This happens frequently as new evidence and/or the revelation of the killer puts previous flashbacks in a new light. While the flashbacks are always a literal representation of events, they don't have to show context. More than once, the episode shows a flashback scene, only to reveal that either the entire thing was a sham for an observer's benefit and/or there was a part of the conversation they didn't notice, or some unrevealed plans or Back Story that told a different story.
- In the opening sequence of "Forever Blue", this is said about the Cowboy Cop victim Sean that makes him sound like a womanizer. However, once you realize that he's gay, you realize that he never went on a second date, not because he couldn't be satisfied by only one woman but because he couldn't be satisfied by any woman:"Isn't is about time he got married?"
"You gotta go on a second date for that."- There's also the fact that his partner Jimmy's wife is very cold to Sean. One thinks it's because he's late, then another flashback implies that it's because that they've been having an affair and she's angry about his sleeping around. Another flashback reveals it's because she walked in on Sean and her husband kissing.
- There's also this little tidbit between Sean's father and Jimmy right before the above-mentioned exchange when Sean arrives looking disheveled and tucking his shirt in. Again, this makes him sound like a carefree, irresponsible womanizer and sort of plays into the idea that he's having an affair with Jimmy's wife but is possibly double-timing her. Upon rewatching, one realizes just why Jimmy was so sure it was a 'brawl' and more importantly that the 'babe' is himself.Father: Brawl or babe?
Jimmy: Brawl. Got a babe. [cue wife looking very displeased]
- In "Blood On The Tracks", Jack, Johanna's own husband, mistakes Sarah for her while they and their friends are reviewing slides from their college days, driving home how much the two women resemble each other. This is never mentioned again during the episode, but later, after the detectives have figured out that Johanna is the murderer and has been impersonating Sarah for decades, one recalls that we only saw Jack's death, not Johanna's, and that Johanna was present in every one of "Sarah's" flashbacks. It also mentions that "Sarah" abruptly cut off the other friends after that fateful weekend and never saw or spoke to them again. Of course not. They would have recognized her and blown her scheme.
- In "It's Raining Men," Paul Kerns constantly displays sadness and bitterness about the homophobia his brother faced, especially from their own father, and has done a lot to honor Jeff's memory. This goes beyond simple brotherly love with the reveal that Paul is either gay or bisexual himself, giving him an extra reason to empathize with Jeff and resent their father and society's prejudice. Also, he's trying to atone for being the killer.
- In "Stalker", the mom's defensiveness towards her daughter's online activities comes to a new light once it is revealed that the mom was Catfishing someone using her daughter's pictures.
- "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King is played during a flashback in "The Good-Bye Room" when Hilary's boyfriend reassures her that he'll marry her after she delivers their baby. A few flashbacks later, it's revealed he's cheating on her.
- "Shuffle, Ball Change". The victim's brother is clearly very shaken upon being told that his brother's remains have been found. It seems like a perfectly normal reaction... until we learn that HE'S the killer and that he's actually panicking at the realization that after 20-something years, his horrific deed has finally caught up with him.
- In "Pin Up Girl", we meet popular 1950s cover girl, Rita Flynn. Whilst at a party to sign a contract, Rita gives an autograph to a starstruck fan, after which her best friend Betty Sue Baker makes an out-of-nowhere sarcastic comment about how charming she is and that fellas who once didn't look twice at her are now lining up for her. Although this seems a bit strange considering how the rest of the episode portrays her as a supportive friend to Rita and willing to help with the investigation in the present, not only did Betty Sue kill Rita, but how charming her friend was to men was her motive for doing so, which included Betty Sue's Jerkass date who went out with her just to get an autograph from Rita.
- In "Stealing Home":
- Gonzalo's widow Piedad's confidence that her husband wasn't up to no good when he was killed in the Badlands isn't just spousal love and trust but the knowledge that he was going to a meeting with a dangerous guy, whom she is afraid of on their family's behalf, shortly before dying.
- The flashback where Gonzalo shows his dazed cousin Juan around the luxurious new apartment he got with his baseball earnings and gives him a bottle of champagne takes on a new light after the reveal about Juan's past. Gonzalo isn't just flaunting his new wealth and/or being generous to a less fortunate relative; he's giving Juan a demonstration of the lifestyle that he thinks Juan will be able to afford and enjoy himself in short order due to being an even better ballplayer. Juan's overwhelmed reaction is sadness and maybe just a little jealousy as he realizes that (due to his secret Career-Ending Injury) Gonzalo is wrong about this being his future as well.
- "November 22nd". When we see Patrick Lennox's daughter, Hillary Rhodes, in the present, she mentions Patrick by his first name. This seems like casual dialogue, but foreshadows her not actually being his daughter.
- In "The Crossing":
- Geoffery Manning is still working for a Gibbs family-owned business decades after the murder and says that they appreciate loyalty. It later becomes clear that he personally knows the Gibbs', and the loyalty he is being rewarded for isn't just for being a regular longtime employee but for being the son of their butler, a childhood playmate of at least one younger Gibbs, and safeguarding their personal happiness as well as their business interests.
- The scene where Grace drunkenly flirts with someone in the ballroom isn't her being unfaithful to a loving husband back home but instead might be the one time she briefly comes close to giving up her Happy Marriage Charade and moving on from pining over the husband who deserted her (whether deliberately or only in a dazed and confused state as she later claims).
