1001 Animations: The Choices

Show: The Amazing World of Gumball
Episode: 162
Year: 2016

Writer(s): Ben Bocquelet, Jon Foster, James Lamont, Tobi Wilson, Nathan Auerbach, Daniel Berg,  Joe Parham

I'm really sad to hear that The Amazing World of Gumball is going to end soon, but I am glad they finally decided to do THIS episode later than never. You know how in your typical sitcom, the pretty girl is married to the fat, bumbling moron of a dad? One question they ask themselves is "Where did it all go wrong?" or they get asked "Why do you stay with him if you're far too good for him?", but it's very rare we ever get an insightful answer that isn't just a stupid joke. With a show like The Amazing World of Gumball. Whose specialty is deconstructing many of the typical television tropes we get the answer I've been searching for, and it really puts aloft of what Nicole and Richard have done in previous episodes into perspective to make me believe they truly belong with each other.

 

This episode leads us into Nicole's childhood where she flashes back to that fateful day she met Richard, right before her karate tournament of all things! We also get our first real glimpse of Nicole's parents who are your typical overachieving pressuring types who only care if their daughter is perfect (she got an F in gender, so she didn't get straight A's); this definitely explains Nicole's competitive and hardworking nature to want to provide to the best of her abilities. And then it happens… she stumbles upon this fat bunny stuck in a tree after getting lost in the way to the tournament, and thus begins the new life of Nicole Watterson.

 

But what if Nicole hadn't met Richard on that fateful day? What would her life be like if she instead hooked up with Banana Bob? Harold Wilson? Mr. Small????? And a myriad of other small seemingly innocuous decisions relating to that day; many of which end in her death! It's very much like someone who took a Choose Your Own Adventure story and ponders what would happen if they didn't take the right path and get the good ending. Just like in Dragon's Lair, these alternate paths will end with Nicole as bones or worse! Sure, maybe Nicole is just exaggerating, but can you blame her? With how INSANE everyone in Elmore is, could you honestly say you'd be happy married to a banana or a hippie!? 

 

The last few minutes of the episode are what make this among my favorite in the series. Richard may have been kind of dumb as a kid, but he was very sweet, honest and damn inquisitive! Through his inane questioning, Nicole realizes that she doesn't have to live through what her parents what to pressure her with. Nicole finally gets to start LIVING LIFE instead of LIVING THROUGH her parents thanks to the big oaf! I don't exactly think comparing the moments leading up to present day to the beginning of Up are exactly fair, considering Up's significance as one of the few things holding 2009 together, but they are of similar quality and quite the tearjerkers. 

 

And yes, Richard and Nicole DID in fact get married because he got her pregnant! They do not play it for laughs, but for real drama! I can't imagine what love making must've been like with a sheltered man-child. Probably how Goku and Chi-Chi conceived Gohan! Oh wait, Goku's smarter! My point being, Nicole and Richard don't just stay together to keep the kids happy or to spite their parents; I mean, those ARE reasons, but they aren't the MAIN REASONS! The reason Nicole and Richard stay together, in spite of their differences and every crazy fucking thing they've been through in life, is because they genuinely love one another as lone wolves who don't have anyone else; they also keep each other in check with their personalities to balance one another very well. And you won't see that coming out of stuff like (modern) Family Guy or The (modern) Simpsons!

The Amazing World of Gumball is owned by Cartoon Network Europe.

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