Gus is King of the Playground. God Help Us All.
King Bob is out sick and Gus is made the substitute king until he gets back. Things start off smoothly, until Gus lets the power go to his head.
Tropes:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Being put into the position of King of the Playground gives Gus quite the ego boost and he abuses the power he's given.
- Adults Are Useless: Where was Miss Finster during all of this?
- An Aesop: Discussed. When Gus nervously tries to justify his previous actions that he couldn't help himself, Spinelli doesn't buy it for a moment. TJ, on the other hand, gives the benefit of the doubt, stating that perhaps power can corrupt anyone who's unaccustomed to it. Spinelli still doesn't believe it for a moment, until she's made temporary regent in King Bob's place and starts going into a power trip. The others can only side-glance, confirming that absolute power indeed corrupts.
- Beware the Nice Ones:
- Gus even scares his bodyguards in the climax. And this is Gus we're talking about.
- Mikey ends up letting the kids out of the jungle gym because he's strong enough, and TJ leads the rebellious charge against King Gus.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Gus throws TJ into "jail" for simply remarking on how coldly he acted towards a smaller kid then later jails the rest of the gang for trying to talk sense into him.
- Failed Attempt at Drama: Gus' coronation.King Bob: With these symbols of authority and grandeur of kingship, I invest in you...Bob's Mom: Bobby! Time to go, honey!King Bob: You're king, so don't screw it up!
- Foreshadowing: The episode opens on a bowl of alphabet soup spelling out "uh oh" which, while it technically was referring to King Bob's situation, it could also be read as sign of what will happen when Gus takes the throne.
- Gilligan Cut:Gretchen: Maybe [Gus] will listen to reason.
[Cut to the gang being jailed]
TJ: What happened?
Gretchen: He didn't listen to reason. - Here We Go Again!: Spinelli is made Lord Emperor of the West Playground at the end of the episode, and she's ecstatic about it. The gang however doesn't look thrilled.
- Insane Troll Logic: In addition to implementing a cookie tax, Gus orders the opening of a cookie mine. Jordan asks why there would be cookies in the ground, but Gus scares him into silence.
- Judgment of Solomon: Subverted. Two girls fight over a doll so Gus is asked to decide who gets it. Gus, likewise, declares that the doll be cut in half which one of the girls is fine with. The other girl freaks out and then begs that the other girl get the doll which she does. When Jordan and Jerome ask Gus how he came to his decision, he states that he knew to give the doll to the girl who cared for its safety the most... only for Jerome to point out that Gus gave the doll to the other girl instead. Oops.
- Literally Laughable Question: When the gang is filling out request forms, they ask the paperwork kid if they get to see Gus afterwards. The guy just laughs in their faces.
- Manipulative Bastard: King Bob knows that he can't choose someone too strong or too smart to take his place while he has to go home and rest. The reason is that if someone else does a better job as king, then Bob may be deposed. So he chooses Gus, an ordinary kid who won't be able to handle the responsibility.
- Mighty Glacier: During the uprising, Mikey gets hit with an increasing barrage of kickballs while slowly walking through the chaos.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Jordan and Jerome flee when Gus decides to take on the playground as they rise in revolt.
- Shout-Out: A doll carriage rolls down the steps during the fight between the playground and Gus' guards, similar to the famous shot from The Battleship Potemkin.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: As the kids start talking about overthrowing Gus, Vince points out that they're all in jail with no way out. At that point, Mikey sees a cookie and lifts up the climbing frame to get it. It's playground equipment, not a dedicated prison.
- Surrounded by Idiots: Gus seemed to think so when he didn't get the cookies he wanted.
- The Tonsillitis Episode: What sets the episode in motion is that King Bob has to have a tonsillectomy, so he allows Gus to replace him.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Gus, big time. After being made king, he lets the power go to his head and then forces the kids on the playground to pay a cookie tax and imprisons those who can't as well as makes them built a mud statue of him.
