During his confrontation with Major (
Robert Buckley), Du Clark (
Steven Weber) complains, "What's the dealio? Will no one rid me of this meddlesome
Jason Priestley-type?" This is a reference to a well-known story from English history: in the year 1170, while in the throes of conflict with Thomas Becket (the Archbishop of Canterbury), King Henry II of England is supposed to have cried aloud, "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?" While this was not a direct royal order of execution, four of the king's followers who were present when Henry uttered this phrase took it as an indirect order and assassinated Becket. The phrase has come into wider usage in the English language as a way of saying that a leader's stated preference, even when not expressed as an order, can be nonetheless understood as an order to his subordinates. The year after this episode aired, this phrase was the subject of renewed political and media attention: on June 8, 2017, during former FBI Director James Comey's testimony in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Maine Sen. Angus King asked Comey whether he understood the request from President Donald Trump to drop the probe into recently fired national security adviser Mike Flynn as a presidential order. Comey's response was, "Yes. It kind of rings in my ears as, 'Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?'"