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Recap / Wander Over Yonder S 2 E 3 The Fremergency Fronfract The Boy Wander

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"Well, if you're my uh, fremergency fronfract, then we must be best friends!"

The Fremergency Fronfract

When Wander picks up a loopy Lord Hater from the dentist, he spends the day showing Hater how much fun being good can be.

     Click to read long form recap 
Lord Hater is in the dentist's office, frothed up into a fine fury! His mouth is full of cotton, but from what it's easy to make out, he's ranting about Wander and Sylvia ruining his plans of Galactic Domination once again.

The dentist gets set to put Hater under, using some manner of stinging creature. Hater's eyes go all woOoOgy, and in seconds, he's already starting to lose consciousness. But before he goes, the dentist's assistant asks who his emergency contacts are so he has someone to take him home after the procedure. The last thought in Hater's head before his eyes drift closed and everything goes black is "...Wan...der..."

Sometime later, Hater awakens, surprised to see Wander arriving and greeting him cheerfully, while Sylvia peeks in warily. Due to his last conscious words, the secretary considered that Hater put Wander and Sylvia down as his emergency contacts. Hater is not himself. He's all loopy from the painkillers, and the dentist mentions casually they may have scrambled his brains a bit, but that'll wear off. In the meantime, Loopy!Hater is delighted to see Wander and Sylvia, because his drugged logic tells him that if they're his fremergency fronfracts, they must be his bestest friends!

Sylvia is a little weirded out by this series of events, but Wander takes it all in stride, certain that there's good in Hater somewhere, and that he may even think of Wander as a friend — kinda. So, as they Orbble their way through space back toward the Hatecraft, Loopy!Hater spots a fun and games planet, and decides he'd rather have fun. He breaks his Orbble off and heads for the bright lights. Wander is even more thrilled and breaks off his Orbble to join Hater for fun times, leaving Sylvia in a tiny, cramped Orbble. She has no choice but to follow the duo.

Thus begins at least a day of fun between the two great pals, Loopy!Hater and Wander, with Sylvia following along out of schadenfreude, and posting every minute of it to the galactic internet. Hater wins a spooky skull ring and tries to scare Wander, who knows he's only fooling. There's ice cream, pizza, fun in the ball pit, a whack-a-mole type game, and Sylvia captures it all on her phone. Loopy!Hater even thinks to himself (he thinks — he's really saying it out loud) about how Wander's a bit of a fool, but kind of cool.

For a moment, it looks like Hater's reverted to type as he has a little girl in his clutches. But it turns out that Loopy!Hater was just helping her up. He sets her back down gently.

Loopy!Hater: Bye, Olive! Good luck on that spelling test!

Eventually, even Sylvia is enjoying Loopy!Hater's company. They have more fun together, right up to Hater behaving exactly as Wander does in the opening, shot for shot — until they get to the Hatecraft.

Wander realizes that to be a good emergency contact, they have to see Hater safely home, but Hater is still loopy and refuses to go. Wander tries a few different ways to encourage him, but Loopy!Hater is scared of his own ship. Finally Wander decides to get mean and tell Loopy!Hater to get lost. Feeling betrayed that his best buddy would be so cruel, he gives back the skull ring and lets Peepers get him aboard the ship.

Sylvia consoles Wander, who eventually decides that it's better this way, because while they did have fun, and while deep deep deep deep deep deep deep deep down, Hater may have some good in him ... Hater was under the influence, and Hater should get to make the choice to be good and have fun unimpaired.

Meanwhile, the Hatecraft has moved on to the next planet in the Galactic Destruction Tour. The Watchdogs are deployed to start things off, but Loopy!Hater is still in good guy mode. He begins firing on his own troops, all the while singing his Good Guy Loopy!Hater theme song:

Loopy!Hater: [to the tune of Wander Over Yonder] ♫ Yip-bip-bi-dit-dit-dit! Hater makes it better! Yip-bip-bi-dit-dit-dit! Hater makes it better! ♫

Peepers has to yank him off the console and knock Hater unconscious to stop him!

Some time later, Hater wakens, back to himself, with memory of the previous day(s?) completely intact, but he believes it was all just a dream.

Commander Peepers: [voice dripping with profound disgust] If only ... sir.

The shot pulls back to reveal that Hater is in the infirmary, which is full to overflowing with watchdogs injured by Loopy!Hater's having fired on all of them. As Hater realizes what has happened, Peepers adds insult to injury by showing Hater all the posted photos Sylvia took of Loopy!Hater, including his semi-romantic "Can you read my mind?" monologue that he believed he was only thinking.

Enraged, Hater growls Wander's name and clenches his teeth so hard that they shatter out of his head, leaving only jagged edges. It'll be another dentist visit soon most likely.

Tropes appearing in The Fremergency Fronfract

  • Above the Influence: The platonic kind, where Wander merely wants Hater to befriend him, and subverted for most of the episode. Wander is having too much fun with Hater to care that he's Not Himself, and Sylvia is having a grand time taking videos of Loopy Hater and posting them for everyone to see.
  • Brain Freeze: Loopy Hater after eating an ice cream cone in one bite.
  • Call-Back: Olive is the same little girl who bought Sylvia a Thunder Blazz after Wander failed to in "The Nice Guy".
  • Chekhov's Gun: The embarrassing videos that Sylvia took and posted end up proving to Hater that his dream was in fact real.
  • Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: Hater sings a mangled version of the theme, with the chorus changed to "Hater Makes It Better".
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: When Loopy!Hater gives Olive (a little girl) a boost so that she may better see the crystals on Crystalline 7, he gets a warm feeling inside of him. Being an evil galactic villain, he's never had this before.
    Loopy!Hater: Is it heartburn?
  • Funny Background Event: While Sylvia and Wander argue over what to do with Loopy!Hater, they don't notice that Hater has separated from them and is floating behind them in his own bubble.
  • Here We Go Again!: Upon seeing the videos Sylvia took during some of his loopy ramblings, Hater begins gritting his teeth so furiously they break, necessitating another dentist appointment.
  • Impairment Shot: Hater, just as he goes under from the "anesthesia".
  • Instant Humiliation: Just Add YouTube!: Sylvia posts videos of Hater being loopy.
  • Mood Whiplash: At the end of the episode when Wander decides that he has to make sure Hater gets back to his ship. Suddenly the fun ride ends, much to Wander's consternation.
  • Non Sequitur, *Thud*: Loopy Hater blurts out "All we have to do is dish-wash the tinkle-kitten until the bandage is impossible, and we're floppin' chrome-scone!" before falling over on his face.
  • Opening Shout-Out: Loopy Hater reenacts the intro, taking Wander's place. He also stares up in shock and dismay when he sees his ship.
  • Parenthetical Swearing: Peepers' tone of voice when he uses his normal "sir" to address Hater sounds like he definitely would have preferred to call Hater something more colorful and less appropriate to Disney XD.
  • Questionable Consent: Of the platonic kind; Wander likes the fact that Hater is his friend, but he realizes that it's not ethical while Hater is under the influence of electric squid.
  • Self-Parody: At one point Loopy!Hater reenacts the show's theme song.
  • Shock and Awe: The dentist puts a face-hugger-like electric squid on Lord Hater's face in place of anesthetic, causing the loopiness.
  • Shoo the Dog: Wander is forced to do this to Loopy Hater to make him go home, reluctantly.
  • Shout-Out:
  • Spoof Aesop: "True friendship comes from the heart, not an electric squid to the face."
  • Suck E. Cheese's: Loopy Hater, Wander, and Sylvia go to one called Gelatinous Bob's.
  • Tastes Like Purple: "My mouth feels like purple."
  • Thinking Out Loud: Loopy Hater.
    Wander: I don't think he knows he's talkin' out loud.
    Sylvia: (shooting video with her cell phone) I'm countin' on it.
  • That Was Not a Dream: Hater believes the whole thing was a dream, until he realizes he's in his ship's infirmary with all the Watchdogs he blasted.
  • Title Drop: Hater says the title while trying to say "emergency contact" when his mouth is swollen from the dental procedure.
  • Wingding Eyes: Hater has these while he's loopy.

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The Boy Wander

A heroic Wander faces off against a villain no one takes seriously.

     Click to read long form recap 
It's a lovely, peaceful dawn as we join Wander and Sylvia, still snoozing aw— or not. It would appear that the Zbornak can't find a comfy sleeping position and is soon wide awake with multiple painful cricks in her neck. Wander asks if there is anything he can do for her, but is suddenly stopped in his tracks at the sight of the last feather from Sylvia's pillow. It looks kind of like a sinister smile! Wander tries to accept Sylvia's low-key philosophical notion that "pillows go flat all the time", but when he checks his own ...there's a whoopie cushion with a logo on it that fills him with dread!

Wander: To the lab!

At the lab (a mysterious dark cave in an unknown location), Wander reveals to Sylvia that an old enemy from his past has resurfaced — someone who is evil, but is convinced they're doing good. Cheery, bubbly Wander pulls a towel from his hat, and ties it around his neck to make a cape. He pulls his magic hat down over his eyes to make a mask, and declares in a deep, extremely serious and uncharacteristically grim voice, that he is the only one who can stop this villain.

Meanwhile — a glass case with a giant diamond is cut open, and a pair of dark hands remove it. But by the time Hero!Wander and Sylvia get there, the truth is revealed: the thief left the enormous gem, but only stole the pillow on which it rested. Dismayed at being too late, Hero!Wander departs again, leaving Sylvia to wonder what he's on about.

Their next stop is Emperor Awesome's place. The sharkhead is chilling like a villain in his hot tub with a couple of girls, but when Hero!Wander questions him about the whereabouts of his feather boa collection, Awesome dismissively says that he threw them away in favor of the new hot thing — a live boa constrictor. While Wander searches the trash, only to find that they're too late again and nothing remains but a rubber chicken, Awesome hits on an uninterested Sylvia.

Their third stop is the planet Cluckulon. The inhabitants of this planet, now being threatened by Hater, are all shivering and huddling to hide their nakedness as all their feathers have been stolen! Sylvia has, by this point, had enough of this mystery and demands to know what Wander is on about. Wander explains who he's after as an odd and whimsical ship casts its shadow over all assembled. Sylvia is not impressed.

Sylvia: This is who you think is the most dangerous villain in the universe?
Lord Hater: He what?!

The villain, having put his ship in hover mode, introduces himself as "the Mischievous Dr. Screwball Jones" and in a pun-loaded speech, reveals his master plan: to make everyone happy by hitting them the feather powered rays of his tickle machine. Hater and Peepers are not impressed, until the tickling goes from mildly amusing to torturous. The Cluckuons are in similar dire straits, so it's Hero!Wander and Sylvia to the rescue. Hero!Wander commands Screwball to stop but he refuses, bursting instead into song, trying also to persuade Wander to join him. Hero!Wander, as is standard procedure for a hero in this situation, stands his ground.

Hero!Wander: ♪ Screwball — you try too hard. ♪
Screwball Jones: ♫ Doctor Screwball, if you please! I've got an online PhD!! ♫

Hero!Wander tries to reason with the zany villain, reasoning that he can't force happiness on people. Screwball, undeterred, insists he can and pulls out his accordion, firing random music beams all over the inside of the ship. Wander retorts with his banjo and the musical duel is on! Hero!Wander gets Screwball on the back foot a couple of times, but it just doesn't last.

Screwball Jones: Hey, here's a joke! How are you — just like a lollipop stick?
In the end, you're both worn down by the force of my LICKS!!

When it all comes down to it, Hero!Wander's agility and determination are not enough. At heart, the little orange guy is a lover, not a fighter, and once a string on his banjo breaks, there's just not enough mojo left. He falls to the floor, bruised, battered, and defeated.

Before Dr. Screwball can deliver the coup de grace, Hero!Wander offers one last pun. As Screwball tries to guess what pun Wander will go for, Hero!Wander uses his ace up his sleeve — Sylvia. The banjo is no longer playable, but she uses it to smash the feathery power source of the tickle machine, turning it against its mad creator.

Screwball Jones: [through uncontrollable laughter] Hey! This isn't funny! I mean, it's kinda ironic, I guess... CURSE YOU WANDEEEEEEERRRRRR!!!!!!!

Hater, Peepers and the Cluckulons are free and Jones is blown back into space, cursing Wander as his voice fades off into the distance.

The evil now defeated, Hero!Wander removes his "superhero uniform" and returns to his usual friendly, happy-go-lucky self.

Lord Hater: ...what just happened?
Peepers: Looks like once again, the day is saved! Thanks to ... Wander and Sylvia.
Lord Hater: ...meh.

Tropes appearing in The Boy Wander

  • Achilles' Heel: Sylvia is ticklish on the backs of her knees, which is enough for her to fall victim to Dr Screwball Jones' tickle ray.
  • Added Alliterative Appeal: "What's the trouble? Snatched statues? Ransacked rubies? Misappropriated masterpieces?"
  • An Aesop: You cannot force people to be happy. True happiness comes from the heart.
  • Affectionate Parody: Of both the 1966 Batman and the Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale grim-n-gritty Batman films.
  • Badass in Distress: Sylvia is captured by Dr. Screwball and is subjected to his tickle ray.
  • Bat Deduction: How Wander determines where his as-yet-unrevealed enemy is going next after stealing the pillow under the gem.
    Wander: 3.14 are the first three digits in the numerical value of Pi, and pie is delicious, which rhymes with fishes. And if wishes were fishes we'd all have enough to eat. I know where he's going to strike next!
  • Batman Parody: Wander starts acting like the titular caped crusader to fight his Practically Joker nemesis Dr. Screwball Jones.
  • Battle Rapping: Wander's part of the Villain Song, unlike the way he usually does in series.
  • Beam-O-War: Screwball Jones and Wander do this with their accordion and banjo.
  • Big "NEVER!": Screwball lets one out when Wander orders him to let Sylvia go.
  • Big "WHAT?!": Hater releases an indignant "He what?!" on hearing that Wander thinks Dr. Screwball is the most dangerous villain in the galaxy.
  • Brick Joke: Remember the ending of "The Brainstorm''? This is one possible explanation for how Wander could defeat evil with a banjo.
  • Bond One-Liner: Wander delivers one right before tossing his banjo to Sylvia, who uses it to destroy the tickle machines' source. Dr. Screwball lets him deliver it, thinking it will be another cheesy pun. Which it is.
    Wander: How about Who's Laughing Now?
  • By the Lights of Their Eyes:
    • Screwball's eyeglass-lenses-with-spiral-pupils are the only thing visible in the dark, despite the fact that his body is lurid banana yellow.
    • Wander gets this when transforming into Super!Wander.
  • Call-Back:
    • Lord Hater and the Watchdogs return to conquer the planet Cluckon like they tried to do in "The Funk".
    • Sylvia is annoyed when she notices that she's trying to explain her joke like Wander did in "The Ball".
    • Emperor Awesome calls Sylvia "Becks" which is a reference to the name "Rebecca" that he gave her when he tried to make her his go-go dancer in "The Party Animal".
  • Calling Card: Dr. Screwball Jones leaves a couple - a whoopee cushion on Wander's pillow, and a rubber chicken on Emperor Awesome's trash can.
  • Calling Your Attacks: Dr. Screwball and Hero Wander do this.
  • The Comically Serious: Hero Wander. He acts all dark and broody, but it's hard to take him seriously because it's Wander, for crying out loud.
  • Cool Mask: Wander wears his hat like a mask when in superhero mode.
  • *Crack!* "Oh, My Back!": Sylvia has several visible cricks in her neck after sleeping poorly (thanks to Screwball Jones having stolen the feathers from her pillow sometime during the night).
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: Dr. Screwball subjecting everyone to his tickle machine, even as they beg him to stop, is disturbingly similar to assault in real life, and analogous to Getting Smilies Painted on Your Soul.
  • Everyone Has Standards: While Wander's ultimate goal in life is to spread happiness to everyone in the galaxy, even he knows that you can't force someone to be happy.
  • Evil Counterpart: Dr. Screwball Jones is one to Wander, exemplified when Wander uncovers his plan to force the whole universe to be happy.
    Sylvia: Isn't that, like, your whole deal?
    Wander: I only present the positive path, I don't force you to follow it.
  • Fight Clubbing: Wander was in earnest. Screwball was too, for certain definitions of earnest. But their fight was absolutely side-splitting fun for the viewers.
  • Fun Personified: Deconstructed. Screwball believes he is this; but Wander, who actually is this, knows that even the most fun-loving entity has crossed a line if they go from encouraging others to join the fun to trying to force it.
  • Getting Smilies Painted on Your Soul: Dr. Jones' modus operandi is making people happy whether they like it or not.
  • Good Hair, Evil Hair: Dr. Screwball Jones has a curly handlebar moustache, putting him firmly in the "questionable" zone. But his rainbow quasi-Monster Clown hair takes him all the way to disastrous.
  • Got Me Doing It: After catching herself making a one-liner about how Dr. Screwball Jones' evil scheme is "No laughing matter," Sylvia mutters "Great, now he's got me doing it."
  • Helpless with Laughter: In "The Boy Wander", Dr. Screwball Jones's evil plan is to force everyone in the galaxy to be happy by shooting them with a tickle ray that induces laughter to the point where the victim can't do anything else. Despite being blasted, Sylvia was able to direct her laughing fit to destroy the power supply freeing everyone from their fits.
  • Hero vs. Villain Duet: "Let the Pun Fit the Crime" becomes this midway through, as Wander tries to tell Screwball that forcing people to be happy is wrong and battles him.
  • Hurricane of Puns: Dr. Screwball Jones and Wander's entire battle.
  • Idiosyncratic Wipe: Spoofs the one for Batman.
  • Incredibly Long Note: Dr. Screwball at the third-to-last, second-to-last, and penultimate notes of his song.
  • Ink-Suit Actor: Dr. Screwball looks like — well, what "Weird Al" Yankovic would look like in a cartoon space themed universe.
  • Insistent Terminology: "Dr., Screwball, if you please! I've got an online PHD!"
  • Lyrical Dissonance: Played with. Screwball's Villain Song sounds fun and upbeat but there's a certain sinister undertone to both the lyrics and the melody.
  • Mood Motif: There's the Dramatic Sting when Wander spots a feather that looks uncannily like a smile, and another two seconds later when he finds the Screwball whoopie cushion in his pillow.
  • Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Dr. Screwball wears the mirror headband, but...
    Screwball Jones: DOCTOR Screwball, if you please! I've got an online PhD!
    [gestures with animate moustache to laptop Scotch Taped to the wall with the screen on said document]
  • Naked People Are Funny: The chicken-like aliens known as the Cluckons are shown to have their feathers plucked by Dr. Screwball Jones, leaving them embarrassed and trying to cover their featherless bodies while Lord Hater complains that he can see their "nuggets".
  • Near-Villain Victory: Just as Screwball thinks he made it, Wander tosses Sylvia his banjo. She fights off the tickle long enough to smash the feather containment and destroy the tickle machines' power source, which ultimately ruins Screwball's plan.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Dr. Screwball delivers one to Wander.
  • No-Nonsense Nemesis: Wander is this to Dr. Screwball, trying to take him down immediately. The problem is that Screwball won't go down without a fight and a Hurricane of Puns.
  • No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup: Averted; Dr. Screwball has TWO tickle machines, one that he can hold in his hand.
  • No-Sell: Subverted; Sylvia thinks that she's immune to Dr. Screwball's tickle machine, but she forgot that the backs of her knees are ticklish.
  • Oh, Crap!: Wander's expression when Screwball is close to winning.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: You know you're up against purest evil if WANDER, of all characters, decides to treat them as a threat.
  • Pie in the Face: Dr. Screwball tries this during his big fight with Wander. "Rhubarb or meringue?!"
  • Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Subverted; Sylvia delivers a good one — "Have I got a punchline for you!" — but Dr. Screwball incapacitates her with his tickle machine.
  • Pungeon Master: Both Wander and Dr. Screwball Jones. The Stinger has Jones composing his pun-filled speech and writing down the best ones.
  • Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Inverted. Emperor Awesome has a large boa constrictor he tries to flirt with by sticking his tongue out. The snake, offended, slaps him in the face with a coil. The reptile is attractive, but Awesome, as usual, is less attractive than he thinks he is.
  • Rule of Three: Wander is too late to catch Jones at the museum, and at Awesome's, but on Cluckon he meets his opponent.
  • Save the Villain: Averted with Dr. Screwball, but played straight with Lord Hater and Peepers. Peepers lampshades how he and Hater were the victims this time and Wander and Sylvia "saved the day".
  • Secret Identity Vocal Shift: Wander's usually high-pitched and peppy simpleton voice becomes deeper and more husky-like when he assumes his superhero form for the episode.
  • Shout-Out: This episode is chock full of them.
  • Special Guest: "Weird Al" Yankovic provides voice acting and singing for Dr. Screwball Jones.
  • Stealth Pun: Dr. Screwball Jones' handlebar mustache serves as his hands.
  • Superhero Episode: This episode features Wander donning a mask and a cape to fight someone he considers a real super-villain.
  • Tickle Torture: Dr. Screwball Jones administers it with his tickle gun.
  • Villain Ball: Dr. Screwball stealing the feathers from Sylvia's pillow and leaving a whoopie cushion with a Visual Pun (a screw and a baseball fused together) to let Wander know that he's returned. Given he incapacitated Lord Hater, Peepers Sylvia and the chickens in a matter of minutes, he would've succeeded in his goal if he hadn't bothered to let Wander know.
  • Villain Song: An epic one provided by "Weird Al" Yankovic, "Let the Pun Fit the Crime". And probably the only one that will ever be done in a polka style.
  • We Can Rule Together: Dr. Screwball offers this several times to Wander since they both want to "spread joy throughout the universe." Wander refuses because he knows that you can't force people to be happy.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Dr. Screwball Jones shares Wander's goal of wanting the entire universe to be happy and joyful. It's just he thinks he can bring this about through force.
  • Whole-Plot Reference: To the 1960's Batman series.
  • Wingding Eyes: Dr. Screwball's eyes are spinning spirals.

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