Helen and Carolina are going to the movies, but Martha doesn't understand the appeal. Helen explains that she's going to see a movie called The Curse of the Curse, which Martha initially thinks refers to bad words until Helen explains. When they reach the movie theatre, they see a ladder in the way, and Carolina refuses to walk under it because of the superstition that walking under ladders is bad luck, while Helen (who's not superstitious) refuses because she's afraid something may fall on their heads. Martha tries to disprove that walking under the ladder is unlucky or dangerous by running laps under it, but she knocks over a can of green paint and gets it all over her.
While Helen washes Martha, Martha wonders if walking under ladders really is bad luck, since she got covered in paint, and then had to take a bath (and she Hates Baths). Carolina wonders if Martha is jinxed, but Helen assures them both that there is no such thing. Martha is pleased to hear this and dances with joy, but then accidentally knocks over a chair, which knocks over a broom, which sends a mirror flying, breaking it. Carolina thinks that this will bring seven years of bad luck.
Later, Martha angsts over her alleged seven-year curse (especially since, according to her, it's 49 dog years). Helen tries tossing her a piece of her peanut butter sandwich, but Skits catches it instead. Helen tells Martha that this was a fluke and is about to try again, but Martha thinks she's cursed and thus doesn't stand a chance. Carolina walks off to play with Jake, while Helen goes outside to play fetch with the dogs.
However, Martha doesn't join in; she just lies on the ground and sighs, believing she doesn't stand a chance of catching the ball. T.D. bicycles up and invites Helen and the dogs to the park to fly his new kite, but notices that Martha seems sad. He asks what's wrong, and Helen explains that she thinks she's cursed due to breaking a mirror. T.D. claims that he once had bad luck for two months, namely a sore throat that required surgery, but that after the surgery, people gave him ice cream and his throat got better. He describes it as a "strange coincidence", and but Martha doesn't know what one is, so Helen explains, using wishing for ice cream only for an ice cream truck to show up as an example... but then, one does show up.
At the park, Helen and T.D. are eating chocolate ice creams, but Martha is even more convinced she's cursed, since the ice cream truck was out of vanilla ice cream. T.D. tries to cheer her up by saying that it could be worse, since he saw a movie about a man who was so jinxed his bad luck rubbed off on others and he had to live in a cave. When his kite gets caught in a tree and the string breaks, Martha believes this is happening to her. T.D. remembers that his throat got better around the time he was served ice cream, so he suggests ice cream to get rid of the "curse". Martha tells Helen to summon another ice cream truck, and Helen tries to explain that the ice cream truck was just a coincidence, only for another one to show up.
She eats some ice cream, then they all walk off and bump into Mariella at work. Her flowers have all wilted, which causes Martha to think that she's still cursed. She runs away to Danny's bus, which then gets a flat tyre, so she goes home, only for Jake to fall over.
Later, Helen feeds the dogs, only for Martha to be unaccounted for. Meanwhile, Martha wanders through town and keeps encountering more accidents, causing her to believe she caused them and shout, "Sorry!". Helen goes off to look for Martha and eventually finds her (in the rain). Helen explains to Martha that she's not cursed, and everyone's bad luck happened for a logical reason — Mariella's flowers wilted because the sprinklers weren't on, Danny ran over a nail, and Jake just fell down by accident because he's still a baby. She advises dealing with the bad things that happen by being positive and spending time with friends. The weather clears up, then Martha asks Helen to "summon" another ice cream truck. Helen tries to prove this can't happen by snapping her fingers... only for another ice cream truck to coincidentally show up.
This episode provides examples of
- Afraid of Doctors: Martha thinks a trip to the vet would be bad luck, and Skits barks nervously and runs off whining at the idea of going to the vet.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Helen doesn't believe in magic despite Martha's being able to speak. She is, however, right; the crazy things that happened really were just coincidences.
- Balloon Belly: Martha grows a gut after eating ice cream.
- Canine Confusion: Martha claims that one year equals seven dog years, which is actually a myth.
- Contrived Coincidence:
- The movie Helen and Carolina want to see is about curses... and later, Martha believes she's cursed.
- Played for Laughs when ice cream trucks show up whenever Helen mentions ice cream.
- Correlation/Causation Gag: Whenever ice cream trucks coincidentally show up after Helen mentions ice cream, T.D. and Martha think that she somehow summoned them.
- Covered in Gunge: Martha knocks over a paint can on the ladder and gets paint all over her.
- Cue the Rain: One of the many unlucky things that happens to Martha is being caught in the rain.
- Department of Redundancy Department: The movie Helen and Carolina want to see is called The Curse of the Curse.
- Entertainment Above Their Age: Discussed when Martha, not knowing the double meaning of the word "curse", thinks Helen and Carolina, who are ten and eleven respectively, are going to see a movie loaded with swear words.
- False Cause:
- When Skits catches the peanut butter sandwich piece instead of Martha, then the ice cream truck was out of vanilla ice cream, then other people start having bad luck, she thinks it's because she's cursed from breaking the mirror.
- Inverted when T.D. thinks his throat getting better after his tonsils were removed was just a coincidence, then played straight when he wonders if it was the ice cream that healed his throat.
- Gray Rain of Depression: Inverted — Helen gives Martha hope while it's raining.
- Happy Dance: Martha dances around gleefully at being told she's not jinxed, which leads to the mirror breaking.
- The Jinx:
- Conversed when T.D. mentions seeing a movie about a man who had bad luck and spread it to others.
- Discussed when Martha sees people having bad luck and assumes she's causing it.
- Offscreen Crash: A waiter drops a stack of dishes, then two workers drop a window, offscreen and noisily.
- Only Sane Man: Or in this case, girl — Helen is the only one who isn't basing her logic on superstitions.
- The Pratfall: When Martha runs home, Jake falls over on his butt.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Carolina thinks walking under the ladder is bad luck, while Helen thinks it's dangerous because something may fall on your head. They're both right that walking under this particular ladder is inadvisable, but it's not because of bad luck or head injuries — a paint can spills on Martha.
- Rip Van Winkle: Discussed when Carolina jokingly suggests Martha nap for seven years to escape the bad luck from breaking the mirror.
- Running Gag: Whenever Helen claims that an ice cream truck won't show up, one does, causing T.D. and Martha to think she's psychic.
- Superstition Episode: Martha walks under a ladder, then breaks a mirror, which causes her to think she will have bad luck (which she does, but only by coincidence). Then, when other people start having bad luck, she wonders if she's bad luck.
- Tempting Fate:
- Martha walks under a ladder and claims nothing's happening, only to be splashed with paint.
- Helen says that she won't snap her fingers and an ice cream truck appears, while snapping her fingers... only for one to appear.
- Upon seeing the hot dog stand, Martha says, "Maybe my luck is changing", only for it to rain.
- Tropey, Come Home: Martha runs away to avoid causing people bad luck.
