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Recap / The Mask S 1 E 8 Double Reverse

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After hearing about Stanley's morning where he (as The Mask) thwarted Walter's bank robbery, Dr. Neuman diagnoses The Mask as Stanley's "inner wackiness" that needs to come out if he ever wants to get anywhere in life, so Stanley begins acting as wacky as The Mask (which lands him a promotion and a date with a cute girl at the bank). However the wackier Stanley acts, the weaker The Mask becomes, which is horrible timing as a new supervillain named Kablamus is rampaging through the city.

Tropes:

  • All Therapists are Muggles: Dr Neuman believes that The Mask is just some repressed side that Stanley keeps inside even though there have been reports that The Mask is real and when Stanley keeps telling him that he is The Mask, Dr Neuman decides to call someone so that he can have Stanley committed.
  • Bittersweet Ending: Stanley manages to become repressed again so that The Mask can come out again but he loses everything he gained as well but though The Mask can stress him out at times, The Mask does care and love Stanley very much and will protect the people in Edge City as well so while Stanley may have lost everything he gained when he acted like The Mask, he's got The Mask to help him with those who bullied him so therefore as always The Mask will always be there for him no matter what.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: During their first encounter, the Mask tells Kablamus to accept defeat, but the latter refuses, saying that the children wouldn't like it. The Mask looks around, not seeing a single child in sight, and humors him… before zooming towards the screen and acknowledging the viewers.
    The Mask: Well, I know you’re there, guys, but he's obviously got a problem, you know what I mean?
  • Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Stanley comes to this realization when the mask suddenly stops working during the first fight with Kablamus, who mentions Reverse Psychology.
    Stanley: Reverse psychology? Wait… that's why the mask isn't working!
    Dr. Neuman: (voiceover) If reverse psychology works for you, your Mask persona might even disappear entirely.
    Stanley: The Mask can only exist with the old Stanley! (gasps) I've destroyed The Mask! Oh, right when the city needs him most!
  • Extreme Doormat: Stanley being this is a plot point, as though he manages to get everything he wanted, he also cannot become his alter ego The Mask again which he realises during the fight with Kablamus. So he has to become this again so that his alter ego The Mask can come out again, which he does at the end.
  • Gone Horribly Right: Dr. Neuman suggests that Stanley should "do what The Mask would do" to get where he wants to be in life. Stanley takes this advice, and things actually start turning around for him; he gets a promotion and a date with a cute coworker at the bank. But soon Stanley learns the hard way that since he's been acting like The Mask, he can't turn into The Mask anymore.
  • Mythology Gag: The scene where Stanley tries to show Dr. Neuman that the Mask no longer works by putting it on, it looks very similar to the scene from the movie where he tried to show Dr. Neuman how the Mask does work, but it doesn't because it only worked at night.
  • Reverse Psychology: Stanley takes a suggestion from Dr Neuman to act like his alter ego The Mask and it works but only to find out that since he acts like The Mask when he is not him it causes The Mask to become weaker as he faces against Kablamus only for his face to melt off and go back to being lifeless, Stanley has to go back to being his usual self so that The Mask can come back again which works at the end as he is able to bring The Mask back to life again when he starts begging to Kablamus which was the final step into restoring his repressed self.

 
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The Mask

During their first encounter, the Mask tells Kablamus to accept defeat, but the latter refuses, saying that the children wouldn't like it. The Mask looks around, not seeing a single child in sight, and humors him. Then he zooms towards the screen and acknowledges that while he knows the viewers are there, Kablamus is clearly nuts.

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