Kupitman "steals" Gleb for a day, as a drinking companion. Unfortunately, Kupitman overestimated Gleb's alcohol tolerance, and now must somehow hide his... condition from Kisegach, who's extremely worried about him, since yeserday they parted on non exactly good terms, and now he can be in trouble. Kupitman tries to hide Gleb from his mother, by disguising him as a corpse... but this quickly goes out of control when Kisegach orders for the "corpse" to be delivered to the morgue. Kupitman finds him too late, and Kisegach learns about this from a pathologist, which leads her to fainting. She punishes Kupitman by confiscating all of his alcohol.
Lobanov must quit smoking, so Olya asks Varya to control him. She uses progressively more extreme measures to ensure that he would not smoke, up to and including standing near the male restrooms and confiscating all cigarettes. Unfortunately, this still fails and Lobanov finally smokes a cigarette... only for his wife to appear and instantly recognise the smell of nicotine. She's extremely disappointed in him lying to her yet again.
Lyuba meets her ex, Fyodor, who now wants to resurrect their relationship... and Levin is a "fifth wheel" in his vision of their future. To protect Levin from possibly being hurt, Lyuba asks Bykov to impersonate Levin for just long enough to get rid of Fyodor. But Levin finds out, and gets offended by her lack of confidence in him.
This episode provides examples of:
- The Alcoholic:
- Lyuba's ex, Fyodor; according to Lyuba, his alcoholism was one of the reason why he leaved her: to be free to drink as much as he want.
- Kupitman "steals" Gleb for a day, as a drinking companion. This ends quickly, since, unlike Kupitman, Gleb has much weaker alcohol tolerance.
- Can't Hold His Liquor: Gleb turns out to have very low alcohol tolerance, and this is a reason why Kisegach extremely worries about him, since yesterday they parted on not exactly good terms. Unfortunately, Kupitman only learns about this after he lets Gleb to get drunk, and now must somehow hide him from his mother.
- Expospeak Gag: Bykov's monologue to Fyodor essentially boils to him calling Fyodor a moron, and threatening to kick his ass, but is delivered in such a way that Fyodor can't even follow up and is forced to submit (though it also helps that Bykov is physically tougher, too):Fyodor Hey, hello, four-eyed! So, you are Lyuba's new boyfriend?
Bykov [grabs his neck in pain grip]: Listen to me, you, victim of chaotic chromosome replication. Survival instinct is the most basic instinct of any living being; how you managed to turn it off while telling me this? I would pull out all your DNA threads until you fall apart. I would take puncture from such a place you don't know that it exists... just like the meaning of the word "puncture" itself. I would cut you into such a puzzle, no traumatologist in the world would fix you up. Do you understand this, you, socially unadapted pithecanthropus? Yes? Then crawl back to your cave, before your brain, ruined by the alcohol, would boil from overexposure to information. Run! And, before I forget: Lyuba is my woman! Would see you near her again, you would die! - False Reassurance: Inverted. "Your son is delivered to the pathologist... but don't worry, he is just drunk, not dead!" As Bykov points out, the caller was supposed to start from mentioning that Gleb is alive, and end on his current location, not the other way around. No wonder, Kisegach instantly faints when she hears this.
- Jerkass: Lyuba's ex is extremely aggressive and mean. And this is not counting him being alcoholic and leaving Lyuba only so nothing would stand between him and booze. Now, he thinks that she somehow would welcome him back.
- Mugging the Monster: Lyuba's ex makes a big mistake when he attempts to attack Bykov (who impersonated Levin to protect him from possibly being hurt).
- Must Have Nicotine: Semyon must quit smoking, otherwise his and Olga's chances to conceive a child are slim. But desire for nicotine become progressively stronger with each passing moment... In the end, he still manages to smoke that cigarette, despite all Varya's attempts to stop him. Olga instantly recognises the smell, and gets angry.
- Nailed to the Wagon: Semyon's plot involves him trying to quit smoking (Emphasis on "trying"). But Varya is here to help, even if it meant confiscating cigarettes from anyone visiting the restrooms until Lobanov gives up and leaves.
- Non-Action Guy: Levin's plot is entirely build around him being completely unable to defend himself or Lyuba, hence why Lyuba asks Bykov instead.
- Smoking Is Not Cool: Smoking is one of the main reasons why Semyon and Olga keeps failing to conceive a child. To be sure that Lobanov would not smoke again, Olga asks Varya to control him. But this is easily said than done...
- What the Hell, Hero?: When Levin learns that Lyuba doesn't believe in him being able to deal with Lyuba's ex on his own, and that she asked Bykov for help, he feels offended, since, apparently, she believes that he can't protect Lyuba by himself.
