Alan plans to reinvigorate his chiropractic business via advertising, but needs an initial investment to get the ball rolling. Charlie, Evelyn, and Herb all invest, and Alan decides to turn it into a Ponzi scheme, all the while he forgets about the whole advertising thing and just enjoys the massive windfall. Gordon discovers that Rose's husband is just a mannequin and the marriage was a plot by Rose to make Charlie jealous, but Charlie remains oblivious.
Tropes
- Didn't Think This Through: Alan's Ponzi operation is way too small to not eventually collapse in on itself when he runs out of money, and his investors are all people he sees consistently so he can't expect to just avoid them.
- The Dog Bites Back: Alan talks himself into feeling justified in scamming his family and friends out of tens of thousands of dollars because he's spent his whole life being a doormat and he's just claiming what he deserves. Note that this is just how he manages to convince himself to not feel bad, and in no way actually justifies his actions.
- Good Hair, Evil Hair: When Alan's evil side encourages him to embrace being a 'bad guy' when grappling with guilt over scamming his family and friends, Alan asks if he could grow a mustache.
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Moral Event Horizon: Alan's negative actions throughout the series have typically been along the lines of being a cheapskate or leech, maybe the occasional bout of dubious parenting. In this episode, however, he outright scams tens of thousands of dollars out of his family and friends, with the promise that he's investing it into his business, when he's actually just using it to make it look like his business is doing well so he can get more investors. - My God, What Have I Done?: After managing to scam his way into approximately seventy-five thousand dollars from his family and friends, Alan finally takes a moment to stop himself and realize what he's doing is immoral and illegal. Although he's quickly talked out of feeling guilty by his evil side.
- Ponzi: Alan runs a pretty straightforward version of one in this episode after realizing how easily people are willing to hand over large sums of money. He gets Charlie to give him five grand, then Evelyn lends ten grand, and Herb throws in fifteen grand. He pays Charlie back plus a grand in interest after just two weeks, which makes Charlie give him another ten grand plus more, and Berta throws in ten thousand of her own. He pays Evelyn back plus two grand in interest, she reinvests twenty grand. He then reimburses Herb plus three grand, and Herb (really Judith) decides to reinvest even more. And it goes on and on like this.
- Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: Gordon tries to clue Charlie in on the fact that Rose's husband is actually a mannequin and her marriage is fake. Charlie doesn't pick up on his obvious hints, and Gordon laments how he's the one with the beach house while he's stuck delivering pizzas.
