B Plot: The citizens of Dog River plan a '70s party at the bar. Lacey, who is used to being in control, is perturbed by the party planning committee and their lack of direction. Davis and Karen argue about their costumes for the big event while Oscar’s sexy getup throws Emma into a tizzy.
Tropes Referenced:
- Accidental Public Confession: Davis wonders why Karen is being so difficult about his costume ideas and asks if she's mad at him for eating her granola and blaming it on mice. Karen asks "What?" and Davis tells her to stop changing the subject.
- Ambiguous Syntax: Brent points out that Hank's shoes are on the wrong feet, but Hank counters that they're the only feet he has.
- Ask a Stupid Question...: Emma, hesitant to talk to Oscar because his Burt Reynolds costume turns her on too much, cautiously asks him if he's having lunch while he's eating spaghetti. Oscar responds "Nothing gets past you."
- Bait-and-Switch: While thinking of possible duo costumes for himself and Karen, Davis briefly considers Peter, Paul and Mary, then realizes that's not going to work... because it's a '70s theme party and they're from the '60s.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Hank says he'd love to take a math test in order to prove that he's smarter now than he was in high school, so Wanda agrees to get a test because it sounds like an entertaining idea. Brent uses the trope name verbatim to taunt Hank, but Hank actually does prove he's smarter than in high school (by 1%, but that's enough for him).
- Cheaters Never Prosper: Wanda offers to give Brent some of the answers for the last test in order to make sure he gets a higher score than Hank. Brent says that cheating make losers of us all, but he decides that it's more important for him to be less of a loser than Hank and he agrees. Wanda purposely gives Brent the wrong answers and bumps up Hank's score so that Hank wins and she can teach Brent a lesson about not being so high and mighty over being smarter than Hank.
- Chekhov's Gag: The only thing Phil has done to fix up the bar is put up an electronic sign that tells everyone about the Christmas drink special, which isn't for another three months. When wrapping up the party, Phil takes a moment to remind everyone that it's only 85 days until the Christmas drink special.
- Comically Missing the Point: Wanda heard that the party was themed around 1970, so she assumes that the theme of the party is "The Year The Beatles Broke Up," which she thinks is mean spirited.
- Control Freak: Lacey tries to avoid her usual control freak tendencies by staying out of the party planning, but she can't help commenting on what she thinks the actual party planners are doing wrong. Oscar and Karen take advantage of this by making Lacey think they're in over their heads and using Lacey's subsequent rant to create a list of things they still need to prepare for the party.
- Coordinated Clothes: Karen is sick of how Davis is always insisting they go to every party with matching costumes, so she wants them to try doing separate costumes this time. Davis is reluctant because he's always wanted to win a Best Duo Costume award. They eventually compromise by going as fictional cops from different '70s TV shows, with Karen as Officer Poncharello from CHiPs and Davis as Hutch from Starsky & Hutch, although everyone keeps mistaking Davis for various female celebrities from the era.
- Exact Words: Brent can't bring himself to ruin Hank's happiness by telling him that Wanda cheated so Hank would win their competition. But Brent has no problem telling Nate the truth so that Nate can then tell Hank.
- Failure Montage: A series of flashbacks shows past events at the bar that have ended disastrously. First, Phil tries to host a rat race with untrained rats, so the rats just attack the patrons, who all run out screaming. Second, Phil hosts chicken poop bingo, but the rats ate all the food Phil left out for the chicken and proceed to attack the patrons, who all run out screaming. Third, Phil hosts a contest for who can kill the most rats, but the rats all attack Hank, who runs out screaming, followed by Brent, Phil, and Emma who try to beat the rats off him.
- Funny Background Event: Emma walks up to Oscar at the party, but Oscar is mad at her for being aroused by his Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit costume. Lanny, who's in the foreground and also dressed like a moustachioed trucker, overhears them and sneaks away.
- I Resemble That Remark!: Brent doesn't agree with Wanda's assertion that he and Hank are bad at geography, so Wanda asks what's the capital of Michigan. Brent smugly asks "The lake or the state?" and Hank answers "Wolverine!" Wanda notes it'll be a tight race.
- I Take Offense to That Last One: Lacey spends most of the cold open insulting the bar, calling it a dump and a hovel, getting barely any reaction from Phil. When Brent remarks that Phil has very thick skin, Phil grabs Brent's collar and demands to know what he means by that.
- In-Universe Factoid Failure: A few characters have costumes that don't match the party's '70s theme:
- Brent is dressed as the Monopoly Man, who Wanda points out wasn't from the '70s. He was created in the '40s.
- Hank shows off his newly discovered super genius (for scoring 50% on a test he got 49% on in high school) by dressing as Albert Einstein, who died in the '50s.
- Rheena is dressed as The Man with No Name from the Dollars Trilogy, a film series from the '60s.
- Fitzy appears to be B.A. Baractus from The A-Team, an '80s TV show.
- Davis and Oscar win best duo costume because Phil thought Davis was dressed as Loni Anderson to go with Oscar's Burt Reynolds, but Anderson and Reynolds didn't work together or get married until the '80s.
- Insane Troll Logic: Oscar is angry at Emma for being turned on by his Burt Reynolds costume. Not because she's turned on by him being dressed as another man, but because she was never turned on when he was dressed as Gordie Howe, his usual go-to costume.
- Inflationary Dialogue: Depressed that everyone else managed to throw a successful party without her, Lacey asks Phil to make her a drink. Then she tells him to make it a double. Then two doubles. Then two double doubles.
- Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: The various costumes at the party come with copious amounts of Lampshade Hanging about the fact that they're just different enough to avoid copyright issues, like when Lacey complains that the Wonder Woman (1975) costume Karen gave her doesn't look quite right and Karen denies she ever claimed it was Wonder Woman.
- Malaproper: Brent can't fathom that he might be dumber than Hank, a guy who calls the holiday "Valentime's Day."
- Mixed Metaphor: Hank thinks that passing his math test puts him on the same "plane field" as Brent and Wanda instead of "playing field." Wanda notes that if they were on a plane, she'd be in first class while the two of them would be stuck in the last seat of business class. Brent says that at least he'd get the window seat. Later, when Hank proves smarter than Brent on two more tests (or so he thinks), Hank triumphantly declares himself a "business class window."
- Parental Sexuality Squick: Brent is grossed out when he hears about Emma being turned on by Oscar's costume.
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure:
- Oscar initially says that he's dressed as "Bart" Reynolds from the movie "Snookie & The Banjo". He also can't think of what show Charlie's Angels were in.
- Brent believes Wanda when she says that the Prime Meridian is a Transformer.
- Shaped Like Itself: Oscar can't think of what to compare Emma to when he describes her flying across the room at him in her Flying Nun costume, so Davis suggests "like a Flying Nun."
- Stern Teacher: Wanda takes this role while overseeing Brent and Hank's math contest, slapping the gas station's counter with a ruler when they act childish and threatening to make them sit in the corner through lunch if they don't behave. Brent and Hank submissively call her Ms. Dollard.
- Too Much Information: Wanda asks Emma what's wrong, so Emma explains that she can't handle how attractive she finds Oscar in his Burt Reynolds costume. Wanda is disgusted and says she just thought Emma was having trouble finding the ramen noodles or something.
- Verbal Backspace: Wanda's "costume" for the party is that she carries a drink glass with a toy baby in it, representing the first test-tube baby born in 1978, leading to this exchange with Brent:Brent: Are you the mother?
Wanda: Maybe I'm the doctor, you sexist jerk.
Brent: But no lab coat or anything?
Wanda: [Beat] Maybe I'm the mother, you feminist jerk. - Viewers Are Goldfish: Brent finds out that Wanda gave him fake answers so that Hank would beat him on the geography test. After another scene, Brent complains to Wanda how he can't believe she gave him fake test answers so Hank would win, "if I may reiterate what we were saying moments ago."
