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"To Smell and Back" is the forty-fourth episode of the second season (and ninety-sixth episode overall) of Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja.[1] It premiered on June 15, 2015.[2]
Synopsis[]
Howard has to go to the center of the Earth to set the fart record straight.[3]
Plot[]
It's an ordinary day at Norrisville High when the rebuilt Krackenstein suddenly attacks the school, but Ninja, having gained many experiences in combat, skillfully decapitates it. However, Ninja's good mood ends the moment Howard farts behind him to make him take the blame, ruining his heroic majesty.
Knowing that Howard is the culprit behind the notorious fart, Randy is disgruntled that he as the Ninja will no longer be taken seriously. Originally, Howard thinks things won't go too south, until he notices that fellow students are really insulting the Ninja too far, even with Heidi going as far as making a meme remix video out of it. Randy is still crossed at Howard, and demands his best friend on claiming that fart on Heidi's mecast. Not wanting to go onto his sister's mecast for responsibilities, Howard takes advantage of the Nomicon shloomping in Randy and leaves the boys' washroom.
In the Nomicon, after being shown a doodle ninja having made children cry by bursting their balloon out of overreaction, Randy is given the lesson:
"A Ninja does not take light matters seriously"
But Randy still hasn't forgiven Howard yet, so he basically flips the lesson the other way.
Back in the classroom during English class, Howard tries telling his bro that he wants to make amends, but Randy refuses to listen. As Mr. Bannister yells for Howard to read his creative writing project, Howard reluctantly comes forth to read his story.
Suddenly, a horde of Intraterrestrials emerge from underground and petrify the tattling Doug, before capturing the Ninja, when the other students are too busy with laughing at the Ninja. The classmates begin panicking on having nobody to save them without a hero, until Howard vouch that they should venture underground to rescue the Ninja. As for the Ninja, he is interrogated by Queen Gabnidine, who wants to extract his heroic essence for their own failed hero that is in the life-support tank, while Howard bothers being a hero by making Debbie swoon over him after he saves her. Fortunately, Howard and his group of rescuers arrive to rescue Ninja, doing their best to fend off the Intraterrestrials. Ninja is surprised that civilians like them would bother saving him, but Howard speaks on everybody's behalf that Ninja is their hero after all. After narrowly escaping from the underground as Ninja sets things ablaze by accident with a Tengu Fireball, the students and Ninja finally return to the surface, where they all cheer for Howard.
As it turns out, the attack of the Intraterrestrials is just a fabricated event Howard made up on the spot to save Ninja's dignity, and that he has written nothing on his paper. Debbie is reasonably repulsed by how Howard paired him with her as a fantasy and how he admitted he was the one who did the epic fart earlier, and Dave remarks that Howard's farts are really gross. But Randy is just glad that his bro actually does make the effort to apologize, even if it is indirect, finally understanding that he doesn't need to take such a light matter like a fart too seriously. As for Howard, he is happy that he actually manages to score a C+ for being able to tell a convincing story.
Abruptly, Howard realizes he has farted again as he laughs at his genius storytelling skills, so both he and Randy instantly blame Doug for the breaking wind, ending the awkwardness of the episode.
Characters[]
Main characters[]
Secondary characters[]
- Juggo
- Debbie Kang
- Mr. Bannister
- Dave
- Bucky Hensletter
- Doug
- Theresa Fowler
- Heidi Weinerman
- Krackenstein
- Intraterrestrials
Background Characters[]
- Brent
- Flute Girl
- Glenn
- Scott Thomas
- Jed Elinoff
- Stevens
- Nameless Blond Boy with White Shirt
- Nameless Boy with Blue-Green Shirt
- Nameless Girl with Big Eyelashes
- Nameless Girl with Dark Red Hair
- Nameless Girl with Green Shirt
- Nameless Girl with Mauve Dress
Series continuity[]
- Heidi references Howard's nickname, "Double Dip' Weinerman", from the episode, "Gossip Boy."
- Krackenstein from "Last Stall on the Left" returns in this episode.
Trivia[]
- The title is a reference to the 1955 World War II film To Hell and Back.
- Howard's French textbook is entitled, Parlez vous anglais? Français pour des imbéciles, which can be roughly translated, "Do you speak English? French for idiots."
- This is the second episode with a female villain, the first being the Sorceress from "Sorcerer in Love" and "Sorcerer in Love 2: The Sorceress's Revenge".
- Randy's exclamation to Howard, "Jerk-cuse!" is a portmanteau of the word "jerk" and the famous 1898 headline, "J'Accuse…! " (French for "I accuse...!"), about the "Dreyfus affair."
- Mr. Bannister is shown not to care about the petrified Doug in this episode, although only during Howard's story, so it is unknown if he is normally annoyed by Doug or not.
- Howard's story asserts that Debbie Kang has a massive crush on him; this may suggest that he himself has a crush on her, or just he thinks that girls in general find him irresistible.
- Howard's story makes little effort at keeping everyone in-character, in contrast with the one he tells in "When Howie Met Randy" and with the one Randy tells in "The Curse of Mudfart."
- In fact, Gabadine's knowing who Howard, an undistinguished 9th grader, is, already gives away that his story is outlandish in every logical sense.
- Running Gags:
- Queen Gabnidine repeating her verbal tic, "Riiigghhhttt?" and Randy (and others) being confused by it.
- Students laughing at the Ninja's "fart."
Transcript[]
Storyboards[]
Here is the link for the storyboard here.
Gallery
Click here to view the gallery.