Buck Strickland's wife catches him having an affair with his mistress Debbie and he loses everything, while Hank gets caught in a triangle between Buck's wife and Debbie. Peggy takes over the Sugarfoot's restaurant after Buck passes ownership to Hank.
Tropes:
- Asshole Victim: Due to her threats to wreck Hank's marriage and how she was presumably planning to kill Buck and Miz Liz (and possibly Hank and Peggy, although more of that is established in the following episode), the audience won't be shedding any tears for Debbie.
- Butt-Monkey: Hank does not have a good time in this episode, being caught right in the middle of the Love Triangle between Debbie and the Stricklands. Miz Liz tries to seduce Hank to get a rise out of her husband, Buck threatens him with a shotgun, and Debbie tries to force herself on Hank before she threatens to tell Peggy they slept together.
- Chekhov's Gun: Literally. Buck shows Hank his shotgun as being one of the few possessions he was able to keep from the divorce. The same gun is later appropriated by Debbie, presumably to murder the Stricklands.
- Cigarette of Anxiety: Dealing with the stress of his problems with Miz Liz and fearing he'll lose his job (though he's not really willing to admit it), Hanks asks Dale for a cigarette. After some ribbing, Dale gives him one, with Hank visibly shaking as he smokes.
- Cliffhanger: The last scene has Peggy cooking some food at Sugarfoot's only to hear a gunshot, which makes her investigate, where she finds Debbie dead in the dumpster with a rifle, and ends with a To Be Continued notice.
- Comically Missing the Point: Even though Hank corrected Luanne about Debbie not being Buck's wife when she attended the awards ceremony with him and dressed up gorgeously, he thought that Debbie didn't get a date... despite it's clear that they are having an affair with both even kissing in the very next scene.
- Custom Uniform of Sexy: While Hank gets promoted to manager by Miz Liz even after the attempted affair by the latter, he has to wear a new uniform complete with jean shorts much to her liking. This gets him teased by his co-workers with Joe Jack referring to him as "boy toy" or "Miz Liz's Debbie".
- A Deadly Affair: A Love Triangle between Buck, Miz Liz and Debbie (with Hank being roped into it) ends with Debbie being found dead in a dumpster.
- Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: Averted. Debbie tries to force herself on Hank, chasing after him in her underwear and screaming nobody rejects her. This is treated as horrible and Debbie is very clearly meant to be seen as a villain for it.
- First Girl Wins: In the end, Buck comes to his senses and begins to pine for Miz Liz, and after Hank arranges a secret get-together with both of them, they rekindle their relationship. Buck decides to commit himself to her (at least for now) and end his affair with Debbie.
- It's All About Me: As a result of Hank gaining ownership of Sugarfoot's from Buck, Peggy gains ownership of it as well (due to Texas being a community property state), and she congratulates Hank while shamelessly congratulating herself for it. She then takes over the restaurant, running it as she sees fit (rebranding it "Peggy's Sugarfoot's"), mainly by changing the decor to her liking and even having a toy train running around saying "No substitutions" with her face on it. And when Hank asks if she's seen Debbie after she threatens to tell Peggy about the fake affair, Peggy gets offended with how her husband doesn't even comment on all the work she's done.
- Kick the Dog: Buck has the nerve to give Debbie earrings which belonged to Miz Liz's mother.
- Killed Off for Real: Debbie Grund
- Lightswitch Surprise: After his encounter with Debbie, Hank returns home, only to find Buck waiting in the living room with his rifle, and confronts Hank about making out with Miz Liz. Hank then reassures him he would never mess around like this. Buck believes him and laments that he screwed up, crying that he wants Liz and his money back.
- Loophole Abuse: Buck "sells" his ownership of his Sugarfoot's Restaurant to Hank so that Miz Liz can't get it in the divorce, and so Hank can transfer ownership back to Buck after the divorce is final.
- Buck: Miz Liz can't have half of what I don't own, see?
- Ms. Fanservice: Debbie is a very attractive blonde not afraid to show off her body, mainly seen in a tiny shirt showing off her belly and short shorts. And when she tries to seduce Hank, she has nothing on but black underwear.
- Not Good with Rejection: Debbie doesn't take it well when Hank rejects her advances and drives off.
- NOBODY says "no" to Debbie Grund!!
- Operation: Jealousy: Miz Liz uses Hank to make Buck jealous. First by inviting Hank over to her house because of "problems" with her hot tub and she attempts to seduce him, but he then quickly runs off. Then she lies to Buck about the affair to get back at him for his infidelity. Hank of course isn't happy about being used and dragged through the mud like this.
- Plot-Inciting Infidelity: The opening scene has Hank accepting the Blue Flame of Valor award from the Texas Propane Gas Association with Buck attending the ceremony with Debbie. As Hank is in the middle of his acceptance speech which honors Buck, Miz Liz barges in and publicly confronts Buck about the affair, leading to a heated exchange ending with Liz throwing Buck out of the house along with the lake house and initiating divorce proceedings.
- Restaurant-Owning Episode: Buck gives Hank ownership to his restaurant Sugarfoot's (and plans for Hank to transfer ownership back to Buck after the divorce) and because of Texas ownership laws within marriages, Peggy owns half and runs the restaurant herself. Her reign results in changes, doing away with the wooden BBQ house-style look with sawdust on the floor and turning it into a regular style restaurant with a feminine touch. These changes don't really go over well with anyone, especially Buck and Miz Liz.
- Riches to Rags: Buck is shown to be quite a wealthy, successful businessman, but after feeling the wrath of Miss Liz and her lawyer, Jewel Crawford, he loses everything (with some exceptions of items he gave away to be brought back to him later on after the divorce finalizes), being reduced to living with Debbie in her apartment with her roommate Gale (a male stoner) with nothing left but his rifle, a saddle and a box of cash.
- Rhyming Names: Buck's long-suffering wife, Miz Liz.
- Serial Homewrecker: Debbie initially appears as The Mistress for Buck, but during the aftermath of the affair, she tries to have an affair with Hank (the new manager of Strickland Propane), who rejects her advances. Debbie then threatens to tell Peggy they're messing around if Hank doesn't play along.
- Special Guest: Kathleen Turner as Miz Liz and Reese Witherspoon as Debbie.
- Sympathetic Adulterer: Miss Liz is treated leagues more sympathetic than Buck when she attempts to start her own affair with Hank. In her words, after years of getting cheated on by her husband, Miss Liz wanted to give him some payback. It helps that she actually does feel guilty when Hank calls her out on dragging his name through the mud just to hurt her husband.
- Under New Management: With help from her lawyer, Jewel Crawford, Miz Liz takes over the ownership of Strickland Propane from Buck as a result of the divorce proceedings. She promotes Hank to manager and runs the business like normal, though she naturally has it in for Debbie, who demotes her to tank wipe (which according to Hank is the worst paying and most degrading job at Strickland).
- Split-Screen Phone Call: After arranging a dinner meeting with Buck to get him and Miz Liz together, Hank gets a call from who he thinks is an older lady asking for Peggy but after he tells her she's away, the lady reveals herself to be Debbie as the call becomes split screen. Debbie then threatens to tell Peggy about how they're messing around, and forces Hank to meet her and have an affair. Hank agrees then heads to Sugarfoot's to try and warn Peggy about her.
- Wham Shot: Debbie's dead body in the dumpster of Sugarfoot's. Followed by a Wham Line from Peggy:Peggy: Somebody shot Debbie!
