Earl Hickey's life has been full of poor choices and mistakes, and upon discovering that he is the holder of a winning lottery ticket, Earl is hit by a car and the ticket blows out of his hand as he lies unconscious in the street. While recovering in the hospital and watching television, Earl has a karmic epiphany, thanks to Carson Daly, who attributes his success to doing good for others. A light bulb goes on in Earl's dim head, and he sets out to right every wrong he has done, starting with a geek he tormented in grade school. When Dodge (Louis T. Moyle) tells Joy (Jaime Pressly) he doesn't want Darnell (Eddie Steeples) to speak at career day, she enlists Earl (Jason Lee) to pretend to be his father. Things don't go well and Earl realizes Dodge needs to know his real dad. Despite Joy's protests, Earl enlists Randy (Ethan Suplee) and Catalina (Nadine Velazquez) to help him hunt down the deadbeat dad, but what they discover is worse than they could have imagined. The mystery of the disappearance of the former Crab Shack owner is finally resolved. News show "Inside Probe" investigates the disappearance of the Crab Shack owner. After eight years the show airs on TV, and several Camden residents become murder suspects. Earl tests the faith of a former gangbanger-turned-born-again reverend, whom he's wronged many, many times. Randy busts into the motel room, demanding that Earl drive to Joy's and punch her in the face. Over time, Randy has invested lots of time and money in the Crab Shack's claw machine, but every time he wins a cute stuffed animal, Joy bullies him into giving it to her. This last time he won a fancy bird dressed up for a wedding and the loss has put Randy over the edge. Earl points out that Randy is 32 years old, and it's time he learned to stick up for himself - Earl's not going to protect him anymore.