Season 3, Episode 50: "Fair to Cloudy"

Hey, guys! After you check out this week's review, look up at the links--I added a new FAQ (frequently asked questions) page that provides answers to all your burning ATBG questions.


The girls are making lemonade in the Foutley kitchen in honor of their annual trip to the county fair. There's a truckload of exposition about their previous experience at this fair, and Dodie especially puts a lot of emphasis on how it's unchanging, and we all know that when someone puts emphasis on a certain adjective, you know something in the plot is going to change that--and that change is Ginger inviting Darren along. Naturally, Dodie is pissed:

Ginger tries to convince them that Darren is totally into funnel cakes and ferris wheels, but Dodie and Macie (and when I say that, I mean mostly Dodie) speculates that Ginger just wants to bring him along for some steamy make-out sessions and over-the-shirt groping. Somehow, Ginger manages to convince Dodie that there won't be any sexy stuff (because the God of Nickelodeon knows damn well she'd be jealous of Darren sitting next to Ginger on all the two-seater rides), so she reluctantly agrees to let him come along.

"My hands are cold, too, Ginger."

Hoodsey is totally stoked to see a live camel at the county fair, but Carl has other plans. Remember Dwayne? His cousin is hosting a conglomerate of carnies--you know, a freak show. Except this year, there's going to be a two-headed horse. Carl would have to be in a coma to pass up the chance to see that. Hoodsey totally fangirls over this two-headed equus ferus, And so, the camel is out and the horse is in.

While Dodie annoys Hoodsey about Ginger bringing Darren to the fair on their walk home together, Courtney pulls up in the Griplingmobile and asks for Dodie's advice on how to spend her last days of summer. But she advises her not to come too close, otherwise she'll catch a case of summer boredom. Courtney definitely has caught something, but not boredom, to even form the idea in her subconscious to talk to Dodie.

Before I continue, I must ask--how many times has Courtney worn that brown button-down shirt with that preppy skirt? For someone obsessed with fashion, and in a cartoon where the characters frequently change their wardrobe, Courtney has been recycling that outfit an awful lot. It's not only out-of-character, but it's an oddity for the show. Still, one day, I'm going to find and wear that outfit.

Anyway, Dodie spills her problem on Courtney, and then suddenly gets an idea on how to both ruin Ginger's fun and help Courtney at the same time. This is not going to be good.

While Lois makes breakfast from a week-old Tex-Mex casserole (eww), Darren pops in to pick up Ginger for the fair. Carl asks Darren if he wants to go see the cooler side of the fair, but Ginger butts in saying that he'll have much more fun petting bunnies and getting stuck on rides. Darren doesn't catch Ginger's obvious flirting, which isn't like him.

Anyway, Winston drives up to the Foutley house to pick up the kids, and out pops Courtney sporting overalls and Laura Ingalls braids. It's adorable how Courtney tries to dress for the occasion, but on the other, it makes me wonder if she understands the difference between stereotypes and reality.

Ginger, Macie, and Darren are totally flabbergasted at Courtney seemingly inviting herself to the fair, and it's all thanks to Dodie. And by the looks of it, Dodie looks pretty damn satisfied with her pathetic form of revenge.

Honestly, how twisted must one teen be to think that further breaking their "best friend tradition" by inviting yet another person to the fair counts as revenge? Dodie actually looks like this is going to cause Ginger serious emotional trauma. From an outsider's point-of-view, you'd think Dodie was an idiot. In Dodie's mind, however, this is a direct attack on Ginger which, indeed, will bother her. Dodie knows exactly how to hurt Ginger--that's no question. It's revenge for inviting Darren. Revenge for Darren "stealing" Ginger away from her. Revenge for Darren getting his headgear off and getting hot and dating Ginger. If I haven't said it yet, Dodie seriously needs to cut her umbilical cord and grow the fuck up already.

As soon as the kids get to the fair, Darren already makes a plan to hit a few rides, grab a corndog, and split by one. Damn, what a wet blanket. Somehow, I don't think Darren even wanted to go to the fair at all--not even with just Ginger. Ginger most likely knows this, and probably had to bribe him with a handjob.

Carl and Hoodsey ask Ginger for money to get Lois a new potato peeler, but Ginger is onto Carl, and speculates that he's just going to spend the money on his own selfish wants. Carl expects this, so he congratulates Ginger on her skepticism and walks off to see the horse anyway. What was the purpose of asking Ginger for money, then?

Ginger busts Darren's balls for not being able to watch him eat a cinnamon bun for the first time, and then scoffs at him for wanting to ride the rides to the point of puking. Looks like nobody is getting their "perfect" fair day, huh?

Dodie and Macie give Courtney a mini tour of the sheep barn full of these fluffy clouds with faces who are getting ready for a show competition. Courtney, naturally, is attracted to this fashion opportunity. They even show her their favorite sheep, Mamie, but she won't be in the competition on account of her uterus has popped out a tiny fluffy cloud with a tiny face. Squeeeeee! I mean baaaahhhhh!

The lamb is female. Know how I can tell? She has eyelashes.

Apparently, the little lamb is having some trouble getting a latch on her mother's nipple, so the girls stay behind to help.

Ginger drags Darren into the barn, and he's clearly not into all the fluffy cuties. The smell alone is enough to get him ready to high-tail it the moment he enters. Ginger, at this point, is getting pissed, both at Dodie who's rushing her and Darren who doesn't want to do anything. Hell, I'd be pissed too if I was Ginger right now. Rides are fun, but little baby sheep aren't going to stay babies forever! No, but seriously, I actually have to side with Dodie for the third time in the entire series--bringing Darren along really is ruining their fun, for everyone Ginger included. If just Ginger, Macie, and Dodie went, they'd get to do everything they wanted and be happy, and not have to have a grumpy new football freshman tugging at Ginger's sleeve in boredom every time they take a step. Seriously, Darren, what's your deal? If you're so bored, just go off and do what you want. You don't have to stay with Ginger.

Courtney delivers the funniest line of the season thus far:

"Come on, none of this silliness. You can reject your mother later, when you're a teenage lamb." - Courtney

And Ginger's response to that is priceless:

So, the lamb is finally able to suckle, all thanks to Courtney. The sheep farmer comes over and congratulates Courtney on a job well done. Darren is so grossed out by these natural animal behaviors that he runs out of the barn to chase and tackle his manhood before it gets eaten by the sheep. And then Dodie makes a smug comment about it that seriously makes me want to punch her in the face twice.

Carl seeks out Dwayne's cousin and is able to get the location of the two-headed horse, plus a roll of tickets. Such smooth-talking. If this were a darker show, Carl would definitely be a drug lord by the time he's fifteen.

Dodie and Macie take Courtney through a craft barn, and Courtney sits down with an old woman who's making cloth. By this point, Darren has had enough. He whines to Ginger and asks why they can't just go off by themselves, but Ginger doesn't want to break from Dodie and Macie because if she does, Dodie will be right about Ginger only wanting to invite Darren along so they can be alone together. Ginger banishes Darren to go look at old furniture while she has a quick talk with Dodie and Macie. She actually has the gall to say that Courtney is ruining their fun time--an obvious cover-up to avoid admitting that Dodie was *gasp* right. She then tells Dodie that she should have never invited Courtney along without consulting her first, but Dodie makes a valid point that she shouldn't have invited Darren along, either.

Okay, pause for a moment. Now, I don't want you to think that what Dodie did was any more justifiable than what Ginger did. Two wrongs don't make a right, you know. But I will say that Dodie has a solid argument--this fair is supposed to be meant for the three of them, and the three of them only. It's their tradition. But now, Ginger thinks it's okay to bring Darren along just because they're dating, even though Dodie and Macie clearly didn't want him to come. Ginger had to beg them to invite Darren, even though she knew this was against their set plan. Not to mention, Ginger wanted Darren to come along so badly, and yet she ignores him and his whines of boredom.

So, when Dodie does the same thing back to Ginger, Ginger complains that what Dodie did was wrong. Man, if that's not the pot calling the kettle black, then the pot needs some glasses.

I really hate to sympathize with Dodie because she's just as much a bitch, but Ginger just does not see how hypocritical she's being. It's like Ginger is no longer just Ginger anymore--she's now Ginger and  Darren--because now he is practically part of her. That is not healthy.

And another thing that pisses me off is that Ginger considers Courtney her friend, but she doesn't want to share her "best friend tradition" with her--but with Darren. I still stand by what I said several episodes ago about how Ginger and Courtney could never truly become friends. Because Ginger doesn't want to be friends with Courtney. She'd rather spend her time with a known backstabbing, social-climbing bitch than someone who has been nothing but kind and generous to her since the first episode. And yet this show is supposed to mimic real life. Get the fuck outta here!

Rant over. Darren exits the barn telling Ginger that he's sick and tired of being dragged around doing shit he doesn't want to do, so he's off to eat pizza and puke it all out on some rides. Good on you, Darren. Nice to see you're not Ginger's carpet.

Lately, it's been getting harder for me to accept Ginger as a likeable character. 

So, the wheels must finally be turning in Ginger's head after all--she can't satisfy the wants of her friends and Darren at the same time. I know what Ginger wanted to do--she wanted to have the fun she has with Dodie and Macie, but with Darren along. But it can't work if one party isn't having fun. That's why people say to keep your friends and love life separate.

Carl and Hoodsey nearly pee their pants in anticipation of the horse. They get inside the tent and start checking out the smaller oddities before they make it to the big attractions, and they don't look very impressed. Like, a capybara being advertised as the world's largest mouse--as if it's the largest of its kind. The way this scene is set up makes it seem like this two-headed horse is going to be a fraud like the other animals. Carl is so upset at the crowd's aggressiveness trying to squeeze their way to the front that he suddenly feels bad about the horse's exploitation. Not that this is out of character for Carl--he's shown to have a big heart for animals. But then he becomes so motivated that he leaps onto the back of the horse (horses?) and rides it out of the tent. Shouldn't there be security guards to prevent this? A taller fence? Anything?

There's something off about the lighter-colored horse... I wonder why...

Carl rides the creature through the fair, past Ginger, who doesn't give a crap. Because this is Carl. Anyway, Courtney leads the girls over to a picture T-shirt booth, because there is nothing she will not try. At least Ginger finally admits that she was the one who dragged Darren along by his own will, but that doesn't make anyone any happier because the tradition is broken beyond repair.

Can I get this in an 8x10?

At least they take a better picture with them all smiling.

So, it turns out the two-headed horse is a two-headed lie.

Carl is fooled for a moment, but soon realizes that he got suckered like every other dumb kid. If it's too good to be true, it always is. There's an interesting lesson for the kids!

Courtney continues to have the time of her life throwing balls at metal clown heads and stuffing her face full of deep-fried, calorie-laden snacks. Meanwhile, Ginger and friends grow frustrated trying to find Darren, and they begin to realize that inviting Courtney along wasn't actually that terrible idea. They really don't give her enough credit.

The best part is that Dodie *gasp* realizes she screwed up by getting revenge on Ginger and *bigger gasp* actually apologizes. Sincerely. To her face. And she was actually right about Ginger when she thought she was going to have a better time with Darren than them. Holy Hell, this is a Twilight Zone-y episode! Ginger is the bad guy and Dodie is sympathetic! Oh, how I hope this means Dodie is going to develop into a better person and an actual friend! Oh, how I know that's not going to happen!

So, instead of Ginger getting pissed with Dodie for trying to ruin her time with Darren, all is forgiven. How great would it be if some kind of logical reaction happened whenever these two fought?

And so, everyone has a jolly good time for the rest of the afternoon.

The girls hit up a seaplane ride, and Courtney's sensitive stomach starts acting up and making her nauseous. We all know what that means. And by golly, that is the most realistic girlish scream I have ever heard from a cartoon.

On their way down from the ride, Ginger spots Darren buying a slice of pizza, and from that moment on, they make up. That night, Ginger finally gets to ride the ferris wheel with Darren--though I'm not sure if they get stuck. Does it really matter, though? Ginger got what she wanted, even after fighting tooth and nail with Dodie. Oh, and look at that--Darren got Lois's potato peeler! Ginger's voiceover comes over and mentions that it's exhausting trying to balance old traditions with new friends. Yeah, no shit.

Lessons Learned From This Episode: don't include force your boyfriend in your best friend traditions; if someone ever tells you they know of a two-headed horse, pop off one of their heads to prove how not gullible you are; don't assume someone won't find something fun just because they wouldn't ordinarily do it