A Plot: Barry becomes jealous of Adam when he discovers Adam's new theater role as Raul in The Phantom of the Opera requires him to kiss Lainey (playing Christine).
B Plot: Beverly substitute teaches Erica's Home Ec class after Erica dismisses it as an Easy A, and makes it a nightmare for her and other students.
- Accidental Misnaming: Barry originally thinks the play is "Phantom of the Oprah" and tries to audition for the role of Oprah Winfrey's husband.
- Apathetic Teacher: When Beverly complains to the principal (and Coach Mellor, as the entire football team needed an easy A to stay on the team) that none of her students are taking Home Ec seriously, they agree that it's a slacker class, and that Beverly's desire to impart knowledge is pointless.
- Arc Words: Adam, upon learning he got the role of Raul, asks if it's for real, and if he wasn't mixed up with the other Adam Goldberg (who also acts).
- Cordon Bleugh Chef: Erica, after her Heel Realization, attempts to apologize to her mom by using her lesson in Home Ec to cook an actual lasagna...which is a burnt, inedible mess. It does, however, lead to some family bonding and imparting actual knowledge by making another one together.
- A Degree in Useless: Beverly is the only person, school staff included, who values Home Ec.
- Fixing the Game: Beverly and Erica both run into this, Beverly by failing Erica regardless of her lasagna's quality, and Erica by using her mother's own lasagna brought from the home freezer.
- Heel Realization:
- Barry has one upon successfully sabotaging the show, as even though he's earned Lainey's respect for how obsessively dedicated he is, Adam becomes upset due to thinking drama class was the one place he was truly respected.
- Erica also has one, when Murray shows her all of Beverly's notes and hard work concerning the family's meal budget and other "Home Ec"-relevant topics.
- Hourglass Plot: Barry starts the episode bullying Adam for being a drama geek and damaging his reputation by association. But when trying to infiltrate the drama group after Lainey is cast as Christine, he is given the out-of-the-way and unpopular position of stagehand, and watches Adam getting respect and attention.
- Karma Houdini: Barry receives no punishment for sabotaging the play, which includes breaking the drama teacher's arm with an expensive (also now-broken) chandelier prop and blaming another stagehand for it.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Beverly managed to be the Home Ec substitute by introducing the regular teacher to a guy she eloped and ran away with in just a day.
- Romance on the Set: Invoked; after the JTP told him that Adam and Lainey's "showmance" could turn into a real romance, Barry sets out to sabotage the school production to keep Adam from kissing her.
- Whole-Plot Reference: It's even mentioned in the show's narration that Barry ends up becoming the Phantom to Adam and Lainey after being given the role of a stagehand, trying to sabotage things and break a (perceived) love triangle.
- Writing Around Trademarks: In-universe; when the school loses permission to run Phantom of the Opera (though they never really had it in the first place, and just get an official cease & desist after news of the chandelier incident spreads), Adam tries to turn it into "The Phantasm of the Gymnatorium". This fails immediately for being too similar to avoid legal action.
