Double Tibble Trouble
D.W. and Emily find themselves worn out when they do a playdate with the Tibble Twins. Both of them make a wish to just play with Tommy for one day, since Timmy wires up his brother. When Timmy falls ill, however, the girls decide to cheer Tommy up by filling in as a Tibble.
Tropes for this episode include
- Actually Pretty Funny: Tommy appreciates that the girls decide to emulate Timmy and compete with him the ways that the brothers do.
- Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?: When the girls find out that Timmy is ill, D.W. asks Emily, "Do you know what this means?" Emily says that the wish she made on a wishbone came true. D.W. then says she thought this meant you could wish on helicopters.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: D.W. wishes on what she thinks is a star that there is one day she can play with Tommy when Timmy's not there. Apparently Emily did the same with a wishbone. In either case, while their playtime is calmer, they don't like seeing Tommy sad.
- Brick Joke: Tommy tries to share a cupcake with Timmy by throwing it at window, not knowing it was closed, causing the cupcake to splatter all over the window, and waking up a sleeping Timmy, much to his confusion. At the end of the episode, once Timmy feels better he tells both D.W. and Emily while he was sick, he hallucinating he was getting attacked by cupcakes.
- Everyone Has Standards: The girls really want Tommy to be happy, even if that means making themselves miserable.
- Here We Go Again!: Timmy gets better, but Tommy gets sick, so he expects D.W. and Emily to play with him. D.W. volunteers to take the first shift.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished:
- Tommy tries to share his cupcake with Timmy by tossing it to their bedroom window. The window's closed, so the cupcake splatters on the glass and lands on Tommy's face. Timmy later reveals he thought he was hallucinating that cupcakes were attacking him.
- Zigzagged with D.W. and Emily's efforts to cheer up Tommy. The girls substitute in for Timmy so as to cheer up his brother. After a few days of running out, roughhousing and yelling, D.W. is so tired from being run ragged by an allegedly thankless job that she declares that she quits. But when they are about to tell this to Tommy, it's revealed that Timmy is all better now, and thanks them on his brothers' behalf. But then, it's revealed Tommy caught his illness, and now Timmy wants to play.
- Oblivious Guilt Slinging: D.W. and Emily were about to tell Tommy they weren't going to play with him anymore (at least not the way Timmy does). ...only to find it's Timmy, who just got better. They feel rotten for nearly calling it quits.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Timmy is so ill that he doesn't even want to get out of bed. Tommy doesn't get it, so their grandmother has to shoo him out.
- Pet the Dog: When the episode ends on the note that Tommy being sick means they have to play with Timmy on his terms, D.W. spontaneously (if resignedly) volunteers to take the first shift. Emily greatly appreciates this.
- Sweet and Sour Grapes: Subverted. After wearing herself out, D.W. and Emily decide to quit being a substitute Tibble. They go to tell Tommy, only Timmy answers the door. Just as they take relief that he's better, Timmy reveals that Tommy is sick and he wants to play with them the way he played with his brother. D.W. reluctantly volunteers.
Arthur's Almost Real Not-Live Music Festival
D.W. hears a funny noise coming from the basement, which is revealed to be Buster beatboxing in front of Mr. Read's broken camera. Arthur and Buster convince her that they can pretend to be doing a series of music videos, which come to life for the audience.
Tropes for this episode include:
- Artistic License – Education: While it's largely Played for Laughs, the assignments given in "Homework" are way too much for third graders.Read 19 chapters of history
List 63 adverbs alphabetically
Chart the journey that Balboa took
Do the first thousand problems in your new math book - Book Ends: "Library Card" both begins and ends the music videos, with a new portion being performed the second time.
- Clip Show: "Leftovers Goulash" and "Homework" features clips from various episodes related to cooking and schoolwork respectively.
- Cordon Bleugh Chef: As a song, no less! "Leftovers Goulash" has Arthur and D.W. singing about how they hate their dad's awful experimental cooking and wish he would do something normal.David: You have to try my latest treat / A jellyfish inside a beetArthur & D.W.: YUCK!David: Why should we eat the same old meals? / Wait til you taste my garlic eels!
- Cutaway Gag: Many featured during "Library Card". Examples include Brain exploring the bottom of the ocean, Buster riding a rhino through the library and exploring a jungle, and Arthur trapped in a jar.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: In "Jekyll and Hyde", Brain treats the titular book like drug addiction that it makes him have nightmares, and he tries to put it away but keeps reading. It's made prominent when in his song he tosses his Hyde potion away after observing his Exhausted Eyebags.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: This episode features a bunch of music videos, and only two have unique animation.
- Framing Device: Arthur and Buster act out videos in the basement as D.W. watches.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Pause during the "One, two, three!" zoom-out part of "Library Card" and you'll see the Glenbrook students from "The Return of the King."
- Here We Go Again!: In "Jekyll and Hyde", Brain goes to the library with the book that caused him to turn into Hyde. He doesn't return it, instead opting to renew.
- Jump Scare: At the end of "Jekyll and Hyde", Brain goes to return the book to the library. When Miss Turner asks if he's returning, he says no. Cue Brain turning into Hyde and saying, "Renew" before giving an Evil Laugh.
- "Reading Is Cool" Aesop: "Library Card" is about all the great books that you can find at the library that you can check out and read. D.W. in the song and outside of it gets hung up on who is the Dewey that invented the Dewey Decimal system.
- Running Gag: D.W. starts asking who is Dewey within the reprise of "Library Card". No one answers her.
- Surprisingly Creepy Moment: Brain's song about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is about him having nightmares after reading the book, and slowly turning into Mr. Hyde.
- The End: Buster pulls down a "The End" slide in the cardboard TV. D.W. goes in front of it and asks, "By the way, who's Dewey?"
- Visual Pun: In the "Jekyll and Hyde" song, when Brain-Hyde goes on a rampage through the school, one of the things he does in the lyrics is "even stole second base", to which it shows Brain-Hyde running onto the softball field and literally stealing second base by picking it up and running off with it while the other kids are playing a game!
