Recap / Big City Greens S 2 E 20

Don't make noise...or else.

Quiet Please

The Greens visit the public library to teach Cricket the ways of reading, but the strict librarian threatens to throw them out if they make even the slightest noise.

"Quiet Please" contains examples of:

• Act of True Love: Parodied when Bill signs "I love you" and lets himself get banned from the library to save Cricket.
• Affectionate Parody: The entire episode is a Bowdlerized homage to A Quiet Place, and a lot of plot points were parodied, such as:
  • The Greens in the roles of the sole surviving family (Bill as Lee, Gramma as Evelyn, Tilly as Regan, Cricket as a combination of Marcus and Beau).
  • The librarians threatening to ban the Greens for making any sound, like the aliens devouring any life form who makes one sound. They even have good hearing like the aliens do, in addition to Running on All Fours, Super-Speed, and climbing on the shelves.
  • The son setting off a toy that makes noise, causing them to get caught.
  • The family using sign language to communicate, with almost all of their dialogue coming through their inner thoughts.
  • A medical device turning out to be the enemy's weakness (Gramma's hearing aide, Regan's cochlear implant).
  • The father and son using a flowing water object to drown out their voices so they can talk (the drinking fountain and waterfall).
  • The son stepping on a sharp object and screaming loudly.
  • The talk in the bathroom where the family are safe from harm.
  • The climatic ambush scene with hordes of librarians/aliens rounding on the family.
  • The son making noise when they shouldn't, putting them in danger which the father notices.
  • The father signing "I love you" before sacrificing themselves with a loud scream to save the son. Unlike Lee who was killed, Bill was banned from all libraries across the globe.
• Ambiguously Human: The librarians. Given their snake-like appearances, oddly colored skin tones, the way their glasses emote as if they were their eyes which they never take off, having Super-Speed and rather good hearing, and especially how they move on all fours and crawl on the shelves like spiders, they might not be human at all and possibly alien.
• Answer Cut:
  Cricket: But where in the city are we gonna find a place with an endless catalogue of books?
  [Cut to...]
  Cricket: Oh, the library!
• Agony of the Feet: Cricket stepping on his fallen BLEGO brick on the stairs, causing him to scream so loud that it alerts the librarian.
• Animation Bump: Some of the expressions are much more detailed and couldn't have possibly been animated back in Season 1, especially Cricket's relaxed reaction when he steps on the BLEGO block just before he screams. There are also visible puncture wounds in his foot when the block pops off.
• Artistic License – Law: Everything that happens in the library is completely unrealistic:
  • Firstly, the librarian threatens to ban the Greens for good if they make a single noise, a rule libraries don't even bother to enforce.
  • Bill ends up banned from every library worldwide, despite the other libraries not even knowing him (and Bill is even surprised that they have the power to do that).
  • The librarian almost catches Cricket in the bathroom, which in real life is a less likely place for librarians to check for noise, as it's okay to make noise in there. Partially lampshaded when Bill and Tilly enter and Bill says it's safe to whisper there.
  • There should also be computers and Wi-Fi, as well as headphones, though they might've been offscreen.
  • Lastly, it's okay to talk in the library, so long as it's at a low enough volume so you don't disturb anyone who's working or studying there.
    • To be fair, however, if Artistic License wasn't in place, this episode wouldn't have nearly been as humorous or tense as it is.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Cricket's lack of focus is why he can't enjoy reading. He rejects one of Gramma's mystery novels becuase it's 500 pages long, the long descriptions on Tilly's fantasy novels bore him, and his mind wanders while reading Bill's Li'l Abe book. Eventually he finds one he can enjoy, a comic book with lots of action, but he almost gets banned for good when he gets too loud reading it.
• Avengers Assemble: The librarian alerts her fellow librarians by whispering "Librarians assemble."
• Beyond the Impossible: The librarian is somehow able to pick up the beating of Cricket's heart.
• Big Bad: The librarian is the main antagonist of the episode, threatening her patrons into being entirely silent and freaking out, to the point they can't even talk either.
• Big Damn Heroes: Bill letting himself take the heat for making noise, which saves Cricket from being banned and never getting to enjoy reading again, allowing him to take the punishment instead.
• Bittersweet Ending: Bill is permanently banned from going back to all libraries worldwide, meaning he'll never be able to check out books again (especially the Lil' Abe collection), but the good news is Cricket, Tilly and Gramma survived, the first of them managing to get the book that matches his interests and is given the gift of reading.
• Book Ends: A literal example. The episode opens with the title of the episode on the book Tilly is reading, and ends with the title on the book the librarian is reading, combined with Gainax Ending.
• Bottle Episode: Most of the episode takes place inside the library, with the exception of the opening scene.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: The last scene where the Greens shout together suddenly zooms out to reveal a storybook of the episode that the librarian was reading, then she puts the book back and shushes the viewer.
• Breather Episode: This episode is the last of the middle ten to take a breather before what happens in its sister episode.
• Brick Joke:
  • Upon entering the library, Cricket says being quiet is the hardest thing he ever tried to do. Near the end, he finds himself unable to be quiet once he finally finds a book he likes, and almost loses it for good because of it.
  • When Tilly teaches the family sign language, the first gesture Bill uses is "I love you." He uses the same exact gesture near the end prior to screaming to save Cricket.
• Bowdlerise: Due to the episode being a G-rated parody of A Quiet Place, many X-rated scenes were toned down to fit the show's target audience. The climatic sacrifice scene, for instance, has Bill beaten up and banned from every library in the world, a kid-friendly version of the scene in the movie when Lee is killed.
• Cacophony Cover Up: Bill turns on the drinking fountain to drown out his and Cricket's voices while they talk.
• Call-Back: Cricket's heroes and the Croblins from Times Circle make cameos on the covers of library movies.
• Chekhov's Gun: The block in Cricket's backpack, which falls out while he climbs the stairs. Not long after, he steps on it and screams, which sends the librarian after him.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The inside of the library is predominantly greyscale, which shows it not the best place to make noise. The darker shadowed areas also mark the more "dangerous" zones, while brighter-colored areas (such as the Kids Korner and bathroom) mark them as somewhat "safe" areas. Also when Cricket is about to be caught by the librarian without even knowing, there is a hard-to-notice shadow border which serves as a warning he's about to lose the gift of reading for good.
• Despair Event Horizon: Cricket undergoes one, thinking he'll never find a single book he likes thanks to his lack of focus.
  Cricket: I tried, Dad, but I just couldn't get into Lil' Abe either! Maybe the problem isn't books, it's me and my stimuli-chasin' brain.
• Disneyfication: The scenes in the movie when people get killed by the aliens for making noise were toned down in the episode as simply getting thrown out.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: Cricket's struggles with reading, or paying attention, due to his stimulus driven brain is similar to the struggles of children who are diagnosed with ADHD.
• Enemy Rising Behind: The librarian does this to Gramma when she hears her quietly opening a candy wrapper, then to Cricket when he forgets the restriction against noise without even knowing.
• "Eureka!" Moment: Tilly has one when she looks at a couple using sign language, giving her the idea of how the family can communicate without even saying a word to avoid getting kicked out.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: When the librarian gets more enraged by the Greens' noises, her bun falls, and her hair becomes matted. She has it back in order once the noises stop and she's done her job.
• Failed a Spot Check: Cricket is so into the graphic novel he finds he is completely oblivious to the librarian stalking up on him about to attack him for making noise, and Bill had to intervene to save him. Cricket doesn't even look up from the book once throughout all this, nor does he even notice her shadow.
• Felony Misdemeanor: As punishment for making noise, Bill is banned from all libraries over the country. And on his first visit no less!
• Five-Second Foreshadowing: The first glance of the library actually hints at the overly strict quietness within, given that the wallpapers visible through the windows are dark and shadowed, and nobody is congregating on the stairs or sidewalk.
• Foreshadowing: There are several vague hints leading up to the climatic sacrifice scene.
  • In the beginning when Tilly is reading Feasts of Evermore and Bill gets her attention, she seems so into the book that she lost all traces of reality, seeming not to listen and snap out of it, forgetting where she was. The same thing happens to Cricket once he gets the Bear Cowboy book.
  • Once the family enters the library and Bill warns them it's "a quiet place" and they don't want to anger the librarians, Cricket mentions being quiet is the hardest thing he had ever done. Once he finds the comic, he cannot keep quiet and is almost caught for it.
  • After getting bored from Tilly and Gramma's choice of books, Cricket spots Phyllis and makes a funny face, making her laugh, resulting in her caught. Cricket himself experiences this once he gets the comic.
• Gainax Ending: The Breaking the Fourth Wall example above.
• Gone Horribly Right: Cricket finally finds a book he likes, but this in turn causes him to break the no noise rule and almost gets caught.
• Hates Reading: It’s not so much that Cricket hates reading as it is that his short attention span won’t allow him to focus long enough to get into a book; it doesn’t help that the books his family recommends are either too long or full of extended flowery descriptive scenes. It isn’t until he discovers the library also has comic books that he finds something that appeals to him.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Bill lets himself get attacked by the librarians so they spare Cricket, just like what happened to Lee in the movie.
  Bill: (in sign language) I. Love. You.
• Hypocrite: The librarian orders no one to make any noise, not even talking nor whispering, yet she herself is allowed to talk to them.
• Idiot Ball:
  • Cricket has no excuse to not pick up the BLEGO brick he drops on the stairs and also to not stop laughing so loudly when he finds the book he wants. Tilly lampshades the former when he steps on the block the second time.
  • Cricket doesn't even realize he's forgetting he's supposed to be quiet once he finds a book his genre, not even bothering to leave the aisle and go somewhere else to read.
  • Also, when Bill tries to warn Cricket he's attracting the librarian upon finding a book he's into, he doesn't even bother to run in front of him or drag him away, and instead uses the time to warn him from behind while his back is turned.
  • Tilly and Gramma also don't bother to quickly run over to Cricket and take him with them during the above.
• Inner Monologue: Almost all of the Greens' dialogue becomes this, in keeping up with the Whole-Plot Reference.
• Inner Monologue Conversation: The middle of the episode becomes mostly this, thanks to Tilly relying on sign language and the rest of the Greens using charades, with most of their dialogue heard through their thoughts translating what they're saying. Cricket's thoughts are also heard without miming as well, even having an argument with his brain at one point.
• Irony: Bill is the one who suggests the trip to the library, yet he is the one who gets banned.
• Karma Houdini: The librarian suffers no consequences for kicking out the visitors for making even the quietest sound.
• Library Episode: The episode has the Greens take Cricket to the library to teach him about reading and to find a book he likes, while trying to avoid getting caught by the Scary Librarian.
• Me's a Crowd: Multiple copies of Cricket are seen inside his overly extravagant brain.
• Mime and Music-Only Cartoon: Not counting the Greens' thoughts, they mostly have no spoken dialogue throughout the library visit following the first encounter with the Scary Librarian, with their emotions told through the background score and communicating through sign language and pantomime whenever they have to say something.
• Mood Whiplash: The episode is by far comedic, but when it gets to the part where Cricket is obliviously about to be banned when he starts laughing when he should be quiet, it gets worse.
• No-Dialogue Episode: Fairly closely adhered to when the Greens begin using sign language and pantomime whenever they need to speak, with almost all their dialogue played out through their thoughts.
• Oh, Crap!: Basically the Greens' reaction whenever the librarian rounds on them or hears a single sound from either of them. The biggest is when Bill sees Cricket about to attacked by the librarian without even knowing it.
• 1-Dimensional Thinking: Bill has no excuse not to quickly run right up to Cricket to grab him and escape.
• Only Sane Man: Out of all the Greens, Tilly was the only one who never made a single sound and otherwise managed to stay quiet the whole time, and is thus the only one who the librarian didn't try to attack.
• Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Bill signing the phrase "I love you" prior to screaming to save Cricket.
• Persona Non Grata: Bill's Heroic Sacrifice to let Cricket escape the library with Tilly and Gramma ends up getting him permanently banned from all libraries worldwide, and on his first visit nonetheless. Who woulda known they'd have that kind of power?
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!:
  • "I know my brain! If it's not constantly stimulated, I. WILL. LOSE IT!"
  • "NOT. ONE. MORE. SOUND."
  • "I. Love. You."
• The Quiet One: Ironically, Tilly ends up filling this role, as she rarely speaks a single word out loud after the librarian threatens the Greens, with most of her dialogue coming through sign language and her thoughts. She was also the only Green whom the librarian didn't try to attack, thus she stayed quiet the whole time and never made one noise.
• "Reading Is Cool" Aesop: The episode is basically about Cricket learning how to read and enjoy books while simultaneously dealing with losing focus and distraction thanks to his overly stimulus brain.
• Rule of Three:
  • Cricket rejects Gramma, Tilly and Bill's choices of books in that order, due to not fitting his interests because of his overly-stimulated brain.
  • The librarian almost attacks the Greens three times throughout the episode; first she almost catches Cricket behind the bathroom door, then she almost catches Gramma opening a somewhat loud candy wrapper before her hearing aide stuns her, and finally she almost gets Cricket again when he forgets he's supposed to be quiet upon finally finding a book he likes, before Bill interferes.
• Scary Librarian: The librarian is a snake-like stern lady with incredible hearing who sneaks up on anyone making noise and yanks them away into the darkness.
• The Scream:
  • Both times when Cricket steps on the BLEGO brick, which is loud enough for the librarian to hear. The second time, Tilly simply picks up the block, puts it in her pocket, and silently calls him out.
  • Bill does this in the climax to save Cricket from getting banned for making noise, leaving him to take the blow instead.
• Serious Business: The librarians take their job really seriously, according to Bill. They have very good hearing and order absolutely no sounds — you can't even talk either — and if you make one slight noise, you're booted out.
• Silence Is Golden: Most of the episode becomes completely dialogue-free, in keeping up with the A Quiet Place parody. Almost all of the Greens' lines are played out through their thoughts and gestures; the only times they talk out loud are when they enter at the beginning, when the librarian warns them, the confession at the water fountain, when Gramma makes the librarian tumble with her hearing aid, Cricket's breakdown in the bathroom, the librarian assembling her crew, and Cricket forgetting the noise restriction near the end. It goes back to regular dialogue once the family leaves the library.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: Tilly and Gramma disappear between the time Bill sees Cricket about to be caught by the librarian and the time he gets banned, to make the climatic sacrifice scene more unsettling and forboding.
• Shout-Out:
  • BLEGO is obviously this world's equivalent of LEGO.
  • When they enter the library, Bill explains that it's supposed to be A Quiet Place and the librarians take their jobs very seriously. Throughout the episode the family takes pains to be extra quiet because the librarians will abruptly remove them for making noise, not unlike the monsters of the film.
• Shown Their Work: The crew had actual deaf people working on the series to make the American Sign Language look as accurate as possible.
• Special Guest: Linda Hamilton as the Scary Librarian.
• So Much for Stealth: Cricket completely forgets the restriction against all noise as he's so engrossed in a comic book that he starts laughing and shouting as he reads it.
• Suddenly Bilingual: Tilly somehow knows American Sign Language, to the surprise of the other Greens. Bill knows some but is far less fluent.
• Taking the Heat: When Bill sees Cricket about to be caught by the librarian without knowing and is unable to warn him, he screams super loud to lure the librarians away and get himself caught instead.
• Thinking Out Loud: Most of the Greens' dialogue becomes this when they take Tilly's idea to pantomime whenever they need to speak.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: A very, very minor one. Bill ends up banned from every library in the world when he pulls a Heroic Sacrifice to save Cricket; if not for anything else, at least he's now safe from that wicked librarian's wrath for good.
• Too Dumb to Live: Cricket apparently forgot he's in danger of getting banned from the library once he starts making noise over the graphic novel he found.
• Trailers Always Spoil: A promotional video on Instagram and Twitter shows the Greens screaming outside the library; this is the last scene of the episode.
• Voice Grunting: Following the point Tilly teaches the Greens sign language whenever they need to communicate, the only vocalizations the family emits aside from their Inner Monologue are grunts, gasps, laughing and screaming, and the librarian's occasional hisses. Only three one minute scenes in the library feature verbal conversations.
• Weaksauce Weakness: The head librarian's weakness seems to be Gramma's hearing aid going haywire, similar to Regan's cochlear implant.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Tilly toward Cricket for stepping on the same BLEGO block he dropped on the stairs, initiating a horde of angry librarians.
  Tilly: (in sign language) Was that so hard?!
• Whole-Plot Reference: To A Quiet Place, dead-on; with the librarians acting like the aliens, the Greens using sign language, the talks near the water fountain and in the bathroom, the BLEGO brick and exposed nail on the stairs that one of the protagonists accidentally steps on, and especially the Heroic Sacrifice in the climax.
• Wiki Walk: While reading Li'l Abe, Cricket gets distracted by the word "log cabin", and imagines first a dog cabin, then a dog captain, and then his mind trails off in an Imagine Spot of a dog piloting a ship.
• Worth It:
  Cricket: Dad!
  Tilly: You're okay!
  Bill: Yeah, banned from all libraries across the globe. I didn't know they had that authority. But it was all worth it to give you the gift of reading.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: Almost happened to Cricket when he becomes so interested in the graphic novel he completely forgets the no noise rule, and comes this close to being banned and losing the gift of reading forever before Bill intervenes.

---

It's the endgame for the Greens.

Chipwrecked

In his latest scheme, Chip plots to run Big Coffee out of business resulting in Cricket jobless, and Cricket highly doubts that will happen...or so he thinks.

"Chipwrecked" contains examples of:

• Aesop Amnesia: Cricket, once again, has forgotten it's wrong to scam someone, especially his family. It is to the point this has become a Lost Aesop. However, he knows he's scamming them, and only Ms. Cho is cool with it.
• Animation Bump:
  • When Chip had a single titanium tooth, it was just a simple grey block aside from close-ups. Now that Chip has a whole mouth full of titanium, it has visible shine effects even without showing his teeth when smiling.
  • Cricket's smirks when he taunts Chip and when he believes his ruse is working are much more complex than early expressions, something Season 1 didn't have the courage to animate.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: During the Wholesome Foods expansion plan, Chip dismantles everything inside Big Coffee, bribes Mrs. Cho into retirement, seizes complete control of Big Coffee, and fires its staff as well as throw Cricket's family members out of there.
• At Arm's Length: When Cricket sees Chip's new Wholesome Squad taking down everything in Big Coffee, he jumps in and tries to stop him, but once he's at Chip's arm length one of the bouncers holds him back and tosses him into Bill's arms.
• Bad Boss: Chip is so focused on getting revenge on the Greens, he's been neglecting his duties as CEO. And when he's told he's not doing his work, he whines and says getting revenge on the Greens is more important. It's like giving the job to a little spoiled kid.
• The Bad Guy Wins: In the end, Chip buys Big Coffee from Miss Cho, effectively making Cricket and Gloria jobless and he plans on expanding his business by dismantling the Greens' farmhouse, and for the first time Cricket completely fails to defeat him. And just to rub it in Cricket's face, he tells him that if he hadn't "set him straight" and get him in his father's good graces, none of this would have happened. Worse still, the Greens and Gloria are now left on the curb worrying over what's going to happen next.
• Berserk Button:
  • Don't call Chip Whistler a joke.
  • Don't you EVER bust into a cafe, dismantle it, and threaten Cricket's family.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: When Chip gets a call from his dad, he is forced to put on a facade of niceness and cover up his vengeance so he doesn't upset him.
• Book Ends: A grouping episode example. The first ten of season 1 closes out with Cricket getting a job at Big Coffee; this being the last before the final ten of season 2 ends with Cricket getting fired.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Cricket cries out this can't be how it ends. Tilly replies, "And yet, it just... did."
• Break the Cutie: Cricket is obviously hurt and horrified when he sees Chip take over Big Coffee and his plan ultimately succeeds.
• Brick Joke: Cricket tricks his family into doing their job for him which they fall for, and Gloria resents, but Ms. Cho doesn't mind. In the end, Chip tricks Ms. Cho into handing Big Coffee to him which she falls for, and the Greens and Gloria are horrified at this.
• The Bus Came Back: We see Chip's dad for the first time since his retirement, and it's shown he's now living on a beach somewhere.
• Character Development: Since the Greens are now fully aware that Chip is committed to ruining them, they are no longer afraid to face him and Cricket is able to pull a Captain Obvious that no matter what Chip does, his plans will always fail and will get a chip in his teeth in return. However, this all changes when Chip wins in the end, when Cricket officially recognizes him as a true enemy to the Green family.
• The Chew Toy: Chip becomes this in-universe to the Greens, especially to Cricket. They suddenly get their comeuppance when he bites back at them in the end.
• Cliffhanger: Chip wins.
• Community-Threatening Construction: Chip threatens to demolish the Greens' farmhouse — and all the family legacy that came with it — and build a new Wholesome Foods on top of it.
• Continuity Nod: Cricket's scam to get his family to work for him seems to be more easily played out than his past ones, as taking advice from John in "Flimflammed" allows him to say the right words in order to hide up his scheme and swindle them better than before.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: When Cricket sees Chip's Wholesome Squad destroy the cafe, he jumps in to interfere, but one of the bouncers holds him back and he is tossed into Bill's arms.
  Chip: Oh, Cricket. Attacking an old friend isn't very wholesome, now, is it?
• Darker and Edgier: Even moreso than "Reckoning Ball". Chip has grown to the brink of insanity thanks to the Greens always ruining his plans, and he actually wins this time by seizing control of Big Coffee and costing Cricket and Gloria their jobs, and is planning on demolishing the Green house.
• Darkest Hour: Big Coffee is sold to Chip, Cricket and Gloria are jobless, and worst of all, Chip is now plotting on destroying the Greens' house which has been in their family for generations, meaning it's time once again to save the farm.
• Day Hurts Dark-Adjusted Eyes: When the VP opens the shades in the CEO office, Chip shades his eyes and complains, "No, I like it spooky!"
• The Dog Bites Back: Cricket has stopped taking Chip seriously and begins treating him like a failing joke, as do the rest of his family. They are soon outmatched when Chip starts taking over Big Coffee, and Cricket fails to defeat him in return. Chip even says, "Who's a joke now?" before leaving in his limousine, as if the Greens got their comeuppance for humiliating him.
• Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: If Cricket and the Greens not taking Chip seriously and calling him a joke is what causes him to think past them and seize control of Big Coffee, then no one knows what is.
• Downer Ending: The episode ends with Chip having bribed Ms. Cho into giving him Big Coffee, Cricket and Gloria jobless, and Chip now plotting to demolish the Green house and end its legacy forever. Fortunately, it all gets better by the next episode.
• Eat the Camera: Done when Chip is freaking out after one of his titanium teeth is chipped.
• Ethereal Choir: Played over the final scene as the Greens and Gloria panic over the fact Chip has won.
• Evil Costume Switch: When Chip becomes the new Big Coffee owner, he trades in his grey and green suit for a new one that's black, blue and yellow.
• Failure Montage: We see flashbacks of Chip trying to sabotage the Greens like something out of a Road Runner and Coyote cartoon. And they all end with him getting crushed under a billboard.
• Foreshadowing: Back in "Clubbed", Cricket was exhausted and annoyed after a day of work, and claims Bill is lucky to have a job. This might be the reason for his set-up here, as he uses his family to do his job for him so he doesn't have to suffer.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus:
  • Despite not appearing in the episode itself, Nancy can be seen on Chip's evidence board along with her trailer, hinting he knows her.
  • A picture of Remy can be seen on the board as well; apparently, Chip doesn't know his name nor his connection with Cricket.
  • Chip also has a map of Big City, and one of the locations he's aware of is BigTech.
• Freudian Slip:
  • When Chip gets a call from his father and almost reveals his vendetta.
    Chip: Yeah, I've been busy... trying to destroy the Gr — Uh, a — a work problem! Yeah, destroy a work problem!
  • And earlier, when Cricket checks up on Tilly mopping and almost reveals he tricked his family into working for him.
    Cricket: Hey, Tilly, how's the moppin' — I mean — water drawing going?
• Get Out!: Twice by Chip, one to his Mooks when he fires them, and again to Cricket and Gloria when he fires them after seizing control of Big Coffee.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Chip does have a valid point when taking over Big Coffee. Ever since Cricket and the Greens have stopped taking him seriously and began calling him a joke, it enrages and humiliates him enough into becoming a failing laughingstock. When he misinterprets his dad's advice, he uses it to think right past Cricket and call him the joke in his place for humiliating him.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Chip gives Cricket and the Greens their comeuppance for treating him like a joke by taking over Big Coffee and plotting the destruction of their farmhouse.
• Locked Out of the Loop:
  • Mr. Whistler is still unaware of his son's vendetta since making him the CEO.
  • After two and a half seasons, we still have yet to wonder if Nancy will ever meet Chip and discover his plot to take over Elkins Street and that their house is threatened. However, he is at least aware of her existence.
• Madness Makeover: Chip's vendetta against the Greens results in this: His suit becomes ruined, his hair is matted, his face is wrinkled with Exhausted Eye Bags and facial hair, and his mouth is full of titanium, which gets chipped nonetheless. He straightens this out by the end.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!": The Greens and Gloria all have this together after Chip has bought out Big Coffee and their house is in danger of being destroyed if they don't think fast.
• Mid-Season Twist: Chip's Mooks are fired and replaced with bouncers, Ms. Cho is easily swindled into giving him the cafe, Cricket and Gloria are jobless, and worst of all, Chip's expansion plan is set right where the Green house currently stands.
• Multi-Part Episode: This serves as part one of the very first of the series, which involves Chip's Wholesome Foods expansion plan which the Greens must stop.
• Never Say "Die": Chip almost lets slip he's trying to "destroy" the Greens.
• New Era Speech: Chip gives one to a meeting room full of Wholesome Foods executives. It's complete with the phrase "new era," and with a thinly veiled hidden meaning: the executives wish Chip would commit himself to actually doing his job, and Chip is trying to imply this in his speech, but instead he is only recommitting himself to the thoroughly petty goal of ruining the Green family's lives.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Oh, definitely. As noted by Chip, the Greens believing he changed his ways back in "Reckoning Ball" so he can take over as CEO leads to what happens in the end — Cricket and Gloria are now jobless, the cafe is shut down, and Chip's expansion will be right where the Greens' house is. Nice job breaking it indeed, Cricket.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Cricket's reaction when Chip actually succeeded with his plan. All of the Greens and Gloria have this when he announces their house is being destroyed and worry about what's happening next.
  • An earlier one done by the Greens (Cricket and Tilly especially) when they see Chip's bouncers taking the cafe apart. Cricket also gets one when he fails to attack Chip.
• Painted Tunnel, Real Train: The last plan on Chip's failure montage is painting a tunnel, which Tilly goes through in her tricycle, while Chip slams into the wall trying to go after her. Chip later admits that was actually a sleep-deprived hallucination.
• Plot Hole:
  • Chip somehow knows who Nancy is, despite she's the only nuclear Green member who hasn't encountered him yet. Given his board contains notes on all the Green's acquaintances and ventures from the past, such as Big Tech or Erwin, despite not actually being certain of his relationship to the family, it would make sense for Chip's petty vendetta to drive him to dig up all information on the Green family as a whole, even the ones he's not personally met yet.
  • Chip somehow knows Alice's name despite the fact she never told him.
• Psychotic Smirk: Cricket gives a few of these to Chip as he mocks him over his constant failures and while he is watching Chip fail that second.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: "And yet... it just... did."
• Put on a Bus: Chip's henchmen Greg and Rose are fired and replaced by a squad of bouncers.
• Sequel Hook: The ending shows Chip has won and the Greens and Gloria are worried for whatever comes next if they don't step up.
• Schmuck Bait: Cricket only set up "Bring Your Family To Work Day" to entice his family into doing his job for him. Gloria knows about it, but Ms. Cho doesn't care.
• Shout-Out:
  • Chip takes over Big Coffee and to a larger extent, the Greens' property, like how Gideon Gleeful took over the Mystery Shack.
  • During Chip's sleep-deprived hallucination where Tilly goes through a painted tunnel in her tricycle, she makes "beep, beep".
• Small Role, Big Impact: Mr. Whistler is only seen in one scene, but taking advice from him — albeit not what he was really talking about — is what leads to Chip taking over Big Coffee.
• Society-on-Edge Episode: The ending of this episode, which will continue into the next, deals with Chip taking over Big Coffee and plotting to destroy the Greens' farmhouse and bringing an imminent end to their time in Big City and their house's legacy as well.
• So Long, Suckers!: Chip shouts, "Adios, Cricket!" before leaving after succeeding with his plan.
• Space Whale Aesop: Played for Horror here; not taking your opponents seriously results in them biting back at you.
• Special Edition Title: Due to the episode ending on a cliffhanger, instead of the credits rolling over a montage of different parts of the house over "Do It All Again", it instead rolls over the image of a boarded up Big Coffee with ominous music playing.
• Special Guest: Mary Holland as the Wholesome Foods VP.
• String Theory: Chip has a board set up in his office of plans to destroy the Greens.
• Suddenly Voiced: Miss Cho says goodbye to everyone after Chip buys Big Coffee from her. It's the only time we've actually heard her speak.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: When you plot convoluted schemes instead of doing your job as CEO, you're going to hurt business.
• To Be Continued: The episode ends with this caption.
• Troubled Fetal Position: Gloria does this after she and Cricket lose their jobs.
• Unexpectedly Dark Episode: Obviously one of the darkest episodes of the show.
• Unexplained Recovery: Despite suffering various injuries from getting tossed around the block and hit with a billboard once more, Chip is immediately recovered the following day.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Chip's father advices him to use the company's resources to fix whatever little problem he has, not realizing Chip was talking about getting revenge on the Greens.
• Villainous Breakdown: After Chip winds up losing one of his indestructible titanium teeth after getting his coffee truck towed, getting shot into the air and into a billboard by a fire hydrant, falling off the building and into a hot dog cart and having said billboard land on him, he screams like a lunatic.
• Villain Episode: This episode mostly focuses on Chip, while the Greens' plot is regulated to a side story.
• Wham Episode: And how! Where to start? First of all, Chip's got a new squad after firing his Mooks. Secondly, he bribes Ms. Cho into giving him Big Coffee, resulting in him owning the place and firing Cricket and Gloria. The worst part? Now he plots to expand Wholesome Foods' territory to where the Green farmhouse is standing, meaning he's going to destroy it if the Greens don't fight back!
• Wham Line: Five in a row within the last 3-4 minutes.
  • Chip takes his dad's advice differently:
    Chip: Things are going to be a little... different from now on.
  • When Chip steps into the boardroom:
    Chip: We are at the dawn of a new era for Wholesome Foods. May I present to you all my Wholesome Foods expansion plan.
  • After Chip manages to bribe Ms. Cho:
    Chip: Which reminds me, you're all fired. Get out.
  • While Chip is taunting Cricket after firing him:
    Chip: Hey, Cricket! Thank you so much for helping me get on the right track. I'd have stayed the same without your advice. But I think my Wholesome Foods expansion plan will need a bit... more... space. *takes a look at the Greens' farmhouse* Who's a joke now? Adios, Cricket!
  • After Chip leaves and the Greens worry what's going to happen next:
    Cricket: What the heck is going on?! Chip can't win! It can't end like this!
    Tilly: And yet... it just... did.
• Wham Shot: The binder containing Chip's Wholesome Foods expansion plan, and especially his P.O.V. Cam where he shifts his focus to the Green house.
• What the Hell, Hero?: The Greens call Cricket out upon learning he only used them to do his job for him.
• Who's Laughing Now?: Cricket calls Chip a joke at the start of the episode. Later, when Chip buys Big Coffee and reveals his plan to demolish the Greens' farmhouse to expand Wholesome Foods, he smugly asks Cricket, "Who's a joke now?"
• You Can't Thwart Stage One: Unlike all prior plots, Cricket fails to stop Chip's plan to take over Big Coffee here, as he easily prevents him from attacking and successfully bribes Ms. Cho into retiring and kicking him and Gloria out. Possibly because of the way he treated Chip throughout the episode.

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