Luanne's mother, Leanne, returns from prison after stabbing her husband with a fork. The Hills reluctantly let her move into the home's garage, while Bill ends up in a relationship with her.
Tropes:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Leanne becomes infatuated with Buckley (her daughter's boyfriend), who is horrified by her advances.
- It's hinted by Boomhauer that Leanne also came on to him in the past and he dislikes her as much as everyone else.
- Agony of the Feet: Happens to Bill in Hank's garage when a table clamp falls on his foot, and Hank takes a look at it. It's revealed he has bad toe fungus he's been keeping secret for ten years.
- The Alcoholic: Leanne, who ends her sobriety very quickly when she becomes disgusted over Bill.
- Ax-Crazy: Leanne once she goes back to her drinking.
- Bait-and-Switch: Leanne's first appearance, with a truck pulling up where we first see a Butch Lesbian with Luanne happily exclaiming "Mama!" before running into the much more feminine-looking Leanne.
- Berserk Button: Buckley calling a drunk Leanne a skank almost gets him stabbed with a fork.
- Big Bad: Downplayed with Leanne. She's not malevolent, but she takes advantage of people and becomes abusive while drunk.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Leanne claims that she has changed and wants to be a better person. She doesn't and it gets worse after she starts drinking again.
- Character Name Alias: Bill, who gets his medicine under the name Norman Schwarzkopf, after the General best known for his service in The Gulf War.
- Daddy Didn't Show: Luanne asks Leanne to show up to the mother-daughter night at the Arlen Beauty Academy, but Leanne never made it as she was too busy flirting with Bill.
- Déjà Vu: Leanne was previously arrested for stabbing Luanne's dad with a fork. She almost does the same with Buckley, and everyone is quick to react.
- Domestic Abuse: Leanne was sent to jail for stabbing her former husband with a fork and even before that, Hank claims that their marriage was "18 years of drunken hell".
- Once she starts drinking she quickly becomes abusive to Bill. Bill makes the best of it and tries to make excuses like a typical victim, and is relieved when she finally leaves for good.
- Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male: Averted in every sense of the word. Leanne's abuse of Bill and sexual harassment of Buckley are played straight and all the other characters react appropriately horrified.
- The Dreaded: Except for Luanne, Leanne's this to every person who knew her before she went to prison.
- When Peggy hears she's out of jail, she immediately thinks Leanne broke out and says she knew jail wouldn't be able to hold her.
- Luanne's father Hoyt made it clear he's never leaving his job on an offshore oil rig until he gets a copy of Leanne's death certificate.
- Enforced Method Acting: In-universe; during a Manger Babies show, Luanne has one of the puppets trying to stab another with a fork, with her in tears and shocking the audience.
- Falling-in-Love Montage: With Bill and Leanne.
- Gold Digger: Once Bill and Leanne start dating, it doesn't take long for her to take advantage of him and spend all of his money on herself.
- Hated by All: Nobody likes Leanne except Bill and Luanne, and even they don't like her by the end of the episode.
- Hint Dropping: Luanne and Leanne do this with the Hills, to stay with them, to which they initially stay silent on the matter, though Bobby eventually chimes in offering her to stay, to which Hank then sends him out of the house.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Bill getting into a relationship with Leanne, considering she's a gold-digging, drunken abuser. At the end, however, Bill says while he won't call the police for her stealing his car, he'll call them if she ever comes back.
- I Have No Son!: After Luanne refuses to leave with Leanne, she responds, "Fine! Then I ain't your sister no more!"
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Leanne when she's about to give Bill a foot massage, only for his fungus to come back (due to him not being afford to buy the medicine due to his excessive spending on her). She gets one from the fridge and then it's all downhill from there...
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: After being told by Peggy she needs to straighten herself up or leave, Leanne appears she's starting to get a grip on herself, then immediately attacks Peggy.
- Karma Houdini: It's clear that Leanne is no longer welcome in the neighborhood, not that she ever was anyway, but she steals Bill's car and escapes before anyone prepares to call the police. Bill decides to only do so if she comes back.
- Kick the Dog: Luanne's beauty school classmates and teacher taunt her when her mother fails to show up to the Mother-Daughter Day at the beauty academy.
- Lower-Class Lout: Leanne is a drunk, violent, abusive slut and jailbird.
- Making Love in All the Wrong Places: Both Bill and Leanne do this on Hank's workbench and on the mower. When Bill tells him this, Hank reacts in horror.
- Mum Looks Like a Sister: Averted, Leanne claims that people mistake her and Luanne to be sisters but it's obvious that no one thinks that.
- Nose Tapping: Hank enforces this for his family if, or when Luanne's mom does something crazy. He immediately uses this when he connects her to a set of empty beer cans.
- Oh, Crap!
- Peggy and Hank have this reaction when Luanne tells them Leanne was released from prison.
- Hank also does it when he finds out that Leanne drank all the beer in the fridge, and rightfully so when she goes back to her abusive ways.
- Everyone at the party when Leanne gets ready to stab Buckley, especially with Dale yelling "Fork!"
- One-Shot Character: Leanne, who doesn't appear again after this episode (though some dialogue would indicate she landed herself back in prison).
- Parental Substitute: Peggy ultimately serves as this for Luanne in the end, even going to the Mother-Daughter Day at the beauty academy in The Stinger.
- Parents as People: While Leanne's alcoholism, abuse and gaslighting are depicted entirely negatively, she herself is not a gross caricature of a toxic person so much as a normal woman with a lot of big problems.
- Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Literally in Peggy's case, who says this just before she kicks Leanne's ass.Leanne: I kicked your brother's ass and I will kick yours too, sissy!
Peggy: Well there is one thing that you did not count on! My brother has got size six feet! BUT I DON'T! HO YEAH!!! - "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Peggy gives Leanne a good one after trying to stab Buckley.Peggy: Leanne, whether you like the title or not, you are this girl's mother. She has been waiting her whole life for a shred of attention from you. But you don't know how to return even a fraction of the love that you get from your child, or from your man. I hope someday you can live without alcohol, but until that day, we can all live very nicely without you.
- Redemption Rejection: After Peggy tells Leanne off, it looks like she's about to reform for a moment before attacking Peggy.
- Special Guest: Joanna Gleason as the Nurse.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Leanne starts off as a manipulative, neglectful slacker and then after she starts drinking again she becomes a violent, physically abusive monster who beats up Bill, sexually harasses Buckley before trying to stab him with a fork for calling her a skank, and then tries to assault Peggy before Peggy kicks her ass.
- Very Special Episode: Downplayed. The episode features a very earnest depiction of abuse, alcoholism and familial drama and doesn't joke about these things, but it's treated with the same tone as any of the show's other stories.
- Villainous Breakdown: Leanne, after Peggy beats her up and Luanne rejects her as family. She angrily steals Bill's car and drives away.
- You're Not My Father: Luanne says this to Peggy during an argument with her trying get Luanne to see her mother for who she really is.
