Hank hires a new associate for Strickland Propane, who happens to be a drug addict.
Tropes in the Episode:
- Addled Addict: Leon Petard is too drug-induced to be of use. Even Hank is in denial before he eventually comes to terms with the truth.
- Artistic License – Law: The episode's portrayal of the ADA is distorted to a ridiculous degree. No employer, lawyer, or judge would interpret "provide reasonable accommodations" as "tolerate every absurdity without question". There is an interactive process, potentially including medical professionals, to determine what those accommodations would be. More critically, addiction is only granted limited protections compared to other medical conditions. While seeking treatment could provide some protection for previous use while employed, it wouldn't make a difference for someone whose behavior was constantly worthy of being fired regardless of why.
- On the other hand, given that it's the bleeding heart liberal Anthony Page who is one of the bureaucrats enforcing the ADA and the one defending Leon, it isn't out of the realm of possibility that "provide reasonable accommodations" as "tolerate every absurdity without question" by certain bureaucrats.
- Brick Joke: After Hank fires Leon halfway through the episode, the next day at Strickland Propane, Joe Jack announces that "Leon's in the parking lot- and he looks disgruntled!", causing everyone to panic and duck for cover. At the very end of the episode, when Buck and Hank have hired Maria Montalvo (and immediately after Maria hugs Hank and cups his ass), Joe Jack screams "Peggy's in the parking lot- and she looks disgruntled!", making Hank freak out even more.
- Continuity Nod:
- Leon gives Anthony a latte, to which he says "Thanks for the latte, Leon", that being a callback to the pilot episode where Anthony gets a latte and says "Thanks for the latte, Kenneth."
- In a deleted scene as nod from the pilot, Hank realizes it's Anthony again by calling him "Twig Boy!".
- Disability as an Excuse for Jerkassery: The episode portrays the Americans with Disabilities Act as impossibly burdensome to employers, giving Ultimate Job Security even to Addled Addicts that never do any work and make token committals to rehab while still blatantly using. This inspires all the other Strickland associates to pretend to have disorders just to get out of work, much to the chagrin of Hank and Buck, such as Joe Jack being "too angry" to drive and an associate named Jason, who claims to have OCD and if he gets up off his chair, Garth Brooks will die.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Debbie Grund is seen laying on a sofa.
- Employee of the Month: The episode starts with Hank winning the award, apparently for the 41st time in a row. It’s also hinted at that this is the reason why he was asked to hire the next associate for Strickland Propane.
- Exact Words: Comes back at Hank when he fires Leon, telling him he's officially fired as of 5:00 PM and then sends him to a rehab center. The next day, Leon returns with Anthony who explains that it was illegal to fire a drug addict while he was getting treatment. Leon then explains that he checked himself into the rehab center at 4:30, half an hour before he was officially fired.
- Excuse Boomerang: Hank makes an unsuccessful attempt at this when he calls Anthony and claims he's being discriminated against. But after hearing Hank's story, Anthony calls him out, accusing him of trying to cheat the system.Hank: You see, I recently came to realize that I, too, suffer from a disability: Good Worker Syndrome. I get sick to my stomach unless everyone around me is giving 110 percent. The symptoms include pride, responsibility, and a feverish enthusiasm. It used to be a common condition among Americans.
Anthony: Ew. People like you, who abuse the system, ruin it for the rest of us: the truly disabled! [holds up his arm to show he's wearing a wrist brace that he wasn't wearing earlier in the episode] - Flirtatious Smack on the Ass: After being hired onto Strickland, Maria Montalvo gives Hank a hug and a slap on the behind, much to his discomfort. It doesn't help that a jealous Peggy comes marching in right after.
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Maria Montalvo wears a purple skirt suit.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Peggy is convinced that Hank has the hots for applicant Maria Montalvo and gives him grief about it throughout the episode.
- Hired for Their Looks: Inverted. Maria Montalvo's looks are the reason Hank doesn't hire her despite her being the most qualified applicant among all of them, as he feared that Peggy would accuse him of hiring her just because he wanted to sleep with her and get mad at him. She gets mad at him anyway, reasoning that he must have found her so attractive he didn't think he'd be able to control himself if he was in the same room as her for any length of time. In the end, she gets hired anyway by Buck, who, being Buck, more than likely played this trope straight rather than actually taking her qualifications into account.
- Insane Troll Logic: Peggy reacts to Hank saying he didn't hire Maria Montalvo by saying that means he was attracted to her, as in her words "You must think she's one hot tamale, if you couldn't even stand to have her in the office..." and repeatedly brings up Hank's supposed infatuation with Maria even though Hank makes no mention of her after that point, as he's focused on the problems with Leon.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Peggy is right when she says Hank should have hired Maria Montalvo, as she was much more qualified, instead of the junkie Leon. Ends up subverted in the end when she does end up being hired, and an angry Peggy comes storming into Strickland, believing Hank is flirting with her.
- Kid Has a Point: Bobby, after working with Leon, tells Hank about how he's a drug addict, based on what he's learned at school. Hank is in denial for a bit before he comes to terms with the truth.
- Laser-Guided Karma:
- Hank asking religious questions in the interview and turning down a perfectly good candidate in Maria Montalvo just because she's a woman ends up biting him in the ass hard when he hires Leon, whom initially seems like a good associate, but eventually shown to be a junkie.
- Leon also suffers this at the hands of Buck after all the crap he and Anthony put the company through, as mentioned below.
- Loophole Abuse: Hank quits and then explains to Buck that him quitting means that he's down to 14 employees, meaning he can now fire Leon since the ADA only applies to businesses with 15 or more employees.Buck: Huh?! I... Wait... Well, hot dang, Hank! You've done it!
"Hank": Oh, thank you, sir!
Buck: Not you, you're fired! - Meaningful Name: Leon's last name is Petard, as in Hoist by His Own Petard, which is what happened when Hank hired Leon, only to find out he is a drug addict, and when he tried to fire him, he gets in legal trouble with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Oh, Crap!: Hank has one after Buck hires Maria Montalvo and a disgruntled Peggy marches inside Strickland.
- One-Steve Limit: Invoked by Hank when Leon makes the demand that he be called Hank Hill from now on instead of his "drug-using name". The real Hank doesn't take it too well and quits, giving Buck the opportunity to fire him. Later, Hank is rehired and Buck gives him a six-month probation period before he's eligible for vacation time and benefits, claiming it to be a precautionary measure since he's had a bad track record with Hank Hills working for him: one was a drug addict and the other one quit.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: Hank who prefers to hire a Christian on Strickland Propane and asks questions about religious beliefs (which is against the law) and turns down Maria Montalvo based on her gender due to his belief hiring an attractive woman would cause drama in the workplace (she was very qualified but Hank used the excuse that she knew nothing about the Dallas Cowboys as an out).
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Hank dismissed Maria Montalvo for somewhat petty reasons...when she is hired at the end anyway, she immediately sexually harasses him.
- Samus Is a Girl: Hank when he meets Maria Montalvo as an applicant, having assumed it was a man named Mario and there was a typo. Even after she enters, he still insists on double-checking to make sure there's no Mario out there.
- Spoonerism: Leon gets a customer calling and he bungles the slogan as "Taste the Heat, Not the Meat", at which point Hank takes the phone away to apologize profusely. Unfortunately, the customer ends their use of Strickland's services nonetheless for it.
- The Stinger: Hank has several cups on his desk, planning to make the employees (and Bobby) do urine tests. When a female employee questions him about it, an embarrassed Hank sends her away as he shoves the cups in the trash.
- Terrible Interviewees Montage: Before getting to Maria Montalvo, Hank has a few less-than-stellar applicants:
- One man whom Hank tries to find out his religious beliefs by asking if he ate at Luly's, which of these religious figures would he have lunch with: Jesus, Mohammed or Golda Meir. The guy responds that he doesn't eat at Luly's; they use too much lard.
- The next is an old man with gaps on his work history, to which he explains he goes on welfare when a Democrat President is in the White House, such as FDR, JFK, LBJ and Jimmy Carter.
- And last is Dale, who wanted to do something new and made up a resume claiming he ran a father-and-son propane business in Yuma, Arizona, which Hank rightfully calls him out on.
- Twofer Token Minority: Referenced by Buck once Anthony brings up the Americans with Disabilities Act.Anthony: It ensures that no person, no matter how disadvantaged, how short, or obese, or blind, or gay, or even stoned, can be discriminated against once his healing has begun.
Buck: Yeah, well, right now I'd kill for a big, fat, blind, gay guy if we could just get some damn work done around here!
