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Recap / VeggieTales Episode 14 Esther... The Girl Who Became Queen

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Esther... The Girl Who Became Queen
Episode number: 14
Original release date: 8/8/00


Esther... The Girl Who Became Queen

The story opens at a palace in Persia at night time. During the night, King Xerxes's right hand man Haman (played by Mr. Lunt) tells Vashti that the king wants her to make him a sandwich. Vashti replies that it's 3 o'clock in the morning, before Haman tells her that the king says that whatever he says goes. Vashti then replies that she's the queen and that "the king can make his own sandwich". Because of this, Haman throws Vashti out of the palace, before Vashti angrily tells Haman that he can't do this because she's the queen, to which Haman sadistically replies, "Oh ho, you wanna bet?" Haman then throws a suitcase at Vashti, telling her that the king can do whatever he wants because he's the king. Vashti then leaves after that, with Haman telling her not to come back. King Xerxes (played by Mr. Nezzer) then shows up and tells Haman, "Don't you think that might have been a little harsh?" Haman then replies that Vashti deserved it, which King Xerxes agrees with, before telling Haman to make him a sandwich, which surprises Haman.

The next morning, a young woman named Esther and her elderly cousin Mordecai (played by Pa Grape) are walking through the streets of Persia, with Esther explaining to Mordecai that she saw a friend of hers steal an apple, but she does not have the courage to tell her that the apple doesn't belong to her. Because of this, Mordecai tells her, "You never need to be afraid to do what's right." However, at that moment, Haman comes up through the streets in his pea-driven wagon, to which Mordecai hides, telling Esther that Haman hates him. After the wagon stops in the middle of the street, Haman then explains to the people of Persia that King Xerxes needs a new queen and that every eligible woman in the street is to come to the palace. At first, Esther is not interested, but after a little bit of urging from Mordecai (who reveals himself in front of Haman) and the insistence of Haman, Esther finally gets into the wagon with the other women.

At the palace, Mordecai meets up Esther, who is now dressed up in fine clothes, before explaining to Esther that Haman hates their entire family and that if Haman knew that Esther was Mordecai's cousin, then Haman would hate her too. Esther asks Mordecai why she had to be in the palace even though she didn't want to. Mordecai tells her that he doesn't know, but God does and that He must have a reason why she is here. He then promises Esther to come visit her again before he leaves. Esther then sings about why she is here and wants to know what God has in store for her. Meanwhile, it turns out that King Xerxes is holding a talent competition, to which each candidate is to sing a song. One candidate by the name of Miss Achmetha is singing a song about how puppies are cute and that she'll give a home to all the lost puppies if she'll ever be queen. After the song ends, the contest announcer (played by Scallion # 1) comes out and tells the audience, comprised of just King Xerxes and Haman to give a big hand for Miss Achmetha. However, Xerxes is not impressed, to which he and Haman both give thumbs down (by the use of signs) to Miss Achmetha, which annoys Miss Achmetha before she storms off afterwards. The contest announcer then announces the next candidate who is known as Miss Babylon. However, Esther does not come out, before the announcer explains to her that she has to sing a song, and for her to sing something because she's making him look bad. Esther finally comes up with a song, before she starts singing a song that her grandmother used to sing to her about how God is always on our side and that we shouldn't be afraid to do the right thing. After Esther finishes singing, Xerxes and Haman both immediately give her thumbs up (again using signs). The contest announcer then announces that they have found their new queen, Queen Esther.

Later, after Esther has been appointed as the new queen of Persia, Mordecai shows up, congratulating her for what happened. Esther is still a little bit unsure about her new position, but Mordecai is able to assure her that everything will be just fine. When Esther asks Mordecai what the king is like, Mordecai tells her that the king is a really likeable guy and that she would like him, before he then leaves after that. The next morning in the throne room, Xerxes is still a little bit worried about whether or not his new queen will like him, to which Haman assures him that she'll like him, even if he wasn't the king, at the same time that Markus the scribe (played by Larry the Cucumber) is busy doing some writing. When Haman leaves to go get Esther, Xerxes looks at himself in the mirror, before being approached by the royal chef Bigthan (played by Jean-Claude Pea) who presents to him with a beautiful wedding cake. However, unknown to Xerxes, Bigthan and his brother Teresh (played by Phillipe Pea), who are both known as the Peaoni brothers, plan to kill King Xerxes by dropping a piano on his head. When Haman returns with Esther, he is surprised to see Bigthan in the room, while Mordecai is able to spot Teresh holding on to the rope that holds up the piano, before telling Esther about what's going on. Esther then alerts Xerxes that it's a trap, at the same time that Teresh ends up getting pulled up by the weight of the piano, but Xerxes is able to get out of the way, just as the piano crashes on top of the cake. Bigthan and Teresh try to escape, but they are caught by Mordecai, before Haman is able to identify them as the Peaoni brothers, "the most dangerous peas in all of Persia." Xerxes is grateful to Esther for saving him, but Esther tells him that Mordecai deserves the credit, since he was the one who told her about the danger. Since the crime of the Peaoni brothers has been exposed, Haman announces that their punishment be "Banishment to the Island of Perpetual Tickling", which frightens the Peaoni brothers very much, just as the Grim Tickler shows up, to take them away to the Island of Perpetual Tickling.

Later that night, even though the Peaoni brothers have now been disposed of, Haman approaches Xerxes, telling him through song that there's still an even greater danger at large and that he fears that his life is in danger. Xerxes also joins in the song as well, before he approves Haman's wish to have these people banished, not realizing that Haman had tricked him into banishing Mordecai and his family. When Mordecai discovers the edict that Haman had Xerxes sign, he takes it and shows it to Esther, telling her about what happened and that she must do something to save her people. Esther says that she can't do it because she didn't even want to be the queen in the first place anyway. Mordecai then tells Esther that she needs to do what God wants her to do, before he leaves once again. Esther once again sings about why she was brought to the palace. At first, Esther is still unsure about what she should do, until she finally embraces her new position as queen and decides to do what she feels is right to save her cousin and her entire family.

The next morning, Esther then appears before King Xerxes and Haman, with Xerxes telling Haman that even though it is against the law for anyone to appear uninvited before the king, his queen can see him whenever she likes. At first, it appears that Esther is about to inform Xerxes about Haman's plot, but instead, she invites Xerxes and Haman to dinner, which they both graciously accept. Later during dinner, Xerxes and Haman are playing a little game of Trivial Pursuit, before Esther shows up again, but just when it seems that she's about to reveal the plot this time, she instead invites them to dinner again the next night. Haman then meets up with Mordecai, telling him to bow to him, but Mordecai refuses, saying that he will never bow to him. This causes Haman to have Mordecai's banishment carried out immediately if he does not comply before leaving in a huff afterwards. Back inside the palace, Markus is reading to Xerxes about everything that's happened since Esther was appointed queen, but when he gets to the part about how Mordecai was able to save the king, Xerxes realizes that he needs to do something to show his gratitude to Mordecai.

At that moment, Haman shows up, wanting to tell King Xerxes to banish Mordecai and his family tonight, but Xerxes stops him, saying that he needs to do something for someone. Thinking that Xerxes is talking about him, Haman tells him that he should really throw a parade in his honor. Xerxes thanks Haman for the idea, saying that Mordecai really deserves a parade, which utterly humiliates Haman. The next night, at dinner, Haman shows up before Xerxes and Esther, before Esther finally musters up the courage to tell Xerxes that her and her people will be banished to the Island of Perpetual Tickling, before exposing Haman as the perpetrator of the crime. When Esther shows Xerxes the edict that Haman had him sign, he realizes that he's been had, before Esther angrily proclaims, "Mordecai is my cousin! His family is my family!" Because of this, Xerxes then has Haman banished to the Island of Perpetual Tickling instead. Once Haman has been taken care of, Mordecai has been promoted to Haman's job, while Esther is proud of herself for having the courage to save herself and her family, before the episode ends.


Character Introductions: Miss Achmetha


Tropes:

  • Adaptation Expansion: Haman is the villain of the entire story, whereas in the book of Esther, he was not in the story until after the part where Mordecai saved the king's life.
  • Adaptational Heroism: In the Biblical story, King Xerxes was the ruler of the kingdom that kept the Israelites in captivity (first it was Babylon, then it was Persia, and later it was Greece and Rome). Here, while he isn't always particularly nice, he's a lot more likeable. In fact, pretty much all of the nasty ideas and actions come directly from Haman.
  • An Aesop: As Mordecai puts it...
    "You never have to be afraid to do what’s right."
  • Anti-Villain: The only reason King Xerxes issues the edict to banish the Jews to the Island of Perpetual Tickling is because Haman deceived him into doing so. Once the truth comes out that he inadvertently sentenced both his recently wedded wife and the guy who recently saved his life to banishment, Xerxes quickly turns the tables on Haman.
  • Card-Carrying Villain: Haman, with cards in one scene to boot.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: This episode marks the only appearance of Esther. The reason for this is because her hair was really difficult to render.
  • Comically Missing the Point: King Xerxes does this twice in this episode, first after Miss Achmetha finishes singing her "Lost Puppies" song;
    "What am I gonna do with all those dogs?"
    • The second time after the piano that the Peoni brothers tried to kill him with lands harmlessly on the cake they tried giving him;
      "Why is there a piano on my cake?"
  • Cool and Unusual Punishment: Banishment to the Island of Perpetual Tickling. Until you realize that there really have been cases in which people really have died laughing, making this a case of Fridge Horror.
  • Darker and Edgier: This is one of the darkest VeggieTales episodes, as there are less comedy scenes and the story has a darker tone.
  • Demoted to Extra: Larry in this episode, when playing the part of Markus the scribe.
  • Digital Destruction: Starting with the 2003 VeggieTales Classics DVD and VHS releases, some sound effects that were heard in the original releases were removed (e.g. a rooster crowing after the title card).
  • Disproportionate Retribution: Haman's response to Vashti's refusal to make the king a sandwich (at 3AM no less) is to physically throw her out of the palace. Oh, and then throw her suitcase at her. All with a pronounced "The Reason You Suck" Speech. Xerxes lampshades it.
    King Xerxes: Don't you think that might have been a little harsh?
  • Dreadful Musician: Miss Achmetha is very screechy when singing her "Lost Puppies" song.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: An early render for Reginald, Jonah’s camel from Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie, is seen on a poster on the street kiosk.
  • Everyone Has Standards: Xerxes's reaction to Haman's Disproportionate Retribution in banishing Vashti, thinking it was too extreme.
  • Expose the Villain, Get His Job: Much like in the original Biblical story, after Haman has met his match, Mordecai is given Haman's old position. The narrator comments that this is his favorite part.
  • Foreshadowing: In the name of bowdlerization, rather than dancing (possibly naked) in front of Xerxes, Vashti gets kicked out because she refuses to make Xerxes a sandwich in the middle of the night. Except it's all done by Haman with minimal input from Xerxes himself in spite of his claims, displaying his manipulative, power-tripping ego well before he decides to have Mordecai and his family banished.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Haman's plan to have Esther's entire family banished to the Island of Perpetual Tickling backfires, so he's the one who ends up getting banished there instead.
  • Horrible Judge of Character: Haman tells King Xerxes that the Jews are "a sneaky little family who do sneaky little things" who deserve to be banished to the island of perpetual tickling, and the king falls for it hook, line, and sinker.
  • I Owe You My Life: Xerxes reacts furiously when Esther tells him that Mordecai will suffer from the edict because Mordecai saved him from an assassination attempt.
  • Locked Out of the Loop: Xerxes wasn't aware that his queen Esther and Mordecai were Jewish and the family he was gonna banish until the very end. Haman himself wasn't aware that Esther was related to Mordecai, which may be the reason God chose Esther to warn Xerxes on what Haman is doing.
  • Non-Standard Character Design: Rather than being portrayed by one of the regular rotating cast members like a majority of episodes, Esther has an entirely unique design and voice to distinguish her importance, especially compared to most female characters in the series.
  • Oh, Crap!: Mordecai has this when he sees the edict.
    Mordecai: Huh? What's this? Oy! Essie!!
  • Piano Drop: Attempted by the Peaoni Brothers, in which they tried to drop a piano on King Xerxes by luring him with a cake. Fortunately, Esther is able to save him in time, thanks to Mordecai.
  • Shout-Out: Xerxes and Haman play a trivia game where one of the questions was "Who was the youngest Jackson," to which Xerxes repeatedly thinks its Tito. Haman insistently calls him out for being incorrect, and there's a fun reveal via card that it's Janet.
  • Villain Song: Played for Drama with "Haman's Song".
  • You Meddling Kids: One of the Peaoni Brothers makes a very familiar response to Esther warning Xerxes about their trap:
    "And we could have taken over the kingdom, if it wasn't for that meddling queen!"

 
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The Peaoni Brothers Get Banished

After the Peaoni brothers are seized by Haman and Mordecai, King Xerxes tries to think of a punishment. But Haman has an idea: banishment to the Island of Perpetual Tickling!

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