Louise begrudgingly accompanies Tina to a Boy Band concert and has a surprising reaction to one of its members. Elsewhere, Gene enters a tablescaping contest, but his initial success faces a challenge when he's unprepared for a second round.
Tropez 4 Now:
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Tina mentions briefly that Griffin has become her favorite member of the band.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Louise doesn't get why girls scream over boy bands, saying that screaming is for roller coasters, axe murderers, and her dad's morning breath.
- Boy Band: The band Boyz4Now. They even have the formula of one member being a "bad boy", a cute innocent member (whom Louise becomes rabidly obsessed with), a "shy" one, and a more mature heartthrob.
- Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: The first table Oscar (the boy whose father keeps mocking Bob and Linda) sets has the theme of Marilyn Monroe. His second table is themed around outer space. When Bob is trying to help Gene come up with a second table-scaping idea, he tells Gene it has to be better than Marilyn or space, to which Linda adds, "Or Marilyn in Space."
- Chekhov's Gun: In the first scene, Louise comments on how bad Bob's breath is, and Linda asks Bob for help finding her keys because her purse is too cluttered with stuff. These come back near the end of Gene's tablescaping subplot - Bob realizes his breath smells bad, so he asks Linda for a breath mint, and Linda rooting through her purse makes Gene realize he can use items from her purse for his second table setting.
- Dawson Casting: In-Universe; it's fairly obvious Matt isn't 17 (though how old he actually is isn't made clear). It's even implied he has a kid.
- Enemy to All Living Things: Gayle pepper-sprayed one of her cats thinking it was an intruder trying to sexually assault her.
- Everyone Has Standards: Louise's manic love/hate infatuation with Boo Boo is so off kilter even the most rabid fan girls (including one who vomited at the simple mention of boys) stop and pause with concerned looks.
- Failed a Spot Check: Gene missed the part of the competition description that mentioned he needed to prepare two tablescapes.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Zeke and Leslie's bootleg Boyz 4 Now t-shirts read "Boyz 4 Noo".
- Friendly Enemy: Oscar (one of the other tablescapers) is actually quite friendly to the Belchers, even wishing them luck in the competition, but his dad is a passive-aggressive jerk.
- I'll Never Tell You What I'm Telling You!: Oscar's father hints at his second tablescape in this manner.Oscar's Dad: I don't wanna give anything away, but we're about to take a rocket ship out of this world.
Bob: So it's space-themed?
Oscar's Dad: I can't say.Bob: Well, it is. You basically just said it. - Insistent Terminology: It's tablescaping, damn it!
- Irony: Bob is unwillingly dragged to the tablescaping competition, only to end up becoming more enthusiastic about it than Linda and Gene. Ditto for Louise regarding the Boyz 4 Now concert; by the end she's more in love with the band than Tina.
- Marilyn Maneuver: Oscar's Marilyn Monroe-themed tablescape comes equipped with a fan so it can lift up the bottom of the tablecloth in this manner.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": In the split-second before Louise slaps Boo Boo across the face, everyone on the bus reacts appropriately.
- Narm: In-universe; Louise finds the opening of the concert to be laughable when the band is lowered onto the stage with highly visible wires while pretending to use sporting equipment.
- Noodle Incident: "This is the best thing Aunt Gayle's done since she pooped her pants at the cell phone store last year!"
- Not So Above It All:
- Louise initially disdains the other girls at the concert for getting so screechy over the boy band... until she sees Boo Boo and quickly becomes smitten.
- When discussing a way to get Gene a second tablescaping theme, Bob's immediate suggestion is to steal another kid's.
- Oh, Crap!: Gene realizes too late that there's more to the contest when he notices that there are four "winners".
- Pungeon Master: The more Gene describes the menu of his magic-themed tablescape, the more it's clear that he is definitely Bob's son.
- Rhymes on a Dime: Zeke's cousin Leslie loves to rhyme.
- Second Place Is for Winners: Gene gets last place out of the four finalists. But because that's the technical fourth best in the regional competition, and because the person Bob wanted to beat didn't win overall, and because it's the best any of the kids have done in anything, the Belchers are happy.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: A literal example; Louise has a crazy desire to smack Boo Boo in the face. She gets her wish by episode's end.
- Squee: All the girls at the band's concert squee a lot over the boys, much to Louise's disgust. It doesn't take long for her to start squeeing herself when Boo Boo comes up onstage.
- Stage Parent: Oscar's dad, the man who keeps mocking Gene's display and arguing with Bob and Linda. At the end of the episode, Oscar asks his dad if he has to do tablescaping again next year while his father cries about them not winning.
- Starstruck Speechless: Louise is initially tongue-tied when facing Boo Boo... before her desire to slap him takes over.
- Suddenly Shouting: Bob when he starts trying to convince Gene to think of a second display so he can win.Bob: Why am I talking like this?! Why am I tal... I think I'm excited!
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: Matt definitely does not have a daughter, because he is definitely 17.
- Tears of Awe: In "Boyz 4 Now", a few girls are seen bawling in amazement at Boyz 4 Now's musical performance.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: A random fan is so wound up, she vomits just by being told boys are in the vicinity.
- We Win, Because You Didn't: Despite Gene placing last among the four finalists, Bob and Linda act as if he won the entire thing when they realize the family they wanted to beat didn't win either.Gene: Them losing is like us winning.
- Wins by Doing Absolutely Nothing: When Gene entered the tablescaping extracurricular at Wagstaff, his only major competition to entering regionals was the Pesto twins, whose twin-themed display was so bad that Mr. Frond cuts off the twins mid-explanation to tell Gene he's won.
- Worth It: Louise slapping Boo Boo immediately gets her and Tina kicked off of the bus. She doesn't regret it one bit.
- Would Rather Suffer: Bob admits he'd rather go to the Boyz 4 Now concert than the tablescaping contest.
