Charlie runs into Mia out in public, and she asks for help launching her singing career. Soon, Charlie finds himself unable to use the bathroom, a psychosomatic manifestation of his indecision between choosing to love Chelsea or Mia now that both women are in his life. Alan, meanwhile, tries to get Melissa to move in with him at Charlie's house, with or without Charlie's explicit permission.
Tropes
- As Himself: Eddie Van Halen shows up at the end of the episode, coming out of the bathroom that Charlie is about to use.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Mia ends up proving to be this, making a move on Charlie despite knowing that he's engaged to Chelsea now, and throwing a fit when he rejects her.
- Blatant Lies: When Charlie refuses to let Melissa move into his house, Alan just has her move in without telling him, and when questioned says that she's not living there despite all evidence to the contrary. Charlie buys it.
- Brutal Honesty: Charlie's finally had enough after Mia's recorded several songs, and tells her that she's a bad singer and that her attempts to enter the industry are wasting everyone's time, and that he has no intention of getting back together with her.
- Deadpan Snarker: Andrew the recording studio technician is very honest about how bad Mia's singing is (not to her face), and is clearly annoyed that he has to be there for such an obvious waste of time. Although after seeing that Charlie isn't interested in her anymore, he decides to falsely praise her abilities in the hopes of starting a relationship with her.
- Do I Really Sound Like That?: Subverted. After Mia records "Polk Salad Annie", she steps out of the recording booth to listen to herself. She initially reacts as if she's shocked at how terrible she sounds, but is actually surprised with how good she is, to the chagrin of Charlie.
- Giftedly Bad: Mia is completely unaware that she's an awful singer, throwing herself into the project with enthusiasm, and ends up being thrilled with how 'good' she believes she sounds when she listens a recording of herself.
- Hollywood Tone-Deaf: Averted. Mia ends up being an atrocious singer, but in a much more believable way than is typically portrayed in fiction. Emmanuelle Vaugier is an accomplished singer, so her ability to portray bad singing without resorting to over-the-top note changing and screaming is quite impressive.
- Out-of-Character Moment: Mia's previous characterization was that of a talented, accomplished ballet dancer, who saw straight through Charlie and insisted on building a proper, meaningful relationship with him, as well as forcing him to improve himself and be faithful to her. In this episode, she's completely delusional about her terrible singing skills, and offers to sleep with Charlie despite knowing that he's engaged, throwing a fit when he turns her down.
