Peter lies about being a single father and takes advantage of all the perks that come with it.
Tropes:
- And This Is for...: The mouse from Dumbo tricks Peter into jumping off the roof.Mouse: That's for puttin' locks on your garbage cans, you dick!
- Blatant Lies: Peter tells Bonnie, who has just spoken to Lois, that Lois has died. Bonnie seemingly believes Peter.
- Call-Back: Brian once again references a movie he's never seen.
- Easily Forgiven: Lois tells Peter that his apology almost cancels out everything he's done.
- Epic Fail:
- Peter tries to make breakfast by cracking an egg into the skillet, but he ends up breaking the skillet instead.
- He also manages to dress Stewie and Brian in the other's clothes, even stuffing Stewie in Brian's fur somehow.
- Florence Nightingale Effect: Brian tries to invoke this while taking care of Lois, likening the situation to the one from The English Patient. This backfires on him when Lois points out how gross taking care of a bedridden person actually is. She reveals to him that she can't shave her legs while she's wearing the cast. She also forces him to smell the culmination of four days of sweat and a dinner fork she lost while trying to scratch her ankle. She caps it off by informing Brian it will be his job to carry out bowls of her waste as she can't get up to use the toilet.
- Hairy Girl: Lois reveals to Brian that she has grown leg hair since she broke her leg.Brian: Oh, God, your leg is covered in hair.
Lois: That's right. I can't shave down there 'cause the cast will get wet. Look at it. Smell it.
Brian: No.
Lois: Take a deep breath and smell it.
Brian: (sniffs) Ah! What is that?
Lois: Four days of sweat and a dinner fork that got stuck when I scratched my ankle. - Injured Limb Episode: Lois gets her foot broken by a barrel (actually a full water jug) while Peter and Chris are re-enacting Donkey Kong. This leads to Peter having to look after the kids by himself for a week.
- Lampshade Hanging:
- After opening two drawers full of his mom's sex toys, Chris asks Lois if she's doing a bit.
- As everything gets resolved, Lois says she doesn't blame Becky for any of this. Chris points out literally no one could blame Becky for Peter's actions.
- Major Injury Underreaction: When dressing them in each other's clothes, Peter ripped off Brian's fur and stuffed Stewie into it. The two can only let out a meek, "Ow."
- Mundane Made Awesome: A scene at the park where Peter is changing Stewie's diaper is made more epic with slow motion and the inclusion of "I Need a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler.
- Noodle Incident:
- It's never revealed how Becky’s husband Scott died. When a mom is asked by another one what Scott would think if he saw Peter and Becky kissing, however, she tells her to lay off since Becky was acquitted.
- The Grffins have a recurring prowler who waits for Meg in her bed. Peter even recognizes him when they cross paths on the roof.
- Pass the Popcorn: As Peter and Chris prepare their Donkey Kong reenactment, Cleveland is sitting on a lawn chair. Quagmire (skeptical of Peter's latest nonsense) joins Cleveland and has some beer. Later when Becky leaves the house, Quagmire and Cleveland are shown having watched the climax. They also observe Bonnie taking the Griffins' washing machine (as Peter had earlier sold it to her for $100).Quagmire: Never a dull moment.
- Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: The title of "Single White Dad" is a reference to Single White Female.
- Running Gag:
- Peter yawns every time Becky brings up her late husband Scott. When Becky mentions Scott for the last time, all the Griffins yawn.
- Peter repeatedly trips on the rug while he's running between Lois and Becky.
- Peter has "boner and butt" pills that keep getting mentioned.
- Series Continuity Error: Peter claims he doesn't play golf despite having been shown in previous episodes to do so.
- Struggling Single Mother: Exploited by Peter, who decides to pretend to be a single father after people start mistaking him for one.
- Shout-Out: The mouse from Dumbo appears to trick Peter into thinking he can fly with a feather.
- Take Our Word for It: While trying to retrieve the flyswatter Lois claims is in the top drawer, Chris instead ends up finding sex toys in that drawer, plus the one below it. He opens the last drawer and sees something that causes him to start crying in shock, though the audience doesn't get to see what it actually is.
- Take That!:
- Stewie's diaper is extra full on account of Peter feeding him nothing but Chick-Fil-A. Ironically, in real life, it's usually considered a lesser evil of unhealthy fast food.
- There are a couple of gags at the expense of YETI coolers and the men who own them.
- Til Murder Do Us Part: It's implied that Becky was involved in her husband's death, but one of the other women comments that Becky was acquitted.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: For the the Donkey Kong reenactment, Stewie fulfills the Pauline role with a dress and a wig. Peter thinks this was a case of Dragged into Drag and apologizes for it, but Stewie points out he's not complaining at all.
