"Peggy And The Pirates" is an episode in the seventh season of Married... with Children.
In this episode, Peggy narrates a tale of pirates for a bedtime story to Sevennote , with the Bundys, the D'Arcy's, and Steve appearing in the story.
Tropes in this episode:
- Action Girl: Once she gets her hand on a sword, Princess Scarlett can fight with the best of them, easily taking down Rubio the Cruel's Mooks.
- Ambiguous Gender: Much like Marcy is frequently taunted about her supposedly masculine appearance in Real Life, often to the point of being outright mistaken for a man, her character is named "Cabin Boy/Girl". Even after exposing her apparently non-existent breasts to Jefferson's character, he still isn't sure, referring to her as "this", despite her insistence that she's a girl.
- Combat Pragmatist:
- When Rubio the Cruel fights Captain Courage, he brags that he was trained as a Master Swordsman by the finest dueling schools in Europe. Captain Courage shoots back that he learned to fight on the streets, and wins the duel by fighting dirty.
- When Princess Scarlet challenges Rubio to a sword fight, he easily subdues her with his awful singing.
- The Dreaded: Rubio the Cruel has this reputation, if the crew members who kill themselves just to avoid having to put up with his singing are any indication.Al (as pirate captain): Now we know why he's called "Rubio the Cruel".
- Driven to Suicide: Played for Laughs.
- Many crew members kill themselves after having to hear Rubio the Cruel sing.
- Earlier Bud (as Fluvio) threatens to throw three girls to sharks if they don't have sex with him; the three girls jump in without hesitation.Al: (as Captain Courage) Fluvio, how many times do I have to tell you? Don't give them a choice!
- Even Evil Has Standards: Played for Laughs. While Rubio the Cruel has no qualms with killing people, he's not desperate for a virgin enough to take Bud — er, Fluvio.Rubio: Prepare my virgin.*one of his subordinates drags Bud/Fluvio to him*
Rubio: Not that one. I haven't been at sea that long. - Fate Worse than Death: The crew members must consider the singing of Rubio the Cruel this trope if they'd rather kill themselves just to not have to hear it any longer.
- I Call It "Vera": A running gag through the episode is Al trying to unclog the toilet of the Bundys' upstairs bathroom. He finally resorts to using "Big Bertha", a large plunger he keeps in a safe.
- Informed Flaw: Steve/Rubio's voice is perfectly fine (his actor is a trained musical performer), yet everyone reacts like it's torture to have to listen to him sing. Or maybe it's just that he sings incessantly and they want him to shut up regardless?
- ...In That Order: After Rubio the Cruel captures Princess Scarlett:Rubio: Now, nothing will stop me from marrying you, collecting your dowry, having my way with you, and killing you...! Not necessarily in that order.
- Mid-Battle Tea Break: Captain Courage (Al) and Rubio's (Steve) fencing duel lasts so long that they continue fencing with one hand while sitting at the same supper table and eating with the other.
- Motor Mouth: Steve sings for so long, that the crewmen kill themselves rather than continue to listen.
- The Navigator: This is Kelly's role in Peg's story. Needless to say, she leads Scarlett's ship to crash into Captain Courage's.
- Overly Narrow Superlative: Peg's narration describes Rubio the Cruel as "The hardest working pirate in show business."
- Pirate Episode
- Royals Who Actually Do Something:
- Once Princess Scarlet gets a sword, she easily takes down Rubio the Cruel's minions. When she challenges Rubio himself, he takes her down with his Dreadful Musician singing.
- Subverted by Prince Paco, who's played by Jefferson. While he's supposedly meant to save Princess Scarlett, he's more interested in making time with the cabin boy-girl, played by Marcy.
- Stockholm Syndrome: Princess Scarlett starts to develop romantic attraction for Captain Courage some time after he makes her captive.Princess Scarlett: I wanted to hate that man and his rascal ways, but after a while I discovered something about him: a zest for life, a je ne sais quoi that was hard to obsess.
- Tempting Fate: Princess Scarlett, despite being a captive to Captain Courage, eventually comes to believe her captor possesses "a zest for life, a je ne sais quoi that was hard to obsess". Then Captain Courage picks his ear and show her the earwax in his finger.
