After Rochelle's father Gene dies unexpectedly during a family dinner, Rochelle starts acting less than normal. Julius and the kids grow increasingly concerned that she acts as though nothing is wrong.
Tropes:
- An Aesop:
- Sometimes, it's not what you say, but how you say it. Chris snaps at his grandmother Maxine for treating Rochelle terribly, but raises his voice to do so. Maxine gets pissed, but later in the episode, we learn that she actually respected him for standing up for his mother.
- Sometimes, even if you're right, you have to apologize. Chris was completely justified in calling out his grandmother and she knows this, but she's not going to let it go until he apologizes, as Julius explains.
- People grieve in different ways. Rochelle acts way nicer than usual and bottles up her grief, while Maxine is constantly lashing out at and judging Rochelle. Julius acknowledges that Maxine is wrong and Chris is right for pointing that out, but, tying into the above aesop, he still needs to be the bigger person and apologize, as this aggression is just a result of his grandmother's pain.
- Even if they are family, don’t sit around to take their crap and bottle up your feelings. Rochelle herself eventually calls out her entire family over all their flaws heaping onto her.
- Deadpan Snarker: If you think Rochelle is a master at this, her mother Maxine dwarfs her.
- Excessive Mourning: Aunt Charlotte, who is nicknamed Grievey, is the only relative who is only invited over for funerals, and spends the whole episode not talking but crying, especially over the phone. Rochelle calls her out on it, simply telling her to suck it up.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Rochelle eventually reprimands her mother over all the crap she’s given her while pointing out her father’s passing doesn’t excuse her mother for acting like a bitch.
- Humiliation Conga: Maxine gives Rochelle no short amount of grief in this episode. She's constantly berating and judging Rochelle for the pettiest of things.
- Insane Troll Logic: Maxine eats all of Rochelle’s chocolate turtles, leaving her daughter pissed and snapping out of her Stepford Smiler. The kicker? Maxine didn’t even like the turtles, yet she cleaned off the whole box. Rochelle asks her why would she bother eating them if she didn’t like them, thus kickstarting her "Reason You Suck" Speech.
- Kick the Dog: Maxine treats Rochelle like shit throughout the entire episode, despite the fact that her father just recently passed away.
- Lazy Bum: Rochelle’s brother, Michael, as the narrator describes, “Was almost 40 and never had a job. He put the ‘um’ in bum”.
- Lost Food Grievance: Maxine learns the hard way why she shouldn’t have eaten all of Rochelle’s chocolate turtles. What really ticked her off is the fact that Maxine didn’t like them, in turn breaking Rochelle out of her Stepford Smiler and dishing out a call out on her entire family. Later on, Julius softens the blow by gifting Rochelle a new box of turtles while expressing how proud he feels towards Rochelle putting her foot down.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Rochelle acting nicer after her father's passing does not go unnoticed by her family.
- Pet the Dog: Several of Chris' friends and houseguests show up to pay their respects, in particular showing sympathy to Chris. Greg shows up to pay his respects, Doc informs him that he has a new video game at the store waiting for him, Jerome gives Chris all the money he robbed his late grandfather of and even Keisha pays her respects, despite still brushing off his romantic advances harshly. Even Caruso gave Chris his condolences.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Once Rochelle has properly had enough with the annoying habits of her family, she stops the façade of acting much nicer and lets them all have it.
- She's Back: Rochelle goes back to her old ways after giving her family a scathing "Reason You Suck" Speech.
- Took a Level in Kindness: After her father passes, Rochelle acts extremely nice and cheery, which, needless to say, is the complete opposite of her usual demeanor.
