Don't Bothers road trip to States! Teen drama unfolds, Alex is left behind, Bombay reveals a secret.
Tropes:
- All Work vs. All Play: When the Don't Bothers get to the hotel, Gordon tells them about the times for the big party and meals, but otherwise leaves the kids to their own devices. Meanwhile, Coach T tells the Ducks they can only attend the party for one hour before returning their rooms at 8 PM so they can sleep before a 5:30 AM conditioning run.
- Bait the Dog: Coach T and Gordon seem to bond and reach an accord while drinking. Then Coach T goes ahead and reveals Gordon's past NCAA violation to get him banned from the tournament and put the Don't Bothers at a disadvantage.
- Break the Haughty: Stephanie has a breakdown and reveals to Alex that she and her husband are getting a divorce.
- Call-Back: The entire scene in which Gordon is banned, then un-banned from coaching in States is reminiscent of when the original Ducks are almost kicked out of Eden Hall in the third film.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Coach T is confused when Gordon agrees with all of his insults about how the Don't Bothers aren't likely to make it far in the tournament. The idea that Gordon and the team aren't focused entirely on winning it is completely foreign to him and he thinks it's some kind of psychological tactic.
- Frivolous Lawsuit: While Gordon and Coach T are at the hotel bar, Coach T tells him about a time when a parent tried suing him because their kid wasn't getting enough playing time during a winning streak.
- Hypocritical Humor: Maya declares that the trip will be all about the girl squad, then quickly ditches Lauren and Sofi when she falls head over heels for a guy she meets at the team's hotel.
- I Need to Go Iron My Dog: After insisting that Evan follow through on taking MJ to the dance, Nick awkwardly leaves the two of them alone.Nick: I...I gotta go. I see they have cocktail franks.
- Insult Backfire: Coach T is the victim of this when he runs into Gordon at the hotel:Coach T: Coach of the Don't Bothers. As in, don't bother getting unpacked 'cause you're not gonna be here long.
Gordon: (shrugs) That's true, we might not be here that long.
Coach T: ... Yeah, I know. That's what I just said. As in, you do not belong here.
Gordon: Yeah. I mean, it came as a surprise to all of us. - Jerkass Realization: Alex has this when Evan fires her at the beginning of the episode and she explains this to Stephanie while the two are bonding.
- Loophole Abuse: Alex manages to save Gordon from being banned by pointing out that technically the Don't Bothers aren't prospective NCAA recruits because none of them have been visited by college scouts.
- Meaningful Echo: Alex employs this when using her Loophole Abuse argument, above.Alex: Nobody took the Don't Bothers seriously enough to check us out. They... didn't bother.
- Operation: Jealousy: In spades throughout this episode.
- MJ's seemingly innocent misinterpretation of Evan's question "off the record" when she's interviewing him for her podcast is actually an intentional attempt to make Nick jealous.
- On her way to ask Evan to the dance, Sofi sees MJ gleefully hugging Evan after said interview and asks Trevor (from the Ducks) to the dance instead.
- When Sofi arrives at the dance with Trevor, Evan attempts to make her jealous by dancing with MJ. However, he's stuck between making Sofi jealous and trying not to upset Nick.
- Relationship Revolving Door: Immediately upon arriving at the team's hotel, Maya enters into a relationship with Zander, a player from another team. She breaks up with him by breakfast the next morning.Maya: We broke up. We were drifting apart, we wanted different things, and he wasn't gonna put in any work. It was time.
- Sucks at Dancing: Both Nick and Sofi make fun of Evan’s awkward attempt to dance with MJ.Nick: I don’t know which is more brutal, watching my best friend dance with my crush or watching what he thinks is “dancing.”
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: As heartwarming as Gordon's Rousing Speech to the tournament committee is, the fact remains he is still guilty of breaking NCAA rules ten years prior and the American Youth Hockey Association being NCAA certified makes him ineligible by rule. He's only allowed to continue because of Alex employing Loophole Abuse that only works in the case of the Don't Bothers and would not work if he was part of one of the other teams.
