"The Meddler" is the thirty-fourth episode of season one of The Amazing World of Gumball.
Synopsis
Nicole meddles in Gumball's school life and ends up ruining it in the process.
Plot
SPOILER AHEAD! Important details about the plot or story are up ahead |
The episode opens with Nicole coming home from a hard day's work and falling asleep on the couch next to her husband, who is busy watching television. Gumball comes home shortly after and tries to share stories about his day at school to his parents, but neither of them pay attention. Feeling neglected, Gumball storms off to his room and accidentally wakes up his mother in the process. Nicole apologizes to Gumball for not paying him much attention, and promises that she will spend more time with him the next day.
At school the next morning, Gumball runs into Penny in the hallway. He asks her if she would like to come and see his new cartwheel trick after school, but she explains that she wants to attend cheerleader try-outs instead. After Gumball embarrasses himself in front of her, he opens his locker and finds his mother cramped inside.
Nicole explains to her sons that she followed them to school to give them more attention all week, a plan which they find humiliating. They soon encounter Tina Rex and her gang of bullies in the hallway, who make fun of Gumball and call him a baby. Disapproving of this, Nicole tells her son to respond to Tina's teasing by claiming that she only bullies people because of her own insecurities and shortcomings. This turns out to be correct as Tina runs away in embarrassment soon after, leaving Gumball unscathed.
Jamie admits that standing up to Tina was pretty cool, but reminds him that his mother will not always be there to protect him. In response to this, Nicole takes Gumball by the hand and reassures him that she will be there for him until for as long as she needs to, which her son does not approve of in the least and runs away from her, accidentally running into Principal Brown in the process.
Principal Brown ends up having his hair shed and subsequently grown back due to the collision, and gives Gumball eight hours of detention with Nicole's "help". Over the course of the day, Nicole continues to embarrass her son, going so far to "help" as to bathe him in the shower room and burp like an infant during lunch.
During lunch, Nicole spots Penny and tries to help Gumball flirt with her by saying that he loves her and wants to take her out on a date. In a fit of panic, he slips up and accidentally says that he hates Penny and has never liked her, breaking her heart and making her cry, and Nicole gives Gumball one last tip and pushes him over the edge. Enraged, Gumball tells his mother to go home and that enough is enough—her constant meddling doing more harm than good.
On the way to her car, Nicole gets an urgent phone call from Gumball, who explains that he made a bad decision, and rushes back in the building to help him. Although initially he denies his mother knowledge of what he did, he eventually shows her his plan to try out for the cheerleading squad to try and win back Penny by beating her at her own game. Though hesitant at first, Gumball then explains to Nicole that he needs her emotional support, so they go to the try-outs.
At the try-outs, Penny performs in front of the judges—Principal Brown and Mr. Small --, but they are both unimpressed by her performance. She explains to them that she has been having emotional troubles lately, but they stand by their decision and explains that someone would have to be pretty terrible in order for her to make the team. Abruptly, Gumball bursts through the door and after an admittedly awful performance which scores a 'zero' by both judges, Penny is given a spot on the cheerleading team.
Failing his plan at winning over Penny, Gumball is held in his mothers arms while he cries about life being unfair. However, Penny is ecstatic and excitedly thanks Gumball for giving her a chance to be on the team. She assumes that this must mean that he truly does like her and he tearfully agrees.
Gumball is then carried by Nicole to the hall, where Darwin is massaging his cheeks. He starts smiling as soon as Nicole shows up. Then Gumball and Nicole walk away with Nicole telling Gumball that he will be her "Gummypuss" even when he's eighty. After they both leave, Darwin's face explodes due to all the excessive smiling he did over the course of the day.
| End spoilers |
Characters
Main Characters
Supporting Characters
Minor Characters
- Principal Brown
- Richard
- Mr. Small
- Masami
- molly
- Carmen
- Banana Joe
- Jamie
- Anton
- Tina
- Leslie
- Carrie
- Teri
- Tobias
- Alan
- Eggheads
Trivia
- Anais was the only Watterson who did not appear in this episode.
- This episode premiered in France before it aired in the United States.
- This is the fourth episode to air in the UK before the US. The others were "The Mystery", "The Responsible" and "The Microwave".
- Bobert and Idaho were the only students who did not appear in this episode.
- It is revealed Penny is an (antlered) peanut.
- Whenever Gumball's skirt would fall off or be lifted, he was wearing what appeared to be a red thong.
Continuity
- Darwin's feet were censored in the showers, playing off how his shoes are the only articles of clothing he wears, despite them being plainly shown in some previous episodes. This is later stated by him in "The Dream".
- This was the second episode in which Darwin's head explodes. The first one was "The Sock".
- This is the fifth episode where we see Gumball completely nude, the other four are "The Picnic", "The Dress", "The Club", and "The Curse".
- In the background its revealed that Elmore Junior High's mascot is a duck, which contradicts earlier episodes that stated the mascot is a mustang. This will be mentioned by a person in "The Name".
Cultural References
- Darwin wears a forced smile on his face with Nicole around. Squidward also wore a forced smile on his face in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode, "Selling Out."
Goofs/Errors
- In one scene, Nicole's skirt is colored white.
- Gumball lost his whiskers at one side when he screamed to his parents.
- When Gumball attempts a Cart Wheel for the first time, his tail and butt are visible on his pants, instead of his white button. The next scene also shows this.
- When Gumball runs upstairs, a door is heard slamming, but when Nicole follows him, it is completely ajar.
- After Gumball falls on his back, he gets back up but the only shoe on his foot had swapped places. After Mr. Small and Principal Brown exchange confusion, the mistake seems to have corrected itself.
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| Episode 1 The DVD |
Episode 2 The Responsible |
Episode 3 The Third |
Episode 4 The Debt |
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| Episode 5 The End |
Episode 6 The Dress |
Episode 7 The Quest |
Episode 8 The Spoon |
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| Episode 9 The Pressure |
Episode 10 The Painting |
Episode 11 The Laziest |
Episode 12 The Ghost |
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| Episode 13 The Mystery |
Episode 14 The Prank |
Episode 15 The Gi |
Episode 16 The Kiss |
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| Episode 17 The Party |
Episode 18 The Refund |
Episode 19 The Robot |
Episode 20 The Picnic |
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| Episode 21 The Goons |
Episode 22 The Secret |
Episode 23 The Sock |
Episode 24 The Genius |
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| Episode 25 The Poltergeist |
Episode 26 The Mustache |
Episode 27 The Date |
Episode 28 The Club |
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| Episode 29 The Wand |
Episode 30 The Ape |
Episode 31 The Car |
Episode 32 The Curse |
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| Episode 33 The Microwave |
Episode 34 The Meddler |
Episode 35 The Helmet |
Episode 36 The Fight |
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| Episode 1 The Remote |
Episode 2 The Colossus |
Episode 3 The Knights |
Episode 4 The Fridge |
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| Episode 5 The Flower |
Episode 6 The Banana |
Episode 7 The Phone |
Episode 8 The Job |
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| Episode 9 Halloween |
Episode 10 The Treasure |
Episode 11 The Apology |
Episode 12 The Words |
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| Episode 13 The Skull |
Episode 14 The Bet |
Episode 15 Christmas |
Episode 16 The Watch |
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| Episode 17 The Bumpkin |
Episode 18 The Flakers |
Episode 19 The Authority |
Episode 20 The Virus |
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| Episode 21 The Pony |
Episode 22 The Hero |
Episode 23 The Dream |
Episode 24 The Sidekick |
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| Episode 25 The Photo |
Episode 26 The Tag |
Episode 27 The Storm |
Episode 28 The Lesson |
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| Episode 29 The Game |
Episode 30 The Limit |
Episode 31 The Voice |
Episode 32 The Promise |
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| Episode 33 The Castle |
Episode 34 The Boombox |
Episode 35 The Tape |
Episode 36 The Sweaters |
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| Episode 37 The Internet |
Episode 38 The Plan |
Episode 39 The World |
Episode 40 The Finale |
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| Episode 1 The Kids |
Episode 2 The Fan |
Episode 3 The Coach |
Episode 4 The Joy |
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| Episode 5 The Puppy |
Episode 6 The Recipe |
Episode 7 The Name |
Episode 8 The Extras |
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| Episode 9 The Gripes |
Episode 10 The Vacation |
Episode 11 The Fraud |
Episode 12 The Void |
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| Episode 13 The Boss |
Episode 14 The Move |
Episode 15 The Law |
Episode 16 The Allergy |
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| Episode 17 The Mothers |
Episode 18 The Password |
Episode 19 The Procrastinators |
Episode 20 The Shell |
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| Episode 21 The Burden |
Episode 22 The Bros |
Episode 23 The Mirror |
Episode 24 The Man |
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| Episode 25 The Pizza |
Episode 26 The Lie |
Episode 27 The Butterfly |
Episode 28 The Question |
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| Episode 29 The Saint |
Episode 30 The Friend |
Episode 31 The Oracle |
Episode 32 The Safety |
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| Episode 33 The Society |
Episode 34 The Spoiler |
Episode 35 The Countdown |
Episode 36 The Nobody |
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| Episode 37 The Downer |
Episode 38 The Egg |
Episode 39 The Triangle |
Episode 40 The Money |
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| Episode 1 The Return |
Episode 2 The Nemesis |
Episode 3 The Crew |
Episode 4 The Others |
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| Episode 5 The Signature |
Episode 6 The Check |
Episode 7 The Pest |
Episode 8 The Sale |
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| Episode 9 The Gift |
Episode 10 The Parking |
Episode 11 The Routine |
Episode 12 The Upgrade |
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| Episode 13 The Comic |
Episode 14 The Romantic |
Episode 15 The Uploads |
Episode 16 The Apprentice |
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| Episode 17 The Hug |
Episode 18 The Wicked |
Episode 19 The Traitor |
Episode 20 The Origins |
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| Episode 21 The Origins: Part Two |
Episode 22 The Girlfriend |
Episode 23 The Advice |
Episode 24 The Signal |
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| Episode 25 The Parasite |
Episode 26 The Love |
Episode 27 The Awkwardness |
Episode 28 The Nest |
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| Episode 29 The Points |
Episode 30 The Bus |
Episode 31 The Night |
Episode 32 The Misunderstandings |
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| Episode 33 The Roots |
Episode 34 The Blame |
Episode 35 The Slap |
Episode 36 The Detective |
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| Episode 37 The Fury |
Episode 38 The Compilation |
Episode 39 The Scam |
Episode 40 The Disaster |
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| Episode 1 The Rerun |
Episode 2 The Stories |
Episode 3 The Guy |
Episode 4 The Boredom |
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| Episode 5 The Vision |
Episode 6 The Choices |
Episode 7 The Code |
Episode 8 The Test |
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| Episode 9 The Slide |
Episode 10 The Loophole |
Episode 11 The Fuss |
Episode 12 The Copycats |
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| Episode 13 The Potato |
Episode 14 The Outside |
Episode 15 The Vase |
Episode 16 The Matchmaker |
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| Episode 17 The Box |
Episode 18 The Console |
Episode 19 The Ollie |
Episode 20 The Catfish |
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| Episode 21 The Cycle |
Episode 22 The Stars |
Episode 23 The Grades |
Episode 24 The Diet |
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| Episode 25 The Ex |
Episode 26 The Sorcerer |
Episode 27 The Menu |
Episode 28 The Uncle |
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| Episode 29 The Weirdo |
Episode 30 The Heist |
Episode 31 The Singing |
Episode 32 The Best |
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| Episode 33 The Worst |
Episode 34 The Deal |
Episode 35 The Petals |
Episode 36 The Nuisance |
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| Episode 37 The Line |
Episode 38 The List |
Episode 39 The News |
Episode 40 The Puppets |