Gumball: Your chart is ruining this family! They're all behaving like animals!
Nicole begins recording the other family members' success on a chart hanging on the fridge, and when she finds out Gumball hasn't achieved anything, she begins pushing him into being a success. But when the family begins to tear apart because of the chart, it's up to Gumball to save them.
Tropes:
- Almost Dead Guy: Parodied when Gumball comes across a defeated Richard in the paintball game. He almost wheezes out the name of the person who covered him in paint (obviously Nicole), but she shoots him again before he can so he hams up a "death" scene so that she'll leave him alone.
- An Aesop: Being a winner doesn't automatically make you happy. It's better to be a loser in everyones' eyes if you're happier that way.
- Compressed Vice: Downplayed, Nicole's obsession with accomplishment and competitive nature has some basis in previous episodes ("The Ape" showed she hates being called a loser because Ms. Simian insulted her from the time she was a toddler to the time she got married to Richard) and becomes a significant character flaw going forward. Still, she never takes either to the insane extent she does in this episode, apparently having been set off by winning a company paintball game by sending all of her other coworkers to the hospital.
- Disappointed in You: After going through hell by Nicole, Gumball fully thinks that he is a disappointment in her eyes—but he'd prefer that to being a winner by her standards. Hearing this gives Nicole a Heel Realization.
- Distant Reaction Shot: As Anais's paintbomb trap takes Darwin and herself out of the paintball game, the scene changes to Gumball as a geyser of paint erupts and reaches above the trees. Gumball tearfully walks off, then the scene changes back to Darwin and Anais, covered in paint, contentedly walking off to eat.
- Dodgeball Is Hell: After Gumball calls the fridge chart stupid, Darwin decides to play dodgeball by repeatedly bouncing the ball off of Gumball's face, claiming to score a point with each bounce.
- Evil Feels Good: Gumball starts to enjoy the chart briefly when he's put on top. He stops when Nicole asks if it feels good to win and he realizes it's just a trick.
- Eye Scream: Nicole has Gumball squeeze lemon juice in her eyes.Nicole: What does a winner do when life gives him lemons?
Gumball: Uhh... Make lemonade?
Nicole: No, he squeezes them right back into life's eyes! - Failure Montage: A montage of Gumball's accomplishments this week includes jumping off the high dive and getting his shorts pulled off by the board, giving Penny a bouquet of flowers that was full of bees, and his performance for the school band where he had to hit one note on a triangle and missed the instrument entirely.
- Good Behavior Points: The episode revolves around Nicole's Reach for the Stars chart, on which she ranks each of her family members based off their accomplishments during the week. Gumball is the only one placed on the lowest tier, a position he is apathetic about. This motivates Nicole to get him to value winning. Gumball eventually manages to earn the second-highest spot, but by then, his siblings and father have become vicious over their placements on the chart. The next day, the family plays a game of paintball, with Nicole agreeing to remove the chart if Gumball wins. He indeed manages to give Nicole a Heel Realization and win, resulting in the chart being taken down.
- Graceful Loser: Gumball is entirely content with being loser in the family pole. Too bad Nicole isn't.
- In the actual game, while she doesn't stay behind willingly to let Gumball win the way Darwin does, Anais is very nonchalant about being Hoist by Her Own Petard. She calmly resigns and even gets a sandwich with Darwin after he uses her trap to take them both out of the game.
- Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Nicole decides she needs to get Gumball to be a "winner". Her methods include making him carry her up a flight of stairs on his back (despite being several time his size), abandoning him on a desert road to walk home, and having him hold up a metal golf club while standing on their roof in a lightning storm.
- I Surrender, Suckers: At the end of the family paintball game, Gumball refuses to shoot an unarmed Nicole and after she tells him he can grab the flag, she then tries to shoot him in the back with her empty gun. Gumball could hear her dry-firing and shoots her while she's reloading.
- Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Darwin is completely unable to hit Gumball with a paintball gun even when firing at point-blank range.
- It Came from the Fridge: Anais discovered a new form of bacteria in the family fridge. We get a view of a sandwich, where they are apparently holding a rave.
- Paintball Episode: The second half of the episode involves the Wattersons playing a game of paintball.
- Running Gag: Characters inadvertently doing the bird call that Darwin learned, causing a bird to fly by and crash into something.
- Shamu Fu: After Gumball wrestles away a frozen chicken from Alison at the grocery store, she finds a half price salmon which Nicole clearly wants Gumball to also fight for. Scene change to Gumball in the car, looking pissed off with the salmon in his hand and a red salmon-shaped mark on his face.Nicole: So, how does it feel to win, son?
Gumball: Hmm, dunno. Oh, yeah. Like an old lady hitting me in the face with a wet fish! - Stealth Hi/Bye: When Gumball agrees to play paintball, everyone has fled by the time he turns his back.
- Trivial Title: The title refers to the fridge on which the chart that records everybody's achievements is on. The fridge itself has very little to do with the plot of the episode, which is about Nicole putting Gumball through Training from Hell to make him a "winner" in the first half and a paintball game in the second half.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Gumball calls Nicole out by saying that her chart is tearing the family apart by not deeming anyone good enough, no matter how hard they try.
