Lucy is distraught to learn that she has gained twenty-two pounds over the course of eleven years of marriage. Ricky tries to tell her it doesn't matter, but he has to eat his words when she wants to audition for a dancing role at his club because the outfit is size 12. He chuckles when she asks to get the part if she loses the weight, and makes the mistake of agreeing. Cue Lucy's latest Zany Scheme, where she schemes to lose twenty pounds in ten days.
Tropes for this episode include:
- All for Nothing: After Lucy becomes thin enough to fit into the dress. But...she's not well enough to be Ricky's dancing partner night after night. Instead, she collapses and Ricky has to call an ambulance for her.
- Bound and Gagged: Lucy reveals that she knocked out the actual dancing girl and left her in a closet. Ethel is very put out when she opens the closet door.
- Didn't Think This Through: Really, Ricky shouldn't have laughed at the thought of Lucy losing twenty pounds in ten days. He underestimated her stubbornness. He then does nothing to convince Lucy that it isn't a good idea.
- A Friend in Need: Deconstructed. Ethel helps Lucy wholeheartedly with the weight loss scheme, timing her exercise, and cooking her celery sticks. At one point, she even stops Lucy from eating a forkful of mashed potatoes to help her stick to her diet. We find out that this leads to Lucy wrecking her health due to malnutrition.
- Hidden Depths: Much to Ricky's surprise, Lucy does have the routine, dance and song memorized. While he goes Oh, Crap! on seeing her in the outfit, they end up with perfect rhythm and receive a round of applause from the audience. When Lucy is recuperating on a stretcher, Ricky sincerely says that she was wonderful.
- Hypocritical Humor: Lucy calls her husband and neighbors "The Tubby Trio". They make her check her own weight on the scale, and she learns to her shock that she is twenty pounds heavier. Ethel snarkily says "The Tubby Trio" is now "The Flabby Four".
- Laser-Guided Karma: One woman is mean to Lucy on seeing her arrive at the audition. She says that she's got the part in the bag because she has known "Mr. Ricardo" for several years. Lucy ends up knocking her out for the dress and the part, leaving her tied up in a closet.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Lucy starves herself, eating only celery sticks for ten days and exercising endlessly. Then she uses a miniature sauna to steam off five pounds' worth of water weight. She's visibly exhausted and thinking of food all the time, before reaching that coveted 112 pounds. After dancing at the club, she collapses backstage and Ricky has to call a doctor for her. He says she needs to be on three weeks of bed rest due to suffering from malnutrition.
