Recap / Full House S6 E10 "I'm Not D.J."

"I'm Not D.J." is the tenth episode in the sixth season of Full House.

After seeing her peers with pierced ears, Stephanie wishes to get hers pierced as well. Knowing Danny wouldn't allow it, she gets Kimmy to do it behind his back, only for more trouble to ensue when her earlobes become infected later on. Meanwhile, Jesse and Rebecca agonize over getting Nicky and Alex a haircut and goes to Jasper, a barber who's an uncle of Joey's, for the job.

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Tropes in the episode:

• Annoying Younger Sibling: Stephanie acts like Michelle's being this, but Michelle's actions in the latter half of the episode were justified. Namely, when Stephanie admitted that her ears were infected, Michelle told DJ (because Steph had made her promise not to tell the adults).
• Bait-and-Switch: After the haircut job on Nicky and Alex is done, Jasper states that he'll hand out balloons as reward for bravery. Rebecca comments to Nicky and Alex that they're getting balloons for being brave enough to get a haircut, but...
  Jasper: *hands balloons to Jesse and Rebecca* No. These are for you two.
• Barbershop Episode: The B plot of the episode is about getting the twins' hair cut.
• Comical Overreacting: Both Jesse and Rebecca agonize over Nicky and Alex getting a haircut this way while at the barbershop, much to Jasper's exasperation.
  Jasper: Boy, you two are made for each other. [...] *whisper to Nicky and Alex* I gotta start charging by the hour.
• Didn't Think This Through: Stephanie gets her ears pierced, but doesn't anticipate the fact she has to leave the studs in her ears until they heal after six weeks, and within that time-span, she needs to prevent Danny from seeing them. Moreover, due to Kimmy's inexperience at piercing, the ears became infected over time.
• Ear-Piercing Plot: The premise of the episode has Stephanie wanting to get her ears pierced, but is not allowed to until she enters junior high like D.J. did. She gets Kimmy to do it for her, since her brother, Garth, works at a tattoo parlor, having borrowed his ear-piercing gun to do the job.
• Even the Dog Is Ashamed: Comet looks as scared as Michelle when Stephanie's ears are being pierced.
• Exact Words:
  • Stephanie's response to Michelle's reaction toward Kimmy piercing Stephanie's ears:
    Michelle: Are you nuts?
    Stephanie: No, I'm desperate.
  • Stephanie agrees to Kimmy's suggestion of letting Michelle stay in the room as the ear-piercing procedure is about to take place, on condition that Michelle doesn't mention this incident to Danny. When Michelle decides to ask for help due to Stephanie's earlobes getting infected later in the episode, she gets around the restriction from the promise by getting D.J.
    Stephanie: Michelle, you promised you wouldn't tell.
    Michelle: I promised I wouldn't tell Dad. [gestures to D.J.] Does this look like Dad?
  • After D.J. gets to take a look at Stephanie's infected earlobes:
    D.J.: Did you pierce your own ears after Dad told you "no"?
    Stephanie: Of course not.
    Michelle: She had Kimmy do it.
• Madness Mantra: Played for Laughs. Danny's reaction to Stephanie getting Kimmy to do the ear-piercing work ends with him saying "Kimmy Gibbler?" repeatedly, punctuating Stephanie's explanation on why she did so every so often, right as the two of them walk out the house to get her ears checked at the doctor's office at the end of the episode.
• Real Men Have Short Hair: Averted; Jesse is adamantly against the boys getting their hair cut, despite their hair being longer than is typical for boys in American culture. His reasoning is that you start out life bald and end life bald, so the middle part is the time to grow the hair, take care of it, and then "flaunt it." In the end, the boys just end up getting a trim, without taking off any of the length.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After administering the ear-piercing procedure on Stephanie, Kimmy asks Michelle if she'd like to get her nose pierced. Michelle promptly flees the bedroom in terror.
• Shout-Out: To Star Wars with Stephanie wrapping her hair to look like Princess Leia's in order to hide her piercings from Danny.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: It should've been a good idea for Kimmy to have Garth do the job of piercing Stephanie's ears without Danny's knowledge— whether she brought him over to the house or took her to the tattoo parlor/piercing studio herself— as he is much more experienced than she is. With Kimmy having practiced using the ear-piercing gun ^note That alone was a mistake; many professional piercers avoid using guns, because needles are more accurate and easier to sterilize on cold cuts, she forgets to follow two specific rules about piercing: 1): always clean and sanitize the gun before and after each use, and 2): make sure the piercer and the subject are sanitary themselves (the piercer must wash his/her hands and put on gloves, and then disinfect the area where the piercing will be placed). What's more, Stephanie wasn't told the importance of cleaning the piercings at least once a day, and that she should not touch them (something she starts doing as soon as the procedure's over). Because of Kimmy's inexperience, Stephanie's earlobes became infected within two days.
• What the Hell, Hero?: DJ and Danny each give Stephanie one of these: DJ for letting Stephanie do something so dangerous, and Danny both for Steph letting Kimmy pierce her ears and for her reasoning behind it (she wanted actual pierced ears so she could impress the cool girls at her school).
• You Are Grounded!: At the end of the episode, Stephanie confesses to Danny to having Kimmy pierce her ears, showing him the infected ears. Danny then takes her to the doctor to get them checked, and then for ice cream, since it's the last she's going to have for a while.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Both D.J.'s and Danny's reactions to Stephanie getting Kimmy to do the ear-piercing work fall into this trope, though expressed differently.
  • D.J. reacts by chiding Stephanie, much to Stephanie's annoyance.
    What? You let Gibbler punch a hole in your body? Why don't you just fall on a rusty nail?
  • Danny's reaction is to express his incredulity, shortly before it devolves quickly into repeatedly saying "Kimmy Gibbler?" while Stephanie tries to explain and justify herself.
    I still can't believe you let Kimmy Gibbler pierce your ears. [...] Kimmy Gibbler? [...] Kimmy Gibbler? [...] *the episode ends*