When Bill runs away from home with Bridget, the whole neighborhood (and eventually nearly all of Rustvale) scrambles to find him.
Tropes:
- Bittersweet Ending: Bill is returned to his family and just as the Murphys start enjoying their lives, Frank soon discovers too late that his Abusive Dad is coming to stay with them due to finding some mail Goomer put in the couch when the Murphys went on vacation.
- Dramatic Irony: Frank calls Bill a thief for taking his records while still being unaware that he robbed Ben Schrider's sports store last season.
- Get Out!: After being rescued from the downed helicopter in the river, Otto arrives home to find a scantily clad Ginny waiting for him. He tells her that his experience tonight has finally given him the courage to turn her down, and tells her to "get the fuck out of my house."
- Grounded Forever: When Kevin makes a crack at his father for being a bad parent, Frank snaps at him and adds that he's grounded forever. It takes Sue to intervene and say that nobody's grounded.
- Oh, Crap!: Frank has this reaction when he finds the postcard his Dad sent him saying that he's going to come on the exact date he reads the postcard.
- One Last Smoke: When Bob Pogo feels himself having a heart attack after attempting to throw a life preserver, he quickly takes a final puff on his cigarette before he collapses on two firemen. He manages to survive, though, but this trope is still in play.
- On Second Thought: When about to depart on a helicopter to find Bill, Vic offers Otto a seat. He is at first unwilling to board, never having flown before. But then Ginny comes alongside him to offer comfort. Otto immediately changes his mind and agrees to hop aboard.
- Prayer Is a Last Resort: Bill does this when he is finally alone and exhausted on a bridge after experiencing enough trauma. He prays to God for a miracle to help him home.
- Spaghetti Kiss: Upon listing the types of activities she would like to do with Bill in Cleveland, Bridget brings up this trope as an example.
- Twitchy Eye: Frank gets this when getting impatient with Anthony rambling on about how he came to see Bill run away.
- Bill also gets this when opening up a phone booth and seeing a man trying to take a dump in there.
- You Fool!: Otto says a variant of this trope when Vic is high while piloting the helicopter, and failed to notice that the vehicle lost fuel.Otto: YOU MESHUGGANAH!
