And a Diet Coke: Not long after they mourn the (supposed) deaths of Bo and Luke, Rosco and Enos are back on the beat as usual, as though nothing had happened. Rosco orders a meal fit for a Boss:
Enos: A double order of catfish, hush puppies, pickles and onions, large order of fries, and extra thick chocolate milk and two slices of pecan pie. Is that right?
Rosco: No, Enos, I don't want it a la mode. I gotta watch my calories!
Attending Your Own Funeral: Bo and Luke show up – naked – to their own wake after being missing for several hours and erroneously declared dead.
Card Sharp: The two crooks are con artists who cheat their victims with loaded dice and marked cards.
Clear Their Name: When Boss Hogg accuses the Duke boys of stealing his prized pocket watch, Uncle Jesse vows that he will prove they didn't do it "if it takes me the rest of my days".
Clothesline Stealing: The Duke boys are skinny dipping when their famous car gets stolen. With their clothes inside. Fortunately, there's a home nearby with laundry hanging out to dry.
Faking the Dead: After Boss has Bo and Luke declared legally dead and then tries to take advantage by accusing them of stealing his valuable pocket watch shortly before their accident, the Duke boys decide to stay in hiding long enough to work with Cooter to come up with a ghostly scheme to scare Boss and Rosco into admitting the watch was never stolen.
Halloween Episode: In reruns, this episode – along with "The Hazzardville Horror," from Season 3 – was often shown around the end of October.
Manly Tears: Rosco, when he sees the General Lee become submerged in the lake and no bodies are found, thinking that Bo and Luke are dead. Enos also begins to cry, clearly shaken by not being able to find any bodies. (Of course, the two car thieves that stole the General Lee are hiding in the swamp, chuckling at the search and crying police officers.) Later, Rosco trembles as he tries to tell Uncle Jesse the news about his nephews and expresses deep remorse for what hapepned, causing Jesse to begin choking back the tears as he, too, thinks that Bo and Luke are dead.
Mistaken for Afterlife: Reversed ... Bo, Luke and Cooter team up to trick Boss and Rosco into thinking the Duke boys have "come back from the afterlife" to haunt Boss until he admits the truth about the watch.
Never Found the Body: The inability for Rosco and Enos to find bodies in or near the General Lee – and their mere assumption that Bo and Luke were in the car – leads both to conclude the worst. And this, only after a few minutes of searching (and no dive team called in to search the lake).
Not Quite Dead: Rosco assumes that because the Duke boys – alive or dead – are nowhere to be found, they must be dead. (In reality, Bo and Luke are several miles away, trying to find some clothes.)
Swimming tropes:
Forgot I Couldn't Swim: Why Rosco can't help Enos search the lake when the General Lee becomes submerged. Rosco tearfully admits this as Enos is literally shouting at him and begging for help in searching the lake for what they think will be the bodies of Bo and Luke.
Gone Swimming, Clothes Stolen: Along with the General Lee, as Bo and Luke leave every stitch of clothing behind while skinny dipping ... and then the two car thieves show up. Of course, this'd lead to a major case of jumping to (mistaken) conclusions.
Skinny Dipping: An apparent favorite pastime of Bo and Luke, at least early in the series. This is the second time (at least) their favorite way of swimming leads to problems. As far as why this was used, most likely Fanservice — that is, to draw in young adult female viewers.
Although surprisingly, none of Bo and Luke's girlfriends are ever shown joining right in the nude swimming fun. (A surprise to see no bare-shouldered hotties with their hair all down playing with an equally nude Bo and Luke ... since no doubt the producers could have used it as a pull to show off Daisy, the female chick of this series.) However, it is strongly implied that Bo and Luke have engaged in skinny dipping with plenty of 18 to 25 year olds.
Tearjerker: Rosco convincingly informs Jesse that his nephews have drowned, leading to a truly heartbreaking reaction from the Duke family patriarch. Subverted in that viewers already are in the know that Bo and Luke — although naked — are safe and sound.
What Have I Done: After the General Lee crashes into the pond and Enos is unable to find any bodies – the two car thieves had escaped unharmed and hid behind the grass – Rosco believes he caused a tragedy.
