Recap / S2 E04: Whataphobia

"You say you're not afraid of anything? Well I got something in this box that's gonna terrify you." "DNA proof we're related?"

A Plot: Lacey has to reveal to everyone that she has globophobia, a fear of balloons. After a discussion on phobias, Hank and Brent try to help Wanda discover what she fears.

B Plot: Oscar enlists Karen's help to "prove" to Emma that he can cook. When Karen's secret cooking wows dinner guests, Emma is out to show that Oscar isn't the chef he claims to be.

C Plot: Lacey misinterprets Davis' request as wanting a date. After reluctantly agreeing to accompany him, she discovers that he just wants to take her to a globophobic support group.

Tropes Referenced:

• Absurd Phobia: Lacey's fear of balloons is treated this way.
• Blatant Lies: Lacey tells Davis that she can't chat because she's swamped at The Ruby. Davis looks up from the counter to see no one else in the cafe.
• Brick Joke:
  • Brent and Wanda discuss early in the episode about how Davis thinks that Battlestar Galactica (1978) may have actually happened. Later, when Davis and Lacey arrive in the city, Davis is explaining his theory to Lacey (much to her annoyance).
    Lacey: I didn't see where that was going. Now that you've explained it, I see it goes nowhere.
  • Hank complains that a fear of balloons should be called "balloonophobia", because calling it "globophobia" means that people who are afraid of globes have no name for their phobia. Later, while trying to find out what Wanda is afraid of, he shows her a globe. She doesn't get scared, but Brent does.
• The Cameo: The proprietor of the mini-golf course is played by Pat Fiacco, then-mayor of Regina.
• Complaining About Things You Haven't Paid For: Oscar threatens to stop being a customer at the mini golf course. The owner then points out that he lets Oscar play for free.
• Distinction Without a Difference:
  Emma: You've got to stop with this revenge.
  Oscar: This is not about revenge. This is about getting even.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: The way Emma reacts to the fact that Karen is cooking for Oscar is treated like they're having an affair.
• "Fawlty Towers" Plot: Subverted. Hank is freaking out about keeping a lie he told Brent when they were kids about being allergic to bees. As it turns out, Brent had figured out it was a lie mere minutes after Hank told it... because Hank had climbed a tree to mess around with a beehive and pretend to be Winnie the Pooh.
  Brent: I realized at that moment that you were either not allergic to bees, or an idiot. I later replaced "or" with "and".
• Feminine Women Can Cook: Karen wants to keep her cooking skills a secret because she thinks she'll lose respect as a police officer.
• Lethal Chef: Oscar tries to hide the fact that he is one.
• Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Hank thinks this trope is in play when he asks Wanda not to tell Brent that he isn't really allergic to bees and she acts like the conversation never happened. Turns out she just wasn't paying attention and genuinely had no idea what Hank just said.
• Shout-Out: Kid!Hank pretends to be Winnie the Pooh in Brent's flashback.
• Start My Own: After Oscar's run-in at the mini golf place, but before he starts his cooking plot with Karen, he is caught by Emma in the basement attempting to build his own mini golf course.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: When Emma comes into the house and asks why Karen is there, Oscar replies, "She's not doing the cooking for me, if that's what you're thinking."
• Sustained Misunderstanding: Lacey thinking Davis has a crush on her and wants to take her on a date.
• "What Do They Fear?" Episode: For Wanda. The ending shows that she has agoraphobia, which may or may not have been caused by Brent mocking the notion that anyone could ever be afraid of open space, putting the idea in Wanda's head just as she walks outside and notices all the open space of Saskatchewan.