Series / Eigen Kweek

Eigen Kweek^note Flemish for "Home Grown" is a Belgian crime comedy series that aired on Eén from 2013 until 2019. The series centers around (the misadventures of) a family of potato farmers, who start growing weed to recover a significant financial loss.

Jos Welvaert, a stoic and down-to-earth farmer, has spent most of the last four decades running a potato farm with the help of his doting wife, Ria, and his two sons, Frank and Steven, in the west of Flanders. On the day of his fortieth wedding anniversary, Jos has a conversation with his wife's cousin (and investment banker) Geoffrey, who tells him about an interesting investment opportunity that could have him set for life. He decides to invest most of his life savings and manages to convince Frank to invest his savings as well. Meanwhile, Frank (who has been unlucky with women until now) meets Nenita, the Filipino Mail-Order Bride of his neighbour Lucien, at the party. She shows him a picture of her sister, Julita, with whom he is immediately smitten.

Fast forward 8 months: Geoffrey has been sent to jail for running a Ponzi, where he confesses to Jos that he never invested any of Jos' and Frank's money (which instead went into feeding his sex addiction). Jos, who sees all of his life savings and pension evaporate into thin air, tries to recuperate whatever he can. Things, however, only go from bad to worse when the latest potato harvest fails due to crop plague, leaving Jos (extremely) strapped for cash. At the risk of losing his farm to the bank, Jos decides to make a drastic (and life-altering) choice: he's going to grow weed in the old hangar on his land to recuperate the financial loss. Upon hearing that Steven's local hangout is a bustling center for local weed trade, Jos decides to enlist Steven's help with his special harvest, on condition that neither Ria nor Frank ever hear anything about this. Steven, in turn, reveals that he has been growing (rather bad) weed there for while with one of his friends. Hilarity Ensues as Jos and Steven work together to hide their weed harvest from not only Ria and Frank, but also local police officer (and dear friend), Chantal, who visits the farm (nearly) on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, Frank has decided to fly Julita over from the Philippines to make her his wife. However, their relation is off to a rough start, mainly due to poor English communication skills on both sides, as well as some general awkwardness from the rest of the family. Furthermore, Julita assumes that Frank brought her to Belgium primarily for sex and, encouraged by both Nenita and Ria (who really wants grandchildren), she tries to be as seductive as possible. Frank, on the other hand, wants to take it slow and (out of sheer awkwardness) rejects Julita's advances. Nevertheless, the two become closer over time, despite the frequent miscommunications (and conversations about sex with Ria). However, the both of them (and Ria) also get dragged into the drug-related shennanigans of Jos and Steven, when Nenita, who's severely mistreated by Lucien, decides to disappear with his ill-gotten gains, resulting in Julita's kidnapping by "Den Hollander", a tough (but extremely cheap) crook.

Subsequent seasons saw the introduction of the (identical) brother of "Den Hollander", who visits the Welvaert's to get the money they (still) owed his (then-deceased) brother, as well as the introduction of a greater crime syndicate, who see the family as the perfect scapegoats for their misdeeds, when the police starts getting to close to them. Their introduction, as most things in the series, is played for laughs more often than not, as most of their more lethal plans usually fail quite spectacularly. It also sees Chantal getting in on the secret (and responding quite poorly at first), while Frank, in turn, briefly ends up in jail for a crime he didn't commit.

The series ran for three seasons and was a (surprise) hit in Flanders. While the show shares quite a few similarities with Breaking Bad, it's mostly light-hearted and gains most of its humor from its (extensive) use of Poirot Speak and Blunt Metaphors Trauma, as well as the brass, straightforward and, often, tactless responses of the characters to the (absurd) situations they end up in. The fact that the series was highly quotable also added to its general popularity. It also saw its fair share of (often hammy) side characters, who quickly became even more popular than the main cast. While the series ended its run in 2019, a spin-off series called Chantal has been in the works and will be broadcasted in the first half of 2022. The series, furthermore, still occasionally gets re-ran on Eén.

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The series shows examples of:

• Accidental Kidnapping: Julita becomes a victim of this near the end of the first season, when she gets kidnapped by "Den Hollander" and his henchman, Bernard.
• Accidental Murder: This trope is the reason the brother of "Den Hollander" spent 15 years in jail. He asked an explosives expert to calculate the amount of SEMTEX needed to blow up the locks on an armored car, but the expert put a decimal in the wrong place, causing him to blow up the armored car in its entirety, driver included.
• All Men Are Perverts: Lucien reinforces this trope to the point that Nenita thinks all Flemish men are like this.
• All Women Are Lustful: Lucien sees all Filipino women like this, which he gleefully tells to Frank in the first episode. Then again, Lucien is an excellent example of All Men Are Perverts.
• Amusing Injuries: This is done with Griet's father, Piet Despriet, whose unfortunate encounter with WWI bombshell in his youth (which made him lose his left arm) is played entirely for laughs throughout the show (usually by Piet himself).
  Piet [after telling Steven how he lost his arm to a bombshell]: So what did we learn from that story?
  Steven: That it's a bad idea to play hot potato with bombshells...
  Piet: I haven't seen it that way before, but yes, that as well.
• And I'm the Queen of Sheba: When the family visits Frank in prison, Ria mentions to the guard that Frank is innocently imprisoned, leading to this response.
  Prison guard: Sure thing, everyone in here is falsely imprisoned...
  Ria: Really?!
• Anger Montage: Lucien goes through one in his prison cell, after receiving a letter from Nenita, telling him that she ran off with all his money. He even ends up spending a week in isolation.
• Angry Collar Grab: Frank does this Lucien, when he and Chantal visit him in prison after Julita's kidnapping, as Frank suspects Lucien of said kidnapping. He turns out to only be indirectly involved with it.
• Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?: This is essentially Julita response, when she finds out that Frank (initially) doesn't want to have sex with her, as she thinks something's wrong with her. This is before she knew that Frank was actually trying to take things slow.
• Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?: When Julita visits Lucien to invite him and Nenita over for dinner, he thinks she and Frank have accepted his proposal to swap partners for the night. This leads to an "Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?" moment on Lucien's end, to which Julita merely nods, as she doesn't have a clue what he's saying. Later that night, Lucien is not amused, when it turns out he won't be swinging.
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  • Julita asked one to Ria, when Ria was trying to convince her not to leave Frank.
    Ria [in broken English]: I know Frank can be grumpy... and stubborn, like all Welvaert men. But he truly loves you, I know it for certain, and he'll do anything to take care of you!
    Julita: But I don't want to be a burden to him!
    Ria: You're not! And by the way, you can't just walk out of a relationship when things get hard... Every house has its cross, but you get through it together!
    Julita: Then why did you leave Jos?
  • When Steven gets angry at Jos for trying to sell the farm behind his back, he angrily accuses him (and everyone else) of deciding his (future) life for him. This leads to Jos asking him what he would want to do with his life, to which Steven has no answer.
    Steven [to Jos]: Thank you, dad, for making that decision for me...
    Steven: It seems that nowadays everyone decides what I'll be doing in the future!
    Steven: I'm not given the choice whether or not I want to take over the farm... I'm not given a choice whether I want to marry Greet or not...
    Steven: But I get it now... From now on, I'll be the only one to decide what I'm going to do with my life!
    Jos: So what are you going to do with your life?
    [Steven can't find a response and angrily puts his headphones back on.]
• Auto Erotica:
  • Steven and Griet often engage in this, most likely because it's one of the few places they get enough privacy. They're even shown "rocking Steven's car" in the first episode.
  • Chantal and commissioner Vanderlinden also end up doing this in the series' final episode. They even end up doing it twice, after Chantal remarks that the first time was a bit short.
• Back from the Dead: When the brother of "Den Hollander" shows up, Jos and steven initially think this trope is in effect, due to the striking resemblance between "Den Hollander" and his brother.
  Jos [in shock]: Steven, isn't that the crook who got killed four years ago?
  Steven [also in shock]: He doesn't look very dead to me, pa...
• Berserk Button: Whatever you do, don't threathen Frank's family (Julita and Franky in particular).
• Blackmail: The Welvaert family becomes the victim of this at the hands of the brother of "Den Hollander", who threatens to run over Frank's child, Franky, as well as to tell the police about the family's special harvest from the first season, if they don't grow weed for him. They end up giving in to the blackmail in the end.
• Blunt Metaphors Trauma: The series is riddled with these, due to most of the characters speaking English rather poorly. The biggest culprit is easily Frank, who blends English and West-Flemish almost seemlessly into (often hilarious) hybrid sentences. Ironically enough, Julita's English seems mostly devoid of this (despite the poor grammar).
• Bookends: The series has two notable moments of this, at the end of seasons one and two respectively.
  • Season one end with Frank and Julita's wedding, which is held at the same venue (and with largely the same company) as Jos and Ria's 40 year wedding anniversary.
  • Season two ends with Jos and Ria's 45 year wedding anniversary, once again at the same venue.
• Bound and Gagged:
  • Chantal ends up bound and gagged (naked, no less) after a passionate night with Geoffrey, who did so to steal her cop car to flee the country with a hidden stash of cash.
  • She ends up bound and gagged once more, after she's knocked out by the brother of "Den Hollander".
• Bribe Backfire: After his argument with Piet, Maurice de Moco tries to bribe commissioner Vanderlinden during a casual conversation at his bar. Vanderlinden, however, was at the bar to (covertly) gather information from Maurice, so neither of them end up fully committing to the bribe.
• British Brevity: Every season only had six episodes and the series lasted for three season and a Christmas special, for a total of 19 episodes.
• Cassandra Truth:
  • This happens to Emma, after she gives a description of Bernard wearing a unicorn mask to Stefaan, Chantal's partner on the force. Even Chantal has some difficulties believing her story.
    Stefaan [looking at the drawing Emma made]: I guess we don't have to send this one through the facial recognisition database...
    Chantal [sarcastically]: Gee, you think!
  • Also happens to the brother of "Den Hollander", when he tries to convince the police that the Welvaert's helped him (and his brother) grow a large batch of weed. They don't believe him, as the Welvaert's (and Bernard, unwittingly) removed all of the evidence before the police could find it.
  • In season three, this happens to Chantal, when she tries to tell commissioner Vanderlinden that their magistrate, Piet Despriet, is in cahoots with Maurice.
    Vanderlinden: I'm not a mole! And if you don't believe me, we'll go to the magistrate right now, to discuss everything with him.
    Chantal: That's... not going to work out, I'm afraid.
    Vanderlinden: Why not?!
    Chantal: Cause he's in on it since the beginning.
    Vanderlinden: Don't you start with me, Vantomme! You thought I was the mole five minutes ago and now it's the magistrate!
• Caught on Tape: Happens to Steven and Griet, courtesy of a spycam hidden in a teddy bear, when they have sex while babysitting Chantal's daughter, Emma. Chantal is not amused (to say the least) and even brings Steven in to teach him a lesson.
• Chase Scene: The final episode of the series has one, where Steven and Frank are chasing the henchmen of Maurice, while they're all dressed as WWI soldiers (they were all part of a reenactment). The chase is made funnier by the fact that Frank has a pebble in his shoe, causing him to limp. The chase on foot is subsequently followed by a (rather awesome) car chase, where Steven (instead of Frank) shows his skills at rally riding.
• Chatty Hairdresser: Griet is an excellent example of this, as she's (probably) the only hairdresser in Wijtschate. This is furthermore mentioned by Frank, after Griet discovers Chantal String Theory board on the Welvaert's
  Frank: You did tell Griet to remain quiet about the board, right?!
  Steven: No... Why?
  Frank: She's a hairdresser, Steven! By tomorrow, everyone in Wijtschate will know!
• Chekhov's Gun: At the start of the second episode, Steven has a hot date with Griet, which ends with them making love inside his (father's) car. In aniticipation, Steven even bought a can of lubricant / massage oil. The following day, Jos and Steven take the car to a growth shop in the Netherlands to buy some seeds for their special harvest. On the way back, they run into a local police inspector at the gas station, who asks to search their car after Steven tries (rather conspicuously) to hide the seeds. Instead of the seeds, however, the inspector finds the can of lubricant and assumes that Steven was enbarrassed for needing it during love making.
• Christianity is Catholic: As the show takes place in the west of Flanders, this trope is in full swing, with crucifixes being present in nearly every house. Furthermore, Ria is a devout Catholic, who strives (rather unsuccesfully) to uphold Christian in her household. Catholicism is also one of the things she bonds over with Julita.
• Cigarette of Anxiety: After Julita gets pregnant with triplets, Frank starts smoking due to the stress. The best example of this is the scene right after he hears that Julita is pregnant with triplets (instead of twins), where Frank (eventually) ends up smoking three cigarettes simultaneously.
• Collector of the Strange: Griet's father, Piet, collects mementos of the first world war (and quite a lot of them, as well). This is made somewhat ironic by the fact that he lost his arm to a WWI bombshell as a kid.
• Comically Missing the Point: The series has several of these, often related to linguistic misunderstanding in English.
  • In the first episode, Lucien asks Frank whether he and Julita are swingers or not, as he'd like to have sex with Julita as well. Frank's response:
    Frank: I'm not that much of a dancer...
  • When Frank teaches Julita how to drive a car, he tells her to treat the car like a woman and to treat manual shifting as "making love". Julita doesn't entirely get it.
    Julita: So I have to treat driving like making love to a woman?
  • Then there the moment Ria sees the drawing Emma made of one of Chantal's attackers (Bernard wearing a unicorn mask) and takes it at face value.
    Ria: What kind of deranged creature is that?
    Chantal: Ria, he's wearing a mask...
  • Then there's Stefaan's response to the moment when René Vanderlinden, the new commissioner, forbids eating at the crime scene.
    René: So from now on, there will be no more "Boterse Koeken" at the crime scene.
    Stefaan: What about "Lukken"?
    René: Excuse me?
    Stefaan: Can there still be "Lukken"?
    René: I don't know where you're lookin', but it won't be at pastries!
    Stefaan: I just asked because they don't crumb so much.
  • When the Welvaert family finds out that Griet is pregnant with Steven's child (as well), we get this exchange between Steven and Ria.
    Ria [to Steven]: You've got to take responsibility for the child and do something about it.
    Steven: I tried... I asked the gynaecologist what I could do, but she said it was too late already...
    Ria: Too late for what?
    Steven: To get it terminated.
    Ria: That's not what I meant with "doing something about it"!
  • When Jos and Ria are at the police station after Frank's arrest, they run into Ludwina, who heard about Frank and Julita having triplets. When Ludwina asks about the triplets, Ria (in her haste to defend Frank) gets both things mixed up, leading to this exchange.
    Ludwina: So, what did I hear about Frank...
    Ria: Whatever you heard, he's got nothing to do with it!
    Ludwina: Really?!
    Ria: Yes, it has all been lies and slander...
    Ludwina: So you're telling me Frank has nothing to do with Julita being pregnant with triplets?
  • In the same episode, there's also the confusion surrounding Frank's smoking. Before his arrest, Julita caught Frank smoking again and got angry at him. However, when she tells Ria over the phone that she isn't angry about the smoking anymore, Ria (and everyone else) gets confused, as a "smoking" is also the Flemish name for a tuxedo. this becomes a bit of a running gag throughout the episode.
    Jos [after Ria hangs up the phone to Julita]: So what did she say?
    Ria: That everything was fine with her and the babies and that she forgave Frank for the smoking...
    Jos [confused]: I didn't know Frank had a "smoking"?
  • This exchange between Frank and Chantal, when the latter tells Frank that her boss is frequenting a "massage parlor".
    Chantal: What I wanted to tell you, is that I discovered that my chief visits a "massage parlor" run by de Moco
    Frank [as he's checking the car]: It must be all the stress from his job, it really does a number on some of your muscles...
    Chantal: It's not really a massage parlor, Frank, it's a whore house.
    Frank: Then why do they call it a "massage parlor", instead of a whore house?
• Concealing Canvas: The brother of "Den Hollander" has a safe within a safe hidden behind a portrait of Will Tura.
• Conflicting Loyalty: Happens to Griet's father, Piet, in season three, when his future in-laws (the Welvaert's) become suspects in a case of weed growing, which he's treating as magistrate. Things get even more complicated, when Ria tries to arrange a meeting between the families to talk about the wedding (and even brings this up when she, together with Steven and Jos, is brought in for witness tampering). then again, Piet was the one who framed the Welvaert's in the first place, so things were already quite complicated.
• Cool Car: Frank's racecar would fall into this category, as it somewhat resembles the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard. It also overlaps with The Alleged Car, as it keeps on breaking down.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: Frank quickly became this, when Julita started working as an (exotic) waitress at the bar of the local swimming pool. He even nearly starts a row with a couple of patrons, when he thinks they're coming on to Julita, and forbids Julita from working there any longer. Julita, however, is not very impressed and keeps on working there.
• Da Chief: René Vanderlinden, the new commissioner of Chantal's team in season three, fits this trope perfectly, as he's strict, authoritative, by-the-book and (quite) full of himself. He often buts heads with Chantal because of it, as she's more of a lone wolf.
• Denied Food as Punishment: After the Welvaert family overpower the brother of "Den Hollander" and chain him to a pole, Jos uses (the promise of) food to get him to tell them where he's hidden the evidence of their weed growing operation. The brother of "Den Hollander" is not impressed and refuses to say anything, resulting in Jos denying him food for most of the day.
• Detective Mole: Piet Despriet, Griet's father, is this, as he's responsible for framing the Welvaert's for weed growing on behalf of a crime syndicate (to sideline Chantal, who's close with the Welvaert's), while also being the magistrate tasked with the investigation of the case. In the end, he has a change of heart and helps out the family (by taking the blame).
• Disappointed in You: This is Julita's (and Pepita's) reaction, when they discover that Frank used the family's savings to buy back his old car.
  Julita: I'm really disappointed in you, Frank!
  Pepita [after Julita storms out]: I'm also disappointed in you, Frank!
• Disco Dan: Patrick Museeuw, the brother of "Den Hollander", is a somewhat special case of this, as he spent the last 15 years in jail and, hence, hasn't caught up with this century's technology. This is best seen by the fact that he still prefers to use a polaroid camera (instead of a camera phone), as well as a tape recorder (instead of an app). He also enjoys the music of Will Tura, which was considered dated even back in the 90's.
• Dodgy Toupee: The brother of "Den Hollander" turns out to be wearing one, although it is not that obvious due to his dated hairstyle. It became quite a bit more visible after it came off during a struggle.
• Don't Explain the Joke: Griet does this in season two, when, while the both are scraping carrots for dinner, she makes a joke about Steven's "carrot" to Ria and immediately asks her if she gets it, leading to this reaction from Ria.
• Dreaming of Things to Come: In the final episode of season two, Ria has an alcohol induced dream about Will Tura, who tells her that the code to the brother of "Den Hollander"'s safe is mentioned in one of his songs (797204). This turns out to be the wrong code, but does eventually lead to them finding the correct code on a Will Tura Fan Club membership card.
• Dropping the Bombshell: The conversation between Bernard and Julita, when they both find out that Julita's pregnant with Frank's child, can be considered this.
  Bernard [after Julita spend quite a long time in the bathroom throwing up]: Do you always have to use the bathroom that much?
  Julita [as she's throwing up]: Only the last couple of days...
  Bernard: And your breasts, do they hurt... or feel, what's the word... sensitive?
  Bernard [in response to the silence coming from the bathroom]: I'm only asking because my first wife had these issues as well, when she was pregnant...
  Julita [as she opens the door]: Wait, I'm pregnant?!
  Bernard: Could be... Are you on the pill?
  Julita: What pill?!
  Bernard: Yep, you're pregnant.
• Drunk Driver: The priest of the local church turns out to be this, according to Julita's stories.
  Pepita: Why does Frank hate the cat so much?
  Julita: It's complicated... Frank used to have a dog.
  Julita: But the poor thing died...
  Pepita: Ah...
  Julita: It got run over by the local priest... He was driving drunk at the time.
  Pepita: What?
  Julita: Yeah, apparently he came from a communion and had a bit too much wine...
• Dude, Not Funny!: Steven gets this response when he jokingly tells his dad (who was quite wound up at the time) that he should smoke some of their own weed.
  Steven [to Jos]: You really are quite on edge, dad.
  Steven [jokingly]: Perhaps you should take a few tokes yourself to calm down a little.
  [Everyone remains quiet as Jos walks away rather annoyed.]
  Ria [exasperated]: We don't smoke weed, Steven...
• Ear Worm: When Chantal discovers the weed-filled hangar in season two, she's knocked out by the brother of "Den Hollander" and tied down. In order to make sure that Chantal doesn't hear their voices, the brother of "Den Hollander" plays Will Tura's greatest hits to Chantal at maximum volume through a pair of headphones he connected to his discman. In the subsequent episodes, after Chantal is freed from her restraints, she complains that she can't get the songs of Will Tura out of her head, blaming this trope.
• Easily Forgiven: Geoffrey is easily forgiven by his aunt, Ria, after he gets out of jail, despite bringing financial ruin to her family. The rest of the Welvaert family is (far) less keen to forgive him.
• Embarrassing Nickname: "Den Hollander" ("The Dutchman") turns out to be this for Klaas Museeuw, as he's called that for being extremely cheap (like the Dutch). It even gets him arrested and sent to jail, as he refused to fill up a getaway car he stole with gas, resulting in the car shutting down in the middle of a chase.
• Erotic Eating: Chantal does this in the final episode with a lollipop during a stake-out, arousing commissioner Vanderlinden in the process. They end up having sex shortly after.
• Even Evil Has Standards: In the second to last episode of season three, two henchmen of Maurice are ordered to blow up Frank's car with him in it. They prepare a (single) bomb, but when they go to place it, they find two cars (the rally car and the Evasion). Upon deciding which car the bomb should be placed under, one of the criminals convinces the other to spare Frank's rally car, as it would be a true crime to blow up such a cool car. This ends up saving Frank in the end, as the delay on the power up for the Evasion gives him time to (inadvertently) escape the car, before it blows up.
• Every Man Has His Price: Piet Despriet was bribed by Maurice de Moco to frame Frank for weed harvesting with WWI paraphernalia. They even argue about this, after Frank gets released from prison.
  Piet: I did everything you asked of me!
  Piet: I let you put the false documents in his car, I order a search warrant of his house... I can't help it that the council chamber got suspicious of your witness!
  Maurice: Your commissioner, nevertheless, is entirely convinced that Frank and his family are weed growers.
  Piet: Then perhaps you should have bribed him instead of me!
• Exiled to the Couch: Frank exiles himself to the couch, after a night time argument with Julita about her new job as a waitress. He, unfortunately, has to share the couch with his dog.
• External Combustion: The henchmen of Maurice de Moco try to kill Frank by placing a bomb under his car. They manage to blow up the Evasion, but fail to kill Frank, as he got out of the car in the nick of time (due to the start-up delay of the Evasion).
• Failed a Spot Check: The gynaecologist of Frank and Julita did this between season two and season three, as she "missed" a heartbeat on the previous echo of Julita and, hence, mistook their triplets for twins before the start of the season. Apparently, this happens quite often (according to the gynaecologist) and she's quick to rectify it, to Frank's chagrin.
  Frank [relating the news to Ria]: She missed a heartbeat the last time! Would you believe she went to medical school for that!
• Failsafe Failure: After he decides to grow weed in the hangar, Jos puts up a sensor at the front entrance of the hangar as a warning mechanism against the police. Unfortunately, the sensor picks up even the most minute activity, including the occasional bunny hopping by.
  Steven [after the first false alarm]: Ha, ge hed'n SMS g'had van ne keun!^note Ha, you got a text from a bunny!
• Forced into Evil: Jos and Bernard are forced into growing weed for the brother of "Den Hollander" in season two and end up with no other choice, as he blackmailed them with both violence and evidence of their earlier transgressions. Jos even admits so much as this, after Ria finds out.
  Jos: I had no choice, Ria!
  Ria [hugging Jos]: I know, Jos, I know...
• Frame-Up: Frank is framed for growing marihuana in season three and even ends up in jail because of it. He gets released shortly after due to lack of evidence, nevertheless. In the end, it turns out to be an elaborate plan from a criminal gang of weed growers to sideline Chantal, who had been a thron in their side.
• Funny Phone Misunderstanding: After Julita gets kidnapped by "Den Hollander", the Welvaert family arranges to trade her for the weed they've been growing over the phone. They have to do this, however, without Chantal finding out, so when she suddenly shows up at the house, Frank has to improvise, much to the confusion of "Den Hollander".
  Frank [to "Den hollander, after Chantal enters the room]: Okay, auntie, we'll meet you there at 20:15...
  "Den Hollander": Wuk?
  Frank: We gotta hang up now, bye!
• Got Volunteered: When Jos decides to grow weed for the brother of "Den Hollander", he doesn't want to involve Steven in the process, as he's wants to protect his future. The brother of "Den Hollander", however, protests and asks Jos how he'll manage growing all of the weed by himself. Jos, in turn, volunteers Bernard to help him with the growth and harvest, much to Bernard's chagrin. While the brother of "Den Hollander" is initially opposed to this, he eventually gives in after Steven gets arrested and order Bernard to help with the weed.
• Hand-or-Object Underwear: Frank does this with a rubber duck, when his mother walks in on him taking a bath.
• Happy-Ending Massage: Maurice de Moco runs a massage parlor specialized in this. Steven and Frank even visit it once to gain information about Chantal's new commissioner. Neither of them go so far as to get a happy end, however, although Steven did get close.
• Happily Married:
  • Jos and Ria are probably the best example of this, as they have been married for over 45 years by the end of the show, despite Jos growing weed in secret.
  • Frank and Julita also end up as this, after they get comfortable with eachother.
• He Knows Too Much: In season three, Maurice ends up putting a hit out on Piet Despriet, the magistrate, as he's planning on turning on them and is the only one (outside their organization) who knows of their crimes. His henchmen, however, end up failing to assassinate him.
• Here We Go Again!: The second season of the show is essentially this, as Jos is forced by the brother of "Den Hollander" to grow another special harvest to pay back the money he owed him.
• Hide the Evidence: The brother of "Den Hollander" does this to the tapes and photographs he uses to blackmail Jos. It becomes an important plot point near the end of season two, as the Welvaert family needs to get their hands on the evidence to get rid of the brother of "Den Hollander" without getting caught themselves.
• Hypocritical Humor:
  • In the third episode, Chantal arrest Steven and his mates during a drug deal. At the station, she eventually lets Steven off with a warning, as she doesn't want to put Ria through the shame of having a drug-dealing son. Later on in the episode, when the feds arrest Lucien without warning the local police, Chantal criticizes the feds for not having any trust in the local police (as the feds think they would tip off the locals), resulting in this claim:
    Chantal [to Jos and Steven]: Like I would ever pull favors just because we're acquainted!
  • There's also René Vanderlinden, who prohibits his team from talking West-Flemish (or any other dialect) during work hours, while he talks in a strong Antwerp dialect himself.
• Idiotic Partner Confession:
  • Frank ends up doing this to commissioner Vanderlinden, after losing his temper, while Steven and Jos urge him to shut up.
    Frank [to commissioner Vanderlinden]: I'll tell you what we're up to...
    Frank: We're going to reveal every bad thing you've done!
    Steven: Shut up, Frank...
    Frank: No, kleine, this is between me and him!
    Vanderlinden: And what have I been up to, according to you?
    Frank: Erm... well... You framed me! You and your friend Maurice, who runs this place!
    Vanderlinden: What...
    Frank: Don't play dumb with me!
    Jos: Come on, Frank, let's go!
  • Frank does it again several episodes later, when he tells the bribed magistrate that he (and the police) are on to everything.
    Steven: Frank, where have you been so long?
    Frank: Well, I was looking for a shoehorn to remove my shoe and then... I ran into the magistrate.
    Steven: Tell me you didn't...
    Frank: It wasn't my fault, he called me a fool!
• Ignore the Fanservice: Frank desperately tries to do this, when he's forced to visit a "massage parlor" to garner information, only to be beset by the girls there, as he promised Julita not to get too involved with the ladies there. He ends up getting saved by the bell, when Jos comes to warn him (and Steven) that the commissioner was on his way over.
• I Have This Friend: Jos uses this in season two to ask Chantal legal advice about the situation he's in, as he has to grow weed against his will. Chantal takes his words at face value and soon word gets back to Ria about Jos' friend. Jos then has to improvise and lies about one of the other farmers (Norbert) getting threatened by the hormone maffia, which eventually starts to lead a life of it's own.
• I Lied: The brother of "Den Hollander" (Patrick Museeuw) pulls one of these on Jos, Steven and Bernard, when he demands that they continue to grow weed for him.
  Jos [to the brother of "Den Hollander"]: I want that weed gone as soon as possible! And take all of the other stuff as well!
  Patrick: That stuff will stay right where it is...
  Jos: Why?! The plants are fully grown... We don't need it anymore.
  Patrick: You're definitely going to need it in the future, when you're growing your next batch.
  Jos: No no no... We would only do this once, you agreed on that!
  Patrick: Must've changed my mind, then!
  Jos: You swore on your brother's grave that you'd leave us alone after this batch!
  Patrick: Did I actually say that? I don't think you heard me correctly...
  Jos: I'm damn sure I heard you correctly!!!
• Impressive Pyrotechnics: The reenactment of "De Mijnenslag" held in the final episode had this, as the eponymous mines had caused a boom that could be heard in London and felt in Paris. Too bad a clumsy action on Frank's behalf caused all of the pryotechnics to go off prematurely, somewhat undermining this point.
• I'm Your Biggest Fan: The brother of "Den Hollander" is this of Will Tura, to the point that the combination to his safe was the number on his Will Tura Fan Club membership card. He also has all of Will Tura's records at his place, as well as a discman with a CD of Will Tura's greatest hits.
  Ria [to Klaas]: I can see your a big fan of Will Tura.
  Patrick: Will Tura sings about life... about the bad, the good, the weather...
  Patrick: He sings about what matters... For everyone.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Frank and Steven end up drinking together, after the former was sent away by Julita because of the way he smelled and the latter was forced into marriage by his pregnant ex-grilfriend, Griet.
• In Vino Veritas:
  • After drinking too much cava at a party at Frank's workplace, Julita goes through a bit of a personality change and becomes much bolder towards Frank (in between throwing up).
    Julita [After Frank scolded her for getting drunk]: Well, maybe next time, I should stay at home, like Nenita!
    Julita: ...And you can go out and have fun, like Lucien!
  • This also happens to Griet, after she has too much wine at a (failed) family dinner with Steven, Jos and Ria (where Steven and Jos failed to show up). She initially merely declares her admiration to Ria (who did show up), but then things quickly take a turn for the worse, as she gets enraged with Steven and Jos, which ends with her breaking up with Steven on the spot.
• Instantly Proven Wrong: Near the end of season three, Frank and Julita invite Jos and Ria over for dinner, so Frank can convince them to leave the farm to him. He even tells them that Franky wants to be a farmer when he grows up, only for Franky to prove him wrong seconds later.
  Frank: Franky, why don't show us you new tractor?
  Frank as Franky retrieves his tractor]: I just had to buy him one... He's always telling me how much he wants to be a farmer when he grows up.
  Ria [to Franky]: Is that true Franky? Do you wanna be a farmer later?
  Franky [innocently]: I wanna be a rally driver!
• I Shall Taunt You: After being tied to a pole for nearly a day, the brother of "Den Hollander" uses this technique to provoke Jos into a blind rage against him, so he could overpower him. It ends up working as well.
  Patrick [to Jos]: Your relatives are going to be my henchmen for a long time...
  Patrick: First I'll work you to the bone, then your children and grandchildren...
  Patrick: What's his name again...? Ah, Franky!
  Jos: You leave him out of this!
  Patrick: And what if I don't? You know you can't protect him forever...
  Jos: Shut up!
  Patrick: Make me!
  [Jos flies into a blind rage and attacks Klaas, but quickly gets overpowered.]
  Klaas: Not so tough without your family, are you?!
• I Was Never Here: After Geoffrey steals Chantal's cop car, he breaks into the hangar to retrieve a stash of stolen cash he hid away there and discovers the weed Jos and Steven have been growing. When Jos and Steven (who were awoken by the (silent) alarm system arrive there and confront him, Geoffrey convinces them to let him walk away using this trope, as he knows their secret now.
  Geoffrey: And you better let me leave right now and forget that you saw me here altogether...
  Geoffrey: Because if the cops catch me, I'll have to tell them about what I saw here.
  Geoffrey: So it's in your best interest that they won't!
• I Will Show You X!:
  • After Frank's car gets blown up, he demands that Chantal and commissioner Vanderlinden arrest the magistrate straight away, as he's to blame as well. When Vanderlinden tells him that they need concrete evidence against the magistrate, Frank responds with this trope.
    Frank: Evidence?! Give me five minutes with the guy and you'll have your evidence!
  • Commissioner Vanderlinden also uses this trope, when Chantal remarks that the intercourse they just had was a bit on the short side.
    Vanderlinden: So it was too short, huh? I will show you short!
    [Chantal and Vanderlinden start another make-out session]
    Vanderlinden [several unrelated scenes later]: Well, we can't have missed much, can we, on account of how short it all was...
• Jaw Drop: This is Frank's response, when he realizes Chantal asked him to infiltrate a whore house to garner information.
  Chantal [about the "massage parlor"]: Sadly, I can't get any further with this lead by myself...
  Chantal: I tried asking the girls who work there, but they stay stumm.
  Chantal: And I can't visit the place as a client, because they cater to men...
  Chantal [to Frank]: So I wanted to ask you if you would visit the "massage parlor" as a client?
  Frank: But you just told me it's a whore house, instead of a massage parlor...
  Chantal: Right...
  [Frank's jaw drops as he realizes what she's asking]
  Frank: I don't think Julita will let me go there...
• Jerkass: Lucien is considered to be this by most of the other people in Wijtschate. None of them, therefore, feel particularly bad when Lucien ends up in jail on drug charges.
  Julita [to Fluppe]: Do you know Lucien?
  Fluppe [muttering in West Flemish]]: Oh, I definitely know Lucien...
  Julita: Why do you say it like that?
  Fluppe [Blatant Lies]: Oh nothing... Lucien and I are good, he's a great guy!
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: Ria has this reaction, after the vicar spoils the outcome of the WWI reenactment for her, despite the actual war taking place 100 years earlier. This is played for laughs (and even expanded upon), when things start to go off script for the reenactment, which gives Ria hope that the outcome might be different this time around.
  Ria: I wonder who's going to win...
  Vicar: Why, the British, of course!
  Ria: Spoilers!
  Vicar: Well, they won a hundred years ago...
  Ria: And did they blow up the mines prematurely as well?
  Vicar: No...
  Ria [excitedly]: So things might be different this time around!
• Law of Inverse Fertility: Happens to Steven and Griet (and to Chantal, to a minor extend) as neither of them wanted a child, but ended getting pregnant after one try regardless.
  Griet: How could I have known that we would get pregnant on the first try?!
  Steven [jokingly]: I'm a Welvaert, we always hit jackpot on the first go!
• Lies to Children: When Frank goes to prison, he tells Julita to lie to Franky and tell him that Frank is participating in the Dakar rally. This lie quickly gets out of hand, with Frank lying about being in first place, before Emma tells Franky the truth regardless.
• Lima Syndrome: Bernard, the henchman of "Den Hollander", develops this for Julita as they bond over their respective families. He eventually ends up romantically involved with Julita's sister, Nenita. "Den hollander" and Bernard even discuss it as they keep Julita captive.
  "Den Hollander" [after observing how close Bernard and Julita are getting]: What is this? Some sort of reverse Stockholm syndrome?!
  Bernard: Lima syndrome, you mean... I dunno.
• Lint Value: After Chantal discovers the hangar in season two (and subsequently gets knocked out), Bernard discovers that Chantal's daughter, Emma, is sleeping in the back seat of Chantal's cop car. When Emma wakes up later on, a panicked Bernard does the first thing he can think of and disguises himself as "Pegasus", the mythological creature, using a latex unicorn mask. When Emma asks him why Pegasus came to visit her, Bernard makes up a story about a mystical treasure Emma has to keep safe, using whatever spare change he has in his pockets as the treasure. Emma's response to this meager treasure is hilarious.
  Emma: Such a tiny treasure...
• Low-Speed Chase: When the feds come to arrest Lucien for running a weed plantation in one of his hangars, he decides to flee from the police in Jos' harvester (which he used as collateral for Jos' loan). He eventually gets caught after running out of gas.
• Lost Pet Grievance: Frank goes through a bit of this, after the death of his dog. It doesn't help that it was ran over by a drunk priest.
• Mail-Order Bride: Both Julita and Nenita were this upon arrival in Belgium. While Julita eventually became Happily Married to Frank, Nenita quickly left her husband, Lucien, in favor of Bernard.
• Minion with an F in Evil: Bernard, who is far to kind and caring to be a career ciminal. He even tells Julita that he has a degree in history, but had to take up a life of crime due to a lack of jobs in his research field. After the death of "Den Hollander", he even ends up becoming a tour guide using the profit he made from selling all the weed. That is, until the brother of "Den Hollander" shows up.
• Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: In season two, Chantal and her partner are investigating who has been stealing sour cherries of one of the locals. During this investigation, Chantal stumbles upon a weed-filled hangar, which she eventually manages to link to the Welvaert's by the end of the season.
• Misplaced a Decimal Point: The series has a spectacular example of this, where a miscalculation of an explosives expert ends with the brother of "Den Hollander" blowing up an armoured truck, driver included. They even literally cite this trope as the cause of the unfortunate explosion.
• Misplaced Retribution: Frank does this, when he gets angry at Vanderlinden (who he suspects of being the mole), only to later find out that the magistrate, Piet Despriet, is the mole instead.
  Frank [after he hears that Vanderlinden is innocent]: So I've been chewing out the wrong person!
  Frank [to Chantal]: Thanks, Chantal, Thanks a lot!
• Mistaken for Cheating: When Julita and Pepita discover that Frank is hiding some of his dirty laundry, Pepita initially thinks Frank is cheating on Julita. The truth, however, is that Frank bought his old car back from Jerry and is repairing it in secret. This causes a major fight between Frank and Julita, as Frank used the money they saved for a second child to buy back the car.
• Mistaken for Flirting: When Steven tells Griet that the wedding's off, Griet starts lashing into him. Her parents, watching through the window, mistake this for them playfighting with eachother.
  Piet [nostalgically]: Remember when we were young and rough-housed with one another...
  Betsy: Yeah...
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal:
  • The main reason why Nenita told the cops about Lucien's illegal dealing and betrayed him, was because Lucien was a terrible husband to her. Another reason was the fact that she found Lucien's secret stash of cash.
  • In season two, Jos and Julita manage to convince Bernard to betray the brother of "Den Hollander", mainly because he forced Bernard to quit his job as a tour guide to grow weed and because he treated everyone involved rather poorly.
• Mood-Swinger: Julita turns into this after she gets pregnant with triplets, due to her hormones playing up. In particular, she develops a Hair-Trigger Temper, which (usually) only lasts several seconds.
• Mood Whiplash: When Frank talks to a kidnapped Julita on the phone, she ends up telling him that she's pregnant. Frank is over the moon, until "Den Hollander reminds him that they're in the middle of an active kidnapping situation.
  "Den Hollander" [to Frank over the phone]: Not to rain on your parade or anything, but she's still held hostage for the moment! I want 150000 € or you'll never see her again!
• Moral Myopia: When Julita tries to leave with her sister Nenita to go back to the Philippines, they run into Ria (who had been staying with Frank and Julita after finding out that Jos was growing weed), who tries to convince Julita to stay with Frank. After some back and forth, Ria eventually states that Frank truly loves her and that you can't walk out of a relationship because things aren't going well at the moment. Julita subsequently ask her why she left Jos after their argument, to which she can't find any other answer than to tell julita she was wrong to do so.
• Morning Sickness: Julita gets hit hard with this, when she gets pregnant of her first child. Unfortunately, she was held hostage at the time as well. It even clues Bernard in to the fact that she's pregnant in the first place, which neither of them were aware of.
• Mr. Vice Guy: René Vanderlinden turns out to be this. Throughout season three, he's suspected by Chantal to be a Detective Mole, until she finds out he's a genuine by-the-book cop, who happens to (frequently) visit prostitutes in his spare time.
• My Beloved Smother: Ria can be this to both her children, but in particular to Frank, who's a bit more shy than Steven. She only does it because she cares about their well-being, though.
• NEET: Steven is a good example of this, as he has no idea what he wants to do with his life (and still lives with his parents) at the age of 34.
• Not Distracted by the Sexy: When Jos runs into the "massage parlor" to warn Steven and Frank that they should leave, one of the girls tries it on with him, only for Jos to dismiss her after a couple of seconds.
  Girl [to Jos]: Do you want me to give you a good time?
  Jos [after briefly looking at her]: No, no...
• Nothing Exciting Ever Happens Here: Wijtschate is considered so boring by it's residents, that it's often called "Het hol van Pluto".^note The middle of nowhere Then again, they're (mostly) unaware of the drug-related dealings going on in the area.
• Not-So-Fake Prop Weapon: The henchmen of Maurice use not-so-fake replica's of WWI weapons to assassinate Piet during a war reenactment, who was leading said reenactment dressed as General Plummer. They end up failing due to the interference of the Welvaerts
• Not So Stoic: Jos might be one of the most stoic characters in the series (and not much of a talker either), but when he gets excited, anxious or angry, he can (verbally) react quite over-the-top in an instant, usually to the surprise of the other characters.
• Older Than They Look: Frank and Chantal discuss this trope, when Chantal meets Julita's aunt, Pepita.
  Chantal [nudging towards Pepita]: You brought another wife over from the Phillipines, Frank?
  Frank: No, that's Julita's aunt, Pepita.
  Chantal [scoffing]: If she's Julita's aunt, I want to meet her meemaw.
  Frank: So would I, Chantal, so would I...
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: This happens to the brother of "Den Hollander", who constantly is reminded by everyone around him (in particular the police) that he once blew up an armored car, including the driver, after a miscalculation from an explosives expert. Furthermore, season three shows us the "alleged" expert, who has received approximately as much flak for his miscalculation as the borther of "Den Hollander" did.
  the brother of "Den Hollander" [upon being confronted with the story for the umptieth time]: If the expert makes a mistake in his calculations and I use too much explosives as a results, then how is it my mistake that I blew up that car?!
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: One of the first clues the Welvaert's get that Chantal is onto something (aside from the String Theory board) is the fact that she's extraordinarily cold and aloof towards Jos and Ria, to the point of being passive-agressive to them.
• Phallic Weapon: An inverted version of this trope happens, where Steven mistakes a black dildo he found in one of Chantal's drawers for a nightstick.
  Steven [holding out the dildo]: I didn't know Chantal kept a nightstick next to her bed.
  Griet: I don't think that's a nightstick, keppe...
  [Steven quickly drops the dildo once he realizes what it is.]
• Pistol-Whipping:
  • "Den Hollander" does this to Frank, when the latter tries to save Julita from being abducted by the former.
  • His brother also uses this on Chantal to knock her out, after she discovers the hangar they used to grow weed.
• Poirot Speak: The entire Welvaert family (as well as most of their friends) end up becoming this when they speak to Julita. Julita, in turn, mainly has trouble with English grammar, but doesn't use any Filipino saying in her phrases. She eventually does learn some West-Flemish, bringing her up to par with the rest.
• Ponzi: The main reason the Welvaert family loses all of their savings, is because Jos fell for one of these ran by his (wife's) cousin, Geoffrey.
• Prefer Jail to the Protagonist: The brother of "Den Hollander" says something to this effect about the hospitality he received of the Welvaert's, after breaking free from the pole he was confined to in the hangar.
  Patrick: Tying a man to a pole for a day without food! Even in jail they feed you!
• Pregnant Hostage: Julita turns out to be this, after "Den Hollander" and Bernard kidnap her for ransom money. Ironically, not even Julita was aware of her pregnancy until after the kidnapping.
• Previously on…: Chantal gives a recount of the events of season two at the start of season three, which serves as this.
• Prison Rape: When Frank goes to prison, the family fear that this will happen to him, and even bring him a dinner plate to put in his pants.
  Frank [looking at the dinner Ria brought for him]: What's this?
  Ria: Potatoes and sausages.
  Frank: Mom, this is prison... I don't have a microwave here!
  Ria: It's still good when it's cold and you can keep the plate afterwards.
  Frank: And why would I keep the plate?
  Ria [excitedly]: To put in your pants!
  Frank [disgruntled]: So now you're expecting me to walk around with a plate in my pants, huh!
• Pun: Commissioner Vanderlinden made a rather creative one about eating pastries at the crime scene.
  Vanderlinden: It's a crime scene, not a crumb scene.
• Rage Breaking Point: Episode 4 of the first season had two of these occuring:
  • The first one was near the beginning of the episode, when Jos blew his lid over Ria leaving him.
    Steven: Don't worry, pa... she'll come back eventually, after we sell our harvest in a couple of weeks.
    Jos: A couple of weeks... a couple of weeks!
    Jos: I can't wait a couple of weeks! I'm fed up with this situation already!
    Jos: My house is a mess, the fridge is empty and my coffee is cold!
    Jos: You're mom needs to return and she needs to return right now!
  • The second happened after Frank lost his job. It didn't help that his mother, Ria, and his sister in law were living with him at the time.
    Ria [in Flemish]: Frank, what happened?
    Frank [in Flemish]: I just lost my job...
    Julita: What is he saying?
    Frank [in English]: That I lost my job! and I lost all my savings too! There, I said it, not more secrets...
    Julita: So what now?
    Frank: What now... I'll tell you what now!
    Frank: From tomorrow on, mom, you are going back home... and Nenita is going back home too!
    Ria [in Flemish]: You're kicking your own mother to the curb!
    Frank [in Flemish]: I'm not kicking you to the curb! You have a home, with dad!
    Frank: And Nenita has a home too, at Lucien's!
    Frank [in Flemish]: I'm not the social services, okay!
    Frank [muttering in Flemish]: I'm fed up with this... I'm so absolutely fed up with this! I need to get some air!
• Raging Stiffie: While it wasn't shown, Lucien (most likely) ended up with one of these after dinner with Frank and Julita, because he took viagra in anticipation of a partner swap with Frank (which never happened).
  Lucien [angrily]: Let's get out of here, Nenita, before my pill starts to work!
• Rampage from a Nail: While he doesn't go on a rampage, Frank does (unintentionally) cause havoc at a WWI reenactment, because he has a pebble in his shoe, which is driving him up the wall. He eventually manages to get rid of it by the end of the episode.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Maurice's henchmen do this, after they fail to kill Frank in a car bombing.
  Henchman 1: Oh crap, let's go!
  Henchman 2: Reverse, reverse! Put it in reverse!
• Sensory Abuse: When Chantal discovers the hangar, she gets overpowered by the brother of "Den Hollander", who plays Will Tura's Greatest Hits to her on repeat to drown out the voices of everyone involved in the weed harvest. While he thinks that she's lucky that she gets to listen to Will Tura all day, Chantal definitely considered it a form of (psychological) torture after she was freed, as the songs remained stuck in her head.
• Shell-Shock Silence: Frank suffers from this, after he gets deafened by the explosion of the Evasion. He even mentions it to everyone in sight.
  Frank [shouting]: I can't hear you! I have a "tuut" in my ears!
• Shotgun Wedding: Steven is initially forced into this by his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Griet, after they both discover she's pregnant, but they call it off shortly after in favor of a different settlement. They end up getting married later on, nevertheless, but out of love this time. Ironically, Griet's parent's (her mother in particular) were opposed to this (in contrast with how the trope usually works.
  Griet: Mom, we've got something to tell you...
  Betsy: Let me guess, you're getting married.
  Betsy [nodding towards Griet's stomach]: And from the look of it, because you had to...
  [Griet nods in silence]
  Betsy: Come on, Griet, you know you don't have to, right?
  Betsy: That's not how the world works anymore, you know...
• Shower of Awkward: Frank becomes the victim of this trope when his mother (and subsequently Julita) walk in on him when he's taking a bath.
  Frank [to both of them]: This is not a meeting room, eh... Now get out! I need some privacy!
• Shout-Out:
  • Fluppe makes a neat shout out to "Vanilla Ice", when he promotes his new workplace, "Ice Mountain".
    Fluppe [to Pepita]: Ice, Ice Mountain!
  • Frank's ringtone is the horn of the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard, which is appropraite, as he drives a car very similar to the General Lee.
  • The series also made a reference to the Flemish soap opera Thuis in season two, even discussing the plethora of affairs the Frank of that series (Frank Bomans) had. Ironically, Julita and Pepita also expected Julita's Frank of having an affair that episode, even going so far as to make an analogy.
    Pepita: Maybe your Frank is more like the Frank on TV than you think...
• Skewed Priorities: After Frank gets released from jail, he's more worried about the cars than about proving his own innocence.
  Frank [to Jos]: Have you heard anything from Chantal?
  Jos: Only that she's still looking into her commissioner to prove that he framed you...
  Frank: No, I mean, has she returned the Evasion yet?
  Jos: Your car?! Are you really more worried about your car than being falsely imprisoned?
• Spotting the Thread: Chantal spots the thread about the Welvaert's involvement at the end of season two, after she finds out that Bernard (an accomplice of "Den Hollander" and his brother) was on the same flight as Pepita, Julita's aunt. The first part of season three, subsequently, deals with Chantal trying to deal with this shocking discovery (and eventually swearing secrecy).
• Spy Cam: Chantal has hidden one in one of the teddy bears of her daughter, in order to monitor her movements at night. Unfortunately, it ends up in Chantal's bedroom just as Steven and Griet are planning on having sex there, catching the whole thing on tape.
• Stage Whisper: While they're at the police station to inquire about Frank's arrest, Jos and Ria have to resort to this with Chantal to not get her in trouble.
  Ria: Chantal! Do you know anything about Frank's arrest?
  Chantal [in a rather loud whisper]: Keep your voice down! If they hear us talking to one another, I'll get suspended for sure!
  Ria [following Chantal's example]: Right, I got it.
  Jos [in the same hushed tone]: But do you know anything about Frank or not!
• Stereo Fibbing: Frank and Bernard do this, when they try to hide the real reason why Bernard is staying over with Frank and Julita.
  Pepita [to Frank]: So Bernard told me you guys went to school together.
  Frank [after a moment of confusion]: Yes, that's true!
  Pepita: So what did you guys study?
  Frank: Car mechanics!
  Bernard [simultaneously]: History!
• Stockholm Syndrome: Frank and Ria suspect Julita of having stockholm syndrome, after seeing her at the hangar with Bernard. They call it "Stockholm sickness", however. Then again, Julita and Bernard do end up becoming good friends (and even in-laws), despite the entire kidnapping situation.
  Ria [to Julita]: Is it true? Are you "sick from Stockholm"?
• String Theory: Chantal has a board with strings about the Welvaert's at her home, after she starts suspecting them of growing weed in season three. The Welvaert's, in turn, discover that she's on to them, after Griet discovers the baord during a game of hide and seek with Emma.
• Stripperiffic:
  • Discussed in universe by Frank and Fluppe, when they argue about Julita's waitress outfit (which was still relatively tame).
    Frank: What I don't understand is, why Julita has to serve people wearing so little!
    Fluppe: Well, it is the bar of a swimming pool, after all, so most people here are wearing little with regards to clothing.
  • The girls in Maurice de Moco's "massage parlor" dress this way. This is intended, of course, as it's actually a whore house.
• Suddenly Shouting: After Frank gets deafened by the blast of a car explosion, everyone around him ends up shouting at one point or another, as Frank won't be able to understand them otherwise.
  Chantal [shouting at Stefaan]: So, did they find anything in the car?!
  Stefaan: What's with the shouting?
  Chantal: Frank's deafened by the blast! I'm shouting so I don't have to repeat myself!
• Surprise Pregnancy:
  • Both Julita and Chantal end up becoming pregnant of their first child by accident, after a night of passion with Frank and Geoffrey respectively. Chantla even calls the (unborn) baby "Geoffrey's surprise gift" at Frank and Julita's wedding.
  • Griet also goes through this in season three, as she only discovers that she's pregnant during her sixteenth week of pregnancy.
• That Liar Lies: After Frank gets framed for running a weed plantation, he is confronted with a (false) witness, who claims that Frank rented his hangar. In response, Frank essentially employs this trope to prove him wrong (without much success).
  Frank [after the witnesses points him out as the tenant of his hangar]: But I've never seen this man before!
  Frank: He's a liar! A filthy liar who's lying!
• That Poor Plant: When Julita and Fluppe discuss her job as a waitress, Fluppe encourages Julita to accept the drinks the patrons buy for her, but immediately states that she shouldn't drink all of them, using this trope as a means of disposal.
  Fluppe [in broken English]: When you don't want to drink, you just... kiep it with the plants.
• The Alleged Car: Frank's racecar becomes this in season two, as it constantly breaks down. Frank and Julita eventually end up getting a new (and far more spacious) car instead.
• The Infiltration: Near the end of season two, Chantal uses Fluppe (who had been dealing weed to kids) as a reluctant informant / infiltrant to catch the criminals who ambushed her. They end up striking a deal with the brother of "Den Hollander", which drives the plot of season two to its climax.
• The Show Must Go On: This is Piet Despriet's response, after he (dressed as General Plummer) is shot at with live ammo by henchmen of Maurice, who are trying to assassinate him.
  Steven [after both he and Piet got shot at]: Shouldn't we make our way back to the trenches?
  Piet: No! This battle was a major victory for the British and General Plummer and that's not going to change today!
  Piet: Charge!
  Steven: They're still shooting! Get back here, fool!
• Thwarted Escape: Frank tries to run from the police, after they try to falsely arrest him for growing weed in season three. It goes about as well as you would expect it to go...
• Traumatic Haircut: After they get into a relationship in season two, Griet gives Steven a new haircut (she's a hairdresser). Judging by the response of Steven, however, the haircut largely fell under this trope.
  Steven [as he's carrying Griet's hair supplies]: You're not going to cut my hair again, are you? I already told you that was a one-off.
• Uncanny Family Resemblance: The brother of "Den Hollander", who looks exactly like "Den Hollander" (but isn't introduced as his twin). He's (obviously) played by the same actor.
• Unusual Euphemism: When Jos and Ria confess their weed related practices to Chantal, Jos insist that Ria avoids using the terms weed and hangar, instead naming them "sunflowers" and "garage". Chantal, subsequently, doesn't know what they're talking about, despite the fact that she knew they had been growing weed.
  Ria: Chantal! Jos and I need to talk to you about something... about the sunflowers!
  Chantal: What sunflowers?
  Ria: Well, the ones we grew in the big garage!
  Chantal: Sunflowers in the big garage? Seriously, Ria, I don't have a clue what you're on about?
  Ria: You know, the weed in the hangar!
  Jos: Sunflowers, dear, sunflowers!
  Ria: Yes, like I said, sunflowers in the garage!
• Ventriloquism: After some on-again-off-again with Griet, Steven tries to win her back with a huge teddy bear, which he hides behind and gives a funny voice. When Griet tries to close the door on him, Steven quickly reveals himself, leading to this exchange.
  Steven '[jamming the teddy bear between the door]'': No wait, it's me! I was voicing the teddy bear!
  Griet: Yeah, I guessed...
  Steven: I thought you didn't recognize me, due to the funny voice...
  Griet: Of course I knew it was you, Steven! This isn't Studio 100, you know!
• War Reenactors: The series' final season ends with a war reenactment of "De Mijnenslag" and Steven, Frank, Jos and Piet end up portraying British soldiers. The reenactment quickly (and comically) goes off-script, as explosives prematurely detonate and Maurice's henchmen show up with the intend to assassinate Piet. The British end up winning regardless.
• Would Hurt a Child: The brother of "Den Hollander" fits this trope, as he threatened to run over Frank's son, Franky, if Jos didn't grow weed for him. A conversation with Bernard after the threat was made, furthermore, shows that he wasn't merely bluffing about doing it, either.
• You Can See That, Right?: The entire Welvaert family has this response, when Steven (who was (somewhat) high on weed) sees Geoffrey entering the church for the funeral of uncle Aloïs.
  Frank [to Jos]: Has he been smoking the weed!
  Jos: Yes, but only because the weed was dry and he had smoke a little to test the quality...
  Steven [somewhat intoxicated]: Look! It's Geoffrey!
  Frank: I think he had more than a little during that test.
  Steven: No, I'm serious! It's Geoffrey!
  [The rest of the family turn around and stare in silence as they see Geoffrey entering the church]
  Frank: Well, I'll be damned...
• You No Take Candle: The series is full of this, as everyone speaks "Stonecoal English". Julita, however, does this the most, as her sentences are usually (only) grammatically incorrect (instead of straight up Poirot Speak).