- "Don't cry over spilled milk!"
Airdate: October 20, 2002
"Milkin' It" is the eighth episode of the second (internet) season of Happy Tree Friends.
Lifty and Shifty are seen running away with Lumpy's cow, with the moose himself giving chase. The duo manage to escape via a hot-air balloon. Lumpy tries to catch up to them by grabbing on to the rope, but this ends with him getting dragged along the ground before being forcefully squeezed through the pivot the balloon was tied to, killing him. Lifty and Shifty consider this a success before realizing that they are flying straight to the power lines, with a bird landing on one being disintegrated instantly. The brothers panic and begin to throw out various junk to make the balloon lighter. The balloon is still aiming for the power lines. They then get the idea of milking the cow dry. It still does not work. Out of options, Shifty glares at Lifty before throwing him out of the balloon where he gets impaled on a tree. The balloon finally makes it over the line, making Shifty jump in triumph, but this causes the basket he is on to break. While Shifty manages to hold on to the cow's udders for dear life, his lower body soon ends up being shredded by a windmill. He tries to hold on longer, but his tangled internal organs will not let him, causing him to let go and end up being spun on the windmill. The cow still stuck on the balloon lands safely and then begins to eat some grass, its udders beginning to swell up once more.
"Milkin' It" contains examples of:
- Artistic License – Biology:
- Shifty's intestines are connected to his spinal cord, which is anatomically incorrect.
- Shifty's torn spinal cord should not enable him to use his arms.
- Artistic License – Physics: Simply standing on an electric cable would not incinerate the bird. It would need to touch both wires to allow current to flow through its body (and die).
- Asshole Victim: Both raccoons obviously qualify (see them taunting the dead Lumpy), but special mention goes to Shifty, who does not care for his brother's well-being for the sake of his own life. Not long after throwing him out (where he dies quickly), Shifty ends up suffering much worse before finally dying.
- The Cameo: The Cursed Idol as one of the thrown out junk.
- Cruel and Unusual Death:
- Lumpy's upper half gets squeezed messily through the metal pivot the hot-air balloon was tied to.
- Lifty gets impaled on a tree.
- Shifty's lower body gets shredded by the windmill. He then gets spun around by said windmill until he dies.
- "Everybody Dies" Ending: Aside from the cow, nobody survives this episode.
- Fold-Spindle Mutilation: Lumpy's death.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Looking closely when Shifty's lower body is being shredded shows that there are random items (watch and tin can) being flung as well along with his organs.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Shifty's fate.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Lifty's death.
- Kitchen Sink Included: Among the random junk the brothers threw out, one of them is a kitchen sink.
- Limited Sound Effects: Shifty's scream when his spinal cord is torn is reused from Lifty's in "Meat Me for Lunch".
- New Job as the Plot Demands: Lumpy is a farmer in this episode.
- No Body Left Behind: The bird's death, to demonstrate how dangerous the power lines are.
- Oh, Crap!: The brothers' reaction to the bird's death.
- Sibling Murder: While Played for Laughs given this is a black comedy, Shifty callously drops his twin brother Lifty to his death to try to save his own skin.
- Sole Survivor: The cow is the only one to survive the whole ordeal despite being milked dry.
- They Killed Kenny Again: Lumpy, Lifty, and Shifty all die.
- Updated Re-release: One of the early episodes to be part of "Classics Remastered" releases, which rereleases early HTF episodes in HD.
- What a Drag: Lumpy gets dragged along the ground in his attempt to get his cow back. He gets squeezed through a small hole on the metal pivot.
- Windmill Scenery: The setting of this episode.
