Bobby eats the lutefisk brought by the new female pastor at the church and the next day, after going to the bathroom, accidentally burns down the church. Cotton is blamed for it , due to his hostile and sexist attitude.
Tropes:
- Badass Boast: Reverend Stroup gives a good one for her congregation after the fire: "You can burn down our church, but you cannot burn down our faith. Our faith is the kind of stuff that our children's pajamas should be made of!"
- Balloon Belly: Bobby has trouble squeezing into his Sunday best after pigging out on the lutefisk.
- Big Eater: Bobby completely scarfs down Reverend Stroup's lutefisk while hiding, saying it's delicious despite its foul smell. And it was said there was enough to feed 30 people. This would kick-start the plot of the episode.
- Brick Joke: During Reverend Stroup's first sermon, she has the congregation give each other hugs as a way to demonstrate God's love to one another. Dale asks Cotton for hug, but the touch averse Cotton rudely refuses. At the very end, after Cotton makes the decision to take the blame for burning down the church, he publicly apologizes in front of the rebuilt church and Reverend Stroup tells the audience about how the Bible teaches the importance of forgiveness, and to demonstrate how the community has forgiven Cotton for his reprehensible act, the entire congregation lines up to give Cotton a hug, with Dale being the most enthusiastic.
- Cassandra Truth: Hank and Peggy don't believe Cotton about the Man with the Terrible Smell being responsible for burning down the church. Not even Dale (one of his biggest kiss-ups) is willing to take his side. It wasn't until Bobby confesses everything that they all see he was telling the truth.
- Conscience Makes You Go Back: Bobby nearly runs away and prepares to take a bus to Mexico after the guilt overtakes him. Then he runs into Didi, who has a talk with him about how it's important to take responsibility for your actions, something that Cotton also believes. This makes Bobby come back to confess the truth.
- Death Glare: Hank gives Peggy one after a guilt-stricken Bobby runs out of the kitchen, thinking he just was sensitive to the church burning down (unaware he was the reason for the fire) and lamenting how sensitive he is and how he feels like a poet. After the look, Peggy then clarifies by saying "a cowboy poet", which satisfies Hank.
- Department of Redundancy Department: From Reverend Stroup after the church fire: "I just spoke to the arson investigator. His investigation points to... arson!"
- Destroy the Evidence: Peggy brought a voice recorder with her when she and Hank are in the interrogation room with Cotton, trying to pry out of Cotton that he was responsible for the fire. But after Bobby comes in and tells the truth, she hastily destroys the tape.
- Doting Grandparent: He might have gotten a few insults out (calling Bobby "Stinky") but Cotton takes the heat for everything in order to protect his beloved grandson from getting his record tainted as an arsonist. Cotton even says he'd take a literal bullet for Bobby without question in order to save him but "not in the face: that's how I make my livings."
- Everyone Has Standards:
- Cotton may be a raging sexist who's not afraid to share his views on Reverend Stroup, but he makes it clear he's not an arsonist. However, when Bobby admits to being the real culprit, he's willing to claim he did it in order to save his grandson.
- Hank has put up with a lot from Cotton, but he might actually disown him for the arson.
- Failed a Spot Check: Reverend Stroup finds the pan for her lutefisk in the trash and assumes someone threw it out from disgust. She fails to notice that only the pan is in the trash, and not any of the actual fish, which would imply it was eaten.
- Faint in Shock: Bobby faints during Reverend Stroup's Prayer Circle. He has an entire day consumed with shame and remorse, and when he hears an official announcement that the police are on the trail of the "arsonist," the sheer terror on top of it all drives him into a faint.
- Growling Gut: Bobby during church service when the lutefisk doesn't agree with him.
- Hard Truth Aesop: The reason why Cotton decided to take the fall for the church burning. As he points out, and Hank and Peggy quickly agree that Bobby’s reputation would be forever ruined and may have to spend a good amount of time in jail should he confess to the arson. It isn't the most moral message but it shows how one act can ruin your entire future, even if it was an accident.
- House Fire: Bobby is responsible for the church fire when he tried to use the matches to burn away the bad smell. But he quickly went out the window and joined his family. Unknowingly, the matches caused the fire that burned down the church.
- Hypocritical Humor: Peggy and Bobby at the end. Bobby blamed Cotton for playing soccer in the house and breaking the arm of Peggy's Boggle trophy, saying she will never forgive him for it. But then Bobby confesses he did it, for which Peggy grants him a pass.
- Iron Lady: Reverend Stroup doesn't let the misfortune she suffered in the episode bring her down - she still manages to keep the faith.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Cotton is his usual misogynistic self, sharing his thoughts on the new preacher being a woman. But he is not evil enough to burn down the church. And when Bobby finally confesses to everything, Cotton decides to take the heat for him so not to ruin Bobby's life. Cotton may have a lot of issues, but this selfless act no doubt proves how much he loves his grandson.
- Minnesota Nice: Reverend Stroup comes from Minnesota and shown to be quite the pleasant and forgiving Christian woman who even shares Hank's love of sports.
- Mistaken for Misogynist: Downplayed in the sense that Cotton is a raging sexist, but even he wouldn't stoop so low as to burn down the church to run off Reverend Stroup. He nonetheless gets blamed for it.
- Move Along, Nothing to See Here: Played for Laughs in the morning after Cotton's arrest and Hank says this, commenting it's like a circus out there, then cutting to see it was just Bill, Dale and Boomhauer standing around before they leave.
- Must Make Amends: Already suffering great guilt over the fire, Bobby returns to tell the truth after talking with Didi.
- Oh, Crap!:
- First, when Bobby locks the church bathroom door, trying to get rid of his stench. When someone tries to enter the bathroom, Bobby tries desperately to get rid of the smell with matches, before running off.
- Hank and everyone when they smell the fire that ultimately burns the church down. And Bobby has a brief moment when he suspects Hank smells the lutefisk beforehand.
- Bobby when he hears the arson investigator mention that the fire started in the men's room.
- Cotton when he suspects the police are on his trail and tells Dale his side of the story; Dale doesn't believe him and states he needs to run away.
- Cotton again when he sees the police coming and tries to hide in the suitcase before he gets arrested.
- Bobby Hill when he confesses the truth that he burned down the church. Hank orders him to confess to the police and is also worried about a potential trial for Bobby's fire. Cotton also barbs if Bobby informs the police of what happened in the church, the boy's life will get a lot worse than he can imagine.
- And Cotton once again at the ending where Reverend Stroup and the congregation forgive him and show their love by giving him a hug, all one at a time.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: Cotton takes the blame for his grandson, citing that no one will let Bobby live it down. Hank also points out how Bobby could get an actual criminal record for this that would define him for the rest of his life.Cotton: Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt your feelings, stinky?
Bobby: Grandpa...
Cotton: It don't feel so good, does it? (Bobby shakes his head) Well, get used to it! 'Cause that's what people are gonna call you if you go blabbin' to the police. Stinky!
Peggy: He's right. Oh, Lord, and there are other names, too!
Hank: Yeah, how about arsonist? That's what they'll be calling him in State of Texas vs. Bobby Hill.
Peggy: So many names! - Pet the Dog: Kahn joins the prayer circle in his Buddhist garb after the church fire.
- Potty Emergency: Eating an entire lutefisk quickly takes its toll on Bobby, which eventually results in this for him come church time. Unfortunately, it was only the beginning of the problems.
- Real Men Hate Affection: Cotton doesn't take it well when Stroup has the churchgoers hug each other. Dale tries to do Cotton but he denies him. And in the end, after Cotton takes the fall for Bobby, Reverend Stroup forgives him and to show forgiveness, have everyone hug him. They do so, much to his chagrin.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Didi of all people is the one who winds up talking to Bobby about one owning up to their actions.
- Shout-Out: To The Fugitive; Cotton's assertion that the real culprit behind the fire was "the Man with the Terrible Smell" mirrors Richard Kimble's insistence that "the man with one arm" was the one who killed his wife.
- Special Guest: Reverend Stroup is portrayed by Mary Tyler Moore.
- Taking the Bullet: Discussed by Cotton, who says he would gladly take a bullet for his grandson, "but Not in the Face!; that's how I make my livings."
- Taking the Heat: At the end, Cotton takes the fall for the fire to protect Bobby by telling everyone that he was responsible for the terrible smell in the bathroom as not to ruin Bobby's life while he's still young.
- Toilet Humor: Bobby using the toilet after his lutefisk causes a huge stink in the bathroom. Cotton happens to walk in and screams and complains about the smell and tries to kill it by using his matches. But the strength of the stench runs him out.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Bobby completely chows down on the lutefisk, and when Reverend Stroup tries to find it, he throws the pan in the trash; this kicking off the suspicions that Stroup could be a victim of a hate crime. And when he goes to the bathroom at church, after Cotton leaves the matchbook, he tries to burn away the smell, but that leads to the church fire.
- You're Not My Father: Hank ponders if he could disown Cotton after thinking he's the arsonist, believing he's gone way too far and says if you can disown a child, you could possibly disown a parent.
