With a vow renewal ceremony coming up, Nancy urges Dale to reconnect with his estranged father. But when Hank finds him, he discovers a new hitch: Said father is gay.
Tropes:
- Call-Back: At the very end of "Nancy Boys" in season 4, Dale wonders aloud to Nancy about John Redcorn possibly being gay. Two seasons later, Dale is questioning why anyone would think he's homophobic when he's been friends with the 'gay' John Redcorn for years, once again right before the credits roll.
- Camp Gay: Bug is the campy star of the gay rodeo. Though he tones it down slightly outside the job.
- Discriminate and Switch: Bug tries to come out of the closet to Dale, who thinks that his father is a real lady-killer. After informing Dale that the rodeo he works at is a gay rodeo and that the man he's friends with is his "partner", Dale explodes at him, uninviting him to his wedding, and telling him to get out. It certainly looks like Dale is incredibly homophobic, but as it turns out, he thinks his father just admitted to being a government agent, the natural enemy of Conspiracy Theorists like Dale. Dale is rather confused as to how anyone could think he hates gay people. After all, he's been friends with John Redcorn for years!
- Fake-Out Make-Out: What led to Bug and Dale's estrangement. About to be caught by Dale kissing a male caterer, Bug grabbed the nearest women in arms reach. Unluckily for him, that woman was Nancy.
- Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job: Subverted. Hank, Bill, and Boomhauer initially think Bug is at the gay rodeo because of this.
- Late to the Realization: Hank, Bill, and Boomhauer don't figure out that they're at a gay rodeo till they hear an announcer say so, despite seeing only men in attendance, people dancing along to the Village People's "YMCA" and stands selling rainbow shirts. This also makes them figure out that Dale's father is, in fact, gay himself.
- Logical Latecomer: Because Bug's been estranged from Dale for years, his first question upon seeing Joseph is to ask Nancy if he was adopted. Bug's understandably shocked and somewhat disgusted when he learns about Nancy's decade-long affair with John Redcorn.
- Not That Kind of Partner: Inverted. Bug admits to Dale that he's gay, and that his 'special friend' Juan Pedro is actually his partner. But, Dale being Dale, interprets this as his father actually being a government agent partnered with Juan while undercover at the gay rodeo, and freaks out. Dale realizes his misunderstanding by the end of the episode, and wholeheartedly accepts Bug once he does.
