Recap / The Amazing World of Gumball S2E27 "The Storm"

The titular storm.

Gumball: Now, come on! Get angry and fight for your love!
Darwin: Or just get depressed at the sudden realization that Gumball ruined your [Carmen's] life.

Friction is created between Alan (a balloon) and Carmen (a cactus) when they are berated for being sickly sweethearts. Things take a turn for the worse when Masami tries making Alan her boyfriend.

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Tropes:

• Accidental Kiss: Gumball considers kissing Carmen to help her get back with Alan, but before he can decide a basketball slams his face into her with his mouth open. Although Carmen herself considered it more like a headbutt.
• Blackmail: Masami threatens to tell Penny about Gumball "kissing" Carmen if he doesn't keep quiet about how she got Alan to be her boyfriend. But Penny already knew and didn't care because she knew it wasn't really a kiss.
• Big Storm Episode: Downplayed. Masami is the one to create the titular storm during the climax but only lasts for a few minutes.
• Big "SHUT UP!": Alan of all people screams at Gumball to shut up after he adds in his own commentary while Alan is explaining to Masami that he loves Carmen, not her.
• Bowdlerise: In the UK airing, Gumball's line to Carmen before he accidentally kisses her is "Gumball Watterson may be a lot of things, but he is not a cheap, corruptible bimbo!" In the US, the word "bimbo" is replaced with "coward" (even on digital platforms like Hulu, iTunes, and HBO Max) which doesn't make sense, considering the context of the story. The original line can be heard here.
• A Day in the Limelight: For Carmen, Alan, and Masami.
• Death Glare: When Gumball is pretending to be Carmen's new boyfriend, Alan can be seen staring at Gumball in the background for the entire scene.
  Gumball: OK, I think that's enough now. If he keeps looking at me like that I think my head's going to explode.
• The Dog Bites Back: When Darwin at the end says that Gumball & Penny are not going out with each other, Penny spills milkshake on him, like Darwin did to her a few times in the episode.
• Double-Meaning Title: "The Storm" either refers to the metaphorical storm that Gumball puts on Alan and Carmen's relationship or the actual storm Masami creates with her weather powers when her plan is revealed. Adding to that, a regular storm happens in the background at the later half of the episode.
• Everyone Has Standards: While everyone is disgusted by how sappy Carmen and Alan are and are critical of their relationship, they didn't like the fact that Gumball "broke them up" by "kissing" Carmen.
• Foreshadowing: Masami's statement on Alan and Carmen's relationship is really only a fate that can apply to Carmen, hinting that she actually likes Alan.
• Gasp!: Gumball gasps so hard that he seems to fill his lungs up after finding out Masami's plan that used Gumball as a pawn.
• Half-Baked Niceness: Carmen, in a bid to make Alan jealous, tells Gumball (who's reluctantly "dating" her) to compliment her. Gumball is already incredibly uncomfortable just holding hands with her while Alan watches them in contempt; the added requirement to compliment her too results in him saying things like "I really like your face because it's not complicated" and that her name sounds like "a superhero who sort of drives a lot".
• Jerkass: Masami. She tries to steal Alan from Carmen, and even by force when she gets enraged.
• Karma Houdini: Masami, after manipulating Gumball and causing a destructive storm in school, gets away with her actions.
• Look Behind You: Darwin repeatedly keeps Penny from seeing Gumball with Carmen by splashing milkshake on her to make her go clean up. Eventually it failed because he ran out of milkshake.
  Darwin: Look, a diversion!
  (Penny gives a puzzled look at Darwin without turning away, Darwin throws his drink in her face)
• Meaningful Background Event: While Carmen and Gumball try and make Alan jealous there is a basketball game going on in the background. When Gumball angrily refuses to kiss Carmen they lose the ball and it bumps his open mouthed head into hers.
• Medium-Shift Gag: A vortex that Masami makes suck up a bunch of character and scrambles their art styles and mediums.◊
• Oh Wait, This Is My Grocery List: Gumball tries to give Alan a pep talk he has written down, but instead recites his biology notes. Once he notices, he says the words spoken so far in reverse before giving the actual speech.
• Operation: Jealousy:
  • Carmen tries this with Gumball when she thinks her relationship with Alan has gotten boring. Unfortunately, he just lets her go without a fight.
    Gumball: She wanted you to show some passion and you just bailed like a wet lettuce! So man up, get out there and just pop me!
    Alan: There's no point. If I'm not able to make her happy, I refuse to stop her finding happiness somewhere else. I love her too much for that.
    Gumball: Wow, that was so cheesy I can actually smell it.
  • Later, Masami proposes she pretend to be Alan's girlfriend (Gumball initially thought she meant he should pretend to be Alan's girlfriend), but that just makes Carmen even sadder. Which is what Masami wanted, because she wanted to be Alan's real girlfriend.
• Portmanteau Couple Name: In-universe, Masami tries to give herself and Alan one, oblivious that he's so depressed he's repeatedly slamming his face into his desk.
  Masami: So, what couple name do you prefer? Alasami or Masalan?
• Shamed by a Mob: Everyone shames Gumball for breaking up Alan and Carmen, despite agreeing with Gumball that Alan and Carmen's relationship sickens them, calling him things like "homewrecker" and "couple-splitter". All Sussie can think to shout is, "Names! Names! Names!"
• Sophisticated as Hell: Bobert's assessment of Alan and Masami:
  Bobert: Attention, organic classmates. I have information about the gas-filled bag defined as Alan and the mass of condensation defined as Masami. It is on!
• Talk to the Fist: Penny decides Gumball had messed things up enough, and tries to talk Masami out of a rampage. It didn't go well:
  Penny: Masami, look into your heart. You're not a violent person!
  (Masami knocks Penny offscreen with a lightning bolt)
  Penny: (off-screen) OK, Gumball, your turn!
• Tall Poppy Syndrome: The main reason everyone wishes Carmen and Alan would break up.
  Idaho: You two are so beautiful it makes me believe I too can find love—but when I look in the mirror, I realize I'm just a dirt covered ball of starch!
  Alan: But Idaho, if you want to be loved, first, you got to love yourself.
  Leslie: You're so nice and sensitive too, I can't even hate you!
  Masami: You're so perfect it makes me want to rain on your parade until you swell up, turn brown and rot!
  (everyone goes silent for several seconds)
  Carrie: ... I think what Masami is trying to say is that you guys are so perfect, it kind of makes us wish for your downfall.
• Villainous Breakdown: Masami gets enraged and turns into a whirlwind of fury and steals Alan by force, and later tries to kill him and his friends.
• Visual Innuendo: There's a certain connotation in how Gumball re-inflated Alan. We only see them leaving the restroom together going in different direction, with Alan smiling happily and Gumball disgusted. Phrased literally, considering that Alan is a balloon, Gumball blew Alan in the restroom.
• Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises: Carmen asks Gumball to kiss him and his eyes open so wide they start to bulge out of his face.

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