While Kid has largely conquered his ego problem in Boy Wonder, in this episode, he deals with what is ultimately a more pressing issue, namely, his complete disinterest in education and his visible inability to take his academics seriously. Part of the crux of this episode is Brendan Roberts making his 3rd and final appearance, attempting to coerce Kid into buying the answers to an upcoming American history test.
We start things off with a performance of “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.”; then we see Kid and Stacy in the breakroom studying for an American history test on the Wild West - much to Renee’s amazement (Renee notes she’s seen Kid study as much as she’s seen Stacy get mad — to which Stacy protests “I got mad once”). We soon find out the reason, as Kid explains that if he failed the test, his mom was threatening “the biggest massacre since Custer’s Last Stand”. Exit the older members.
Enter Brendan Roberts, promising the band’s youngest members an offer that would change their lives - persisting after the initial rebuff by offering to sell the answers to said history test (Kid, unlike Stacy, appears to be at least briefly considering the idea) as they depart for “I’ll Show Them”. Back in the breakroom, a clearly distracted Kid starts peppering Stacy with questions about the performance (was he off key? How were the drums?) until Stacy ends up trying to cajole her best friend to concentrate on the lesson…which leads to our Dream Sequence.
The setting then moves to The Wild West; where the P*lace is a saloon-type establishment which serves sarsaparillas, with Renee Oakley, Darren Lee’s character, and Kid the Kid are engaged in a high-stakes game of Old Maid as Miss Stacy briefly chats with bartender and saloon owner Riley as he refills the sarsaparillas. Renee then accuses Kid of cheating as the sheriff, Pecos Ryan, makes his entrance and tries to strike up a conversation with Gloria (the town Schoolmarm), who tells him that Wild Brendan’s back in town; though the sheriff notes he locked him up, bragging about how he wasn’t scared. Meanwhile, Renee Oakley had apparently caught Kid the Kid cheating, and when Pecos Ryan intervenes, he promises to pay his competitors back with the gold he held the deeds too. Only problem: The deeds are fake and Pecos Ryan attempts to make the arrest before Kid the Kid attempts an escape, setting up “Don’t Make Me Sorry” in which the dance hall girls attempt (unsuccessfully) to catch him and culminating in a chase on hobby horses.
Eventually, Kid the Kid is apprehended and finds himself sharing a cell with Wild Brendan (who, incidentally, sold him said phony gold deeds); who is busy working on a plan to escape and then sell more fake gold deeds (as Miss Gloria enters with some food); knowing that if the escape plan failed they would be sentenced to a chain gang, setting up “No One is to Blame”. As Pecos Ryan arrives with the ball and chain, Kid the Kid begins begging for forgiveness, pledging not to cheat again…
…as does Kid when we return to the real world. Outside the school the next day, Brendan arrives to make one final attempt to sell the answers, only for Kid to turn him down (not wanting a “ball and chain” around him or the sheriff to come after him). Confused, Brendan - who if there’s one thing he is, it’s persistent - tries to give Kid the answers before Kid tells him off, saying he’d rather take the test and pass on his own merits and if he failed, he’d at least know what he knew (with the others expressing their support), closing with a warning to Brendan that if he didn’t change his ways, the “easy street” Brendan tried to take Kid down would lead to a dead-end, setting up closing song “Goodbye to You”.
Interestingly enough, in the season 5 premiere episode, The Pick-Ups, it is mentioned that Kid ultimately ended up joining the school's student exchange program, explaining his absence from the band, note , therefore, Kid ultimately succeeded in breaking the study cycle once and for all.
Songs performed in this episode:
- “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” (John Cougar Mellencampnote cover; lead vocals by Ryan and Kid)
- “I’ll Show Them” (Kids Incorporated original; lead vocals by Kid and Stacy)
- “Don’t Make Me Sorry” (Patti LaBelle cover; lead vocals by Kid and Gloria)note
- “No One is to Blame” (Howard Jones cover; lead vocals by Gloria)
- “Goodbye to You” (Scandal cover; lead vocals by Gloria)
Tropes associated with this episode:
- An Aesop: Warning here against cheating on one’s schoolwork.
- Book Dumb: The episode once again notes Kid’s poor study habits
- Con Man: Brendan’s Western counterpart is in jail for selling the Kid some phony gold deeds.
- Cowboy Episode: First of two, along with Season 5’s “When the Clock Strikes Twelve”.
- Dream Sequence: Kid’s daydream takes place in the Wild West.
- Punny Name: Kid’s Professional Gambler character in the daydream is named “Kid the Kid”.
- Shout-Out: Renee’s daydream character of Renee Oakley is a reference to famed trick shooter Annie Oakley.
- The Wild West: The time period Stacy and Kid are studying for a history test on, and the setting of the episode’s Dream Sequence.
- Working on the Chain Gang: The fate Wild Brendan and Kid the Kid were facing for their respective crimes in the Dream Sequence.
The Western character types:
- The Bartender/Saloon Owner: Riley
- Miss Kitty: Stacy as Miss Stacy.
- Professional Gambler: Kid as Kid the Kid.
- The Gunslinger: Renee as Renee Oakley
- Outlaw: Brendan Roberts as Wild Brendan.
- Schoolmarm: Gloria as Miss Gloria.
- The Sheriff: Ryan as Pecos Ryan.
- Andrea, Gina and Wendy all portray dance hall girls; while Darren and Mario play random patrons.
