Gumball: If the road to oblivion is paved with good intentions, Alan is about to build a freeway.
Gumball grabs Alan's gym bag by mistake and finds a USB drive detailing plans to conquer the school, Elmore, and the world.
Tropes:
- An Aesop: Good intentions don't excuse your ways of executing them.
- Attack of the Political Ad: Alan's plans for advertising his campaign involve propaganda posters demonizing his opponents placed over their own campaign posters.
- Art Imitates Art: The attack ad Alan makes targeted at Hector is a parody of a piece of propaganda
from World War I. - Balloon of Doom: Alan attempts world domination.
- Behind the Black: Alan thought Gumball already left when he was working on a new manifesto while laughing evilly... which Gumball even called him out on after successfully popping him.
- The Chessmaster: Alan likens himself to one, and his plans involve a lot of manipulation.
- Continuity Nod: Not the first time Gumball tried to prove Alan isn't what he seemed, only this time he was actually partially right. Alan's original vision was just like his usual saint-like self but Gumball and Darwin convinced him to actually do what they believed they thought he was doing.
- Create Your Own Villain: At the end when Alan revealed to Gumball and Darwin that his real vision was to have everyone in the school go to the lake camp in the summer, the two tell him that the plan they thought he was doing was so foolproof he would've definitely succeeded in it. Thus, giving Alan the idea to not only go through with it but do it across the world. Luckily, Gumball wasn't out of earshot when he started planning it out loud and stops him.
- Curious Qualms of Conscience: When he has the most direct opportunity to pop Alan, Gumball can't bring himself to do it since he hasn't actually done anything yet.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Alan.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?:
- Gumball and Darwin stumble upon Alan's "manifesto" on how he will "gain the power [he] needs to purge Elmore of its greatest problem". Their horrified reactions and the lack of other context at this stage are clearly meant to make us believe Alan intends to shoot up the school.
- Part of Alan's plan to rise to school president involves manufacturing a crisis by spreading false rumors that the school will start "taxing" the grades of the best students to boost the grades of the worst ones. Gumball is utterly outraged, believing others will benefit at his expense and utterly ignores Darwin pointing out that Gumball would be the one benefiting.
- The "happy camps" are a clear reference to re-education/concentration camps, and he again mentions his goal to "purge Elmore of its greatest problem." Though he means sad people in this instance, the references are clear.
- And after reading through the whole thing, Gumball not so subtlely implies that they should kill Alan, by asking Darwin "what would you do if you had the chance to stop the worst dictator the world has ever seen while he was still a kid?"
- Epic Fail: Most of the assassination attempts on Alan fail in spectacular fashion. While some failures are caused by sheer incompetence, several stem from Gumball and Darwin failing to take into account that Alan is a balloon. For example, they try to push Alan out of a window and place a pin on his seat.
- Evil Makeover: Alan undergoes one at the beginning of Gumball and Darwin's Imagine Spot of his plan.
- Failed Attempt at Drama: When Gumball and Darwin attempt a Mission: Impossible (1996)-esque scene, they set off a time bomb in a locker. But since the locker is, well, locked, they fail to get out, and are caught in the explosion.Gumball: We should've done this outside.
- Funny Background Event: In-Universe. Gumball and Darwin notice that Alan's pictures captured funny things going on in the background, like a naked Tony hiding in the bushes or a dog going to the bathroom.
- Furry Reminder: Many of Darwin and Gumball's assassination attempts on Alan fail because they don't consider his balloon-based attributes: Trying to strangle him doesn't work because he has no neck, Darwin puts a pin on his desk seat, but he doesn't actually sit at his desk, and finally, Gumball throws him out a window, and Alan continues to float outside unharmed.
- And funnily enough, Darwin miming a way that would do him in (sucking all his helium out) is judged too far by Gumball.
- Genius Bonus: How many other kids shows can you name that reference relatively obscure World War One propaganda posters?
- Getting Smilies Painted on Your Soul: Alan plans to force all sad people across the globe into "happy camps" where they will be forced to be happy, no matter what.
- Glad You Thought of It: Alan's plan to hype his political campaign involves manipulating Clayton into thinking it was his idea Alan should run, then rightfully assuming everyone he tells that to wanting to steal it and immediately pass it off as their own.
- Hard Truth Aesop: The ends do not justify the means, no matter how well intentioned you are.
- Hurricane of Euphemisms: When Gumball and Darwin first discover Alan's plot, they come up with a string of increasingly elaborate gestures indicating that they're going to kill him. Gumball draws the line at Darwin miming the sucking out of Alan's insides.
- Idiot Ball: When he's forced to go home with no clothes, Gumball clearly should've worn Alan's gym bag over his crotch. But instead, he decides to wear it on his head. It's even lampshaded by Darwin.
- Similarly, during the Mission: Impossible parody scene, Gumball and Darwin set off the bomb while they are still in the locker. Gumball lampshades that they should've done it outside.
- Imagine Spot: One takes up the bulk of the episode as Gumball and Darwin picture Alan's plan.
- Jaw Drop: Gumball and Darwin do this after reading Alan's vision to conquer the world. Their lower jaws fall to the ground and roll down the stairs.
- Mood Whiplash: The scene were Gumball and Darwin find a poster for taxing grades, Gumball decides that the best solution is to riot like everyone else, causing the school to go on fire while the students are trashing everything.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: Gumball and Darwin decide that they need to kill Alan before he enacts his plan.
- Naked People Are Funny: Due to grabbing Alan's gym bag by mistake, Gumball has to go home naked while wearing the bag on his head (instead of over his crotch, as Darwin points out). When Idaho sees him in the nude, he explodes in shock.
- Shout-Out:
- Alan's self-reinvention into a charming but ruthlessly ambitious politician with a Southern accent is a pastiche on Francis Underwood from the U.S version of House of Cards.
- Some of Alan's villain faces looks like that of Dr. Eggman, Bane and Darth Sidious.
- Stylistic Self-Parody: Darwin has a short conversation with Gumball about his "bummy", referring to how his backside seamlessly aligns with his stomach.
- Subverted Suspicion Aesop: Gumball was right about Alan's forceful plan in eliminating sadness, and to lesser extent, Alan not being as pure as he seems.
- Take That!: One of Alan's villain faces is a Donald Trump face.
- Totalitarian Utilitarian: Alan's plan is to eliminate sadness by making camps that would condition people sent there to be happy. Subverted in that he was only inviting people to fun camp. Double Subverted when Gumball and Darwin give him the idea to actually do just that once they tell him that his "plan was so convincing" and that he "could've definitely pulled it off". Luckily, Gumball hadn't left the room while Alan was doing his new manifesto.
- Visionary Villain: Like the title states, Alan envisions a world where no one is unhappy, and he will do anything to realize it.
