It begins on what's mostly an ordinary morning, except the Lorraines are tired because they stayed up too late preparing for Granddad Bernie's birthday party the night before. When everyone's dressed, Martha tries to compliment a decoration Mariella is hanging up, but instead is forced to claim she hates it. This hurts Mariella's feelings, and Martha goes upstairs to where Danny is wearing a different shirt. He asks if it looks okay and she tries to compliment it, but again accidentally says it's terrible. Helen comes in and asks why Danny looks offended, but Martha can't explain properly. Helen then takes Martha to help her pick out a pie.
Helen meets up with her guy friends at the bakery, sniffing pies because they don't want to spend money on them. Helen asks the baker if she can taste the apple pie filling. She lets her, so Helen tastes it, and likes it. She has Martha taste it, and she enjoys it, but when she tries to enthuse about it, she again ends up saying she hates it. They try all the pie flavours, but seemingly can't agree on any. Ronald and Nelson shows up, and Martha tries to express her hatred for Nelson, but instead calls him her best friend. The kids realise something is wrong with Martha, and Truman gleans that she's trying to say one thing but instead saying the opposite.
After determining which pie Martha likes, Helen goes home (taking T.D. and Truman with her) to find Mariella, who reveals that Granddad Bernie has arrived and is awaiting speaking to Martha. Helen wonders if Martha shouldn't talk, but Mariella thinks that would offend him. The kids and Martha go outside, but when Granddad wants to speak to them, they run back in, with Helen claiming they forgot something.
In Helen's room, the boys decide that the way to cure Martha is to find out what's wrong with her. Truman asks if Martha ate something weird, but Martha has only had soup. Mariella calls Helen and Martha, so the boys have them go down while they investigate. Helen greets Granddad Bernie, but has Martha remain quiet. Helen tries to have them play charades as an excuse for Martha not talking, but Granddad wants to wait until after he's spoken to the two.
Meanwhile, the boys investigate Helen's new hot dog toy, but find nothing unusual. T.D. tastes it, which causes Truman to wonder if it's reversed his words, but then Truman decides T.D. is still telling the truth. Back in the yard, Helen and Martha talk to Bernie, but Martha only nods. Truman beckons and Helen runs into the kitchen, but Bernie has Martha stay.
Truman tells Helen that Martha's toy is safe, so they need to check her food. Granddad Bernie asks Martha if she loves him, so Helen drops a pot so that he wouldn't hear her reply. The boys look through the recycling, while the Lorraines take out the pie. Unfortunately, Martha then has to wish Granddad a happy birthday. T.D. and Truman find a can of soup that was opened on the bottom and realise that must be what's making Martha speak in opposites. Martha tries to wish Bernie a happy birthday and many more, but accidentally offends everyone by saying she wishes he had "the rottenest, most miserable birthday and very few more".
Truman comes out with the can, and then Helen feeds Martha more soup while she and Truman explain what happened. Martha's words go back to normal and she wishes Granddad a happy birthday.
This episode provides examples of
- Aesop Amnesia: Martha claims to like cats, but she's being made to speak in lies, meaning that she still dislikes cats... despite learning that not all cats are like Nelson and making friends with one in "There Goes the Neighbourhood".
- Ageless Birthday Episode: It's Bernie's birthday, but since he has only one candle and no one states his age, his age is unknown (we just know he's elderly).
- Character Tics: According to Danny and Helen, he always has a particular frown when he's offended.
- Death Glare: When Martha offends Danny, he scowls at her and says, "This is what I look like when I'm offended".
- Does Not Like Spam: Martha dislikes cream.
- Exhausted Eye Bags: The Lorraines all have eye bags when they're sleep deprived.
- Exhaustion-Induced Idiocy: Not having had enough sleep causes Danny to put orange juice on his cereal and Helen to open Martha's soup can upside down. She'd also apparently been so sleepy before going to bed that she put her pyjamas on backwards.
- Genius Sweet Tooth: Truman is revealed to love pies and enjoy sniffing pies at the bakery so he doesn't have to spend his money on them.
- Hurricane of Euphemisms: When T.D. sees the upside-down can of soup, he says, "She ate [the soup] wrong. Backwards. Upside-down. Incorrectly!".
- If Jesus, Then Aliens: Granddad Bernie says that he'd believe anything knowing that a dog can talk.
- Implied Death Threat: Played with. Martha accidentally wishes Bernie had "very few more [birthdays]", but she was trying to say the opposite.
- Loud Gulp: Martha gulps when Bernie says, "You're not gonna wish me happy birthday, Martha?".
- Obviously Not Fine: Danny denies being tired at the beginning despite looking just as bleary-eyed and sluggish and making the same dopey mistakes as his family.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Helen, T.D., and Truman think there has to be something wrong with Martha when she compliments Nelson.
- Platonic Declaration of Love: Granddad Bernie asks Martha, "Do you love me as much as I love you?".
- Sleep Deprivation: The episode begins with the Lorraines tired from having stayed up too late preparing for a party.
- Space Whale Aesop: Helen says that the moral of the story is to follow the directions on soup cans... because when she didn't (because she was too tired), it caused her talking dog to speak in opposites.
- Speak in Unison: When Truman finds the upside-down soup can, he says, "Someone opened this can..." and then he and T.D. finish, "...on the bottom!".
- Spoof Aesop: Helen and Martha give the moral at the end: "Always follow the instructions on soup cans; they're there for your own protection. Especially when you have a talking dog."
- Something Only They Would Say: Truman determines that tasting Martha's hot dog toy hasn't made T.D. speak in opposites when he reveals that he thinks the hot dog toy tasted good, since that's what T.D. would think.
- Stock "Yuck!": Helen dislikes rhubarb pie.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: When Martha tries to explain that she knows what "offended" means, she instead says, "I didn't just find out".
- Uncatty Resemblance: Downplayed. When Helen and Martha taste the pie fillings, Helen claims that Martha said no to all the flavours Helen liked, and yes to all the ones she disliked. Since Martha was being made to speak in lies at the time, this implies that they have the same opinions on all the pie fillings.
