"Look at the not-dangerous fun we're having!"
Louise brings Tina along on a mission to find the perfect item for her last ever Show-and-Tell. Meanwhile, Teddy goes overboard trying to impress a date at the restaurant.The Show (and Tell) Must Trope On:
- All for Nothing: Louise risks her life looking for a cannonball, and right after she finds one, she loses it trying to get out of the cave before it fills with water. On the plus side, Tina points out that she has an interesting story to tell for show and tell.
- Artistic Licence – Sports: Teddy says the match is Tipperary playing Waterford, but the opposing team are wearing the green and white kit of Limerick, rather than the white and blue of Waterford. (Maybe the match we see is actually a Tipp vs Limerick Minors match before the main game?)
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Upon hearing that all of Louise’s past show-and-tells have been based on lies, Tina encourages her to bring something true for her last Show and Tell. She later comes to regret this when Louise sets her sights on a cannonball in a dangerous cave.
- Be Yourself: Louise takes Tina up on her sisterly advice about being herself and tells the story of them trying to get the cannonball, even though they ultimately failed, because it’s true and people might be able to relate to it. The story ends up being a hit with Louise’s classmates and she learns that she doesn’t have to lie in order to impress others.
- Big Sister Instinct: Tina is obviously much, much more concerned with getting Louise out of the cave that's filling with water than she is about Louise getting her show-and-tell cannonball.
- Birds of a Feather: Invoked. Teddy attempts to do this for Kathleen by showing off his (absolute lack of) knowledge of hurling, only it's extremely clear he doesn't know a thing, which is fine with Kathleen, because it's fine for two close people to have different interests.
- Blunt Metaphors Trauma: At one point, Gene announces he’s going to the bathroom by saying he’s going to go “tickle the ivory”.
- Calling Your Bathroom Breaks: Gene does this when Bob tells the family about the cannonballs washing up on the wharf:Gene: Speaking of cannonballs washing ashore, I’ve gotta go to the bathroom.
- Gene does this several times throughout the episode, as his storyline focuses on him repeatedly trying to poop while constipated.
- Changing Yourself for Love: Teddy tries to turn himself into a hurling expert for Kathleen, even though he doesn’t understand or even enjoy the sport at all. In the end, he didn’t need to go to such lengths to force himself into this hobby because Kathleen is perfectly fine with them having different interests.
- Continuity Nod:
- The series premiere featured a scene where Louise presented one of Bob's burgers during show and tell and claimed it was made with human flesh from Mort's crematorium, sparking the episode's conflict. This episode features a montage of Louise's previous show and tells, and one of the clips is this same scene, only updated to fit the show's modern style and featuring recurring characters who hadn't yet debuted.
- When Kathleen points out to Teddy how Bob and Linda have different interests, one of the examples Linda cites is Bob's love of model building.
- The Ditz: Linda believes that cannonballs themselves explode rather than being propelled by gunpowder within the cannon. After Bob explains how cannons work, Linda instead concludes that the cannonballs aren't detonating on purpose as some sort of master plan, leading Bob to ask if she sincerely thinks that 200-year-old cannonballs are not only capable of exploding, but actively waiting to be found so they can explode. She isn't sure.
- Double Meaning: When Bob is talking about the artillery battery the cannonballs are washing up from, Louise assumes he’s talking about a different kind of battery.Louise: What kind of batteries do artilleries take? Double A? It’s always Double A.
- Eskimos Aren't Real: Louise considers just making her own cannonball because “no one really knows what they look like”.
- Foreshadowing:
- Bob warns Tina and Louise not to go to the caves at the beach or they might drown. They end up going into a cave to look for cannonballs and almost get caught by the rising tide.
- While entering the cave, Louise points out a crevice inside and makes a point to avoid it. Later, as she tries to leave with the cannonball and the water coming in, she tries to throw it across and it falls right into the crevice.
- Funny Background Event: As Teddy and Kathleen have a serious discussion about their relationship, Bob and Linda are in the background struggling with putting Teddy’s paper projection screen back up.
- Giant Wall of Watery Doom: When they finally leave the cave, the girls are faced with a huge wave coming right at them. Luckily, Tina pulls them to the side out of its path just in time.
- Guilt-Tripping: Tina tries to bail on going into the cave with Louise, so Louise uses guilt and appeals to her Big Sister Instinct to convince her.Louise: That’s fine. I can just go in there by myself. No need for you to feel guilty or responsible for my fate just because you’re my big sister and my protector and finding something real and true was all your idea.
- Insult of Endearment: Kathleen jokingly calls Teddy a “big stupid dummy” after reassuring him that they don’t have to like the same things in order to enjoy spending time together.
- Ms. Imagination: All of Louise’s past show-and-tell subjects were boring, everyday objects that she made up elaborate stories for.
- Opinion Flip Flop: To cover up that he was asking them for relationship advice, Teddy yells at Bob and Linda and accuses them of trying to upsell more fries to him. When Kathleen replies that she would actually like more fries, Teddy instantly changes his tune.
- Ow, My Body Part!: Louise finally gets the cannonball free but falls backwards in the process and yells “Ow, my butt!”
- Plot-Based Voice Cancellation: Gus tries to warn Tina and Louise that the tide is coming in and that they should stay away from the caves or they'll drown, but they're too far away and the sound of the ocean drowns out his voice.
- Rhetorical Question Blunder: This exchange between Louise and Linda when Louise gets irritated by her parents warning her to stay away from the more hazardous parts of the beach.Louise: And if we see a volcano, should we jump in it or no?Linda: No. No volcanoes. They seem fun but they're not.
- Rising Water, Rising Tension: Louise and Tina go out to the shore to find an old cannonball from the War of 1812 for show and tell. They wind up finding one in a cave that's below the tide level, but it's partially stuck. Tina panics as the tide rises and comes closer to flooding the cave while Louise remains single-minded in unearthing the cannonball. She eventually succeeds but winds up dropping it down a crevice, and the sisters are forced to leave the cave under threat of drowning.
- Shout-Out:
- The Store Next Door is "Flaming of the Moo".
- The Exterminator Van is "Nice Flies Finish Last".
- When Tina wants to give up on digging the cannonball out, Louise asks her “Is that what they said when those raiders discovered the lost ark?”
- Show-and-Tell Antics: The episode revolves around Louise trying to find a perfect item for her fourth-grade show and tell, since it's the last one ever before fifth grade phases them out in favor of social studies. The introduction of this plotline shows a montage of Louise's previous show and tells, with Louise always talking about having something completely outlandish (such as a robot arm or a monkey that can do the Macarena). She tries to get a cannonball from the War of 1812, and while she fails she does manage to put on a presentation about her experience trying to get it (and managed to find a stinky kind of seaweed she intends to sell as a bioweapon).
- The Show Must Go On: The episode title is based on the trope.
- Skewed Priorities: Even after admitting that it’s not safe to be in there with the tide coming in, Louise is still reluctant to leave the cave without her cannonball.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Gene's Big Eater habits bite him back when eating an entire block of cheddar in one sitting lands him with constipation for the bulk of the episode.
