Line #7 Recap/RegularShowS04Ep09TheChristmasSpecial


1	[[quoteright:469:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2023_11_07_114941_pm.png]]
2
3	->Written by Sean Szeles, Kat Morris, Benton Connor, & Hilary Florido.
4
5	Santa orders Mordecai and Rigby to rid the world of a present that brings out the evil and greed in anyone who looks into the box.
6	----
7	!!This episode provides examples of:
8
9	* AbandonedMine: The lava pit that the group has to throw the gift into is in an abandoned mine shaft on the East Pines Park property.
10	* ActorAllusion: Ed Asner, who voices Santa in this episode, also played a similarly Badass Santa in ''[[Film/{{Elf}} Elf]]''.
11	* AffectionateParody: Of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' (the Park Crew needing to destroy an artifact that corrupts people by throwing it into lava) with a bit of ''Film/TheGoonies'' thrown in.
12	* AnAsskickingChristmas: An action-packed episode of the show set at Christmas, including Pops wrestling a polar bear and the final battle being a fall into a lava pit while "[[Music/TransSiberianOrchestra Sarajevo (12/24)]]" plays in the background.
13	* AppleOfDiscord: The gift that the gang has to destroy. It's not what's inside the box, but the box itself. It's an empty box that, when opened, gives whoever looks inside what they desire the most. But the key component used in making the box was BlackMagic which brought out the worst in people and made them fight over it.
14	* AskAStupidQuestion: When Mordecai and Rigby see Santa crash into Skip's garage, they have this exchange:
15	-->'''Mordecai:''' Wait...who are you?\
16	'''Santa:''' I'm Santa.\
17	'''Mordecai:''' What, Santa Claus?\
18	'''Santa:''' No, Santa [=McMurphy=]. Yes, Santa Claus!
19	* BadassSanta: A serious man who loves his work and did everything to keep his former employee from destroying Christmas. He rides a flying snowboard and even has six-pack abs!
20	-->'''Muscle Man:''' Rum pum pum PUM! Santa’s got a six pack!
21	* BearsAreBadNews: The last obstacle the Park Crew has to face in order to destroy the gift box is to wrestle a polar bear.
22	* BlackMagic: Quillgin used dark magic to create the present, which also gave it its indestructible quality.
23	* BoobyTrap: Gene warns the gang about the booby traps inside the mine and while they think he’s referring to some typically lame East Pines pranks, they end up being very dangerous obstacles.
24	* {{Bowdlerization}}: The UK version edits out some of the more graphic scenes of gun violence (though other scenes are left in). The scenes missing are:
25	** Quillgin shooting Santa.
26	** All the scenes of Santa with bullet holes in his shirt are replaced with alternate scenes where there are no holes on his shirt.
27	** Santa's line, "Well, sorry to disappoint you. But I was just SHOT AT! Fell 35-hundred feet and crashed through a garage! Besides, all that other stuff was just made up by advertising companies. Trust me! I'm the real Santa Claus!" was cut down to "Trust me! I'm the real Santa Claus!".
28	* BulletproofVest: Santa is able to survive being shot by Quillgin at the beginning of the episode because he had one on underneath his clothes.
29	* TheBusCameBack: Audrey, Benson's neighbor, appears for the first time since her debut in [[Recap/RegularShowS03Ep12WeekendAtBensons “Weekend at Benson’s”]].
30	* CallBack:
31	** The gang goes to East Pine parks and meets up with Gene and his workers again. Gene also brings up the end of the prank war from [[Recap/RegularShowS03Ep35Prankless “Prankless”]].
32	** Pops uses his [[Recap/RegularShowS02Ep20ReallyRealWrestling wrestling skills]] against a polar bear.
33	* CassandraTruth:
34	** Mordecai and Rigby try to tell the others about Santa crash-landing into Skips' garage. They are initially not believed until they open the gift and become violent with greed.
35	** When the gang is trying to explain to Gene that they need to get to the mines to save Christmas. He does ultimately believe them when the villainous elves arrive.
36	* ChaosOfTheBells: A [[Music/MannheimSteamroller Mannheim Steamroller]]-esque version plays when Mordecai, Rigby, and Quillgin are all fighting mid-air as they plummet towards the lava. Very fitting for AnAsskickingChristmas episode such as this.
37	* ChekhovsGun: The InvisibilityCloak that is referenced at the beginning of the episode ends up being what Santa uses to sneak up on Quillgin and save the group from him.
38	* ChristmasElves: This episode’s Villain of the Week, Quillgin - albeit an unconventional one. He’s the height of an average human, wears dark clothing, has a deep gravelly voice, and his PointyEars are the only feature that distinguishes him as an elf.
39	* ChristmasEpisode: Overlaps with AnAssKickingChristmas.
40	* EnemyMine: Gene, the manager of East Pines Park, helped the gang get to the mines when Quillgin and his group came to the park to get the gift back.
41	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Gene may be kind of a jerk, but as seen by a photo of him with his wife and kid (who are snack vending machines, too), he has a family he loves and his memories of spending Christmas with them are what prompts him to help the Park Crew.
42	* FamilyFriendlyFirearms: Averted once again. Quillgin carries a real pistol with him and shot Santa in the chest in the beginning of the episode. [[spoiler: Thankfully Santa was wearing a bulletproof vest.]]
43	* FreeFallFight: Mordecai and Rigby fight with Quillgin over the present while free-falling into a pit of lava.
44	* HelpImStuck: Somehow, Thomas manages to get his head stuck in a banister and spends the whole episode in this state.
45	-->'''Thomas:''' Uh...can someone give me a hand?
46	* HeroicSacrifice: Quillgin is about to use the gift to destroy Christmas when Mordecai tackles him into the pit, sending both of them hurling towards the lava. Rigby then jumps in after them to save Mordecai.
47	* HomeMadeSweaterFromHell: Nobody likes Benson's Christmas sweater, not even Santa.
48	-->'''Santa:''' Benson, you should've tossed that thing into the lava pit.
49	** Santa's comment turns out to be the last straw and he ditches the thing.
50	* InvisibilityCloak: One plays an integral role in this episode. Mordecai & Rigby’s request for one in their multiple letters to Santa is what he uses to convince them that he’s real; Santa wears one to surprise attack Quillgin; and finally, at the end of the episode, Santa breaks his rules and gifts Mordecai & Rigby with a cloak of their own.
51	* JumpingOnAGrenade: When Quillgin throws a grenade at them, Santa dives in front of the Park Crew and blocks the explosion with his snowboard.
52	* LastSecondWordSwap:
53	-->'''Muscle Man:''' You know who ELSE makes great cookies? MI... chael's Bakery, on 5th and Western. You been there?
54	* MadeOfIndestructium: When told that Santa tasked them with getting rid of the present, Muscle Man tries to smash it with a sledge hammer but has no luck. Due to its dark magic, Skips explains that it has to be thrown into lava to be destroyed.
55	* MundaneWish: While they’re fighting over the box, Quillgin is about to push the detonator button when Rigby looks inside and the object changes to what he most desires: an ice cream cone.
56	* NearDeathExperience: After getting the group through the first booby trap with his perfect dance moves, Muscle Man realizes how close he was to being skewered to death by the spiked trap.
57	* NearVillainVictory: Quillgin gets dangerously close to completely destroying Christmas.
58	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The crew is sneaking through East Pines Park to throw the present into their lava pit, when Rigby stops to screw around with one of their snowmen and it sets off the park’s security system.
59	* OhCrap: Mordecai and Rigby's reaction when Santa proves he's the real deal by quoting their Christmas letters verbatim.
60	* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: Quillgin was one of Santa’s top elves until he used dark magic to create a present that brings out the worst in people and decided to put an end to Christmas once and for all.
61	* RunningGag: Everyone telling Benson how ugly his sweater is.
62	* SavingChristmas: The Park Crew has to do this by destroying the box before Quillgin can use it to rid the world of Christmas forever.
63	* SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay: Santa proves that he’s the real Santa Claus by reciting lines from the letters Mordecai and Rigby sent him.
64	-->'''Santa:''' "Santa, dude, don’t be a jerk! Just give me an invisibility cloak!"
65	* TookAShortcut: Quillgin was able to catch up to the gang by just taking the stairs to the lava pit.
66	* TheTriple: While the hieroglyphics of the first two traps communicated their objectives in somewhat vague rhymes, the third trial simply reads “Wrestle a bear. Don’t lose.”
67	* ATwinkleInTheSky: At the end of the episode, Santa flies off into the sky on his sleigh as he calls out “Ho, ho, ho!” and disappears into a shining twinkle.
68	-->'''Mordecai:''' Dude, he said it just like in the movies!
69	* WhatsInsidePlot: Throughout most of the episode, we don’t get to actually see what’s inside the box, because it changes to contain what is most desired by the person looking inside it at that particular moment. At the end, when Quillgin gets a hold of it, it shows what he most desires: a detonator that will put presents just like it all over the world, eradicating Santa and Christmas itself forever.

Context Recap / RegularShowS04Ep09TheChristmasSpecial