Fridge Brilliance:
- Neither Cuphead nor Mugman can summon finger guns to fight bosses, let alone the Devil, and they don't buy upgrades from Porkrind. They also spend their allowances on pinball quarters as well as ice cream, while hiding from Elder Kettle that Cuphead lost at Soulball. If Elder Kettle knew, he would teach the boys how to fight properly, as he does in the game.
- The last episode implies the show takes place before the game (assuming they even take place in the same continuity), so while it's unknown why they changed their mind about telling Elder Kettle, they couldn't have learned to fight in the show or get their finger guns because, if this is the same continuity, it would create a conflict in the timeline.
- Most of the bosses from the game that appear in season 1 are bosses from the first area of the game, which is near Cuphead and Mugman's home, with the exception of the Devil and King Dicenote . The only boss from a later part of the game, Grim Matchstick, only appeared when the boys went to their volcano, and they didn’t even interact with them.
- The only rule in the titular final round of "Roll the Dice" is to roll any number in order to enter the mystery prize room, making this literally impossible to lose. By logic, any number can either match whatever prize is behind the door or contain absolutely nothing. None of the contestants are aware of the mystery until they walk in. By then, it's already too late and they lose their souls no matter what number they rolled. Cuphead didn't win because he rolled so hard, he broke the dice and, thus, broke the game.
- The trio of Ghosts that appear in "Ghosts ain't real" all appear to come from different backgrounds, evidenced by the clothes that they're wearing. In life it would've been odd that these people were hanging out together, but it makes sense as ghosts because 'All Are Equal in Death'.
- Every time the Devil tries to take Cuphead's soul in "Sweater Luck Next Time," it's when Cuphead would have realistically removed the impenetrable sweater, such as at the beach, while playing with the garden hose, in bed, and while clothes shopping.
- Why did Cuphead and Mugman fail to charm Elder Kettle after practicing for weeks? Mugman's piano skills (or lack thereof) probably had something to do with it.
- Baroness Von Bon Bon is way more hyper and unhinged than she is in the game. Considering she only eats sugary sweets and is clearly the only one living in Sugarland, it’s no wonder she’s like this.
- At the beginning of "Release the Demons!", the Devil is shown trying to read an anger management book as music plays in the background, only for him to start tearing the pages out. The music playing in the background? It happens to be "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"... which, as the Devil points out later, was the song Cuphead was unable to identify when he was on "Roll the Dice."
- The Devil getting extremely furious about Cuphead not knowing about the name of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in "Roll the Dice" is kinda ironic when you remember that one of the many names for the Devil (Helel/Lucifer) is based on the Latin name for the Morning Star.
- Why do the Devil's third finest demons use a remix of the mausoleum theme? It's because, much like the Spectre Syndicate, none of them are actually capable of harming Cuphead himself.
- The Four Horsemen seem pretty unafraid of finding an excuse to take the day off and come back empty-handed, thus enraging the Devil. Considering they're "untamed primordial beings", he may not be able to incinerate them like he did his former first and second-finest demons. Indeed, when they gallop out of the Hellgate, a burst of hellfire rushes out and they're completely unaffected.
- Once it's revealed that the Devil's soul contracts have expiration dates, it may seem strange that he is content to loaf around and not bother trying to claim an outstanding soul until Stickler bugs him about it. This makes a lot more sense when you remember that most of the Devil's methods of obtaining souls (Soul Ball, Roll the Dice, etc.) have claimed souls the instant they're owed, and it was only through Mugman's interference and a massive amount of luck that Cuphead didn't meet the same fate. In short, the Devil was unaware of the expiration date because it's never happened before.
- Elder Kettle's name turning out to actually be Elder Kettle might seem like just another joke. However, Elder is also a type of tree, and naming people after trees (I.E: Hazel or Rowan) isn't uncommon.
- During The Devil’s rampage in “The Devil’s Pitchfork”, Carnival Kerfuffle
plays. What is one of The Devil’s soul stealing tactics in the show? A carnival. - Brineybeard's sword speaks with a stereotypically homosexual voice, and is even confirmed to be gay by the show's head writer. Well, soitan'ey, ya mook...youse nevuh hoid of a "gay blade"?
- Ludwig being a plagiarist makes sense considering how the soundtrack that his game counterpart claims to be "his" masterpiece are all just piano covers of overworld themes rather than anything completely original.
- The climax of "Dead Broke" could be considered an adaptation of the Mausoleum segments from the game. Both involve Cuphead and Mugman having to defend Ms. Chalice from a number of more malevolent specters until a time limit runs out, although the episode differs in that all three of them are at risk.
- Why don't any of the cheese tricks/traps work on Werner Werman? Because Cheese actually is NOT a rat's favorite food, contrary to popular belief.
- In "The I Scream Man", it might seem weird that Cuphead is so excited to run errands with Elder Kettle, considering that he's a massive Thrill Seeker who'd seemingly rather be doing anything but running errands. Then you remember that it's implied that the Cups don't get out much, so of course Cuphead will take any chance he gets to go into the city.
- When Devil turns up the heat in the Underworld, it seems strange that he feels uncomfortable long before Mugman even works up a sweat. But then again, the Devil is covered in fur, while Mugman isn't. It makes sense that hot air would affect him more than Mugman.
- Why didn’t the Devil recognize Ms. Chalice when she came to tell the Cups about the double double feature at the Inkwell Theater despite the fact she already met him? Because Old Scratch himself was too caught up in his role as Elder Kettle’s housecat and was fixated on getting Cuphead’s soulnote just so he could get the Bubbles of Failure gone to reclaim his stuff…and Henchman.
- Why is Miss Chalice afraid of being caught by the police, if she can simply turn into a ghost and fly off? Miss Chalice died the day she met Cuphead and Mugman, and she's been living on the streets for years. She might conceptually know that she can simply fly away from trouble, but old habits die hard.
- Just why is Cuphead so great at Soulball, and is able to win it every time until Mugman accidentally messed him up that one time? If the end of the show is to be believed, this is actually a Stealth Prequel to the game. With how much running and gunning is in the game, Cuphead's insane aiming skills are actually a Call-Forward to show just why he was able to beat all those bosses in the first place.
- The thirty-six episode run's finale ends with a singular decisive game between Cuphead and The Devil: Rock, Paper, Scissors. In this game that requires no skill and is down to chance, the Born Lucky Cuphead wins. Not only does he win, but The Devil desperately demands extensions, and continues to lose, over and over. This sequence effectively wraps the show's premise up in a neat bow, that no matter how The Devil comes after Cuphead, his good fortune will win out, and the extensions show how this will continue in perpetuity — he'll win again and again. This even brings his show-adapted catchphrase of "I ain't too worried about it" into play to bring things full circle as well, as when the The Devil asks how Cuphead keeps prevailingnote , Cuphead simply attributes his luck to not overthinking things...IE, not worrying about it.The Devil: How do you keep winning?!Cuphead: [looks down at his hand a moment.] ...I dunno. [smiles] I guess I just don't overthink it.
- There's another layer to Cuphead's claim he keeps winning Rock, Paper, Scissors because he isn't overthinking it. Cuphead literally plays rock then paper then scissors in that order. Twice. Cuphead is under thinking it so much that he's using the name of the game as instructions on what to play.
- This is also the reason he would lose the bet to The Devil later at his casino as per game events. The bet made him think about all the money he would earn while all the earlier bets were for fun.
- Why would the Devil only give Chalice the ability to assume her living form rather than fully reviving her like he's shown to be able to do with the Stickler Elf? It's because it's an easy way to further encourage her vices; her ghostly abilities being the ultimate get out of jail free card if things go south. She's also still a kid, who would most likely be blinded by all the fun ghost powers she just gained and forget the other half of her Deal with the Devil.
- The whole "Debt Collector" bit in the game proper makes a lot more sense with how the show wraps up; you'd think the Devil would just take Cuphead's soul having finally gotten it after all the shenanigans and humiliation he suffers, but the final time Cuphead got away from him, he humiliated the Devil in front of the entirety of the Inkwell Isles (even the recurring cast that weren't there probably would have heard or read about it via word of mouth or in the news because of how badly he trashed the city) and by all accounts, Cuphead probably became a public hero for it. The Devil would feel confident he'd have their souls either way, whether they join him as permanent enforcers or refuse and fight (and lose) to him, he already had their souls regardless, so, being petty as he is, he sent the two out to get local's contracts to try and destroy Cuphead's reputation before he claims them for good.
Fridge Horror:
- Considering that Baroness Von Bon Bon only eats sweets and goes on a homicidal craze at the mere sight of them, and in the game her loyal subjects and minions are also living candies, it's not hard for one to guess why Sugarland is barren of life except for her and her castle.
- Is it possible that Baroness Von Bon Bon was not a candy person and merely transformed into one after finding out the hard way what happens after breaking all the rules?
- Breaking either of the two rules of Sugarland turns Cuphead and Mugman into candy versions of themselves. Just how often has this happened before to other people? And how many of them were eaten alive?
- Baroness turns people who eat her castle into sweets. Sugarland is full of sweets. Cuphead and Mugman eat said sweets. In other words, Cuphead and Mugman are unknowingly eating what used to be disobedient people.
- Considering the cups were sentient after their transformation, it could be that the candy they ate never used to be actual people.
- Baroness clarifies that she only eats sweets, though she does, on two separate occasions, refer to children as "disgusting", even physically gagging at the idea of eating the cups before their transformation. This would seem to imply that she, at the very least, tried to eat kids that weren't candy.
- Possible, but it's also just as likely she's thinking about how dirty children tend to get—they roll about in mud, they get sticky for no reason, heck, "snot-nosed brat" is a well-known insult for a good reason.
- With the confirmation that Chalice was a Satisfied Street Rat, how many winters did she spend homeless?
Fridge Sadness:
- In Another Brother, after Cuphead tells Mugman he found a new brother, the latter asks if said brother is a pirate. To which Cuphead says he's "Like a pirate, but better". Considering that Mugman became a "real pirate" in the previous episode, Cuphead's remark probably hurt Mugman's feelings more than he intended.
