Sometimes, the intelligence of Garfield and friends is about as good as Odie's is.
Season One
- The episode "Orange and Black" is your typical Halloween trick or treating episode. While preparing, Garfield hears on the news that the zoo has recently caught a new type of dangerous wild cat species, named "Catzilla". Garfield decides to dress up as Catzilla for Halloween. This wouldn't usually cause a problem, but Catzilla is described to be very dangerous, and a later news broadcast declares that Catzilla has escaped from the Zoo. trick-or-treaters are terrified when Garfield waltzes around the neighbourhood.
You'd Expect: Garfield to change up his costume so as not to cause a mass panic, like for example, taking the saber teeth off.
Or: Assuming he was just leaving the house when it happened, for Garfield to stall for a few seconds after Jon said he wanted to see what was on the news, even if it was to check out any details on Catzilla's appearance he missed for his costume.
Instead: Garfield continues to go trick-or-treating in his Catzilla costume, causing a mass panic.
You'd Then Expect: Garfield to realize that he's causing a mass panic.
Instead: He's completely oblivious to the terror of other people in public, even as they run away screaming "Catzilla!".
Extra Points:The only thing Garfield is concerned about is that he is unable to find any peanut brittle in his candy collection.
Result: Garfield gets captured by the zookeepers who think he is the escaped Catzilla.
Even Worse: As Garfield is getting hauled away, he can see Catzilla lurking around in the shadows, but is unable to prove that he is not the Catzilla the zookeepers are looking for. - In "Jon's Night Out", an insomniac Jon sees a doctor who can put him under hypnosis to fall asleep. The doctor gives Jon a remote that makes a buzzing sound that when pressed, will make Jon fall asleep. Garfield and Odie are accompanying Jon in the room. However Odie barks during the hypnosis when Jon was told "when you hear this sound, you will fall asleep".
You'd Expect: The doctor to instruct Odie to leave the room and re-do the hypnosis.
Instead: He just assumes the hypnosis did work in spite of Odie barking, and when they drive back home, Jon falls asleep every time he hears Odie bark. - In "Family Picture", Jon wants Garfield, Odie and him to all take a nice family picture for Liz but they keep being interrupted by annoying things and people such as a neighbor who wants to borrow their sugar, a pigeon, Nermal, a squirrel, Jon's nose itching, a bee and the list goes on.
You'd Expect: For Jon to go inside the house to take the picture or find a more secure, remote location then take the picture.
Instead: He STILL insists that the porch in front of the house outside is still the best location and only when the camera is stolen by aliens does he give in to just going for a photography studio, which he should've done hours (or even days) ago. It's even lampshaded by Garfield:Garfield: You know, if you'd have done this in the first place, it would have saved us a lot of grief. - In "From the Oven", Jon is making Odie's birthday cake at the same time Garfield is watching a horror Frankenstein-like movie. Jon has to get more ingredients from his car and asks Garfield to follow the instructions on Eddie Gourmand's cooking show to make the cake. Garfield makes the cake very oversized cause you know, he's a Big Eater. Then Jon takes over but he drops a box on the TV remote switching the TV to the monster movie which is giving explicit instructions on how to create a living monster.
You'd Expect: Jon to realize that he must be on the wrong channel and look at the TV screen.
Instead: Jon does what the monster movie says - he gets out a chemistry set and you can guess what becomes of Odie's birthday cake once it's put in the oven.
Season Two
- In "Guest From Beyond", Jon invites over the portly food critic Eddie Gourmand over for dinner. After Gourmand eats up all the food that was supposed to be for Garfield and Odie, Garfield resorts to eating a banana.
You'd Expect: Garfield to discard of the peel into a trash bin or just give it to Odie.
Instead: He throws it on the house's floor out of neglect, causing Eddie to slip and fall. Eddie breaks his foot as a result and he legally forces Jon to take care of him lest he sue Jon for everything he has (except Garfield). But then he starts making ridiculously selfish requests for lots of unhealthy, fattening foods from Jon.
You'd Then Expect: For Jon to just feed Eddie foods however he sees fit. Yes, he may be required by law to provide room and board for Eddie until he heals, but it doesn't have to be the type of foods Eddie wants, or how much of it.
Instead: Jon just about lets Eddie enslave him as a chef and servant. Garfield laments he wishes it were him that Jon was feeding like a slave. Fortunately, the wily feline and his allies are able to drive Eddie out of the house by exploiting the above-mentioned situation on top of starting a new "health program". - In "Farm Fresh Feline", Garfield gets forcibly dragged back into Doc Boy's farm to help out with farmhand chores. Garfield refuses to do any, so Doc Boy hires Dr. Whipple to hypnotize Garfield into liking doing chores on the farm. The sound of a horn controls his willingness to do these tasks; therefore, an odd number of hearing a horn makes him like farming, an even number does the opposite. Suddenly, Jon's car alarm goes off making Garfield go back and forth with his hypnosis.
You'd Expect: Jon to turn off his car alarm and realize it could interfere with how he and Doc Boy have just managed to turn Garfield into their hard-working farmhand.
Instead: He neglects to do so, and when Doc Boy points it out, he lazily brushes it off as unimportant saying "Yeah, it does every once in a while. It'll stop in a minute or so." Thus, Garfield breaks free of his trance and is able to get his revenge on Jon, Odie, Doc Boy and Dr. Whipple by hypnotizing them into following whatever is said on TV.
