"For one day, let's make this lowly rat-killer feel like a king."
— Dennis
As keeping the basement rodent-free threatens to drive Charlie to insanity, the rest of the gang decides to put their cynicism aside and throw him a surprise party after discovering it's his birthday.
This episode provides examples of the following tropes:
- Birthday Episode: The gang spend most of the episode trying to plan a surprise birthday party for Charlie, though the ending reveals it's actually Frank's birthday.
- Blatant Lies: Charlie trying to claim that he bought his spaghetti from the concessions stand at the movie theater, despite the fact that they don't even sell spaghetti and the tickets guy just watched him walk in with it.
- Celebration Miscalculation: Charlie admits at the end of the episode that it's not really his birthday. The gang still gives him his presents anyway, though.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Dennis, Dee and Mac attempt to make sense of Charlie's "dream book", which contains such oddities as a "denim chicken", a "worm hat" and a "bird with teeth". He also apparently has no idea what a spa is, and thinks that Dee is trying to say "spaghetti", or even know what a 3D movie is.
- Destructo-Nookie: The couple having sex in Duncan and Z's apartment end up destroying their wall, which is admittedly just a thin sheet of plastic.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Mac and Frank start calling Dennis "Dickless Dennis" after coming up with a story about a keg exploding and destroying his dick to keep Charlie out of the bar.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Dennis, Dee and Mac are clearly creeped out by Frank's weird bridge friends, calling them "deranged" and insisting that Charlie shouldn't be around them. Mac even wants to call the police after Duncan and Z start beating up the couple who destroy their wall.
- Fan Disservice: Frank strips down to his tighty-whitey briefs in the spa.
- Fish out of Water: Charlie sticks out like a sore thumb at the theater and the spa, as Dee points out.Dee: He doesn't belong in a place like this, you guys!
- Food Slap: Dee dumps Charlie's spaghetti in his lap at the movie theater after becoming annoyed with his antics.
- Freak Out: Charlie has one while he and Frank are in the sauna, ranting that he's "trapped like a rat" and yelling at Frank to "bash him".
- Friendship Moment: The Gang actively try to be nicer to Charlie, and there's no cruel or self-serving subversion this time. Dee also gets given spa tickets in a rare brotherly kindness moment from Dennis, even if she doesn't get to use them and is insistent on destroying the second one.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: The rest of the gang more or less ignore Frank after finding out it's his birthday, preferring to focus on cheering Charlie up instead.
- Groin Attack: Mac and Frank make up a story about a keg exploding in the bar and mangling Dennis's dick. Dennis is not amused.
- Manipulative Bastard: At the end of the episode it's revealed that it's actually Frank's birthday and he was trying to manipulate Dennis, Dee and Mac into throwing him his ideal party by playing on Charlie's status as the gang's Morality Pet. His plan backfires somewhat, however, as they go around him to throw a party that Charlie would actually want, abandoning Frank's luau theme in the process.Frank: This way I get my surprise party, and I give you the satisfaction of doing something nice for somebody!
Mac: That is not doing something nice! That is tricking us — son of a bitch! - Mistaken for Gay: One of the spa attendants walks in on Charlie and Frank wrestling in the sauna and assumes they're having sex.
- Never Learned to Read: Charlie's dream book is mostly in picture form.
- Pet the Dog: Dennis, Dee and Mac spend the episode making a conscious effort to be less cynical and give Charlie the birthday of his dreams, and by the end of it all they do manage to pull off a genuine act of kindness.
- Real Dreams are Weirder: The items in Charlie's "dream book" are likely things that Charlie literally saw in his dreams.
- Sanity Slippage: Charlie is growing increasingly unstable as a result of spending so much time in the basement killing rats.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Mac briefly considers calling the police when Duncan and Z start beating the couple having sex, but Dee and Dennis decide it's better just to get the hell out of there.
- Tears of Joy: Charlie starts tearing up when the gang present him with his new rat-bashing stick at the end of the episode.
- Toothy Bird: One of the entries in Charlie's dream book is a "bird with teeth". When the gang try to approximate it by gluing fake teeth onto a stuffed bird, he has to ask them if it's the real deal.Charlie: Did you discover a bird with teeth in this fashion?
Dennis: That does not exist in nature.
Charlie: Okay, I'm not sure about that. But either way, good glue work! - Toxic Friend Influence: Dennis thinks that Duncan and Z are this for Frank. Not that Frank actually needs any help to be awful.
- Unwanted Gift Plot: Dennis averts this when Mac plans to get him a surprise gift in the spirit of being less cynical by returning the "ugly" shirt Mac picked out and exchanging it for his own choice.Mac: This brings me no joy at all. I feel nothing. I feel like you just, you stole money from me and then you bought yourself a shirt.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Played for laughs at the beginning of the episode when Charlie starts wondering whether his life is really worth more than a rat's.
