Bob and Linda's double-date plans take a disastrous turn when the couples find themselves trapped inside an Escape Room. Meanwhile, with the parents away, Louise hosts a zombie-movie night, but when the zombies turn out to be too scary, Tina must take charge.
The Trouble With Tropes:
- Bad Date: Or a Bad Double Date. To list the many things that go wrong:
- Nicholas and Ruthanne brought a dog which drooled over Bob's crotch until it looks like he wet himself. The dog also constantly barks at Linda, and is overall just a nuisance throughout the date.
- Nicholas and Ruthanne insisted on communal dining, which meant there was not enough food and Bob and Linda did not get enough to eat. Not only that, Ruthanne argued on only one order of shrimp and claimed most of it for herself before Linda could have any while ignoring the tomato salad she insisted on. She even eats the last shrimp right after stating "You just need one."
- Then they try to go to an escape room in which they were trapped with a rat, forcing them to work together to get out of there because the operator fell asleep and they were unable to call for help.
- To cap it all off, Linda tries to text the kids complaining about the date... and accidentally texts Ruthanne's phone instead.
- Call-Back:
- The Sofa Queen commercial is playing on the Belchers' TV in the opening scene.
- Linda imagines having a fun couples bonfire as the right time for a Bob banjo moment.
- Chekhov's Gun: Tina's poop singing video is introduced in the opening of the episode as a source of extreme embarrassment for Tina. At the end of the B-plot, Tina uses it to get the other kids out of the house by stopping them from being too afraid to go back to their homes after seeing the zombie movie before her parents returned home.
- Cringe Comedy: Everything about the poop singing video. Gene and Louise are the only ones not cringing at the end of it.Jimmy Jr.: Yikes.Gene: Well, I loved it, but I wish they didn't kill off my favorite character.
- Dirty Coward: Lars, Nicholas' emotional support dog, probably should get his own support dog. He's just as cowardly and stubborn if not even moreso than Nicholas, even though he's meant to help him cope and not actually be insecure enough to need constant emotional support himself: he barks at Linda when she tries to pet him in thanks for giving her his spot in the table, refuses to stop sniffing Bob's crotch as described above, needs to sit next to Bob in the car or he freaks out, spends the entire trip smelling bad and struggling not to puke and once Linda inadvertently releases a rat from the ventilation duct in the escape room, he spends the rest of their time in the escape room running around in circles away from the rat.
- Double Date: Linda & Bob go on a double date with Nicholas & Ruthanne.
- Embarrassing Old Video: The video of toddler Tina singing to her poop as she flushes it.
- Everyone Has Standards:
- Not even Ruthanne can stand Lars, although mostly because she thinks he's redundant and not because he's completely incompetent as a support dog.
- Linda is an optimist who will find a positive in just about anything, but Nicholas, Ruthanne, and Lars are too much for even her to handle and she's forced to admit Bob was right to be worried about the date being a disaster.
- From Bad to Worse: The double date was already awful, but then Linda accidentally confessed that she was having a horrible time.
- Kids Shouldn't Watch Horror Films: Played dead straight. Jimmy Jr., Zeke, Darryl, the Pesto Twins, Rudy, Gene & Louise to a lesser extent are traumatized by watching a zombie movie.Rudy: I'm only stepping out of this house if there's a long line of grown-ups going all the way to my house and they're all willing to hug me.
- Never My Fault: While Linda calling them a "nightmare couple" was a bit much, Nicholas and Ruthanne refuse to acknowledge how their poorly-planned actions ruined the date and instead act as if Bob and Linda were being ungrateful. When they finally make amends, Linda is the one who has to apologize for ruining things.
- Nice Guy: Subverted with Nicholas and Ruthanne. They initially seem friendly and genuinely are... but they're also shown to be obnoxious and inconsiderate during the date, and when Linda accidentally sends a bad text to them, they act incredibly petulant and offended by their very valid criticisms. Although they do help Bob and Linda in the end, they never actually acknowledge or apologize for ruining the date and afterwards, Bob and Linda understandably have no plans in the future of seeing them or hanging out with them again.
- Noodle Incident: Nicholas needs Lars from an incident in college regarding an a capella group.
- Properly Paranoid:
- As it turns out, Bob had every right to be worried about the double date.
- When Lars starts sniffing Bob's crotch, Bob wants to move him away but is paranoid Lars would bite him in response. Nicholas makes a comment implying he's not exactly wrong to think that.
- Room Escape Game: Nicholas and Ruthanne take Bob and Linda to an escape room, one themed as a jail in which they have to find the key. What was meant to be a fun diversion turns awkward when Linda sends a text to Tina telling her how much they dislike Nicholas and Ruthanne, but sent it to Ruthanne's phone instead. It gets worse when a rat enters the room and the attendant is fast asleep when they press the panic button to be let out.
- Series Continuity Error: Linda claims that she and Bob don't have any friends who are couples, even though Linda's best friend Ginger was previously stated to be married in "The Belchies". Sure, it's possible Bob isn't friendly with them, but it seems odd that Linda wouldn't even try to drag Bob into an escapade with her.
- Stylistic Suck: The escape room is... uh... bad. Very bad.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Entertainment Above Their Age is used a lot in the series, so when Bob tells the kids not to watch the R-rated "Again With The Living Dead", it naturally means Louise and Gene want to watch it even more, down to inviting others over for it for a no-adults-present showing of the film. By the end of the movie, they're all terrified and regret watching it, even Louise and Gene themselves. Turns out age ratings exist for a reason.
- The video of four-year-old Tina turns out to be just as cringy as she remembers it... but it's consequently very effective Nightmare Retardant.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: The guy running the escape room says he definitely hasn't gotten lots of bad reviews.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Bob is apprehensive to go on the date from the very beginning. His fears are proven justified, and then things really start going off the rails.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Nicholas and Ruthanne view Bob and Linda as this for disliking the date, blatantly ignoring that they've been given very good reason for their opinion.
