Bully For Binky Binky has been bullying the gang since they were in kindergarten. They are all stymied about how to deal with him. Then Sue Ellen, the new kid, stands up to Binky and challenges him to a fight.
Tropes for this episode include:
- And Then What?: When discussing an anti-Binky plan, Buster has an idea that if they feed Binky so much on purpose, he'll be too big to chase them. Arthur vetoes it by saying that if Binky were that big, he could still sit on them. Everyone is forced to scratch that plan.
- Break the Haughty: Binky by the end of the episode realizes that he can't bully Sue Ellen, and decides to be nicer to the other students, at least when Sue Ellen's around.
- Comically Missing the Point: Francine and Arthur hear Binky's concerns about challenging Sue Ellen, namely that he Didn't Think This Through. When Francine suggests that he channel his bullying energy into music, Binky decides he'll beat Sue Ellen before their duet.
- Didn't Think This Through: After Sue Ellen tries making him apologize for being mean, he challenges her to a fight—which, much to Binky's shock, Sue Ellen accepts. Binky later discovers that Sue Ellen practices martial arts and gets scared about fighting her after seeing a martial arts demonstration on TV—he later admits to Arthur and Francine that, despite his reputation as a bully, he's never actually physically fought anyone.
- Gasp!: Molly, Rattles and Binky do this when they see the martial arts demonstration on television.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Feeling vulnerable, Binky asks if he can talk to Francine and Arthur. While doing so and spinning Arthur on the carousel, Francine points out that if he wasn't always threatening people, he wouldn't be in this situation. Binky replies, however, that being mean to people is the only part of school where he excels. Arthur concedes that point while spinning around.
- Mugging the Monster: Invoked; Binky laughs and mistakes Sue Ellen's taekwondo lessons for a Korean cooking class because of the "dough," but his friend, Molly, explains that taekwondo is actually a type of martial arts, and shows him a demonstration of it TV, during which she, Binky and Rattles freak out after seeing an instructor smash a car with just one blow.
- Spit Take: Buster does one after Sue Ellen agrees to fight Binky.
- Tempting Fate: A good example: Brain says "There's no one on earth big enough to challenge Binky." and then get a glimpse of Sue Ellen.
Misfortune TellerAt Prunella's half-birthday, she receives a cootie catcher from her sister Rubella. It can tell fortunes, and the kids take interest when all of the predictions come true. Soon, however, they all start only making decisions when asking the cootie catcher.
Tropes for this episode include:
- Hypocritical Humor: D.W., who previously mocked her brother and his friends for listening to the cootie catcher all the time, starts listening to it at the end.
- Loophole Abuse: In order to end the cootie catcher's reign over them, the kids decide to ask it a question that give them back their freedom: "Can we stop listening to everything you say?" The answer is "yes".
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: After all the fuss about Prunella misplacing her cootie catcher, the kids decide to ask if they can stop listening to it. Prunella says yes, and then later tosses it in Arthur's trash.
- Shout-Out: Near the end of the episode, every plans to watch a TV show called Turtles, Turtles, Turtles at Arthur's house, an obvious reference to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
- Skeptic No Longer: Brain logically points out there is no curse. Then a truck runs over his bike, and he doesn't dare challenge the cootie catcher any longer.
- Skewed Priorities: The coaches at recess argue over the lyrics for "Itsy Bitsy Spider" rather than educate the kids.
- Who Would Be Stupid Enough?: Arthur's question is, "Will Binky sing a stupid song in front of everyone tomorrow?" It turns out that Binky would if a coach asks him to provide the correct verse on "Itsy Bitsy Spider."
