right.
• Extremely Cold Case: Discussed Trope. When Lilly asks what the oldest unsolved murder might be, Chris claims that someone bashed Lucy's head in with a rock.
• Fair Cop: Todd asks Lilly why she is doing the job she is and says she should be married instead.
• Fake Alibi: Melanie claims Todd was in bed with her after the last time they saw Jill alive. Unbeknownst to her, he snuck out after their tryst while she was asleep.
• Guilt-Ridden Accomplice: Eric, if Todd was the killer. He never recovers properly, doesn't have his life together, and suffers/ed from alcoholism.
• Hide the Evidence: The racquet used to kill Jill is buried in the brothers' aunt's backyard.
• I Reject Your Reality: Todd cannot accept that Eric could ever be better than him at anything. When Eric gets onto the wrestling team and Todd doesn't, he steals his brother's varsity jacket and insults Eric when he protests it belongs to him and not Todd.
• One Case at a Time: Lilly's partner asks her about the triple homicide case, but she only works on this one case until it is solved.
• Only Bad Guys Call Their Lawyers: Implied by Lilly to Todd in the scene where they meet.
• Open Secret: Todd's abuse of Jill is described as this by Lilly.
• Passionate Sports Girl: Jill played hockey and soccer.
• The Peeping Tom: Todd accuses Eric of watching him and Jill when they were together.
• Perp Walk: At the end.
• Revisiting the Cold Case: The case is 27 years old. It is revisited because Bonita, one of the employees of the house where Jill died, previously had reason to keep her mouth shut about what she saw. Bonita is now dying of cancer and wants the crime to be known.
• Ripped from the Headlines: Based on the Murder of Martha Moxley.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: The police commissioner is revealed to be an old college buddy of Todd and Eric's father, and after speaking with the Whitley family lawyer, tries to get Lilly to back off on her investigation.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: The brothers Todd and Eric are initially not arrested based on this.
• Shout-Out: Jill defends her top from Todd by saying she saw it in Seventeen.
• Sibling Triangle: Between Jill, Todd, and Eric.
• Spousal Privilege: While Lilly feels Melanie might know something about Todd, she uses means other than legal compulsion to get her to tell Lilly what it is.
• Two-Timing with the Bestie: Todd had been stepping out on Jill with Melanie for some time; his supposed alibi at the party was that he slept with her after an argument with Jill. Todd was apparently aware that Jill knew, but Melanie wasn't.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: The triple homicide in the beginning never gets resolved in the episode. It eventually got revisited in "The Badlands"
• You See, I'm Dying: The case is reopened when a witness comes forward because she is dying of cancer.