Alan buy a decorative bowl for use in Charlie's house, but Charlie hates it. The two brothers get in a fight over it, which results in Alan and Jake temporarily moving to Evelyn's house.
Tropes
- Blatant Lies: Charlie assures Nina that he wants to form a real relationship with her and that he's not looking to have sex with her right now. Just a couple minutes later, he straight up refers to her as a 'one-night stand' during a fight with Alan, realizing too late that she's right in front of him as he says it. She storms out.
- Escalating War: Alan buys a decorative bowl and puts it in Charlie's living room. Charlie doesn't like it. You wouldn't think that this disagreement would get to the point where Alan and Jake have to temporarily move out of Charlie's house, but it does.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Charlie is certainly being petty and childish, but he has every right to insist that a bowl he doesn't like not be placed in his living room, and Alan is a guest living rent-free at Charlie's house. The episode acts as if Charlie is the one in the wrong, oddly enough, as he's the one who ultimately has to apologize to Alan and make some concessions to him about his rights in Charlie's house.
- Once a Season: Alan getting in a fight with Charlie over some relatively petty and meaningless subject resulting in Alan having to temporarily leave Charlie's house, only to return by the end of the episode, was something that occurred once a season typically.
- Retcon: This episode, and many others in the series, acts as if Alan asked to move into Charlie's house after having no other place to go, and Charlie allowed him to move in. The reality is that Alan originally stayed at Charlie's house for less than a week before moving to Evelyn's house, and Charlie asked for them to move back in with him because he liked having Jake in his life. This does disarm the assertion that Alan is just a freeloading guest, as Charlie is the reason why Alan is there at all.
- Rules Lawyer: Alan buys a decorative bowl and puts it on the table by the door as a receptacle for keys. Charlie demands he remove it, as he doesn't like it. Alan interprets this as him not liking the precise location and use, so he fills it with butterscotch candies and puts it on the coffee table. Charlie is not amused.
