The chapter titles in this episode reference Kill Bill. The fake children's book "The Slapping Tree" is written by Pai Mei, the kung fu master who taught Bill, Elle Driver, and The Bride in the Kill Bill movies.
The title of this episode references an old fable - Appointment in Samarra, re-told by W. Somerset Maugham, in which a man on seeing Death attempts to escape his fate.
The first slap training chapter is called the "Cruel Tutelage of Red Bird". Another obvious nod to Kill Bill 2, which contains a chapter named "Cruel Turelage of Pai Mei"
Red Bird asks Marshall "What is the sound of one hand slapping?", referring to a traditional Buddhist koan "Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand clapping?"
This episode has one of the lowest IMDb ratings of the series, alongside two other season nine episodes: Bedtime Stories and Last Forever: Part Two, the series finale.