"Remember, the wishes are for a limited time only."
Wembley frees a trapped spider-fly from a snare blossom. The spider-fly turns out to be an Odd Old Man/Fairy Godmother—who, as a reward, grants Wembley his wish of being able to fly. He is told, however, that he will be able to make only three flights.Wembley tests his gift by making his first flight. In an attempt to show off his new ability to his friends, he then tries to leap out the window of Red and Mokey's cave, but they stop him, doubting his story and fearing that he'll get hurt... or killed.
Wembley leaves in a huff, starting to doubt whether he can actually fly, and makes another flight to prove to himself that he can. Back at the Great Hall, he offers to show his power of flight to all the Fraggles. Marlon, Feenie, and Large Marvin, though, want to exploit his gift for their own purposes and begin arguing over what he should do with it. Meanwhile, Wembley's friends want him to promise not to try to fly.
Distraught, Wembley goes off to sulk. The Fairy Godmother appears and helps Wembley realize that flying for the joy of it is a better reason than doing it to show off. Wembley enjoys his last flight on his own, with nobody watching.
This episode contains examples of:
- All Just a Dream: After leaving when his friends doubt his ability to fly, Wembley starts to wonder if his being given the gift was this.Wembley: Aww, maybe it was just a dream. Maybe I can't really fly.
[The spider-fly flaps in just in time to see Wembley test his gift by making another flight.]
Wembley: Whoah! Ohhhh, I can really fly! YAAAHHH! - Arbitrary Skepticism: Wembley's friends don't believe that the Fairy Godmother gave Wembley the gift of flight, despite the fact that they've met other wish-granting entities, such as a genie.
- Bizarre Taste in Food: Lampshaded. The Fairy Godmother, having the ability to become a spider-fly, has an appetite for insects.Fairy Godmother: Oh, drat! I'm about to turn back into a spider-fly. I can always tell. I get hungry for bugs.
- Calling Your Nausea: Boober's reaction to Wembley's plan to leap out the window.Wembley: Now, I will leap out of this window and fly once around the Great Hall!
Boober: What?
Red: Wembley, that window is about a jillion Doozer towers high!
Wembley: I know, I know! It'll give me a chance to do a graceful dive, straight toward the ground. And then I'll pull up inches from the rocky floor! And I'll zoom up, up, the wind rushing through my fur, the ceiling streaking toward me...
Boober: I think I'm gonna be sick! - Character Name and the Noun Phrase: The episode's title.
- Continuity Nod:
- Two Inkspots are eating radish bars, sweet treats introduced in Red-Handed and the Invisible Thief.
- Red refers to the baloobius (the fluffy end of a Fraggle's tail), a term first used in the episode "Scared Silly."
- When the Fairy Godmother gives Wembley the gift of flight, Ditzies are seen, first introduced in "The Day the Music Died." Toward the end of the episode, when Wembley goes to sleep after making his third flight, they can be seen drifting out of his bedroom window.
- Driven by Envy: Wembley wants to show off to his friends because he's jealous of Gobo's talent for exploring and Red's gift for performing the three-rock hand balance (three rocks stacked in the palm of the hand).
- Flight: Toward the beginning, Wembley is wishing that he could fly. The Fairy Godmother grants him this wish as a reward for freeing him from the snare blossom.
- Food Shove Gag: Marlon, Feenie, and Large Marvin start quarreling about what they should have Wembley use his last flight for. When the argument gets too heated, Marvin shoves a cracker in Feenie's mouth to try to shut him up.
- Gender Bender: The Odd Old Man is the Fairy Godmother.
- I Just Want to Be Special:
- Wembley wants to fly so he can show off to the others.
- Marlon wants Wembley to carry a banner that says: "ELECT MARLON KING OF THE FRAGGLES!"
- Jump Scare: What Feenie wants Wembley to do with his new ability: fly to the Gorgs' garden and scare the fur off the Gorgs.
- Magical Gesture: The Fairy Godmother grants Wembley the power of flight by pointing to him.
- Make a Wish: Wembley wishes to be able to fly.
- Melancholy Musical Number: Wembley, upset when none of his friends believe that he can fly, runs away. He's next seen in a windy cave, singing "Heart in a Hanky."
- Mistaken for Insane: When Wembley says he was given the gift of flight by an odd old man who's a fairy godmother...Boober: [to Gobo] I think he may have been bitten by the Gaga Bug. There's no antidote...!
- New Skill as Reward: Wembley's reward for freeing a trapped spider-fly from a snare blossom is the ability to fly. He can make only three flights, though.
- Oh Wait, This Is My Grocery List: The Fairy Godmother, annoyed with Wembley for not having used up his wish, starts to read him a book of rules on the cosmic laws of the universe.Fairy Godmother: "How to Cook a Bug." Mmm, wrong book. A little present from my husband... uh, wife.
- Rule of Three: Wembley can fly only three times.
- Showing Off Your Powers: What Wembley wants to do. The Fairy Godmother helps Wembley realize that flying for the joy of it is a better reason than doing it to show off.
- Squashed Flat: Red lampshades this when Gobo tells her and Mokey that Wembley has left home.Mokey: Oh, no, poor little Wembley! Oh, maybe we should have humored him.
Red: Oh, if we had humored him, he would have ended up a little green pancake on the floor of the Great Hall! - Unwanted Rescue: When Wembley is about to leap out the window of Red and Mokey's room, Red quickly pulls him away. Wembley is not happy about being prevented from showing off his ability to fly.Wembley: Red, what are you doing? I just want to show off. Everybody else gets to show off!
Red: I'm saving you, Wembley!
[A Beat.]
Wembley: You don't believe I can fly! - Walk on Water: Uncle Matt claims the Silly Creatures did this and planned on doing it himself. The Silly Creatures were actually surfing.
- Wasteful Wishing: Defied by the Fairy Godmother. Wembley tries to wish for a toasted radish sandwich, then for a button for his banana-tree shirt, and then for a new guitar pick for Gobo. The Fairy Godmother retorts that Wembley doesn't want any of those.Fairy Godmother: Oh, will you stop pussyfooting around! I'm asking for your innermost, passionate burning desire!
Wembley: Well, we just met, and I didn't want to inconvenience you with any major requests.
Fairy Godmother: It's all the same to me! And what you want to do is... fly!
