Francine attempts to prove that Stan cares about Roger by staging a kidnapping.
Tropes:
- Bait-and-Switch: Francine calls Stan and tells him to bring ransom money to an abandoned ice factory. Stan is then shown driving like crazy through town...to a movie theater.Stan: I hope I'm not too late! Please don't hurt him!
Box Office Cashier: One for Please Don't Hurt Him. $8.50.
Stan: $8.50? But the newspaper said $5.50!
Box Office Cashier: That's what time the movie starts, sir. That's why you showed up here at 5:50. - Bizarre Alien Biology: Roger reveals that his people have a biological need to be jerks. Otherwise, it turns to bile and poisons them.
- Break the Cutie: After Stan reveals that he knew the kidnapping was fake, Francine completely breaks down and admits he was right about Roger being a total jerk.Francine: Oh, Stan, it's been awful. I just wanted to show him you cared, but it turned into a nightmare! Roger's a selfish, inconsiderate beast! (she starts crying and points to the big stain on her dress) Look at this! It's taco! He did this to me! He was screaming, spitting grapes, he even made me buy him a Yorkie, and then take it back when it wouldn't dance for him!
- Didn't Think This Through: Stan sees right through Francine's plan because she called from her cell phone and they have caller ID.
- Faked Kidnapping: Francine does this to prove to Roger that Stan cares about him after all. It backfires for multiple reasons.
- Jerkass Ball: Roger starts off worse than usual during his Faked Kidnapping, becoming demanding and ungrateful for Francine helping him out. It's likely that without Stan around to take the brunt of his selfish acts, Francine is now seeing for herself just how unpleasant he is.
- Jerkass Has a Point: This is one of the rare times where Stan is speaking the most accurately; Roger is a spoiled and entitled brat and won't change unless Francine gets tough with him. Francise agrees he is utterly correct and ends the episode developed enough to allow Stan to properly punish Roger whenever he goes too far.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Just because the Smiths are happy to have their jerk Roger back and healthy in the end, that doesn't mean he gets off easy. They leave Stan alone to beat the alien up.
- Literal Metaphor: Francine, sick of Roger being a Jerkass, asks him if it would kill him to be nice. Because of Roger's Bizarre Alien Biology, it turns out that it really would kill him to be nice.
- Naked People Are Funny: Klaus dares Hayley to run naked across the lawn while screaming "Help, racoons took my penis!"
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Roger delivers a brutal about Steve's dancing in order to fully recover."You... are terrible. You've got no rhythm, no coordination, I've seen two epileptics share a bowl of noodles with more grace. If your goal was to inspire a sense of despair the likes of which hasn't been seen felt since Whoopi hosted the Oscars, then bravo. I can envision millions of Americans rising up as one and demanding legislation that would require your legs to be amputated, burned, and buried next to Hitler. In short, you suck! Oh, yeah, that's the stuff!"
- Shout-Out:
- During their dare game, Klaus dares Hayley to dress up like Captain Stubing from The Love Boat for 14 months.
- After Roger destroys Stan's study by turning it into a Turkish bath, Stan complains that his collection of Nancy Drew books is ruined.Stan: Now I'll never know how that ghost left footprints.
- In one flashback, Roger stuck a syringe in Stan's chest while playing Pulp Fiction.
- Roger's failing health is mirrored by a withering houseplant, a reference to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
- Take That!: Roger calls Steve's dancing as the worst performance since Whoopi Goldberg hosted the Oscars.
- Talking Is a Free Action: Subverted. Francine tries to think of a way to call out Stan's blatant lie about Roger's whereabouts without revealing her involvement, only to realize that Stan is just looking at her while she hasn't talked for several seconds.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Roger becomes nicer and more helpful in the household, until it's revealed that being nice is literally killing him.
- Troll: Because Stan knew Francine was calling to say Roger was kidnapped, he takes the time to mess with her, such as hinting he's having an affair and saying Roger is returning to his home planet.
