It's a Hard Knocks Life

“	He may have the bread now, but when I'm through with him, he's gonna be toast!	”
	— Mae about Ricky

It's a Hard Knocks Life
Season 4
Episode 4
Production
Air Date	January 27, 2018
Prod. Code	403
Writer(s)	Andrew Newman
Director	Eric Dean Seaton
Episode Guide
previous	Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & BeyDawnce
next	Sympathy for the Squishy

It's a Hard Knocks Life is the fourth episode in Season 4 of Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn. It first aired on January 27, 2018 to 1.13 million viewers.

Plot

The quads learn the dangers of misrepresenting oneself on social media when they pretend to be people they are not.

Full Plot

Walking along the Boulder Academy hallway, Mae praises Dawn for making it to the top of the rock wall. Ricky wonders why Dawn didn't post about it on FaceShack but Dawn tells them that she doesn't like to brag online - she likes to brag in person. She starts bragging about it to everyone around, including Miles, Brooklyn and Sadie. Brooklyn asks Dawn if she got her Glee Club text reminder and Dawn starts to explain how she received it while she was texting Mae on her tablet. She jokes about how she called herself "ambi-textrous" but Sadie and Brooklyn refuse to accept it, claiming that story happened to Ricky. They know because Ricky posted about it on FaceShack and hashtagged it #RickyLife.

Dawn checks FaceShack and finds out that Ricky has been posting things that happened to her, Nicky and Dicky as if they happened to him. He's been getting a lot of knocks (likes) for stealing their lives. They ask him to stop but he refuses. They agree to be boring around Ricky so that he won't have anything to post. So, back at home, Dawn, Dicky and Nicky dress up like Ricky and do nothing but read. Ricky takes a photo of them and posts it on FaceShack saying his siblings are trying to copy him. It looks like this is a #DressUpLikeRickyDay. This hashtag blows up and the next day, a lot of students come in dressed as Ricky.

Nicky, Dicky and Dawn threaten to expose his fake life if he doesn't stop. But Ricky proudly tells them that no one will believe them. They will believe him because he has established a strong online presence. They will do anything he says. He demonstrates by showing them that he can turn anything into a catchphrase. He sees a kid eating sandwich without bread. He posts "He ain't got the bread." Soon, everyone in school starts using that line.

To take Ricky down, Dawn comes up with a plan to create an untraceable FaceShack account that will be more interesting that Ricky's. They go to the computer expert, Mae Valentine. They give Mae pie to convince her but she refuses. Mae strongly advises them against the getting carried away by online popularity. She refuses to help them. Dawn had seen this coming and intentionally used a plate with a photo of Ricky holding Mae's cat Debbie as his own cat. When Mae finishes the pie and sees the cat photo, she becomes very mad at Ricky for stealing her life too. She declares war against Ricky. They agree to create an account called Boco Yolo where Boco is just an abbreviation for Boulder, Colorado. Instead of an actual photo, they use a hooded figure.

Boco Yolo's account becomes very popular on FaceShack, overtaking Ricky. When Ricky feels threatened by Boco Yolo, he starts making up stories. Boco Yolo starts making up even more daring stories, including how he walked on coals of fire. Mae makes sure that Boco Yolo wins out everything against Ricky. Boulder Academy students start following Boco's trends, including dressing up in hoodies.

Ricky becomes worried about losing his social media influence to Boco Yolo. His siblings start laughing at him. He becomes suspicious that they might be behind Boco Yolo. So he tags Boco Yolo when Nicky, Dicky and Dawn are around. They all get FaceShack knocks notifications. He busts them. They agree that they're Boco Yolo and that they only created the account to help him. Ricky laughs at them because even though Boco Yolo maybe popular than him, at least he's there to get credit for it. They, on the other hand, get no credit for anything they do since they can't come out as Boco Yolo. While still arguing, a student comes over by the Harper Quads, announcing that Boco Yolo is going to reveal himself. They are all shocked about who would be planning to come out as Boco Yolo.

At the auditorium, there's a hooded person facing the other direction. Everyone is eager to see the student take off the hood and reveal themselves. The person turns around and takes off the hood. It's Mae. Mae announces to the school that she is Boco Yolo. They all start praising her. But Dawn wants the credit. So, Dawn goes to the stage and says that she is the real Boco Yolo. Then Dicky and Nicky follow her on stage, each claiming that they're the real Boco Yolo. Dawn starts asking the other students to dare her to do stuff to prove that she is the real Boco Yolo. Ricky takes the opportunity and starts daring them to do things they can't do like skydiving. As the requests escalate, Mae drops out, leaving Dawn, Nicky and Dicky.

As students dare Boco Yolo to do some of the dares he posted, Nicky, Dicky and Dawn continue coming up with excuses to avoid it. After claiming that there's no hot coal to walk on, Lunch Lady Gladys offers hot tarts instead. She lays them on the ground and asks them to walk on them. They can't do it. Ricky comes to his siblings' defense. He tells the other students that his siblings only made the Boco Yolo account to stop him from being carried away by social media popularity.

Before finishing his speech, Ricky accidentally trips and steps into the hot tarts.

Cast

Main Cast

• Lizzy Greene as Dawn Harper
• Casey Simpson as Ricky Harper
• Mace Coronel as Dicky Harper
• Aidan Gallagher as Nicky Harper
• Allison Munn as Anne Harper
• Brian Stepanek as Tom Harper
• Kyla Drew Simmons as Mae Valentine

Recurring Cast

• Theodore Barnes as Miles
• Sidney Floyd as Brooklyn
• Ariana Molkara as Sadie

Minor Cast

• Zachary Friedman as Snotty Scotty
• Gabrielle Sanalitro as Gladys
• Katlie Molinaro as Karyn
• Maddox Henry as Zayn
• Michael Goodman as Cash

Guest Cast

• Amanda LaCount as Boulderly Academy Student

Continuity

• This was the second time that Ricky became popular over his siblings by actually copying them. The first time was in A Brief Case of Popularity where he dressed like them to mock them but accidentally became popular.
• This is the second episode where Ricky lets popularity get to him. The first is A Brief Case of Popularity and the third is Quadbusters.
• Mae's cat Debbie is also major plot point in Wrestle-Mae-nia.
• Miles' dad being a pilot and having a plane was introduced in I Want My Mae B. Back.
• The Harper quads also tried to get knocks on FaceShack in QUADGOALS when they were competing with the Kramden Quads.
• This is the second episode where Anne mentions Trish's Wedding cake. The first was Wrestle-Mae-nia.
• Ricky's knitting was once again mentioned.
• Ricky correcting people was the plot of She Blinded Him with Science (Bob).
• Dawn uses pie to convince Mae to do her a favor. This was also seen in Not-So-Sweet Charity.
• Brooklyn says that she sent Dawn a Glee Club reminder text. Dawn joined the Glee Club in Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & BeyDawncé.
• Mae being afraid of skydiving becomes a major plot point in the series finale, Lasties with Firsties.

Trivia

• The title of this episode is a reference to the song from the Broadway musical Annie, It's a Hard Knock Life.
• Like QUADGOALS, this episode was focused on the social media network, FaceShack.
• Nicky's shirt in the beginning of the episode may be a reference to the Nas song, "The World Is Yours".
• Ricky calls Cash, Cash Money which could be a reference to the rap record label, Cash Money.
• It’s revealed Dicky puts his brush in the freezer to have a smell for his hair.
• This episode revealed that Mae is very good with techs.
• The popular phrase YOLO is mentioned.
• This episode introduced the new recurring characters, Gladys, Zayn and Cash.