- To Hobbes' terror
and Socrates' delight, Calvin needs to get his tonsils removed. In a hospital. Yikes!
Calvin's having a hard time getting up - even more so than usual - and though no one's surprised at first, his parents discover that he really is sick. The doctor says he has tonsillitis, and he's nervous about it until he's informed that he gets ice cream after the surgery.
Hobbes is delighted to have the house to himself, but he finds himself rather lonely. He calls Socrates, and the two party like never before.
Later, Calvin's mom drives him to the hospital, while Hobbes visits Socrates' mansion. The latter tells him an urban legend-type anecdote about a man who ended up scarred while at the hospital for a tonsillectomy.
Calvin sneaks throughout the hospital as Spaceman Spiff, inadvertently going down the laundry chute. He then shifts to Stupendous Man and gets caught by the doctors. Meanwhile, Socrates and Hobbes make their way to the hospital, the latter nervous about him.
After the surgery, Calvin's scream alerts the two tigers to his presence, and they try to get his attention, Hobbes worried about his life. A brief twitch sends him rejoicing, and he finally gets his ice cream.
Tropes:
- Bag of Holding: The "bottomless duffel bag".
- Big "WHAT?!": When Calvin finds out the doctors aren't that bad after all.
- Hobbes does a better one when Socrates tells him his tale..
- Comically Missing the Point:Hobbes: Something is wrong here. Gravely wrong!
Socrates: I hear ya. Where's the ice cream? - Drunk with Power: Hobbes, whose normally sane status goes completely out the window."It's beautiful! IT'S ALL MINE! ALL THIS STUFF IS MINE! THAT'S MINE, THIS IS MINE, IT'S ALL MINE! I HAVE COMPLETE POWER! IT'S ALL MINE!"
- Gratuitous Spanish: Calvin says "Si?" when the lady at the desk taps him on the shoulder.
- Incendiary Exponent: Hobbes sets Calvin's Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs on fire.
- Knows a Guy Who Knows a Guy: Socrates does this as a direct Shout-Out to SpongeBob SquarePants.
- Mocking Music: In a depressing way: while Hobbes tries to relax with the radio, the three songs he hears are So Long Old Friend, Yesterday, and Missin' You.
- Also inverted - when they reunite, the radio plays Together Again.
- Mundane Made Awesome: Not as severely as his father, but the doctor describes tonsillitis as if they were soldiers that had defected.
- No Sympathy: Socrates, who merely groans when Hobbes starts bawling his eyes out.
- Though there is this excerpt:
Socrates sighed and glanced at the lifeless Calvin lying on the table.
And although he'd never admit it, he felt like crying himself. - Nothing Is Scarier and O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Hobbes and Socrates are surprised at how quiet it is in the hospital, knowing Calvin.
- Offscreen Teleportation: Socrates somehow gets to his room before his elevator opens.
- Overly Long Scream: Calvin does this despite having tonsillitis.
- Pie in the Face: Socrates threatens Hobbes with this if he cries again.
- The Scream: Calvin does this when trying to swallow after the surgery.
- Shout-Out:Socrates: Well, once I knew ths guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy's cousin who knew this guy who went into a tonsillectomy, and died a horrible death.
- The Tonsillitis Episode
- Waking Non Sequitur: Socrates screams "TWO PICKLES ATE A CHEESE SANDWICH IN FRANCE!" as he wakes up.
- Wild Teen Party: Except it's with tigers, but it's still very wild.
- Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: "Why hast thou graced me with this call?"
