"Shoe" is the forty-third episodenote of Lilo & Stitch: The Series. It first aired on December 10, 2004.
An experiment designed to cause bad luck threatens the success of Jumba and Pleakley's new "bed and not breakfast".
Experiments who appeared or were mentioned in this episode:
- Poki (X-036): A small yellow and brown opossum-like experiment who is designed to poke holes in water containers with his spiked tail. He helps set up the "Bed and Not Breakfast", holding an artist's palette for Lilo to write a sign, then puts in a thatched garden umbrella on the patio table.
- Backhoe (X-040): A large grey mole-like experiment who is designed to scrape up vegetation with his long black claws. He digs up a pool for the "Bed and Not Breakfast".
- Shoe (X-113): This episode's Monster of the Week; a green-and-white, wiry, sloth-like experiment with a horseshoe-shaped horn who is designed to cause bad luck. He causes bad luck when his horn is pointed down and causes good luck when his horn is pointed up.
- Yin (X-501): She fills up the pool Backhoe made.
- Deforestator (X-515): Tears up foliage to create a nice yard and entrance to the "Bed and Not Breakfast".
- Kixx (X-601): Sets up furniture by throwing them in place, juggling and throwing surfboards, and then throwing patio chairs and a patio table.
- Reuben (X-625)
Tropes featured in this episode include:
- 13 Is Unlucky: Shoe is experiment 113, and one of his powers is bringing bad luck to everyone near him. Subverted in that he also has the power to bring good luck.
- An Aesop: Don't judge somebody by their flaws.
- Bad Luck Charm: Shoe is a living one when he’s set on bad luck mode.
- Bad People Abuse Animals: When Shoe gets snatched by a pelican, Gantu tries to get him back by shooting at the pelican with his blaster.
- Comedic Sociopathy: The episode has some moments. Courtesy of Shoe, a bunch of people go through unpleasant but funny misfortunes.
- Contrived Coincidence: Shoe causes a few unlucky ones because of his power.
- Jumba mentions that after he created Shoe, his lab went ka-boom for no reason. When Pleakley points out that Jumba’s lab would always go ka-boom, Jumba says that this was an especially unlucky case, as his ka-boom insurance had just run out.
- Shoe’s power causes the family’s fridge to break, right on the same day Pleakley bought a 96-pack box of ice cream sandwiches. After Shoe runs away, he causes the exact same thing to happen to a random woman.
- Deadpan Snarker:
- When Lilo tries to think of a name for Shoe, Pleakly sarcastically suggests Unlucky, Mr. Unlucky, and Unluckifier.
- As usual, 625 also makes a snarky remark about Gantu, claiming that whoever said fish is brain food never met him, after Gantu gets into an argument with 625’s tape recorder.
- Didn't Think This Through: In order get customers at the bed and not breakfast, Pleakley lies that he’ll give them free gold if they come. When he smugly reveals the truth to them and still expects them to pay him, they get angry and chase after him for it.
- Dramatic Irony: Dr. Hämsterviel tells that Gantu he doesn’t want an experiment that causes bad luck, little does he know that Shoe's power can also cause good luck, meaning Hämsterviel gave up an experiment that could have been very useful to him.
- Ethereal Choir: When Gantu catches Shoe and switches him to good luck mode, the cloudy sky clears up and a heavenly choir is heard.
- Follow the Chaos: After Shoe runs away, Lilo and Stitch track him down by following a trail of people having bad luck.
- Giant Novelty Check: A criminal goes around giving fake, giant, million-dollar checks to people. First, he gives one to Gantu. Later, he gives one to the Pelekai family.
- Good Luck Charm: Lilo gives Shoe a bunch of these to try and negate his bad luck, including a Four-Leaf Clover, a Lucky Rabbit's Foot, and a paper with a bunch of 7’s on it. But they don’t work. Shoe also becomes a living good luck charm when he’s set on good luck mode.
- I Lied: When Pleakley’s customers demand the free gold he promised them, he smugly tells them that he was lying.
- Impact Silhouette: When Gantu runs to catch Shoe, he stomps on Stitch, leaving a Stitch-shaped hole in the ground.
- "It" Is Dehumanizing: Pleakley calls Shoe a “thing”, which Lilo takes offense at.
- Jerkass Ball: Pleakley is surprisingly a huge jerk in this episode, with the bed and breakfast where he tries to scam the customers and delivers a scathing rant to a crowd of people he tricked about how he suckered them. After the customers form an angry mob and go after Pleakley, Shoe gets rid of them and Pleakley only complains that Shoe got rid of all his customers. He is also especially hostile to Shoe from the beginning and vehemently wants Lilo and Stitch to get rid of him. That, though, can be justified by Shoe's superpower ruining their business and making him dangerous to be around.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Although it’s mean of Pleakley to tell Lilo to get rid of Shoe, he has a point that Shoe does nothing but cause trouble and that he’s ruining their business, which the family can’t afford due to being strapped for cash.
- The Jinx: When set on bad luck mode, Shoe constantly brings misfortune to everyone around him.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Pleakley lies that he’ll give free gold to anyone who will come to stay at his bed and not breakfast, and then smugly gloats to the crowd of customers that he lied. The customers immediately form an angry mob and chase him.
- The Load: Shoe’s power of bringing bad luck makes him a burden to the Pelekai family.
- Never My Fault: When Pleakley tells his customers that he lied about giving them free gold and they form an angry mob, he blames it on Shoe, not knowing that Shoe has been switched to good luck mode, making it entirely Pleakley’s own fault.
- Out-of-Context Eavesdropping: Shoe overhears Lilo basically say he is pretty unlucky to the point that keeping him will be nigh impossible. Unfortunately, he leaves just as Lilo declares that they won't abandon him, regardless.
- Power Incontinence: Shoe doesn’t want to bring people bad luck, but his power activates by itself every few seconds and he can’t stop it from happening.
- Smelly Skunk: At one point, Shoe’s bad luck power causes Stitch to crash into a skunk farm, where he gets sprayed by skunks and is left smelling terrible.
- Smug Snake: Pleakley, when he tells the customers that he lied about giving them free gold.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Pleakley. When the angry mob comes after him, demanding the gold he promised them, Shoe makes them leave and Pleakley only complains about Shoe getting rid of his customers, saying “What kind of good luck do you call that?”.
- Walking Disaster Area: Shoe causes mayhem wherever he goes, due to his power of bringing bad luck. Pleakley even outright calls him a walking disaster zone.
