July 26, 2009: Sunday Showdown!

(Click to enlarge)

Clockwise from the bottom left:

• Loretta's mother is so unbelievably old fashioned that she relaxes in the Lockhorns' kiddie pool in a full matronly gown. This makes Loretta's usual beach frock seems downright scandalous by comparison. She's so old that Leroy's Wizard of Oz/Wicked Witch reference may be too modern of a comparison for her. Some 19th century based comparisons may be more apt in her case. In the end it's still a point for Leroy since it annoys Loretta.
• Leroy strikes again with a real ice cold piece of spite directed at Loretta. This time, instead of actually falling asleep in order to escape Loretta's perpetual nagging, he feigns sleep. However, not satisfied by his little ruse, Leroy goes ahead and directly informs Loretta that he is intentionally doing this to avoid her. He may have lost the benefit of his deception, but at least he gained a point.
  
• The world as we know it is over! The Lockhorns are Twittering! Has Twitter really gotten so mainstream as to be made aware of and used by the Lockhorns? The same Lockhorns that continue to hopelessly watch snowed out analog television and fear cordless phones? Since when did they even get a computer? Perhaps Loretta has gotten the word "twitter" confused with "telegraph". A strange and disturbing push indeed.
• The obvious read is Loretta is implying that when she thinks of Leroy, his crabby personality is one of his most prominent features; hence the "crab" restaurant. The darker read would be that Leroy is actually deathly allergic to shellfish and Loretta obviously picked this restaurant because she wants Leroy to die...preferably in the painful throws of a crustacean induced anaphylactic shock. Loretta gets on the board.
• It's one thing when Loretta belittles Leroy about his meager earnings, but when she publicly humiliates him in front of their friends and neighbors, she really cuts to the bone. This one is a particularly hurtful piece of mockery. You can just feel of horrific tension in the room and the unbearably awkward position of the couple involved in this toxic exchange. Sadly, this is one of their better evenings with guests. A straight up choke job by Leroy and a strong late surge by Lorretta leads to an overall push for the day.
  

Official Count:

Leroy - 64
Loretta - 75
Push - 67