The episode that first introduced Clockwork Smurf and King Gerard, both of which would become recurring characters in the show.
One day Handy decides to build a machine that would do all the work of his fellow Smurfs, and so he designs and builds his Clockwork Creature called the Clockwork Smurf. He shows his fellow Smurfs how fast and strong Clockwork is in doing various village chores, and they are all impressed, including Papa Smurf who was given a back massage by Clockwork. However, when Brainy decided to open up Clockwork to see how he works, he caused Clockwork to malfunction and run rampant through the village destroying things until the Smurfs captured him long enough for Handy to disconnect him, saddened that his machine no longer works properly.
At night, though, Clockwork Smurf awakens and escapes from the village, only to find himself in the dungeon of a young prince who was being held prisoner by his aunt Lady Imperia, who desires to take her nephew's place as ruler of the kingdom. Clockwork helps the young prince escape and find his way to the Smurf Village, where he introduces himself as Prince Gerard. The Smurfs decide to help the prince be restored to his rightful position as king, and Handy is pleased to see that Clockwork Smurf has outperformed his expectations.
Soon with the prince now wearing royal clothes, Papa Smurf douses Gerard and his little Smurfs with an invisibility formula that will help them get past Lady Imperia's guardsmen and dogs, while Clockwork Smurf will serve as a decoy to lure the dogs and men away from the Smurfs and Gerard. Though the invisibility formula wears off too soon for Gerard, he manages to get close enough to interrupt Lady Imperia's coronation as queen to reveal the truth, causing the citizens of his kingdom to revolt against Imperia and send her and her henchman Thorick far away from the kingdom.
With Gerard now coronated as king, he thanks the Smurfs for their bravery and rewards them with a medal of valor, which Papa Smurf gives to Clockwork for his bravery. At the end of the story, Clockwork becomes a trusted adviser and ally of King Gerard.
Tropes associated with this episode include
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Inverted: while Brainy's messing around with Clockwork's inner workings does initially make him go haywire, he eventually becomes nonviolent and even helps out the Smurfs and his human friend Prince Gerard.
- Awesome Moment of Crowning: Prince Gerard when he becomes king.
- Evil Aunt: Lady Imperia.
- Invisibility: The formula Papa Smurf uses to hide Prince Gerard and his little Smurfs in order to get him past Thorick and his guards.
- Released to Elsewhere: Inverted: while Imperia and Thorick plan to move Prince Gerard to a dungeon where he will rot in obscurity for the rest of his life, she devises a cover story that the prince fell ill and would eventually die, granting his aunt the right to be queen in his place. Of course, Prince Gerard foils this plan and reveals himself to be healthy and alive before Imperia is crowned queen.
