Ruckus must settle some old issues with his father when his family comes to town.
Episode Tropes:
- A Day in the Limelight: An Uncle Ruckus centered episode.
- Abusive Parents: Mister Ruckus would beat Ruckus up for any misdemeanor (such as reading). Bunny Ruckus is this mentally, brainwashing Uncle into loving the white man, and developing his self hatred of black people.
- Asshole Victim: Both Mister Ruckus and Nellie Ruckus die by the end, and neither is missed because of how much of an asshole they were.
- Calling the Old Man Out: After years of suffering from his father's abuse, Uncle Ruckus finally calls him out for using his tragic past to avoid responsibility for mistreating his children.
- The Chain of Harm: The main theme of this episode. Uncle Ruckus's hate for black people actually stems from his hate of his abusive father, Mister Ruckus. We also learn that Mister’s abusive tendencies stem from the abuse he himself suffered from both white supremacists and his very abusive mother Nelly. We can only assume that Nelly’s childhood wasn’t very good either.
- *Crack!* "Oh, My Back!": This is how Mister Ruckus ultimately dies-he tries to strike Uncle Ruckus when the latter finally stands up to him, only to suffer an attack of lumbago and fall into his mother's grave, breaking his neck.
- Death by Falling Over: This happens to Mister Ruckus when his back gives out.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Mister Ruckus beats up Ruckus for various harmless reasons like breaking a vase, having fun, or wanting to be something in his life when he grows up.
- Freudian Excuse:
- We learn from this episode that Uncle Ruckus’ hate for black people actually stems from the hate of his own abusive father, Mister Ruckus. His mother Bunny also indoctrinated Uncle to love white people while also letting him believe that he is an adopted white person whose skin turned black.
- Mister Ruckus himself also has this. He was hated and abused by his mother Nelly, as well as physically assaulted by racist white people during the Jim Crow era. He took out all of his anger on his sons, especially Uncle Ruckus. That being said, the elder Ruckus's actions are definitely not treated sympathetically.
- Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Uncle Ruckus' childhood can be both this and tragic at the same time due to
how many times the line has been crossed. - Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Ruckus' Pet the Dog side shows when he interacts with his mom and brothers (all of whom are black).
- Karmic Death: Mister Ruckus celebrates the death of his mother Nelly and calls his son Uncle a failure during the funeral. Uncle Ruckus calls him out for adapting his mother’s abusive tendencies and taking out his anger on his son. Mister becomes angry and winds up to hit Ruckus, only to suffer a spasm of lumbago and fall into Nelly's grave, where he dies from a broken neck.
- Last Disrespects: Mister Ruckus openly celebrates his mother's death at her funeral.
- Only Sane Man: Ruckus' younger twin brothers Darryl and Darrel are the only two members of his family who aren't Jerkasses or Boomerang Bigots.
- Prodigal Family: Uncle's nasty grandmother Nelly comes to Woodcrest to spend her final moments. She's followed by Uncle's abusive father Mister and his white supremacist mother Bunny. The only one Uncle tolerates is his mother —even though she filled his mind with lies about being a white man with a skin disease— and younger brothers. Nelly keeps berating her son Mister and, to a lesser extent, Uncle too. Mister keeps demeaning his son and occupying his shack even though he kicked Uncle out of the house for no reason when he was a kid. Finally, during Nelly's funeral, Mister tries to resume his favorite activity: hitting his son.
- Shout-Out:
- Mister throwing a young Uncle Ruckus out of his house is similar to how Albert threw Nettie out in The Color Purple (1985).
- Nelly ridiculing Mister in a flashback is done in a similar manner to how Brenda Baker did to Doughboy when he was a child in Boyz n the Hood.
- Undignified Death: Mister Ruckus is enraged when his son berates him for blaming his bad behavior on his mother, and immediately raises his beer bottle to hit him, only to suffer a spasm of back pain and fall into Nelly's grave, breaking his neck.
