The Hero (The Amazing World of Gumball)

"The Hero" is the twenty-second episode of Season 2 of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the 58th episode overall. The episode was panned by fans, and it is considered (along with The Girlfriend) to be the worst episode of the entire show.

Plot
Richard overhears Gumball and Darwin making fun of him, hurting his feelings, they then have to take drastic measures to show he is their hero.

Why It's A Villain

 * 1) This episode is just a long Gumball and Darwin torture episode.
 * 2) Nicole and Anais are very unlikable in this episode. They went from loving and caring characters to evil people that just want to see Gumball and Darwin suffer, all because they insulted Richard, when they knew he was dumb, so they're major hypocrites.
 * 3) * In the first episode, "The DVD", Nicole explicitly stated there was nothing her kids could do that would get her to stop loving them, so apparently she went back on her word.
 * 4) There is a long gross-out sequence where all the food Gumball and Darwin brought from the grocery store turns rotten as soon as it's touched.
 * 5) Gumball isn't going to get off the hook completely. After all, he's the one that insulted Richard, ignored Darwin when he offered to apologize to Richard, and he acts like a jerk for some of the episode. But it still doesn’t justify the abuse he and Darwin receive.
 * 6) This episode is the embodiment of an over-reaction. Instead of giving Gumball and Darwin a talk or at the very least a punishment that wasn’t downright abusive, Nicole full-on abuses them, making them fend for themselves at a young age.
 * 7) * Also, Gumball and Darwin never really meant what they said as insults, something Nicole and Anais never even considered although what they said was genuinely hurtful even if it was true and they were also unaware that Richard had heard what they had said.
 * 8) There are a good amount of laws broken in this episode, like: Child abuse, child neglect, not providing for your kids, and probably some others. Those are the ones that stick out the most.
 * 9) None of the abuse Gumball and Darwin receive is even remotely funny due to it being too disturbingly realistic instead of being absurdly over the top to the point of it being funny.
 * 10) Penny is one of the students shown staying as far away as possible from Gumball and Darwin on the bus shortly before they are kicked off. While it’s made clear they do smell bad, it feels especially out of character since Penny is a very friendly, kind and caring person not to mention she and Gumball are in love with each other. So it doesn’t make any sense for her not to show concern or try to comfort him.
 * 11) * Even the more smarter or nicer characters also shown staying as far away as possible from Gumball and Darwin.
 * 12) ** Additionally nobody on the bus questions or shows any concern for their well being instead only caring about how bad they smell to the point they are kicked off for it which also feels rather cruel even if they do truly smell bad.
 * 13) Misleading title: This episode is called The Hero, but in the episode, there is barely any time involving anyone being a hero.
 * 14) Nicole and Anais never get punished for their horrible actions.
 * 15) * Worse, they were punishing them for "not respecting" Richard, something they don't even do, especially Nicole during The Deal episode, when she literally was insulting him after he stated he felt unappreciated by his work.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) Darwin is the most likable character in this episode.
 * 2) * Richard is somewhat likable, he saves Gumball and Darwin and also didn’t punish them and acted somewhat reasonable.
 * 3) * Despite being a jerk, Gumball becomes more likable in the end.
 * 4) The ending is heartwarming.
 * 5) The song "My Little Ones" is very good, if heartbreaking.
 * 6) The Richard Watterson dance was a hilarious moment and became one of the most famous scenes in Gumball history to the point where it spawned one of the biggest memes from the show, thus rising its popularity in the internet, similar to mh:besttvshows:Drake & Josh's "Whoa, just take it easy man" quote from another mediocre episode of the latter, Theatre Thug.

Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vqa5giRwGk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uZnGklwJsw