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in: Episodes, Season 3

Displays of Manhood

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"Displays of Manhood", alternatively titled "Night of 38 or so Stars", is the seventh episode of Season 3 and the twenty-seventh episode of China, IL.

Summary[]

Frank proves his masculinity by challenging a boxing legend to a fight while Baby Cakes and Pony battle in a game of Dungeons & Dragons.

Plot[]

In the history building, Cravid plays Dungeons & Dragons with Pemsy, Matt, Debra, and Baby Cakes, but Pony interrupts the game by preparing for an anticipated book club meeting. While the Dungeons & Dragons players file out of the room, Frank dreams of being the star of Black Swan and talks during his sleep about this while class is in session. The students' laughter awakening the professor, Frank then gives a lecture, but his students' bringing up other incidences that make Frank seem feminine hinder progress. When a man enters and sprays pesticide in the room, Frank experiences allergic reactions to his students' further amusement.

DDRelent

Pony agrees to play Dungeons & Dragons in Debra's place.

Later at Town Bar, as Frank tries to treat his allergic reactions, Baby Cakes gathers with the professor and Pony, claiming that Dungeons & Dragons cannot be played without a female player after Debra injures herself and can no longer play. After Baby Cakes' pleas, Pony relents and agrees to join the Dungeons & Dragons group. Seeing Frank's condition, Baby Cakes asks the professor for an explanation, and Frank explains various incidents that emasculate him. When Pony encourages Frank to fight a tough, frightening prisoner to negate the emasculation, Frank considers.

During the next Dungeons & Dragons meet day, the five players meet, Pony replacing Debra. Despite Baby Cakes' advice, Pony takes novice actions during the game and kills Baby Cakes. Elsewhere in the history building, camera equipment from the Channel 8 news fills the classroom, and Frank, in an impromptu press conference, reveals he is challenging Muhammad Ali to a boxing match to the astonishment of everyone.

AliFrank

Frank challenges Muhammad Ali to a boxing match.

Outside, Baby Cakes meets with Pony and claims Debra is now fit to play Dungeons & Dragons again, completely lying about Debra's condition. However, Pony claims she agreed to another round, prompting Baby Cakes, angered about his in-game death, to reveal his true intention to get her to stop playing. Despite considering Dungeons & Dragons ridiculous, Pony states she intends to continue playing to spite Baby Cakes as Frank boasts that he is popular because of his challenging Ali to a fight, only to cower upon learning that Ali accepted the challenge.

During another Dungeons & Dragons session, as Baby Cakes prepares for a rematch, Frank prepares to leave the country in fear of Ali, only for Frank's students to intervene. A panicked Frank asks how he can hide, but then receives inspiration upon seeing Stacy Megan's lip injection. Meanwhile, Baby Cakes makes a move that causes anyone whom he kills to be banished permanently from the game unless the condition is changed before the execution occurs.

Collagen

After a collagen injection, Frank prepares for the match.

At a theater, a collagen-laden Frank enters the building where the fight will take place. Meanwhile, the Dungeons & Dragons game narrows down to Baby Cakes and Pony battling each other in real life as they grow more involved with the game. Back at the theater, the first round of the Ali-Frank fight begins, quickly finishing after neither of the fighters actually attack. The majority of the match elapses without a single attack from either opponent as Baby Cakes and Pony continue their fight.

PonyLose

Pony is permanently banished from Dungeons & Dragons.

The concurrent fights begin to merge at the theater, and Baby Cakes and Pony arrive in the ring of the Ali-Smith fight. Should Baby Cakes attack Pony, the former will banish the latter from Dungeons & Dragons. Both fights pause when Pony explains her book club is a failure and she needs friends with whom to socialize, then continues that she needs Dungeons & Dragons so that her life does not seem like a failure. Unmoved by the teacher's assistant's speech, Baby Cakes executes his plan, banishing Pony from the game. The Ali-Smith fight, however, ends in a draw because its competitors never attacked each other. Despite the result, Frank's ego remains intact.

Trivia[]

  • Running Gag: Sunshine mentioning Theodore Roosevelt.
  • In a minor subplot, Steve lists the people with whom he has had sex. After Steve completes the list—whose recitation occupies days—Karen, his date, refuses to have sex with Steve and exits his apartment.
    • The girls with whom Steve claims to have sexual relations are Jenny Horowitz, Ginger, Kelly, Dorthy, Margaret, Samantha, Gertrude, Vivian, an unnamed girl, Felicia, Louise, Heather, and Gale.
  • U2's "With or Without You" is briefly sung by Baby Cakes.
  • In Frank's dream at the beginning of the episode, Black Swan is mentioned and performed. Later, Steve mentions the movie Babe: Pig in the City.
  • The book Pony reads is Map City by Tom Red.
  • At one point, Golden jokingly asks Zac Efron if he has any drugs. In real life, Efron was coping with drug addiction in 2014.
  • In "Life Coaches", a flyer announces meetings for Dungeons & Dragons games and that Pony is banned from these.
  • Baby Cakes mentions that Debra does jiu-jitsu.
  • The title of this episode was uttered word-for-word in "Parent's Day" by Ward Smith, father of Frank and Steve.

Quotes[]

Matt: [In a fantasy scene as he and others play Dungeons & Dragons] Y'all know I just play to try and fuck some elves, right?
Steve: Number of drinks in a day? Well, come on. I drink lots.
[Frank gives a lecture on Theodore Roosevelt.]
Sunshine: You ain't a Teddy.
[Frank suggests that Pony play Dungeons & Dragons with the guys.]
Pony: I'm not jerking in that nerd circle.
[Frank makes an ostentatious entrance in an attempt to make himself seem more masculine.]
Sunshine: Cut the crap, and tell us about the Teddy Roosevelt.
Frank: That's not why we're here today.
Kim: Yes it is; technically, it's the only reason we're here today, lil' dick bastard.
[Frank reveals his plans to fight Muhammad Ali.]
Golden: You know he's got Parkinson's, right?
Frank: Ali ain't shit!
Steve: Nobody fucks like God.
[Pony intends to continue playing Dungeons & Dragons despite Baby Cakes trying to get her to stop.]
Baby Cakes: I can't live—♪with or without you.♪
Frank: Now people think I'm a badass.
Sunshine: Um, people think you're an asshole, asshole.
[Dramatic music plays from a television.]
Kim: What's that on the TV?
Frank: Why is there a TV in here?
[During a press conference]
One of Muhammad Ali's Daughters: My dad says he's so bad he should change his first name to Breaking.
[The caption reads, "Ali attempts to reference 'Breaking Bad' in quip."] Dad, that sucked. What? No, no. My dad says he's so fast he travels 299,792 kilometers per second. Dad, no.
[The caption changes to, "Ali makes oblique speed of light joke."]
Sunshine: Look at Stacy; she done fucked herself up with collagen.
Frank: Thank you, she-pigs!
Steve: She's ready to rumble on my crumble.
Golden: Commentating with me tonight is the completely-naked Zac Efron. How you feeling, Zac?
Zac: Confused.
Golden: Zac, got any drugs?
Karen: [After listening to Steve's list of sexual encounters] Steve, this has been the strangest first date that I've ever been on. First, it's been days; secondly, we haven't left your apartment; and third, why are you wearing a hospital gown?
Steve: Why aren't you wearing yours?
Karen: I can't wait to tell people about this. You're crazy.
Steve: You're not crazy enough.
[Established is the fact that Baby Cakes' attacking Pony will permanently banish her from Dungeons & Dragons.]
Pony: My real life was fake, and your fake life gave me something real. Are you really gonna take that away?
Baby Cakes: [After a pause] Yup. [Attacks Pony] Yes! I win! I am the king!
[The Ali-Frank fight ends in a tie.]
Frank: I'm a Teddy! I'm a badass!

Characters Appearing[]

Gallery[]


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