"I just like to see them squirm. And this year, seeing you squirm was an unexpected bonus. So thank you."
A Plot: The Harvest Dance is coming up and Lacey feels left out as usual. She wonders if she'll ever fit in.
B Plot: Hank asks a highway worker named Heather to the dance, but feels shunned by the town when they find out she's from Wullerton (or so they think).
C Plot: Brent lets Lacey in on a big secret: he and Oscar pretend to like Emma's jelly salad every year, when they actually hate it. Both of them try to make up excuses as to why they can't eat any of it, while simultaneously trying to invalidate the other person's excuses so that they will be forced to eat all of it.
Tropes Referenced:
- Batman Gambit: Karen told Lacey that she had applied for a job in Wullerton *spit* knowing that Lacey wouldn't keep it a secret and that Davis would eventually find out. In reality, she never applied for another job at all, but she needed Davis to think she did so that he would give her a raise in an attempt to convince her to stay.
- Brutal Honesty: A montage is shown of Lacey being rather critical of Brent's appearance, although Brent is trying to use them as examples of Lacey being a big fibber.
- Call-Back: Lacey's well-known trait of being a bad liar is brought up again.
- Captain Obvious: Lacey, while making a poor attempt to help Brent with his jelly salad ruse:Brent: The doctor's office phoned here. They made a mistake on your test, said you could eat all the jelly salad you wanted. Right, Lacey? You you heard the call.
Lacey: That's right. They called. I answered the phone, at The Ruby... where the phone is. - Comically Missing the Point:Lacey: People aren't going to think less of you. Actually, it's a mathematical impossibility.
Hank: Well, that's real nice of you to say. - Continuity Nod:
- While Karen argues she should get a raise, she points out Davis already found money for Oscar and Emma's wedding and a stun gun.
- While asking Lacey for advice on how to get dumped, Hank brings up her ex from Toronto and Brent turning her down.
- Damned by Faint Praise:Lacey: I don't know what it is. I just don't fit in around here.
Wanda: Oh, Lacey. It's not your fault. It's Brent's fault for trusting you. - Everybody Knew Already: Emma knows damn well that Brent and Oscar despise her jelly salad. She just likes watching them squirm trying to find ways to get out of eating it.
- It's All About Me: When Karen confides in Lacey that Davis won't give her a raise, Lacey immediately turns it into a conversation about herself not fitting in.
- Metaphorgotten:Davis: That's a tough road to hoe.
Emma: How does anyone hoe a road?
Karen: The expression is "row to hoe". - Secret-Keeper: Brent turns Lacey into one to help her feel better about not fitting in. It doesn't end well.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Parodied with Hank and Heather. When she says her parents live in Wullerton *spit*, it appears to be played straight, and eventually Hank decides he has to dump her. Turns out she's originally from Gimli, Manitoba and her parents just have a summer home in Wullerton. When Hank finds out... he dumps her anyway, because he realized that what he liked most about their relationship was the Forbidden Fruit aspect.
- Title Drop: Obviously with the harvest dance being the main plot point of the episode, it is name-dropped several times.
