Recap / Cheers S 8 E 26

Episode: Season 8, Episode 26
Title: Cry Harder
Directed by: James Burrows
Written by: Bill Steinkellner (story), Cheri Eichen, Bill Steinkellner, and Phoef Sutton (teleplay)
Air Date: May 3, 1990
Previous: Cry Hard
Next: Love Is a Really, Really Perfectly Okay Thing
Guest Starring: Roger Rees, Jonathan Mc Murtry, Ron Canada

"Cry Harder" is the 26th and last episode of the eighth season of Cheers.

The story picks up from the first half of the two-parter, "Cry Hard". Sam Malone told the Lillian Corporation board of directors that Robin Colcord used Rebecca's computer and password info to break into Lillian's corporate records, as part of a hostile takeover plot. As a result, Robin has been indicted for insider trading. Rebecca is standing by her man, even though she thinks he's going to jail.

Consequences follow from Robin's arrest. Mr. Montgomery, the member of the Lillian board that Sam spoke to in the previous episode, shows up at the bar. In gratitude for his warning, Lillian sells Cheers back to Sam for a dollar—actually 85¢ as it turns out that was all that Sam could find. Soon after Rebecca Howe is fired, ending the three-year arc of Rebecca being Sam's boss and Sam being a lowly bartender, and the season-long arc of Sam Malone trying to buy back Cheers.

Just when things don't seem like they can get any worse for Rebecca, they do, when she finds out that Robin Colcord has fled the country. In the depths of her despair, with her life in ruins, and with no options to her that are better than being a Cheers waitress, Rebecca turns for comfort to the one person who has supported her and stood by her—Sam Malone.

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Tropes:

• Assurance Backfire: Carla tries cheering Rebecca up by reciting the story of Sam and Diane's breakup, only to end by pointing out how it's so far ended with Sam regaining the bar by getting her boyfriend arrested.
• Big "SHUT UP!": Rebecca interrupts the bar's happy chanting to tell them to shut up, because she's depressed.
• The Bus Came Back: Dave, Sam's moose head. Turns out Rebecca hadn't thrown him out when she took over the bar way back when, just dumped him down in the basement. Woody finds him after Sam gets the bar back.
• The Chew Toy: As Cliff and Norm point out, Rebecca now gets degraded and humiliated so often you could set your watch by it.
• Cliffhanger: Basically the only one the show ever used during the Rebecca years, after ending each of the first four seasons with a Sam-Diane cliffhanger. Rebecca realizes that she's handled her life all wrong and made all the wrong decisions, and pushed away Sam, the only person to care about her. They wind up (presumably) having sex on the office couch, only for Robin Colcord to show up, having realized how he really feels about Rebecca. Colcord opens the office door and says "Oh my God!", and the season ends.
• Cross-Referenced Titles: Season finale "Cry Harder" follows the previous episode, "Cry Hard".
• Crowd Chant: Upon learning Sam is once again the bar's owner, the group hoists him on their shoulders and repeatedly chants, "Sammy's got the bar back!" Almost immediately, Rebecca learns Sam ratted on Robin and declares him a dead man for that, prompting a round of "Sammy is a dead man!" over and over again instead.
• Evil Laugh: Carla lets out a particularly evil chuckle after Sam says he'll hire Rebecca as a waitress but Carla will have to train her.
• Food Slap: A bitter, depressed Rebecca starts throwing drinks in the faces of all the male customers in the bar. Then Carla does it too, but as Woody explains, "She's just mean."
• Humiliation Conga: Poor Rebecca goes through the freaking wringer in this episode, destroying pretty much whatever was left of her dignity and intelligence the Flanderization hadn't taken.
• Inelegant Blubbering:
  • Frasier, after having just a little too much celebratory booze starts on the "I love you guys".
  Frasier: It's okay for a man to cry, you know.
  Norm: You're sitting in the back seat with the window open, buddy.
  • Lampshaded by Sam and Woody after
  Woody: Hey Sam, is it okay for a man to cry like that?
  Sam: Absolutely not.
  Woody: I didn't think so.
  • Rebecca decides she'll deal with Robin fleeing the country by sitting down and "crying it out." She apparently sets a world record for Inelegant Blubbering, as she is still whining and blubbering the next day.
• Irony: All Sam needs to get his beloved bar back is pay $1. He then sees his wallet is empty, leaving him scrounging to come up with enough coins.
• Karmic Jackpot: Sam alerted Mr. Montgomery to Robin's attempted hostile takeover not because of his disdain for Robin but out of concern Rebecca would get the blame for it all. Sam is rewarded for his good intentions by getting to buy back the bar at a severely reduced price.
• Kick the Dog: One last time from the suits of Lillian, and they take a full run-up to it. Not only do they fire Rebecca by fax, they take the time to write down they never cared for her work. Jeez...
• Mondegreen Gag: When Rebecca asks Norm what it'd be like to go without Vera for twenty years, he's appalled... then he realises she said Vera. He thought she'd said beer.
• Mood Whiplash: Woody sees Rebecca is leaving the bar and gives her a tender goodbye. Then he notices her box of belongings is full of bar items, so he chastises her for stealing.
• Multi-Part Episode: The second part of a two-part season finale, as Robin is arrested, Rebecca gets fired, and Sam gets the bar back.
• No Sympathy: Norm and Cliff take a detached view of Rebecca's blubbering.
  Norm: So, how's Rebecca doing this morning?
  Cliff: I don't know. Let's go ask her.
  (they walk over to Rebecca, who's still crying)
  Cliff: She looks better.
• Ocular Gushers: After spending a whole night crying, Rebecca finds herself suffering from dehydration on top of everything else.
• Pet the Dog: Carla at least tries to make Rebecca feel better, relating her own experiences of being treated like dirt and talking about Sam's own tumultuous relationship with Diane. It leads to Assurance Backfire, though, and Carla fails to see how she went wrong.
• Previously on…: Starts with a brief recap of Rebecca finding out about Robin's corporate espionage, Robin asking Rebecca to marry him, and Sam turning Robin in to Lillian Corp.
• Prison Rape: A lot of black comedy jokes from the Cheers gang, who really don't like Robin, about what fate Robin might look forward to in prison.
  Robin: (to Rebecca) Oh, I must run. I've got a meeting with counsel to discuss my defense strategy. Can't let you be the bride of a convict!
  Frasier: If he goes to jail, he'll be the bride of a convict.
• Recognition Failure: Seeing the morning's papers, Woody is amazed to see the guy being done for insider trading looks like Robin Colcord. Frasier has to point out that is Robin.
• The Scapegoat: Sam expresses frustration over being the one Rebecca is taking her anger out on. As he says, he didn't dump her or fire her, but he's the one getting the grief.
• The Scottish Trope: Carla still refuses to mention Diane by name.
• Shout-Out: Woody begins the episode lamenting things like Lucy always pulling the football away.
• Slap-Slap-Kiss: Sam and Rebecca yell at one another, but it ends with them starting to make out.
• So Proud of You: Carla to Sam when he's got the bar back.
• Tempting Fate: Sam, trying to cheer Rebecca up, says that "You got a great career." This is immediately followed by Woody producing the letter from Lillian stating that Rebecca is fired.
• Too Kinky to Torture: When the FBI come looking for Robin, Carla makes it clear in no uncertain terms that they could strip her naked and interrogate her until a hot lamp if they feel like it.
• Under New Management: After getting the bar back, Sam puts up a sign saying "Under OLD Management."
• What the Hell, Hero?: Sam spends much of the episode being understanding of Rebecca's attitude, but when she throws a drink in his face for the second time, he yells at her for lashing out at him no matter how he tries to help her.