"Nobody needs to go to court, here. There's no reason we can't settle this ourselves like civilized adults."
— Dee
After Frank crashes into Dennis's car while he's stopped at red light and causes him to spill the cereal he was eating over the interior, the gang decide to hold a trial in order to find out who's ultimately responsible.
This episode provides examples of the following tropes:
- And Another Thing...: While Mac defends his stance on evolution by pointing out times where science was wrong, Dennis points out that evolution clearly is real since there are fossil records that support it. Mac then decides that he has to concede... only to then ask Dennis "one more thing before [he does]": if he actually seen those records himself.
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: After Frank tells Mac to lie about believing in evolution to restore his credibility.Mac: This is all about making myself credible in your eyes again, and I'm gonna do that by admitting that evolution... is a LIE!
- The Big Board: Mac creates three presentation boards during the episode, the first meant to reflect the gangs verdict on the case, the second to discuss evolution vs religion and a third to reveal that science is wrong sometimes.
- Blind Without 'Em: Even though Frank has glasses, he still can't see to drive safely as the lenses need replacing.Dennis: The lenses are what make the glasses work, Frank!
- Book Ends: The episode starts with Frank getting distracted while driving and rear ending Dennis while he was eating cereal. The exact same thing happens at the end, only with other members of the gang there.
- Both Sides Have a Point: A rare inversion. Everyone is incredibly petty, over-emotional, and argumentative. No member of the gang could find a point if they sat on it and it poked them in the ass.
- Butt-Monkey: At the end of the episode, the rest of the gang decide Dee is at fault for Frank crashing into Dennis again and that she should be the one to pay for the damages.
- Call-Back: "Rock, flag and eagle, right Charlie?"
- Comically Missing the Point: Mac hates science because "it's wrong sometimes", even though that's the whole point of science: to test things and see what's true and what's false.
- Continuity Nod: It's mentioned again that Frank went to a school for mentally disabled children at some point during his youth.
- Cooldown Hug: In a deleted scene (just after Dennis threatens to scratch out eyes), Dee manages to calm down her pissy kitty brother by putting pressure on his hand when he goes to strangle her. It works like a charm, and even gets a quiet but slutty moan out of him.
- Courtroom Episode: Taking place in the bar rather than an actual courtroom, but the principle remains the same.
- Drives Like Crazy: Frank is shown to drive distracted, spending most of his time fiddling with his tape of Charlie giving him directions — which he only needs in the first place because he can't actually see.
- Dumbass Has a Point: Mac does a surprisingly good job of defending creationism, shifting the burden of proof by pointing out that since Dennis doesn't actually know anything about science, his "faith" in it is just as blind as Mac's faith in religion. By the end of his speech, he's managed to sway Charlie, Dee and Frank over to the fence.Mac: So let me get this straight, Mr. Reynolds: you get your information from a book, written by men you've never met, and you take their words as truth based on a willingness to believe, a desire to accept, a leap of — dare I say it — faith?
- Freudian Excuse: Near the end Dennis calls out Dee for having no real stake in this case and she unloads over how the gang has destroyed every single car she's owned and they've never talked about it, let alone have a trial.
- The Fundamentalist: It's revealed that Mac doesn't believe in evolution.
- Genre Savvy: Dee points out that Dennis and Frank shouldn't go to a real courtroom due to Dennis' many sexual misconduct charges and Frank's ownership of unlicensed firearms.
- Ghost Extras: There is a single bar patron doing his own thing in the back for half the episode, not acknowledging anything that is going on. When he leaves he says bye to the group and they pause briefly to say bye in return and call him by name.
- Gun Nut: Frank admits that he has "a lot" of unlicensed firearms in his car.
- Insane Troll Logic: The final argument goes: If there's a possibility that Irish Catholicism is the one true religion, then Mac is "credible", so everyone should vote the way he does, and Frank shouldn't have to pay for the damages.
- Malaproper: Charlie says "witness for the persecution" instead of "prosecution".
- Only Sane Man: Dennis is the only member of the gang who seems to be aware just how ridiculous and overly dramatic the "trial" is, though he's still willing to go along with it if it's the only way to convince the others that he's in the right.
- Opinion Flip Flop: Charlie is very easily swayed by just about every argument put forward.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Dennis (and by extension the rest of the gang, save Mac) only believes in evolution because he's told it's correct by other, smarter people (and it's a belief that benefits him more than religion), and he either refuses or is unable to learn more about it.
- Running Gag: The gang's habit of trashing Dee's cars is finally lampshaded when she admits why she's so invested in Dennis getting justice.Dee: You guys have destroyed every single car that I have ever owned! And we've never had so much as a conversation about it, much less a trial, a whole trial!
- Seinfeldian Conversation:
- Charlie, Mac and Dee are in the middle of discussing whether it would hypothetically be possible to create an army of mutant strongmen when Dennis and Frank enter the bar.
- Most of the trial goes way off the rails as they start discussing science and evolution, which has nothing to do with the crash or cereal.
- Serial Rapist: Dennis won't go to a real court because Dee points out he has multiple bench warrants for sexual misconduct.
- Serious Business: The gang treat Frank bumping Dennis's car and causing him to spill cereal on the interior with all the severity of a murder trial. Frank even brings up OJ at one point.
- Shaped Like Itself: Charlie's definition of the term "donkey-brained".Charlie: It means to have the brains of a donkey or a donkey-type creature.
- Stock Legal Phrases: Used all over the place.
- Suddenly Shouting: Dennis does this several times when he loses his temper.
- Super Breeding Program: Discussed, Mac believed he could start a race of superhumans by mating with the right woman
- This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: Every time Mac dismisses the theories of a historical scientist, he says that they "looked like a bitch" and slaps a sticker reading BITCH over their picture.
- Verbal Tic: Dennis once again starts screaming about people being "savages" and "idiots" when he's angry.
- Very Loosely Based on a True Story: On the show's podcast, it is revealed that Glenn Howerton actually was rear-ended while eating cereal in his car.
