Girl Trouble (Hey Arnold!)

Girl Trouble is an episode from the Nickelodeon show mh:besttvshows:Hey Arnold!.

Plot
When Arnold gets tired of Helga bullying him every day, Grandpa tells him a story about a little girl who did the same thing to him when he was a little kid, who turns out to be Pookie.

Why It's Trouble

 * 1) This is pretty much a torture episode for Arnold while he was at school, as Helga’s usual bullying of him goes too far. This includes how he got glue and feathers stuck to his butt, how he stepped in gum, and how Helga got paint on him.
 * 2) Helga is very unlikeable in this episode. She doesn’t even apologize back after Arnold apologizes to her for snapping at her.
 * 3) This episode is also pretty mean-spirited, as the students laugh at Arnold after Helga pranks him, and Arnold is punished while Helga isn’t.
 * 4) While Grandpa Phil tried to give some good advice to Arnold, he didn’t make it clear and that made Arnold do the wrong thing when dealing with Helga’s bullying, by pouring paint on her back.
 * 5) While it was satisfying to see Arnold stand up to Helga, it backfires at him as Helga made him do what she wanted during their project anyways, and also, Arnold got in trouble for pouring paint on her, but Helga got away with her actions.
 * 6) Helga never got any comeuppance for what she did to Arnold.
 * 7) Mr. Simmons is useless and hypocritical in this episode. After Arnold throws the paint on Helga, he gives Arnold detention, but he ironically did nothing when Helga threw feathers on Arnold and made everyone laugh at him.
 * 8) Horrible ending: After giving Arnold detention for nothing, Mr. Simmons lets Helga get off the hook for what she did and doesn't send her to the Principal's office. WHY WOULD HE DO THAT!?
 * 9) Once again Grandpa Phil is completely out of character like he was in "Arnold Betrays Iggy".
 * 10) Grandma Gertie was of no help either nor does she recall getting Phil in trouble for what she did when they were school kids.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) The episode started fine until Helga started bullying Arnold.
 * 2) Most of the characters are still likable in this episode, especially Arnold, as he stood up to Helga for her bullying, tried to and later understood his Grandpa’s advice, and he later apologized to Helga for pouring paint on her.
 * 3) This episode gave us a decent and informative way on how Grandpa Phil and Grandma Gertie meet.
 * 4) Helga did at least feel bad for bullying Arnold and felt relieved when he apologized to her, even if it doesn’t excuse her actions.
 * 5) Arnold standing up to Helga’s bullying was satisfying, even the part where he poured paint on her right back.

Reception
This episode is often disliked by fans because of Helga going too far with bullying, being much crueler than her usual antics, and not getting consequences for her actions (or even apologizing for it), while Arnold gets in trouble for retaliating, despite Helga starting it.