Top 10 Worst Episodes of The Amazing World of Gumball (Remastered) (Part 2)

I get what they going for in "The Rival" with the old school formula where the main characters are fighting over the affection and love of the parents but Darwin & Gumball's torture in this episode was way too much to take.

As the YouTuber "The One & Only C. R. Martin" put it: "The Hero is what happens when you easily think you can sweep your transgressions under the rug and not bear the full brunt of the consequences. This is what happens when you try to contradict a certain type of emotion in your storytelling but only wind up digging a deeper hole for yourself. This is what happens when you degrade the integrity of the characters and betray their very defining foundation during said emotional contrivance. (...) For that reason, it angers me that the Wattersons, who love and look out for each other, dysfunctions disagreements, and all, fall apart the worst way they did in this episode. The scene of Nicole and Anais lambasting Gumball and Darwin for a transgression that they themselves are guilty of and Nicole's disproportionate punishment of her sons will forever be associated with this episode in the worst possible way! It's so contradictory up to her general portrayal up to that point that you can't overlook it - no matter how hard the episode itself wants to. More in that, on a similar note, I wouldn't be making such a big deal out of Nicole and Anais' role in the episode if it weren't this impactful. I wouldn't be making such a big deal of parental neglect, and child abuse weren't portrayed realistically. (...) I especially wouldn't be making such a big deal if the episode treated these common place issue with a diligence they deserved, but that's just it - it didn't! Instead, it had to make way for a sappy emotional crutch that - on its own - is actually put together well, and would've worked better if the pacing was better. Or, you know, if the entire episode was better! It's such a shame because Richard's song is legitimately nice. With the soft melody from the piano, Dan Russell's gentle vocals, and the framing of the scene all encapsulating Richard's inadequacies as a father. But does The Hero really deserve it? Oh fuck no! Not with the episode's sudden escalation and the song's actual placement being immediately after the unquestionably worst moment of the whole series - among the other flaws of the episode. No fucking way! What's even sadder about this episode is that no one here except for Richard is likable. Well, that's not entirely true but it's hard to root for any of the characters, say for Richard and Darwin. I explained earlier how horrible Nicole was, and I should also mention that Anais' role, while comparably smaller than Nicole's, still contributes to the toxic tone. Darwin skirts the fine line between liked and hated due to being the usual second fiddle to his brother, yet redeeming himself half-way by taking agency and attempting to make reparations. But Gumball...oh my God, GUMBALL! What the fuck is wrong with you kid?! What in the world happened to you that made you such a prideful obnoxious and dislikable runt?! I wanted to be on your side because you didn't deserve your mother's BS, but no, I'm not standing by your BS either. I'm not standing BS from ANY one of you! Even though Gumball raised some very valid points about Richard, I really can't abide his behavior in the latter half, which just ruins any chance for sympathy he had. ...Because it's not enough to be saved from instant death, right? You gotta be saved the right way, too. (...) And no, episode, you don't deserve that ending either. Fuck you! It has to take surgical attention to detail to leave 3/5ths of your main cast as bastardizations of who they are and render them detestable. But The Hero accomplished just that. But the scars of episodes such as this will never go away. The unpleasantness they've ungendered will always remain there, as much as the series rectifies itself, and The Hero will always be regarded for what it is: a black mark on an otherwise phenomenal series. With likable characters hard to come by, a total betrayal of what's been set in stone, a contrivance of emotions without justification or any worthwhile payoff, an overarching toxicity and hypocrisy, all in clumsily paced 11-minute ordeal that can leave impressionable young audiences with terrifying prospects; The Hero is without a doubt the worst of The Amazing World of Gumball. Absolutely disgusting!"

I get the message they were going for in "The Fridge" that you want kids to achieve big things but it goes against that moral when you have your main focus to be character who already has shit luck in that department.

Nice video and question:if you had the chance to rewrite some of the characters in this show,which ones would you rewrite and how would you fix them?

It’s interesting that you only included The Girlfriend as a Dishonourable Mention. In PhantomStrider’s video on the worst Gumball episodes, he put The Girlfriend at number 1, as he was upset that the episode handled the subject of abusive relationships very poorly, especially to kids.