When Bobby is sent to Cotton's old military school, it turns out be a lot softer than it was in his day. A fact that doesn't sit well with Cotton, who quickly takes over and tries breaking Bobby.
Tropes:
- Foreshadowing: When Bobby first arrives at the military school and Cotton points out The Hole, it's got cobwebs and overgrown grass covering it, hinting towards the fact that it hasn't been used in years.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While Cotton goes completely off the deep end in how he fixes the situation and doesn't seem to realize some disciplines he went through there would be looked down on today, nor does he seem to realize the potential benefits of what some of the changes to the facility could bring, he does point out the families of the cadets didn't spend money to bring them there just to have them lounge around. Considering the Scare 'Em Straight prospect was part of the reason they sent Bobby there, he does have a bit of a point.
- Lie Back and Think of England: Peggy advises Bobby to do this when he's in a jam, although she makes the point that she doesn't know what it means. When the time comes, Bobby simply thinks of British figures, like Hugh Grant.
- Military School: Cotton has fond memories of his old military school and its hardcore training, so he's horrified to learn that due to parental pressure it has become more like a day camp where students are well taken care of while still adhering to military life. He takes over and reinstates his era's stern discipline.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Hank immediately screams when he hears from Didi that Cotton had taken over the school, immediately fearing how he was treating Bobby.
- No-Sell: No matter how much he tries to make Bobby suffer, Cotton can't get his grandson to crack: telling him to pick up all the leaves on the school grounds with a fork leads him to pretend that he's been eating them since he was given a fork but in reality he stuffed the leaves down his shirt, telling him to eat everyone's leftovers as a stack of mixed-together gloop just leads him to loosen his belt when he's halfway through and making him sit on a huge cube of ice in his underwear until it's melted into the shape of an armchair doesn't faze him either, claiming that Peggy's always told him that his physique is well-suited for cold climates. Hank points out that this isn't necessarily a bad thing.Cotton: I guess he was just born a pile of mush.
Hank: Well, I guess you could say that, but maybe mush isn't so bad. You can keep stomping on it, but it's all give. It just stays mush. You can't build it up, but you can't break it down either. In a funny way, mush kinda has the edge. - Out of Focus: This is the only episode where Bill, Dale and Boomhauer don't appear.
- Punishment Box: As a last resort, Cotton locks Bobby in "The Hole," a small concrete bunker that was used in his day to break the spirit of the most difficult cadets. Cotton is puzzled to find him emerging from it three days later with no apparent ill effects. Bobby later admits that he did have some trouble with it at first, but once he noticed an inspirational piece of writing on one of the walls, he had a much easier time toughing it out, which is then shown to be Cotton's own name on the wall stating that he was there only for two days.Bobby: I've slept on a mattress. I've slept on cement. I'm a mattress guy.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: The headmaster of the school tells Cotton he can't just walk in and fire him. He's proven wrong when Cotton phones up the chairman of the board of trustees, an old war buddy and general, and he's indeed fired.
- Special Guest: Phil Hendrie as the Commander.
- Torture Is Ineffective: After all of Cotton's rough treatment of Bobby fails to break him, Hank explains that he's like a pile of mush in that he can't be broken down, which gives him an edge. Cotton then muses that had Bobby been captured during WWII he would have driven his captors crazy by not responding to their torture.
- Training from Hell: Cotton trains Bobby extra hard with the intention of breaking him down and rebuilding him into a "super-cadet".
