During their trip to the Philadelphia Zoo, Mac sets up a text group chain for The Gang, but confusion sets in and The Gang must learn from the meerkats on how to communicate properly in a group.
This episode provides examples of the following tropes:
- Auto-Incorrect: Happens to Mac whenever he tries to explain himself to Dennis via text.
- Ambiguous Syntax: The rest of the Gang misinterprets Dennis' "went to c lions" text as "went to sea lions" when he meant "went to see lions."
- Brick Joke: Mac uses the excuse of hooking up with dads on Grindr (a gay hookup app) in the bathroom to ditch Charlie and look for Dennis. Later, when Dennis is peeing on Mac in the bathroom, a man walks in and asks if they're from Grindr. He's even credited as "Grindr Dad."
- Even Evil Has Standards: Dee's text about the "Jew Lawyer" gets a negative reaction from Dennis, showing that outright bigotry is still a no-no for him.
- The Friend Nobody Likes:
- This episode truly exemplifies how much the gang tends to loathe Mac to the point that Charlie, Dennis, and Frank piss on him to establish their dominance over him. Even Dee manages to a score a win over him at the end.
- Everybody makes fun of Dee's texts and call her jokes lame. Mac and Charlie also start separate chats with her and run away as soon as they realize she's by herself.
- Hates Being Alone: Dee developed a pathological fear of being alone at the zoo (and of goats) after a childhood incident involving being left alone at the zoo and being trampled by petting zoo goats.
- Hypocritical Humor: Dennis argues that no one will get Dee's "fist in the butt" joke, and that it's too late to be funny, then immediately laughs when Frank texts the exact same thing. Later, Dennis argues that Dee's text towards Mac is offensive, before laughing at a similar joke made by Frank at Mac's expense.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Frank plans to the taunt the gorilla by eating a banana in front of him and watching the gorilla scream and bang his hands on the glass separating them in an attempt to get it. When he reaches the gorilla exhibit, Frank gets distracted by a text, allowing the gorilla to take and start eating the banana. This leaves Frank as the one left screaming and banging his hands on the glass.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Dennis gets an erection at the thought of seeing a lion maul a live goat to death.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Dennis isn't communicating and bothered about the lion feeding, Mac gets concerned.
- Only Sane Man: Charlie plays this role, surprisingly enough. Between Mac's obsession with maintaining the group chat, Frank wanting to taunt the gorillas, Dee's goat phobia, and Dennis eager to see an animal fed to a lion, going to the zoo for the meerkats is a step closer to normal behavior. He is also the most adept at using and deciphering the emoji-centric texts, though this is due to his illiteracy and general weirdness.
- Pop-Up Texting: Used throughout the episode.
- Running Gag: Urinating on Mac.
- Sarcasm-Blind: Mac is unable to perceive that Dennis is being sarcastic in text.
- Sarcasm Mode: Dennis does this when the Gang causes him to miss the lion feeding. This has to be bluntly explained to a defiant Mac.
- Shout-Out: "Circle of Life" plays when the Gang reconnects in the meerkat exhibit.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Everyone's conflicts are easily resolved through the meerkat display. Dee finally gets everyone to laugh at her text at the end of the episode, which is at Mac's expense. Mac's retaliating text also gets a big laugh and "Oh, I like that one" from Dennis.
- Women Drivers: Frank complains via text about a woman driver he's stuck behind and how he wants to shoot himself as a result.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Dee accidentally wanders into a petting zoo, which triggers her childhood phobia of goats.
