Guns And Gossip
Directed By: Marshall Herskovitz
Written By: Justin Tanner
A gun goes off in the high school, and since Brian was in the hallway nearby when it happened, he becomes a center of attention not just of the other students, but also Principal Foster (Bennet Guillory), who wants Brian to say what he saw. Meanwhile, a rumor goes around Angela and Jordan had sex, which distresses Angela to no end, especially when Patty finds out about it.
This episode contains examples of:
- Bring My Brown Pants: Rickie tells Angela even though his cousin brought the gun to school, when he dropped it and it went off, his cousin peed in his pants.
- Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: After Rayanne intimidates two boys who are bullying Ricky:Rickie: I could have handled that.
Rayanne: Yeah. You're doing great. - A Day in the Limelight: For Brian and Rickie, as they both become the focus of the investigation about the gun.
- Establishing Character Moment: At the parents meeting after the gun goes off, Amber (Patty D'Arbanville Quinn), Rayanne's mother, is snarking about everything Principal Foster says, and then asks Foster what he's going to do to protect Rayanne and the other kids, showing Amber as someone who doesn't give a damn about appearances, but is protective of her daughter. Then, when Patty finds her in the parking lot, we also see she's as much a girl as Rayanne is (see Manchild below).
- Gilligan Cut: After being approached by Rayanne to warn him not to talk about what happened with the gun, and then both Sharon and Gina (Marisa Schumann), who both want him to say what happened (Sharon because she thinks it's the right thing to do, Gina because she wants to interview Brian for the school paper), Brian is next seen in the counselor's office, claiming the shooting hasn't had an effect on him at all.
- Grew a Spine: After being intimidated most of the episode by Principal Foster, Brian tells him emphatically at the end he didn't see anyone with a gun, and if Foster tries to intimidate him again, he'll not only get a lawyer, but he'll sue the school for harassment and let the press know it's Foster who's killing the spirit of the school. Keep in mind Brian says this not just to Foster, but also with two police detectives in the room.
- He Is Not My Boyfriend: Angela denies to Patty that Jordan is her boyfriend, though Patty doesn't quite believe it at first.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
- As blasé as Rayanne acts towards Angela when she's freaking out about the rumor she slept with Jordan, Rayanne does confront Jordan later to ask him if he was the one who spread the rumor.
- Zig-zagged later with Jordan - on two different occasions, he goes to Angela to apologize to make it clear he wasn't the one who spread the rumor the two of them had sex, but each time, he messes up (the first time, he acts they like they should have had sex, while the second time, he tells Angela he has no interest in her that way).
- Manchild: Patty describes Amber as a rare female version of this trope, calling her a 40-year-old girl.
- Potty Emergency: Brian goes to the bathroom at the beginning of the episode, which is what puts him in the position to possibly see what happened with the gun in the first place.
- The Reveal:
- While in the bathroom, Angela overhears Sharon tell another friend of hers Brian was the one who told her he saw Angela and Jordan in the car having sex.
- Rickie is the one people assume brought the gun in, especially since he's been harassed by other students and he admits in class he's bringing a gun because he doesn't like being pushed around, and the teachers have no idea how tough it is for him. Near the end of the episode, Rickie admits to Angela it was his cousin who brought the gun, and he tried to stop him because he didn't want his cousin to get in trouble.
- Shout-Out: When Patty goes to Angela's room, Angela is listening to "Dreams".
- The Talk: Discussed - Angela says in a voiceover, "When I was 12, my mother gave me my sex talk. I'm not sure either of us has fully recovered."
- What the Hell, Hero?: Angela and Brian give each other this late in the episode - Angela because Brian lied about what she and Jordan really did, Brian because Angela lied when she claimed she didn't know Jordan was coming by his house.
