Peggy gets mad at Hank after she learns back in high school , he had mono instead of a bad back, ruining their own personal love story. Bobby gets a secret admirer for Valentine's day and he's eager to find out who it is.
Tropes used in the Episode:
- Celeb Crush: Bobby has one on gymnast Kerri Strug, best known for competing in the 1996 Olympics by performing a vault with an injured ankle. She even makes a cameo in his Imagine Spot and he's hopeful she's his Valentine.
- Digging Yourself Deeper: Hank makes a puddle on the ground and has Peggy to come outside and throws a jacket on the puddle, so she can walk by without getting soaked, but that exposed another of Hank's lies: he claimed that said jacket was stolen by gangsters due to it being the wrong color.
- "Fawlty Towers" Plot: Hank was able to maintain the lie of him having mono pretty well until 20 years later when Peggy, looking at his file from Arlen High School, discovers he really had mono. It then turns into this, with Peggy confronting him and Hank claiming he shared a soda with one of the guys on the football team. Peggy does more snooping around where she finds out he got it from Amy Edlin. It's when Peggy talks to Amy that she learns the truth.
- The Grovel: Hank does everything he can to win back Peggy's heart in the second act, by giving her flowers, drinking a whole bottle of champagne from one of her pumps and getting drunk enough to sing her a love song (both happened off-screen), playing guess-who by covering her eyes, but it ends up burning them due to him having gasoline in his hands and starting a splash fight while doing dishes and letting a pig run loose in the house based on a movie and tries to urge Peggy to help him chase it around, but it backfires when he falls and hurts his back. Initially, she isn't enamoured with his attempts, but while recalling his gestures with the neighborhood women, they all realize it's a nice, new romantic story and she forgives him by recreating the phone call.
- How Dad Met Mom: A Flashback is shown with Peggy telling the story of the most romantic moment between Hank and Peggy: back in high school, Hank was confined to bed, due to his "bad back", and Peggy, who's attempts to make dinner for him ended in disaster, got a reprieve when Hank calls her and tells her what happened, but the two roleplay over the phone in a nice romantic conversation. A couple weeks later, they were engaged to be engaged.
- Hypocrite: Peggy's mother, Maddy, whom chastised Peggy in the flashback for using contractions. Flash forward 20 years to The Stinger, with Bobby eating his chocolates and Maddy chasing the pig, urging him to help her chase it, claiming "It's crazy. It's fun."
- Peggy being so adamantly upset at Hank for not revealing the truth over their Valentine's story involves a bit of this, as the story itself involves Peggy decieving Hank over the dinner she'd cooked him while talking over the phone.
- Lady Looks Like a Dude: Bill does this with Peggy when he sees her from a distance, with an unshelved appearance, thinking it was her brother, which earns him a punch on the arm by Hank.
- Love Letter Lunacy: Bobby gets a love letter and plans to charm her over at his house. This ends up being played for laughs when the admirer turns out to be his grandmother Maddy.
- Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught: What Amy Edlin says to try and persuade guys to do what she wants: "Is she here? I don't see her." Says this to Hank when attempting to woo him and then 20 years later, working at the Pink 'N' White grocery store to a man to get him to have a free sample of a sausage when he was reluctant to due to his fear of getting his wife mad due to him spoiling dinner.
- Obfuscating Disability: Hank, who lied to Peggy telling her he had a bad back when he really had mono.
- Platonic Valentine: The opening scene has Bobby wanting to give Joseph a Valentines Card saying "Hey, hot stuff", which he meant as a compliment to his skateboarding skills. But Hank tells him it wouldn't be a good idea as girls will think he's "sensitive", and suggests one saying "Hey, you're OK" before throwing away the "hot stuff" one.
- Poor Communication Kills: Really, this whole plot could have been avoided if Hank only told Peggy about the kissing and mono to begin with.
- Riddle for the Ages: Yes, it's just a Running Gag, but one can still get curious what movie has lovers chasing around a pig.
- Special Guest: Jennifer Jason Leigh voices Amy Edlin.
- Spock Speak: The argument Peggy and her mother has while the former prepares Beef Wellington for Hank, which is almost devoid of contractions:
- Peggy: Mom, would you stop it? He is my boyfriend, it is my dinner, I will cook it.
Maddy: But, Peggy, if Hank discovers you cannot bake, it is all over.
Peggy: You think I can't see that?!
Maddy: Do not say "can't". You will not use contractions in this house.
- Valentine's Day Episodes: The episode takes place around Valentines Day, with Hank trying to woo back Peggy and Bobby getting a secret admirer.
- Woman Scorned: Peggy, although she's more mad about the romantic story being wrecked than the lies Hank told her.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: What Amy does to get Hank's attention in the 1970s, first by snagging her jeans legging on her bike chain and while he frees her, she then claims her boyfriend was killed in action in Vietnam (when in reality they broke up).
