Everyone Knows It's Bendy (Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends)

Everyone Knows It's Bendy is episode 3b of the second season of mh:besttvshows:Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.

Plot
The parents of a boy named Gregory explain to the people at Foster's that his imaginary friend, Bendy, is constantly misbehaving, but Frankie and Mr. Herriman don't believe them. During his stay, Bendy proceeds to break a vase, eat chips while leaving crumbs on the floor, get Wilt's shoes all muddy and walk on the floor with them, touch a cake and then write all over the walls with a permanent marker. Bendy also frames other imaginary friends for his actions whenever he almost gets caught. Fed up, Bloo comes up with a plan to get Bendy caught by catching him stealing a cookie with a camera. Bendy tries to get rid of the evidence but ends up causing a much bigger mess which ends up resulting in the entire house getting flooded. Unfortunately, Bloo reveals that he set the whole scenario up and gets blamed for "flooding the house". Mac then shows up at the end, where he asks what has Bloo done, and Bloo says: "Bendy did it!". That causes Bendy (with his trad-mark even grin) to spray red paint on the screen (breaking the 4th wall) ending the episode.

Why Everyone Knows It Sucks

 * 1) Much like "Arnold Betrays Iggy" (from Hey Arnold!), & "The Hyakujuu Sentai, Defeated!!" (from Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger), this episode is very mean-spirited from start to finish, and very unpleasant in a lighthearted comedy show like Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends, due to how Bendy frames the innocent Imaginary Friends.
 * 2) * Speaking of Bendy himself, he is a very unlikable and one-dimensional character whose characterization only consists of framing people and other imaginary friends for no explainable reason whatsoever and gets away scot-free; he even makes nasty grins whenever he is about to do something bad like framing someone for his misdeeds and getting away scot-free after framing said someone. He also has an ear-piercing voice (courtesy of Jeff Bennett) which is very annoying to hear, especially when he fake-cries.
 * 3) Frankie and Mr. Herriman are completely out-of-character in this episode, believing Bendy over the other imaginary friends who lived in the house longer than he has. They even believe Bendy over Wilt and Eduardo, the first of which is a very nice, caring, and a kind imaginary friend who rarely lies at all and sees lying as being a deadly sin. And the second is known to be a very kind and gentle giant who tries his best to follow the rules of the house and dislikes being punished. If they were only like this towards Bloo, it would make sense since Bloo himself was already a huge troublemaker and they would have plausible doubt to not believe him.
 * 4) On that subject, while this would be understandable for Mr. Herriman to act like this (due to his more stricter nature), this is not the case with Frankie, she's suppose to be a lot more smarter then this, so to have Frankie believe in Bendy (who as describe earler, she's only known for a few minutes)makes her even more out-of-character.
 * 5) Horrible pacing; sometimes, the episode goes way too fast, and sometimes it goes on way too slow.
 * 6) Many scenes can get extremely frustrating, one of the most noticeable examples is how Bloo unwittingly lets himself get accused, such as taking the marker Bendy used to write on the walls, picking up the bat after Bendy runs from the scene only to have Coco accidentally take pictures of Bloo holding the bat and then leaving the victims' room to order Frankie and Mr. Herriman to come to the foyer by the way of the intercom while Bendy was insulting them, only for Bendy to run away while Bloo gets framed once again.
 * 7) The scene where Bloo, Wilt, Eduardo, and Coco try to get Bendy framed by attempting to take a picture of Bendy breaking a giant window with a baseball and baseball bat is rather pointless, and just an excuse to show how clever Bendy is.
 * 8) Many mean-spirited moments, one example is near the beginning of the episode, Bendy comes in the room, Bloo sees Bendy and when all he does is ask Bendy if he wanted to play four, Bendy (for absolutely no reason) knocks the vase off the television and runs off.
 * 9) Some of the jokes can get very cruel; one example is during the intercom scene while Bloo gets framed, according to Bendy, he was at the bathroom using his toothbrush to clean the toilets while Bloo was the one who was insulting Frankie and Mr. Herriman though the intercon, which sounds funny at first, but after Mr. Herriman bands Bloo from his favorite things until further notice, Bendy walks close to Bloo and, with a grin, says "By the way, this is your toothbrush.", before running off and laughing like a maniac, so to put is simply, Bendy uses Bloo's toothbrush to clean the toilets; that alone is beyond mean, even for a villain, not to mention very disgusting.
 * 10) This episode later on in the middle becomes a very cruel Bloo torture episode, as he gets both framed and mistreated by Bendy when the latter tries his hardest to get him frame, such as getting blamed for drawing on the wall with a marker after he grabs the marker from Bendy's hand just as Frankie and Mr. Herriman walk into the incident, getting the blame for destroying a window when Frankie looks at the pictures of Bloo holding the bat that was accidental taken pictures by Coco, and even worst is the Intercon scene, as in this part in particular, not only does Bloo get frame once again after Bendy runs away when Bloo snatches the Intercon Devise and attempts to call in Mr. Herriman and Frankie, as well as unfairly get grounded until further notice, Bendy (as describe in the #7 segment) use's Bloo's toothbrush to clean the toilets, and then perceived to rub it in Bloo's faces as he says "By the way, this is your toothbrush.", before running off and laughing like a maniac as Bloo looks at the camera with a VERY distorted looking expression on his face, which is not only cruel as that toothbrush in particular originally belong to Mac, but its nothing more than the episode delivering one final blow to Bloo.
 * 11) Granted, Bloo has nothing to blame but himself since he technically lets himself get accused, but even then, that does not excuse the amount of torture Bloo gets in this episode, as well as the toothbrush incident.
 * 12) Bendy never gets any comeuppance for his actions against Bloo, Wilt, Eduardo, and Coco, and both Frankie and Mr. Herriman also never got any comeuppance for how they acted to Bloo, Wilt, Eduardo, and Coco.
 * 13) This episode which was originally going to be 22 minutes long having been shortened to 13 to 14 minutes long, resulted in forming major plot holes, most notably on why Bendy frames all the imaginary friends for no real reason whatsoever in this episode.
 * 14) In addition to being very mean-spirited, the plot of this episode is also very repetitive, as after Bendy is introduced, it just consists of Bendy framing the main cast (mainly Bloo) and getting away with it while the main cast receives a punishment.  This goes on and on until mid-way of the episode when Bloo decides to get revenge by trying to turn the tables on Bendy.
 * 15) In addition to that, the episode is also predictable, as it is easy to tell that Bendy is going to be a trouble maker due to the title being called "Everyone Knows It's Bendy". Even the frustrating scenes is predictable, notably when Bloo grabs the Intercon from Bendy's hand and attempts to call Mr. Herriman and Frankie, you can easily tell that Bloo's going to get blame while Bendy gets off scot-free, and it falls flat as a result.
 * 16) This episode is just basically a one-dimensional cliché where when one character does something wrong and the character who calls them out on it is the jerk and ends up getting crap throughout the episode while the character who committed the wrong act gets pleasure and never learns a lesson.
 * 17) Wasted Potential: An episode in which the idea of a person thought to be nice when in truth he/she was actually naughty was interesting; the problem was that the episode didn't handle it very well at all.
 * 18) There are some bad morals taught in this episode, as though its plot teaches that being a bully to others is okay and that standing up for yourself is wrong. This is shown early on in the episode during the scene where Bendy frames Eduardo, Wilt, Coco, and Bloo when the main cast all try to stand up to Bendy by accusing him, only to get punished for it when Bendy keeps drawing the victim card.
 * 19) Horrible ending: Bloo gets framed for "flooding the house", even though it was Bendy that did it, they don't even yell at Bendy for eating Frankie's cookies, making it feel like they're yelling at Bloo for "flooding the house" is a poor excuse just to have Bloo get in trouble and Bendy get away scot-free once again, granted Bloo did technically set Bendy up that cause the house to get flooded, but that's still very frustrating. The episode also ends with absolutely nothing getting resolved with Bloo on the verge of being severely punished once again.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) The beginning of the episode is nicely well-handled much like any other episode of the show.
 * 2) Bendy's design is pretty decent but not as great as previously mentioned.
 * 3) There are some funny moments, such as the scene where Bloo and Bendy have a laughing contest as well as the scene where Bendy attempts to draw on the picture on his hand with a pen, only for it to squirt ink all over his face.
 * 4) Bloo at least gets his revenge on Bendy by putting him through the idea he has, despite making a bad move in front of him, breaking it.

Reception
This episode was ultimately panned by critics and fans alike and is regarded as one of the worst episodes, so much so that even writers Craig McCracken and Lauren Faust had regretted making it and airing it. It is often even cited by many fans and many critics as the absolute worst episode of the show and one of the worst mean spirited episodes in a cartoon series.

Many critics and fans had cited immense hate and disgust not only to Bendy, but also towards Frankie and Mr. Herriman, often citing that they were too out-of-character and way too cruel to Bloo, Wilt, Eduardo, and Coco. Grey DeLisle and the late Tom Kane, the voices to Frankie and Mr. Herriman, have admitted themselves to have had disgust voicing their parts in this negative manner. DeLisle even felt ashamed of the way her role as Frankie was written into this episode and felt sorry for the children and viewers who had watched that were upset.

The mean-spiritedness of the episode has also been widely hated by fans and critics, with Bendy framing innocent Imaginary Friends for no reason what-so-ever, Eduardo, Wilt, Coco, and Bloo getting harshly punished by Frankie and Mr. Herriman when framed by Bendy, and later on, Bloo getting grounded near the end of the episode, it was not pleasant in an otherwise light-hearted comedy show, and Fans did not like it one bit.

Critics and fans were also bothered by the episode's abrupt and rushed ending, with Bloo taking the fall trying to get revenge on Bendy by flooding the house, only to have Bendy walking away scot-free with no punishment or guilt for his actions. Critics had stated that the ending ruins the episode even further since Frankie and Mr. Herriman don't learn from their mistakes and don't apologize to Bloo, Walt, Coco, and Eduardo; and also do not hold Bendy accountable for all of his wrongdoings.

Bendy would be regarded as one of the most despised characters in not only Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends history, but also cartoon character history. Due to Bendy's harsh backlash, the backlash towards Mr. Herriman and Frankie, and even the episode's extremely poor and hate from critics and fans alike; the decision for Craig McCracken, Lauren Faust, and other writers of the show would be unanimous... Bendy would be ultimately removed from the show and never be seen or mentioned again. Faust and McCracken even apologized in regards to the episode, the bad writing, and for making the concept Bendy's character though some have still not forgiven them due to to them not apologizing for the other bad episodes. To make up for it, Bendy would ultimately be declared as a non-canon character, and the episode itself was also declared as not canon to the rest of the Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends series. The character would no longer exist on the show, and the negative actions and punishments enforced by Mr. Herriman and Frankie would be stated to have never happened.

For a while, this was widely considered as the absolute worst episode in the show, that is... until season 3 when "Imposters Home for Um... Make Em' Up Pals" aired, and now it is debatable which is the official WORST episode in the entire Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends series.

Trivia

 * This episode is known for its odd running-time of thirteen to fourteen minutes, which is three to four minutes longer than an average eleven-minute long episode. This is because this episode was originally going to be twenty-two minutes long, but when Cartoon Network decided to switch from a half-hour episode to a quarter-hour episode for unknown reasons, several key moments had to be dropped, such as Bendy getting his comeuppance.
 * Originality, when "Everyone Knows It's Bendy" first came out, there was gonna be another episode were Bendy appears, however after seeing the overwhelming negative criticisms that both Bendy and the episode got, the writers have decided to not have Bendy appear in later episodes.
 * This is the first episode in the Fosters Home for Imaginary Friend series to be considered as non-canonical to the whole series. Due to Bendy's and the episode's poor reviews by critics and audiences alike, he was ultimately removed from the show and is never seen or mentioned again. The episode is also declared by Faust and McCracken in the story sense to also have never chronologically happened.
 * Although, one of the only times this episode was somewhat referenced to was in the Season 3 episode "Setting a President", when Mac, during the presidential debate, mentioned that Bloo has caused large amounts of trouble since he came to Foster's, which included flooding the house. Whether or not Mac was talking about the incident from the episode "Everyone Knows It's Bendy", or an entirely different incident that was never seen before, is entirely uncertain. Besides this slight reference, Bendy was still ultimately declared as a non-canon character to the show, and the episode itself was still declared by the writers as non-canon to the series.
 * Even though Bendy is one of the most hated characters in this episode, some fans think that Frankie and Mr. Herriman should also get just as much hate (though not nearly as much hate as Bendy) due to their questionable actions throughout the whole episode:
 * The first of which is how out-of-character both Frankie and Mr. Herriman are by believing Bendy over the other Imaginary Friends who has lived in Fosters longer than he has. While it's understandable for Frankie and Mr. Herriman to not believe Bloo and (to some lesser extent) Coco, them not believing Eduardo and Wilt is a whole different story, because Eduardo is a gentle character who hates doing bad things, and Wilt is a super kind-hearted Imaginary Friend who hates lying.
 * The second of which is how cruel they are when it comes to punishing Eduardo, Wilt, Coco, and Bloo after Bendy frames them for his deeds. While it's understandable for them to be like that with the case when thinking that Wilt and Bloo were the ones that got the walls all muddy and wrote on the walls with a permanent marker respectively, punishing Eduardo and Coco when they are believed to have both left crumbs on the floor and touching a cake respectively, both of which are very minor and (in the case with crumbs) can even be fixed is often considered SUPER harsh and very out-of-character for Frankie and Mr. Herriman to punish them like that.
 * The third of which is how before the climax where Bendy and Bloo have a laugh off, Mr. Herriman yells at Bloo to stop laughing and only assume that it's him that was laughing, even though there were clearly two different voices.
 * The fourth of which is how during the climax of the episode when Bendy is trying to clean off the ink. They believe that it's Bloo who's in the bathroom and also only assume that it's him. This shows that they overthink too far.
 * The fifth/final of which is that they only blame Bloo for flooding the house... and yet they don't yell at Bendy for eating Frankie's cookies as well as make a mess with the ink, even though he is the one who did it.
 * This is especially questionable since before this, Frankie and Mr. Herriman were all wondering about Frankie's cookies and the ink, only to then be mad at Bloo for "flooding the house" after the latter tells them that. This hints that in some ways, Frankie and Mr. Herriman are infamously making EXCUSES to have Bendy look so innocent.
 * Because of the five reasons, coupled with the fact that Frankie and Mr. Herriman just ignore Bendy with the cookie and ink incident, this genially implies that Frankie and Mr. Herriman might secretly know that Bendy is the troublemaker, and are just saying that to make Bendy look innocent. This shows that Frankie and Mr. Herriman are being very stubborn, which makes them very unlikable.
 * Due to the negative reception of the episode, Bendy never reappeared in an episode of the show after this episode. Despite this, his signature was seen in Mac's "Goodbye" card in the series finale episode "Goodbye to Bloo" which angered fans, as it means that this episode is canon, though it might be referring to another Imaginary Friend who's name is also Bendy.
 * There are a couple of theories of why Bendy is the way he is; mainly, Gregory might have framed Bendy for his actions. The other is Bendy truly being a psychopath.