Fran and Sylvia are held hostage by a dim-witted bank robber.
- Bank Robbery: The plot of the episode revolves around a bank robbery.
- Caught Up in a Robbery: Fran and Sylvia are at the bank when a Stupid Crook decides to rob it and hold them hostage. After bonding with the man, Fran even ends up becoming the man's negotiator with the police.
- Hostage Situation: The inept bank robber takes Fran and Sylvia hostage. Played for comedy naturally as Fran ends up bonding with him about their overbearing mothers.
- Jewish Mother: The bank robber has one too, something he and Fran bond over:Fran: Your mother drove you to this, didn't she?
Robber: Actually, yes. I need the money to buy her a condo in Florida so I can get her out of my life. - Loophole Abuse:Maxwell: Don't touch that intercom.
Niles: You have my word, sir.
[Fran and Maxwell leave the room; Grace enters]
Niles: Oh, Miss Grace? Would you push that button for me? [she presses it] Thank you. - Parting-Words Regret: Before Fran went to the bank, she and Max had an argument that culminated with him declaring that he wished he'd never loved her:Maxwell: I mean, what if, God forbid, anything should happen to Miss Fine in there? I just couldn't live with myself knowing that those were the last words she ever heard from me.
- Pity the Kidnapper:Val: The bank robber took your mother!
Fran: Oh, my God! That poor man! - Pregnancy Scare: Parodied with the postmenopausal Yetta:Sylvia: She [Yetta] met a man and wants to get married.
Fran: Why, you pregnant?
Yetta: I don't think so. But I'm really late. - Stockholm Syndrome: Can't blame them, really. The robber is just that much of an Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain.
- Stupid Crooks: The bank robber is so unprepared that he forgets to put on a mask and reveals his real name. When he finally makes a run for it, he takes Sylvia with him... and her appetite leads to him having to stop at a restaurant, where he's caught and arrested.
