"Bullets Over Brock" is an episode in the sixth season of Reba.
Brock is secretly hiding at Reba's house garage to escape from his troubled marriage with Barbra Jean, which makes it difficult for Reba to relax. Reba convinces Brock to be honest with Barbra Jean, but the tension between the two of them causes them to end up deciding to file for divorce. Meanwhile Van is determined to improve Jake's soccer team performance, but things take a different turn when he gets fired as the coach.
Tropes in this episode include:
- 0% Approval Rating: Played for Laughs. Van gets fired as the soccer coach because everyone in the team, plus the team members' parents, want him gone.Jake: You're fired.Van: What'd you say?Jake: I said you're fired.Van: (laughs) Uh, Jake, you can't fire me.Jake: It's not just me. It's the whole team.Van: What, are you stupid kids crazy? The parents won't stand for this.Jake: It was the parents' idea.Van: So it's a coup, huh?
- It remains in place after Kyra replaces him as the team coach, as the kids' parents prefer Kyra over Van even though the team performance doesn't improve under her "leadership".Van: Kyra, you can't let them lose like that. Those psycho parents will tear you to pieces.Kyra: Thanks for the advice. Oh, uh, tell mom I won't be home for dinner because some of those psycho parents want to take me out for sushi.
- It remains in place after Kyra replaces him as the team coach, as the kids' parents prefer Kyra over Van even though the team performance doesn't improve under her "leadership".
- Be Careful What You Wish For:
- Reba has Brock go back to Barbra Jean in the hope that the two of them would talk things over and patch things up. Instead, they end up telling Reba that their talks end with them deciding to get a divorce, which is not what Reba had in mind.
- A more humorous example happens earlier in the episode, where Van talks to Jake with the intention of having him cut from the soccer team, only for Jake to tell him that Van is the one being cut from the team (and with the support of the whole team AND their parents, too).
- Bittersweet Ending: The episode ends this way. On the bitter end, Brock and Barbra Jean are going to get divorced. On the sweet(er) end, Cheyenne manages to rein Van in on his Sports Dad attitude regarding coaching sports so that Van will have a healthier relationship with their son than the one Van had with his own father. And Reba finds a relaxation venue through the video footage of Van's over-the-top behavior that Cheyenne taped.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: When Van claims that Cheyenne is just like Reba late in the episode, Cheyenne fires back with a retort... that ends with her calling Van a "mo-ron" precisely the same way Reba does, which Van points out to Cheyenne in return. Cheyenne can only scream "CRAP!!" in response before storming off.
- Delayed "Oh, Crap!": After viewing the video footage of Van's outrageous behavior and realizing that he's turning into his own father regarding coaching sports, Van sees nothing wrong until further conversation with Cheyenne clues him in on how bad the circumstance is or will be, especially with regard to their own son.Van: It's weird. That's my father.Cheyenne: Nope, nope. I-I had the camera. It was you.Van: No, I know it was me, but the way I was acting, that was my father. That's the way my dad coached me my whole life.Cheyenne: Oh, Van, that's so sad.Van: That's not sad. That's why I'm so good at sports.Cheyenne: Yeah, and it was probably why... you know —Van: Probably why what?Cheyenne: Well, why you hate your dad.Van: I don't hate my dad. I just, you know, don't talk to him. Or call him. Or think about him. Oh my gosh, I hate my dad, and I'm turning into him. Cheyenne, I don't want my well-enbrowed son to hate me!
- Groin Attack: After Barbra Jean accidentally shoots Brock with a paintball gun, she is not happy when the truth about Brock's "out-of-town business trips" is out and warns Brock that she's "aiming low" the next time she shoots, with Brock guarding his crotch with his hands as reaction.
- Headphones Equal Isolation: Technically "earbuds", but the effect applies all the same. Reba listens through the earbuds the messages in her relaxation tape to unwind before deciding to take a shower, not realizing that Brock is using the bathtub at the moment (the earbuds block out the sounds of water running while Brock is showering and the shower curtain is too thick and dark-colored to allow Reba to see the silhouette of his body behind it). Shower of Awkward ensues.
- Hypocritical Humor: After Van and Jake have a loud argument over Jake's performance in his soccer team and Van's treatment of said team, the following dialogue involving Cheyenne and Van comes across as such:Cheyenne: (quietly) Van, Mom just came back from the doctor's office and her blood pressure is off the charts, so keep your voice down.Van: (loudly) But that kid [Jake] is such an embarrass—Cheyenne: (more loudly) VAN, DID YOU HEAR WHAT I SAID?! STOP YELLING!!Reba: *emerges from behind the shelf space* Cheyenne, didn't I tell you I need peace and quiet?!Van: Yeah, Cheyenne, what's the matter with you?
- I Resemble That Remark!: After Van and Kyra's exchange about the parents' treatment towards Kyra, he and Cheyenne talk about Van's coaching attitude, especially with their upcoming childbirth in mind. Van protests being called "too intense" while speaking through gritted teeth.Cheyenne: Maybe your coaching style is a little too intense for our son.Van: (speaking through gritted teeth) Why do you keep saying I'm too intense?!
- Ironic Echo: Played for Laughs.
- After learning that the team doesn't perform any better under Kyra as the team coach than it did under Van, Van warns Kyra that "those psycho parents will tear you to pieces", only for Kyra to tell him that she won't be home for supper because "some of those psycho parents want to take me out for sushi", which exacerbates Van's mood about his 0% Approval Rating as the team coach, if anything.
- A positive example of this trope takes place at the end of the episode. Reba states "I'll never be able to relax now" after Brock and Barbra Jean announce that they're going to get divorced, but she changes her outlook after viewing the video clip of Van's over-the-top behavior at Jake's soccer practice that Cheyenne filmed, which causes her to laugh heartily, and she's calming sipping tea, grinning and giggling happily by the end of the footage segment.Reba: I'm definitely relaxed now.
- Like Father, Like Son: After watching Van's behavior on the video footage Cheyenne taped, Van remarks that this was the same behavior his own father exhibited when Van himself was young.note
- Right Behind Me: When Barbra Jean visits Reba early in the episode, Brock, having lied to Barbra Jean about staying inside Reba's garage by saying he's been out of town for business trips, hides in the living room, while Barbra Jean talks to Reba in the kitchen. Soon afterwards, Barbra Jean starts complaining about Brock, who overhears her complaints behind her, and Reba nudges her along, knowing that Brock wouldn't dare to try to stop them lest he blows his cover.
- Shower of Awkward: Reba goes through this once when she accidentally walks into Brock taking a shower due to her too busy listening to her relaxation tape before entering the bathroom, which doesn't help her to relax, as her next sentence makes clear: "What is an orange manatee doing in my shower?!"
- Sports Dad: Technically "sports brother-in-law/coach", as Van is the coach of Jake's soccer team and Jake's brother-in-law, but the trope applies otherwise because he pushes everyone in the team more than they're willing to take in his obsessive drive to improve the team performance, which culminates to the entire team AND THEIR PARENTS deciding to have Van fired as the team coach, as Jake confides to Van.
- Straw Nihilist: Played for Laughs. Van's assessment about Kyra's understanding (or lack thereof) regarding sports has this trope in mind, as he confides to Cheyenne.Van: Kyra as the coach? Kyra?! I mean, what's her philosophy of sports? "Hey, kids, soccer's important, but life itself is meaningless!"
- Suddenly Shouting: When Brock keeps asking Reba to let him stay in the garage longer after Reba finds him showering, Reba, feeling too worn out from the incidents to keep a calm attitude, talks to Brock with her voice breaking into shouting words mid-sentence.Reba: I'm under strict orders to keep my blood pressure at a minimum, AND YOU'RE NOT HELPING ONE BIT!!
- Take a Third Option: After receiving the news that he's fired as the soccer team coach, Van demands to know who's replacing him. It turns out to be Kyra of all people, and Van is not pleased.Van: Which father was it?Jake: It's not a dad.Van: Oh, is it one of Jimmy's two moms?!Jake: It's not a parent.Van: Then who is it?!*Cue Kyra walking into the kitchen*Kyra: Hey, Van. Tough break.
- Tempting Fate:
- Van scrutinizes Jake about who his replacement coach is after Jake says he's fired. Kyra's entrance answers Van's question.
- A positive version of this occurs at the end of the episode, where Reba, dismayed at the prospect of Brock and Barbra Jean getting a divorce, claims "I'll never be able to relax now." Then she sits down and turns on the TV, sees the video clip of Van at Jake's soccer practice that Cheyenne filmed, and promptly bursts into hearty laughter. By the time the video clip sequence ends, Reba is calmly sipping tea, grinning and giggling happily, before muttering to herself: "I'm definitely relaxed now."
