Recap / Recess S1 E12 "Speedy, We Hardly Knew Ye"

The class hamster, Speedy, dies over the weekend and the children are heartbroken. To honor the hamster's memory, they decide to hold a funeral for their furry friend.

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Tropes:

• An Aesop: As T.J. puts it, "It's never too late to say goodbye." You can honor the dead, even if they've been dead for a long time, and (as Spinelli learns the hard way) it's healthier to grieve rather than lie to others that you didn't care.
• Big "NO!": Shouted by Spinelli when Speedy is being buried.
• Bittersweet Ending: Everyone agrees to honor Speedy, and all the ones that came before him. The episode then cuts to a montage of the various Speedies through the years, going from peace protests to simply playing with the 3rd street kids. The last shot is of the current Speedy laying down to die.
• Black Comedy: The mayor says that the memory of Speedy reassured him that he would never get indicted.
• "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: When the children find out that there's been more than one Speedy.
  Mikey: You mean you lied to us?
  Miss Grotke: Lie is such a harsh word. We prefer to say 'we gently massaged reality'.
• Dead Pet Sketch: Miss Grotke reveals to everyone that the school has been replacing the grade 4 hamsters with a new one every time one dies without the kids' knowledge because they didn't think they could handle the topic of death well.
• Death Is a Sad Thing: The gang takes Speedy's death pretty hard, so much so that they're too sad to play kickball. It's later revealed that the school has been replacing Speedy over the years with a new hamster every time the previous Speedy dies, precisely because they thought the kids couldn't handle the death of a beloved pet. In the end, the main message is that it's much healthier to grieve for someone's death and honor their memory than just keep it a secret.
• Distant Reaction Shot: When Mikey yells "Speedy's Dead!", it cuts to several people around school stopping what they're doing and listening.
• Due to the Dead: King Bob initially protests the kids digging in the sixth-grade territory for a funeral, only to learn it's a funeral for Speedy, the hamster for his Grade 4 class. He then increases the pomp and circumstance by giving a eulogy and having his men play "Taps" on the kazoo.
• Everybody Cries: This happens at Speedy’s funeral.
• Everyone Has Standards: The entire playground makes room in their schedule and helps out in Speedy's funeral.
• Five Stages of Grief: The kids all go through this. They're mostly in the Bargaining and Depression Stage, before hitting Acceptance.
  • Gretchen says she tries to think of Speedy as DNA but admits he was special, crossing from Denial into Depression.
  • Spinelli spends most of the episode in Denial and Anger. She keeps saying that Speedy was just a hamster, only to eventually admit that she misses him so much that she wants to be buried with him.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Spinelli mentions that you can get a hamster at the pet store easily. It turns out the teachers have been doing that for decades to hide that a lot of hamsters named Speedy died.
  • During the funeral, Gretchen notes how pretty much all the kids in the school have come, with "How can one hamster have so many friends?"
  • Ms. Grotke sounds more worried and frantic than her usual cheerful demeanor when the kids are suspicious over Speedy not waking up, and tries to convince them either he's hibernating or meditating. This is because she forgot to replace the hamster over the weekend when he passed on.
• Gasp!: The crowd gasps when Spinelli jumps in the grave and begs to be buried alive with Speedy.
• Gut Punch:
  • The scene where the kids realize that Speedy died. Namely, they get worried about seeing that Speedy is lying in his pile of shavings, not moving when Mikey taps the glass or shakes the tank, and Gus noticing Speedy didn't eat any of the croutons they gave him and his food bowl is still full. Ms. Grotke frantically tries to avoid this moment by shooing the class away and lying that he's probably meditating, but then Gretchen picks up Speedy to check on him. She can't hear a heartbeat and goes Oh, Crap!. She blurts out while cuddling his body, "Speedy's not meditating! He's-he's!" Mikey then screams that Speedy died.
  • As the Junior Crossing Guards play Taps on the kazoo, the whole playground bursts into tears. So do the adults that came to pay their respects to Speedy. It's a really sad moment of catharsis.
  • The montage of the past Speedys. One shot shows Speedy comforting a boy hiding under his desk during a nuclear war drill. The next shows a class holding Speedy on a pedestal as part of a peace march. We then cut to King Bob playing with Speedy, with the main gang enjoying time with him. Then the current Speedy curls up and dies peacefully.
• I Resemble That Remark!:
  TJ: C'mon guys, you're acting like a bunch of babies.
  Mayor Fitzhugh: [in a whiny voice] I am not! I want my Speedy!
• It's All My Fault: Mikey, Vince, and Gus think they had a hand in Speedy's death such as feeding him garlic croutons, giving him distilled water, or pushing him too hard on his wheel before just accepting that it was his time to go.
• It's Always Sunny at Funerals: The weather outside is clear and beautiful during Speedy's funeral.
• Kazoos Mean Silliness: The Junior Crossing Guards play "Taps" on kazoos during Speedy’s funeral.
• Loved by All: Speedy is universally-loved by every character that appears in this episode. Even Spinelli, who was shown to be disdainful of him at first, is revealed to have loved him just as much as everyone else.
• Never Say "Die": Averted. Mikey cries that “Speedy’s dead!”. Played with by Miss Grotke, though, as during her reveal that the teachers have been secretly replacing Speedy over the years, she whispers "death" and "died" as if to protect the kids from those words, even though the kids have been dealing with death and talking about it throughout the whole episode.
• Not So Above It All: After pretending not to care about Speedy's death because he was "just a hamster," Spinelli runs into his grave and begs to be buried with him.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Every 4th grade class misses their Speedy, as TJ points out. Thus they can come together and honor all their Speedys, by burying this one.
• Oh, Crap!: The kids when they find out Speedy has passed away over the weekend. Followed by Ms. Grotke when she overhears such, meaning she forgot to replace him.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • When T.J. assumes Speedy is sleeping from eating all his croutons, Gus points out the crouton bowl is full, meaning Speedy didn't eat any of them.
  • Ms. Grotke is more frantic than usual when the kids are suspicious over Speedy not waking up (prior to realizing he's dead) and tries to convince them he's either hibernating or meditating. It's because she realized that she missed the chance to replace the hamster over the weekend.
  • The kids are so sad that they don't play kickball, to Spinelli's consternation.
• Please Wake Up: Mikey taps Speedy's cage when he thinks the hamster is asleep. He gets worried on seeing Speedy lying there, and the class gathers around the cage. TJ assumes he's just in a deep sleep from eating his croutons, but Gus alerts that Speedy didn't eat any of his croutons and the bowl is still full as how they left it. Ms. Grotke tries to lie that Speedy is hibernating, then meditating. Gretchen busts her on those because hamsters don't hibernate, and then she picks up the hamster and can't hear a heartbeat, coming to the conclusion the hamster died.
• Really Dead Montage: The episode ends with a montage of videos of the various Speedys over the years, ending with the current Speedy in his cage laying down to die.
• Replacement Goldfish: Ms. Grotke reveals that the class hamster had been replaced every time it died for decades, each being given the same name and the students none the wiser. She just didn't have enough time to replace this particular one.
• Shout-Out: King Bob declares Speedy's grave as "The Tomb of the Unknown Speedy" which is a reference to The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
• Shout-Out to Shakespeare: Spinelli leaping into Speedy's grave to be buried with him evokes Laertes at his sister Ophelia's funeral in Hamlet.
• Sophisticated as Hell: After trying to give a meaningful eulogy, the normally eloquent King Bob says, "just bury the little fluffball".
• Taps: King Bob's kazoo players play this tune at Speedy's funeral.
• Titled After the Song: The episode title is a reference to Irish anti-war song "Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye".
• Wham Line:
  • The kids discover Speedy never ate his croutons over the weekend and is not producing a heartbeat; both Gretchen and Mikey then deliver the worse:
    Gretchen: Speedy's not meditating, Miss Grotke! He's...he's...!
    Mikey: SPEEDY'S DEAD!
  • And later, upon accidentally dislodging Speedy's body, the students notice and reveal separate thoughts of him (either stripes or spots on his back, Speedy's a girl, etc.) Gretchen then comes to a surprising conclusion:
    Gretchen: They're not the same hamster!
• Wham Shot: When Spinelli is dragged from Speedy's grave, she accidentally dislodges his body, which shows he has different stripes from the Speedy that everyone remembers. This leads to Ms. Grotke revealing that Speedy was replaced many times over the years.

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