Recap / Corner Gas S 3 E 10 Safety First

"Here are the books. I think you'll find they're very fiscal; I've prepared them in a fiscal manner, and I'm sure you'll be satisfied with the fiscalliness. I'll be over there, and if you have any questions, I am a Libra!"

A Plot: Karen has been assigned to create the "Percy Pedals" bike safety book for kids. However, she has a few problems: she can't draw, and she's not a great writer, either. She enlists Brent and Wanda's help, but their convoluted ideas end up taking the book in the wrong direction.

B Plot: Hank finds out he's not a Virgo, but a Libra. This has him convinced that he must live his life differently. First he takes over as Lacey's busboy after the original one suddenly quits, then he takes a job as an accountant for the town. In the end he learns that, Virgo or Libra, he's still Hank, which means he still can't hold onto a job.

C Plot: Oscar gets Davis to help him fix his roof, but a great argument breaks out when Oscar keeps knocking over the ladder, stranding them.

Tropes Referenced:

• Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs:
  Emma: Put your differences behind you. This is about your words and your pictures coming together to create... pictures with words under them.
• Brick Joke: At the very beginning of the episode, Lacey tries to dissuade Josh from quitting his job as the Ruby's busboy to become a llama farmer by claiming that the llamas will bite his fingers off. At the very end of the episode, Josh has returned to work at the Ruby... with his hands heavily bandaged.
• Brutal Honesty:
  Wanda: Aww. And you got kids to draw it. That's so cute.
  Karen: I drew it.
  Wanda: Oh. I just thought it was kids 'cause it's terrible.
  • And a second time:
    Karen: How are Brent's drawings coming along? And be honest.
    Wanda: The drawings are good. What you wrote is sort of crap.
    Karen: Crap? Well, what sort of crap?
    Wanda: The crappy kind.
• Damned by Faint Praise: Lacey tries lying to Karen that her drawing is good. Brent is having none of it.
  Lacey: I-It reminds me of that artist, uh, um...
  Brent: Beethoven?
  Lacey: He was a composer, he couldn't draw.
  Brent: Exactly.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Wanda is stuck writing the Percy Pedals book for Karen and doing Hank's accountant job for him. Since she can't tell anyone about either of these jobs, she's constantly berated as "lazy" whenever she mentions how extremely busy or exhausted she is.
• Hot Potato: Karen ends up with the responsibility of the bike safety book because various people pass responsibilities around by saying "get Dorkus to do it."
• Insistent Terminology:
  Hank: They're gonna find out I'm a sham as a civil servant.
  Wanda: You were a sham as a busboy. As a civil servant, you're more of a fraud.
• Never Bareheaded: Normally applies to Hank, but when he discovers that he's a Libra and not a Virgo, he stops wearing his hat in an effort to change his personality.
• Oblivious to Hints: After Hank explains that he wants to try a new job, Lacey keeps mentioning that she needs a new busboy. Hank just gets irritated at her until she out-and-out says that she's offering him the position.
• Orphaned Punchline: A mild subversion: One scene begins with the punchline, and then the next scene includes a flashback that explains the joke.
• Shout-Out: The Orphaned Punchline joke above is a reference to Indiana Jones.
• Status Quo Is God: Not only does Hank still end up jobless at the end of the episode, but Lacey's busboy/cook Josh returns to the Ruby as well, having failed at his llama farm endeavor.
• Suddenly Voiced: This is the first time ever in the series that Josh has said anything. This is naturally lampshaded by Brent:
  Lacey: Did you know he wanted to work with llamas?
  Brent: I didn't even know he could talk.
• Terrible Artist: Karen, which is why she asks Brent for help with the book illustrations.
• Threat Backfire:
  Josh: That's all you see me as, a busboy? You don't know that I've always wanted to work on a llama farm.
  Lacey: [angrily] Yeah? Well, be careful! They bite your fingers off!
  Brent: Oh, that's not gonna work. Danger's part of the allure of llama farming.
• What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: invokedBrent and Wanda's meddling end up turning the Percy Pedals colouring book into some kind of unholy monstrosity filled with dark plotlines, Nightmare Fuel drawings, and incorrect safety information (which is apparently deliberately incorrect in order to set up the dark plotlines). Emma takes one look and refuses to print it.