The Ghostbusters catch a ghost on a farm, and are awarded pie, but Slimer, who was in the car, eats it. They try to drive home, but go to a place called Nass Burg instead, which Egon seems to dislike. They stop for gas and are about to leave, but Slimer has flown away and is playing near a well. Then, Peter, Ray, and Winston notice that the well has a plinth on it dedicated to a wizard named "Zedekiah Spengler", who apparently banished a dragon to sleep forever. Apparently, Zedekiah was Egon's ancestor, but he's ashamed of him and believes he just made the dragon story up to impress people.
It turns out, however, that the dragon does exist, and it awakens after the Ghostbusters and Slimer leave. As Egon denies the story again, the dragon flies over the car. They get out, it lands, and starts breathing blue fire. The Ghostbusters try zapping it, but it doesn't work, so they run away. However, Peter trips and falls, while Egon gets carried up by the dragon. It sees the family resemblance between Egon and Zedekiah, then it puts him down. The rest of the Ghostbusters prepare to fight, but the dragon starts licking Egon and calling him "dada".
The next day, the events of the previous day are on the news, but the dragon is described as the Ghostbusters' pet, and citizens are wanting them to pay for the damage. The dragon then arrives and brings cars near the firehouse. Egon explains that Zedekiah created the dragon while singing, and that he tried to get rid of it when it started bringing him pigs, eventually putting it to sleep by rearranging the song. Egon then concludes that the dragon's awakening and growth (it was initially horse-sized but grew to about twice the size of the Ecto-1) were from an error in the spell.
Peter, Ray, and Winston try to use music to put the dragon to sleep again, but it doesn't work. Luckily, Egon determines that they need an exact frequency, which can be created with the proton beams, but they need to return the dragon to the well. Egon lures it back in a helicopter, and the rest of the Ghostbusters catch up, but Egon feels guilty about putting the dragon (who is revealed to be a male dragon) to sleep since he thinks he's his father, and he (Egon) is afraid the soundwaves will destroy the dragon. Luckily, the soundwaves simply put the dragon back to sleep. Egon goes down the well to check if the dragon's okay, and he is.
This episode provides examples of
- And Your Reward Is Edible: The Ghostbusters are awarded for catching the ghost on the farm with some homemade pies.
- Baby Talk: The dragon calls Egon "Dada".
- Batman Cold Open: The guys taking out a ghost on a farm, which Peter refers to as rather less glamorous than their usual cases. Trying to drive home leads to them accidentally arriving in Nass Burg and stumbling upon the well.
- Breath Weapon: Like many dragons, this one breathes fire. Strangely, his fire is blue.
- Creating Life Is Unforeseen: Zedekiah apparently created the dragon accidentally.
- Dramatic Irony: Egon is heard declaring that the story isn't true after we've already seen the dragon.
- Fake Ultimate Hero: Aside from not even believing the dragon story initially, Egon was also incredulous that Zedekiah got credit for banishing something that he himself brought into the world in the first place.
- Flashback: When Egon explains how Zedekiah accidentally brought forth the dragon while trying to magically replenish a dried out well.
- Generation Xerox: Upon told of what Zedekiah purportedly did, Ray muses that being a Ghostbuster runs in Egon's family. Egon is not amused, saying scientists run in the family, not supposed wizards that embraced superstition.
- Glory Seeker: Peter flippantly remarks busting a random ghost on a random farm won't bring in any headlines. When Winston says they shouldn't expect fame for doing their jobs, all Peter can ask is, "Why not?"
- Godzilla Threshold: As pointed out by Winston, even though the soundwaves may destroy the dragon, their plan is the only option.
- Imprinting: Perhaps because Zedekiah created the dragon (albeit by accident), he sees him as his father.
- Inept Mage: Zedekiah created a dragon accidentally by singing, and then bungled the sleeping spell to make the dragon grow.
- Magic Music: Subverted. Tunes are used to create the dragon and put him to sleep, but then it turns out that all that's needed are sound waves; it doesn't have to be music.
- Mistaken Identity: Due to the family resemblence, the dragon mistakes Egon for Zedekiah.
- Mood Whiplash: The dragon is initially portrayed as a fearsome beast, but upon mistaking Egon for Zedekiah, it reveals a more cartoonish personality.Dragon: [licks Egon] Dada!
- No-Sell: Proton packs don't work on the dragon, perhaps because he's not a ghost.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Slimer when he realizes he's in trouble for eating those pies.
- Egon when Peter says they're in Nass Burg. He does it again when he sees Slimer poking around a certain well.
- One-Liner: When Peter sees the dragon, he says, "I think this is carrying family tradition a bit too far, eh, Egon?".
- Rhetorical Question Blunder: Peter notes Egon never bothered to mention Zedekiah, despite some fairly notable traits.Egon: Do you talk about the loons and the scoundrels in your family tree?
Peter: If I didn't, I wouldn't have anybody to talk about. - Rip Van Winkle: The dragon was banished to sleep forever.
- Shared Family Quirks:
- Peter claims that all his relatives are "loons and scoundrels".
- Zedekiah is Egon's ancestor, and both of them have gotten rid of supernatural entities (Zedekiah with a dragon and Egon with ghosts and the odd demon).
- According to Egon, many of his relatives are scientists like him.
- Sleep Deprivation: After the dragon arrives, the Ghostbusters apparently stay up all night. As such, Peter is sleeping at the table, Ray is yawning, and Egon is grumpy.
- Tempting Fate: Egon thinks Zedekiah made the dragon up. The dragon turns out to be real and wakes up.
- This Is Gonna Suck:
- In addition to money, the owners of the farm gave the guys three pies. Peter has this realization when he realizes the pies were put in reach of Slimer.
- After the dragon drops off a massive ship by the firehouse, Winston dreads the inevitable call from the Mayor.
- Undying Loyalty: The dragon to Zedekiah and thus the descendent that greatly resembles him. This proves really problematic, as the dragon keeps trying to make "Dada" happy by delivering assorted gifts (i.e. anything it can carry back home).
- Wham Line: Winston reads the plinth aloud, revealing it's dedicated to Zedekiah Spengler.
