Joe and Brian compete in seeing who gets Helen the best birthday present. Lowell asks Faye to look over his financial accounts.
Tropes:
- Blatant Lies: When Joe goes to upgrade the cheese pot he got for Helen, Brian asks where he's going. Joe says he's going to get his foot measured. As a double whammy, when Brian asks Joe if this is another one of his "clever fibs", Joe denies it and leaves.
- Hypocrite:
- Joe chastises Brian for getting Helen an expensive gift, only to immediately feel insecure about the cheaper gift he got for Helen and goes to get her another one that costs more.
- Earlier, Lowell advises Brian to try and keep a cool head after finding out he forgot Helen's birthday and didn't get her a gift, as panicking will make things worse. As Brian concedes, he asks Lowell what he got Helen for her birthday. 2 seconds later, Lowell panics as he did not remember to get her anything.
- No Sympathy: When Joe is in his office feeling down about Brian going behind his back to re-purchase the CD player Joe was going to give Helen, Roy comes in and instead of offering words of encouragement, he mockingly asks Joe is he has any glue since the miniature bird-on-a-stick he got for Helen broke off said stick.
- Tempting Fate: Joe refuses to tell Brian about the last gift he bought Helen. It turns out to be a CD player, as Faye comes into his office to let him know that a store representative called to notify her about a 3-year warranty on the CD player.
- Troll: Roy straight-up tells Joe that he enjoys jerking him and his brother around when he tells Joe that Brian confided in him about getting Helen a suit as a present.
