Jenny Joyce has big plans for the fund raising talent show which the gang enter. Meanwhile, Ma Mary is at the end of her rope, and finds hope in the unlikely form of a hot plumber.
Tropes
- Answer CutMary: I need some variety. Some spontaneity. Jesus, I need some excitement!
Gabriel: You called for a plumber?
[slow-mo entrance of Gabriel the plumber] - Brainless Beauty: Discussed TropeSarah: If you're that hot, you should at least have the common decency to be a bit thick.
- Forbidden Fruit: Conversed TropeGabriel: All that forbidden desire. Not being allowed something just makes you want it all the more.
- Gilligan Cut: The gang has the idea of borrowing Erin's da's car without permission. James goes right from objecting to driving it.
- Informed Attractiveness: Mary, Sarah, Joe, Erin, and Michelle all remark upon Gabriel's attractiveness.
- It's All About Me: Erin outdoes herself as after Mary's confession of wanting to go back to school and Gerry backing her, Erin rants on how her mother is "stealing my thunder" as Erin wanted to be the first in the family to attend university. Even her friends can't believe she's going this far.
- Lethal Chef: With Mary on strike, it falls on Sarah to cook dinner. The result is frozen chicken and mush that used to be vegetables. Mary outright says she's eating elsewhere partially because she values her life.
- Mistaken for Cheating: Mary and Gabriel.
- Shout-Out: Mary is reading Wuthering Heights, which Gabriel the plumber is a fan of.
- Single Parents Are Undesirable: Inverted Trope. Gabriel is a single father raising his daughter alone, and Mary and Sarah (mothers themselves) find this admirable and desirable.
- Talent Contest: The gang perform "Who Do You Think You Are" by the Spice Girls. Erin is Ginger, Clare is Baby, Orla is Sporty, Michelle is Scary, and James is Posh.
- Underappreciated Women's Work: Mary is an Apron Matron who runs the Quinn-McCool household, consisting of her husband, two daughters, Cloudcuckoolander little sister, and niece. Swamped by simultaneous requests from everyone, Mary reaches a boiling point. She takes a step back from the housework and lets them all manage without her for a day.Mary: Oh shut up, shut up, shut up! Will you all just please shut up? I am sick of it! I am sick of the boiler [gestures to her husband] and the vouchers [her sister] and the fountain pens [her daughter] and the bastardin' Pop Tarts [her niece]! I am sick of the fact that I am responsible for everything in this house, you useless, useless shites! Enough is enough. You can all sort yourselves out for once!
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Mary had been studying in preparation to go back to university and had been Mistaken for Cheating since she'd been keeping it a secret to avoid getting everyone's hopes up. Gerry is quick to reassure her.Gerry: There's nothing you can't do, love — nothing.
