Grounded (Ben 10: Alien Force)

"Grounded" is an episode from Ben 10: Alien Force, it is the seventh episode of the second season, is the twentieth episode of the Ben 10: Alien Force series and is overall the sixty-ninth episode of the Ben 10 series.

Plot
When Ben accidentally reveals his secret identity as an alien changing superhero to his parents, he and Gwen both get grounded for it, forcing Kevin to continue fighting the Highbreed and the DNAliens on his own.

Why It's Grounded

 * 1) This episode is a very cruel torture episode for Ben (and later Gwen) as he gets grounded by his parents because he repeatedly kept secrets from them involving his career as a superhero. Ben keeps losing his privileges throughout the episode simply for trying to help Kevin.
 * 2) Ben’s parents, Carl and Sandra Tennyson are very unlikable in this episode as they were mean and cruel to Ben by repeatedly punishing him for helping his friends and using the Omnitrix.  They even force Ben to rat out Gwen and get her grounded by threatening further punishment to Ben, how mean-spirited can they get?!
 * 3) Also, if they grounded Ben and Gwen for a long time, Kevin could have been badly injured or possibly killed.
 * 4) Prior episodes in the series including that of the original series had Ben learn that being a hero is not about being selfish and is about helping others as he will be more rewarded and remembered in the end.  Ben underwent positive character development and became a compassionate person who helps others. After seeing Ben try to help others in this episode, Ben’s parents repay him for it by grounding him, which is completely unfair.
 * 5) The tone of this episode is incredibly jarring for a "Ben 10" episode that is part of the “Alien Force” series, as Ben 10: Alien Force is known for being more serious and having more drama and action then most other Cartoon Network shows. However, this episode has a very mean-spirited tone that jarring for a typical “Alien Force” episode, as it is a generic "Grounded" episode, which is extremely lazy and utterly out-of-place in an TV action drama cartoon show like Ben 10: Alien Force.
 * 6) The way Sandra forces Ben to rat out Gwen is baffling as she makes a Ben do it by giving him the “mom look”.
 * 7) A lot of bland filler.
 * 8) Plot Holes:
 * 9) It is never explained how Ben’s parents managed to get on a boat in the middle of the sea while Ben was on it to save Kevin after Ben ran away from his house.
 * 10) Also, why did Ben use Echo Echo to sneak out of the house, when he could have used a different alien like Goop, Jetray or Big Chill to escape and not be caught?
 * 11) Ben also transforms right in front of his house, where his parents could clearly see him transforming. He could have waited until he got somewhere far away from them, like a park, city or forest to transform.
 * 12) Continuity Error: Gwen gets grounded in this episode for helping out her cousin and Kevin, even though previous episodes in this series and the original had her parents already know that Gwen is helping people and using her powers for good.
 * 13) However, there is possibilities that Carl and Sandra Tennyson might have threatened Gwen's parents off-screen if they don't ground her.
 * 14) Carl and Sandra never get punished for their harsh actions toward Ben, nor do they even apologize to Ben for their behavior even after realizing that their son’s job as a superhero is important and that he is trying to help people.
 * 15) In addition to being very mean-spirited, the plot of this episode is also very repetitive, as after Ben's secret is revealed, it just consists of poor Ben trying to help his friends, only to receive a punishment by his parents. This goes on and on until near the end of the episode when Ben calls his parents for their behavior and turn into Humungousaur to stop the Highbreed.
 * 16) This episode also feels like a rip-off of The Powerpuff Girls episode "Daylight Savings", as both episodes revolves around a hero getting punish for trying to save the world.
 * 17) There are some really bad morals taught throughout this whole episode, as its plot teaches that helping others is wrong and you will be punished for it, this is shown throughout the episode when Ben tries to help his friends, only for him to get punished for it.
 * 18) This episode somewhat comes across as filler, as not much happens aside from Ben's parents finding out about Ben's secret, and the Highbreed making an appearance.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) Ben is likable in this episode even though he does rat out Gwen, but that was because his mother forced him to. He later does gets fed up with his parents and calls them out for their behavior, and breaks out of his house as Humungousaur to help save Kevin.
 * 2) Gwen and Kevin are also likable as Gwen does try to help out Kevin too despite being grounded.
 * 3) Good ending: Ben's parents do realize that their son’s job as a superhero is important and that he is trying to help people, and they even helped Ben and Kevin defeat the Highbreed using an old Plumber gun, and they later hung the aforementioned gun on the wall.
 * 4) There are a few funny moments here and there, like Echo Echo breaking out of the house.
 * 5) Like what RQ 1 says, the scene where Ben turns into Humungousaur and breaks out of his house to help save Kevin and defeat the Highbreed was satisfying after seeing him get punished multiple times by his parents.
 * 6) While Ben 10 getting punished by his parents is mean-spirited, it was at least not as mean-spirited as Ben getting punished by his Grandpa and arguing with him in the Ben 10 classic season 1 episode "Kevin 11".
 * 7) It can be relatable to some kids/teenagers who are always getting grounded.
 * 8) Later appearances of Sandra and Carl show that they have improved.
 * 9) On that subject, while it is cruel that they punish Ben, they probably only did that because they don't want Ben to get hurt.
 * 10) Some Ben 10 fans may like this episode.

Reception
While the episode got a 7/10 on IMDb, it received larger negative reviews, which many fans criticized the episode for its jarring tone and for being mean-spirited to Ben, its often considered as the worst episode in the show.

Trivia

 * This is the first time Gwen's been grounded.

Videos
