Darwin has finally had enough of Gumball's advice and seeks Alan as his new mentor. But when chaos ensues at Elmore Mall, Darwin must fix things his way.
Tropes:
- Advice Backfire: The episode begins with Gumball's bad advice negatively impacting Darwin.
- An Aesop: Having a mentor is good, but sometimes you need to make your own decisions or else you'll never learn.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Gumball's decision making is summarized in this episode as ignoring mundane, practical solutions because he finds them boring over making zany schemes. He tells Darwin to take a flaming arcade cabinet over an actual boat because with the former he could keep himself entertained playing it.
- Black Comedy Burst: Gumball advises Darwin to give Teri a birthday gift wrapped in shredded paper instead of bubble wrap. Even worse, it turns out that the shredded paper was actually her uncle.
- Bookends: One of the last few episodes in the series and the climax where the mall is flooded by water almost directly mirrors the events from "The Responsible", the show's second episode.
- Curtain Call: A unique variation. Nearly every recurring minor character or extra seen in Elmore show up for their final appearance in the series during the mall riot. So much that there are a grand total of seventy-eight characters in this episode.
- Cutting the Knot: Darwin's solutions to the flood problems, once. While Gumball prefers Zany Schemes and Alan advocates remaining safe and letting the authorities handle things, in both cases Darwin takes the direct path to resolve the problem immediately but safely, without distractions - first by just shutting off the water himself, then by opening the drain on the mall fountain.
- Depending on the Writer: Deconstructed. This episode is more or less addressing how Darwin's personality seems to shift every episode depending how much it suits the plot and how he finally wants to become independent.
- Disaster Dominoes: Darwin's indecisiveness while ordering a burger causes the people in line behind him to argue, eventually escalating into a full-on riot. What's more, a water pipe breaks during the fighting, and the mall gradually starts to flood. And to top it off, the Donut Cop has the mall doors locked in the belief that it will force the rioters to wear themselves out.
- The Ditherer: The conflict of the episode is Darwin seeking to break this pattern of his behaviour. He's a cross between the empathic and insecure/submissive type.
- End-of-Series Awareness: Darwin is getting tired of all the antics he keeps getting into thanks to Gumball.
- Furry Reminder: We're reminded what the dolphin man is when he blows water out of his blowhole after being splashed.
- In Case of X, Break Glass: Darwin swims to the door that leads to the water valve, but it is locked. Next to the door, he sees a case containing an axe in case of emergencies. Instead of breaking the glass to retrieve the ax, Darwin just uses the whole case to break open the lock.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: The most common advice Alan gives for Darwin in emergencies is to find someone who knows how to take care of it instead of trying to do it yourself.
- Mundane Solution: Alan's advice entirely consists of simply calling the relevant authorities if the problem shouldn't be resolved by oneself.
- Police Are Useless: When a riot breaks out in the Elmore mall, the Donut Cop's solution is to lock everyone inside and hope they eventually tire themselves out.
- Take a Third Option: Ultimately, Darwin learns how to resolve issues on his own judgement rather than follow conflicting advice from Alan and Gumball.
- Tastes Like Purple: At Gumball's suggestion, Darwin once decided to chew sugar cubes instead of gum because he believed it'd be better for the environment. The sugar caused him to go insane and as the fire department are prying him out of his desk, he declares "I can taste sound!"
- Zany Scheme: If it wasn't obvious in previous episodes, this one heavily lampshades that crazy convoluted schemes are Gumball's go-to solution for any problem.
