The Recess Gang accidentally break the beloved statue of Thaddeus T. Third III (the founder/namesake of their school) while playing on it. As a result, they are treated like felons, and their very friendship is threatened.
Tropes:
- Accidental Misnaming: Right at the end of the episode:TJ: Thanks a lot, Mr. Fifth!
Thaddeus T. Third V: It's Third! - At Least I Admit It: As stated by Mr. Third V, Miss Finster and Principal Prickly used to climb the statue when they were little kids; a revelation that both Finster and Prickly conceded to when Third revealed photos of them during the kids' trial.Thaddeus T. Third V: (shows a picture of a child Finster climbing on the statue) Look closely... this particular swinger was one Muriel P. Finster, age ten.
Miss Finster: Oh, yeah.
Thaddeus T. Third V: (shows a picture of a child Prickly climbing on the statue) Does anyone recognize esteemed school principal Petey Prickly, age 11?
Principal Prickly: (chuckles) Those were the days. - An Aesop: As stated by Mr. Third V: children have always broken things by accident, and chances are they always will. But it's unfair to persecute them for something they didn't mean to. As long as they apologize for it (and even make up for it), it's best to drop the issue and move on.
- Are We Getting This?: After the statue falls over and breaks, Mort Chalk, a reporter covering the event, asks his cameraman if he’s recording it.
- Big Whomping Heroes: Thaddeus T. Third V (the grandson of Thaddeus T. Third III).
- Bratty Half-Pint: As a child, Fitzhugh deliberately tried to break the statue of Thaddeus T. Third III.
- Courtroom Episode
- Despair Event Horizon: After Mayor Fitzhugh announces the plan to send the Recess Gang to six separate schools so that they can never see each other again, the kids are extremely shocked. Even when Miss Finster worriedly asks T.J. if he has a plan to counter against the Mayor's intents. T.J. dejectedly says he does not as the Mayor has more power.
- Disproportionate Retribution: For accidentally shattering the statue of Thaddeus T. Third III, the Recess Gang is almost separated into six schools! And that's on top of about a week of intense punishment and hard labor. The Mayor even says they considered building a prison just to hold the kids if they refuse to accept the punishment.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After days of Disproportionate Retribution and nearly being separated into six schools, the Recess Gang are pardoned by Thaddeus T. Third V, effectively allowing the children to resume their lives like before.
- Easily Forgiven: A little zigzagged. After the statue's accidental destruction, the kids end up being jeered and treated as hardened criminals by the public while being sentenced to menial labor for a week. But following their trial (in which they explained their story and took responsibility by apologizing for their actions) and thanks to Third's intervention, all charges were dropped and the kids are allowed to continue maintaining their friendship.
- Everyone Has Standards: Both Miss Finster and Principal Prickly are horrified when Mayor Fitzhugh announces his plans to send the Recess Gang to six separate schools as punishment for breaking the statue. Up to that point, Miss Finster was already punishing them by making them do chores during recess, which is a far more reasonable, if strict, punishment.Mayor Fitzhugh: (to the gang) The city can't afford to have the six of you in cahoots any longer. That is why we intend to send the six of you.... to SIX SEPARATE SCHOOLS!!
(the gang gasp in complete shock)
Miss Finster: (shocked) Separate schools?!
Mikey: (worried) But that's cruel and unusual!
Pricipal Prickly: (feeling nervous) You have to admit, Your Honor... it is a little extreme! - Full-Name Ultimatum: Thaddeus T. Third V when showing a photo of a young Fitzhugh:Thaddeus T. Third V: See that kid? The one actually trying to break the statue? Well, folks, that is our mayor-to-be, little Philip Fitzhugh.
Mayor Fitzhugh: I told them too good. - George Jetson Job Security: When Thaddeus T. Third V came by to the courthouse, this happens:Unnamed man: It's Thaddeus T. Third III, back from the grave to level justice in his own hands!
Thaddeus T. Third V: Are you nuts?! I'm Thaddeus T. Third V! Now sit down, or you're fired!
Unnamed man: I don't work for you!
Thaddeus T. Third V: That's what you think!
[the unnamed man sits down in fear] - Hypocrite: Mayor Fitzhugh tries to send the Recess Gang to six separate schools for accidentally breaking the statue of Thaddeus T. Third III. Luckily, Thaddeus T. Third V, grandson of Thaddeus T. Third III, calls him out on this and reveals that Fitzhugh deliberately tried to break the statue when he was a child, and that the statue wasn't bolt into the ground in the first place. In other words, Fitzhugh took sadistic pleasure in punishing six defenseless nine-year-olds for breaking something by accident and who were genuinely sorry for it, even though he (Fitzhugh) intentionally tried to do same thing in his childhood.
- Immoral Journalist: The local reporter treats the Recess Gang like criminals in the wake of the accident.
- Kangaroo Court: During the Recess Gang's so-called "trial," Mayor Fitzhugh serves as the judge and jury. Not only does he refuse to hear the last-minute appeals from the kids' parents, he refuses to listen to TJ's side of the story, and he refuses to accept the kids' apology. Even when an angry Principal Prickly attempts to stand up against the Mayor for this, the Mayor angrily silences Prickly by threatening to have him work at the local city zoo. Seriously, if Thaddeus T. Third V didn't show up, the poor kids would have been screwed for life.
- Mama Bear: Despite putting the gang in menial chores for a week as punishment for the statue's destruction, Miss Finster is completely shocked and concerned about the gang being split apart by force on the orders of the Mayor, which she admits is far more extreme than her own methods of punishment. She even worriedly asks T.J. if there's any chance that he can make a plan to prevent it, to which T.J. sadly admits that there isn't as the Mayor has more power, much to Finster's dismay.
- Onion Tears: Among other things Miss Finster makes the gang do is peeling onions. Mikey can't even tell where the Onion Tears stop and where the actual tears from being robbed of a carefree childhood begin.
- Papa Wolf: Just like Finster, Prickly himself finds the idea of separating the gang by force to be quite extreme, he even lampshades this to the Mayor. During the trial, the gang explains their side of the story and are willing to take responsibility for it, but Fitzhugh still plans to separate them. Prickly loudly objects to this by admitting that the gang are good kids, but Fitzhugh threatens to have Prickly work at the local city zoo if he doesn't sit down.
- An even bigger Papa Wolf comes in the form of Thaddeus T. Third V, who puts Mayor Fitzhugh in his place by showing old photos of the adults, including Miss Finster and Principal Prickly, playing on the statue of his grandfather when they themselves were young. The cherry on top is when he brings everyone's attention to a young Fitzhugh who intentionally attempted to break the statue, driving home the bully-some Mayor's hypocrisy of punishing innocent kids.
- Tempting Fate: The two construction workers decide to have lunch instead of finishing bolting the statue to the pedestal, with one of them saying "he ain't going nowhere!"
- Title Drop: Miss Finster tells the gang that they are in "the biggest trouble ever."
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: As shown in Thaddeus T. Third V's photos, Miss Finster and Principal Prickly were both just as carefree as the Recess Gang when they were kids; they even admitted this to everyone. Mayor Fitzhugh, on the other hand, was little more than a Bratty Half-Pint.
- Was Too Hard On Them: At first, Miss Finster shows no qualms in punishing the gang by putting them to work detail for an entire week; even refusing to let them see Prickly to explain their side of the story about the statue's destruction. But when Fitzhugh announces his plan to punish the gang further by sending them to six separate schools, Finster is utterly shocked and feels extremely guilty for not letting the gang speak their side of the story earlier. This was lampshaded when she worriedly asked T.J. is he has a plan to counter against the Mayor, to which T.J. sadly admits that he doesn't. Even during the trial when Third V stated that Finster used to the climb the statue when she was a child, Miss Finster actually concedes to it.Finster: (feeling distraught about the Mayor's intents against the kids) Any chance you have a plan for this one, Detweiller?
T.J.: (sadly) No, ma'am, I do not. - Wham Episode: In this episode, the Smug Snake of a mayor Fitzhugh plans to send the Recess Gang to six separate schools, nearly causing a Nothing Is the Same Anymore scenario.
