The Garfield Show Season 3 reviews

After working on a lot of Garfield Show transcripts, I wanted to post a page where I voice my opinions on each episode. This post is all about the episodes from Season 3, since doing all four in one seems a bit excessive. Keep in mind, these are all my opinions. You may disagree, and that's fine with me.

Furry Tales Part 1

Garfield and Odie read a story together.

The Handsome Cat and the Dimwitted Dog agree to help Prince Jon find a wife.

Typically, Part 1 of a four or five-part series is simply introductory, to get the viewer introduced to the characters, background, setting, all that useful information. It's not supposed to be dramatic or climactic or anything of the sort, just explain the characters and the problem that they must solve. That being said, I really like the first part of Furry Tales. Jon and Liz are packing for a picnic. Odie is watching TV and Garfield is upstairs sleeping. The latter wakes up and sees that his favorite show is almost on. He speeds downstairs and kicks Odie off of his chair and switches to Eddie Gourmand talking about spaghetti and meatballs. Odie, who was fully invested in the fairy tale show he was watching cries and whines, and eventually, Garfield relents and switches the channel back. Odie is delighted while Garfield claims he could make up something better. Jon and Liz leave for their picnic, and Odie asks Garfield to read him a fairy tale. Garfield refuses, citing that he has more important things to do, but hearing the canine cry causes the cat to backtrack and accept, but first, he swipes a sandwich from Jon's and Liz's picnic basket. Odie collects a stack of books and Garfield begins reading about a handsome cat, played by himself, a dimwitted dog, played by Odie, (Odie is suspicious of the dog's description given by Garfield, as like Odie, he likes having a stick thrown so it can be fetched) and Prince Jon, played by Jon. Garfield explains that the cat has three problems, the dog who likes playing fetch, the Prince's twin nieces (played by Drucilla and Minerva) and the third lies within the Prince himself. If he cannot marry by noon tomorrow, the evil Viceroy Whipple will become king. Viceroy Whipple lists off all the taxes he plans to impose once he becomes king, so Prince Jon tries to find a wife, but he is unable to. The Handsome Cat (as Garfield calls him) figures that Viceroy Whipple will become king, and admits to his canine companion that he doesn't care that much, until he overhears that Whipple will tax eating pasta, tomato sauce, and anything with cheese. Horrified, the cat recruits the dog and they join the search to find a wife for Prince Jon. Before Garfield can continue the story, he pauses for a burrito. Odie patiently waits for him. This episode does everything that a Part 1 should and the story Garfield reads is captivating and I like it. Outside of the story, I appreciate how Garfield was willing to let Odie watch his fairy tale (albeit after kicking him off) and also read him a story even after saying no. It's really cool to see Garfield do something for Odie, even if it is just a mild inconvenience. It shows that he cares about his pooch pal, and that alone drives the score up. This is all around a really good episode that hooks you right off the bat.

Score: 8/10 Fantastic

Furry Tales Part 2

Prince Jon's sad song is a bit too much for Odie, who cries uncontrollably.

The cat and dog duo meet a fire-breathing dragon.

The sequel to Part 1 is another episode I like. Garfield finishes his burrito and resumes reading to Odie. After getting the correct book, (his first grab was a cookbook) the story resumes. Prince Jon has found no one to be his bride, and sings a sad song about it, but reveals that he has found a possible mate, a woman called Fair Elizabeth, played by Liz. Odie is so invested in the story that the Prince's song brings him to tears. He cries for a little bit but gathers himself and Garfield continues the story. Fair Elizabeth lives in the forest and feeds the animals, but refuses to marry Prince Jon, wanting him to show that he has heart. Prince Jon agrees, and Odie cries again, but stops when Garfield grabs the cookbook and begins reading it. Prince Jon wonders how he can prove he has heart, and the Handsome Cat convinces him to go out and show her. Garfield pauses to answer the door--a pizza delivery from Vito--and tells that Prince Jon is riding out to the forest to show Fair Elizabeth that he does indeed has heart. Meanwhile, the Twin Nieces dress up the Handsome Cat and then chase the Dimwitted Dog, which Odie does not approve of. Garfield resumes the story. Viceroy Whipple tells one of his aides, played by Al the dogcatcher, that someone is guarding Fair Elizabeth, though Garfield isn't sure what it should be. He pauses again to torment the mailman, who gives him the idea to add a fire-breathing dragon into the story. He uses it. Prince Jon is told that a dragon is ahead of him, but the Prince ventures forth anyway and gets burned to a crisp. He returns to the castle, and his cat and dog duo decide to do it themselves, using the catapult to save time, and are flung deep into the forest to fight the dragon. They come face-to-face with the dragon, but before anything can happen, Garfield excuses himself for a sandwich. Odie hides behind a pillow. This episode has a lot that I like There is not only some good humor, like when Garfield grabbed the wrong book and the fire-breathing dragon gag, but also some moments that tug at the heartstrings. Oddly enough, I like the first instance of Odie crying. For whatever reason, it's funny and adorable to me how invested the pup is in the tale. His unconditional love is uncanny. Garfield also is willing to continue the story, which is another thing I like about this four-part series in general. As for the story itself, the song is heartwarming, there are exciting moments, and the cat and dog finally get their paws dirty. I'm not a big fan of the twins, but they don't appear much. Overall, a great episode. I love it.

Score: 8.5/10 Fantastic

Furry Tales Part 3

The Handsome Cat and Dimwitted Dog ride the dragon.

Odie begs Garfield to not have Elizabeth eat the poison spaghetti.

Another solid episode in the overall great series, Furry Tales. Garfield finishes his sandwich and goes to watch TV, but Odie shoves him over to the couch to continue the story. After a quick reminder from Odie, Garfield picks back up with the Handsome Cat and Dimwitted Dog (though this time Garfield referred to the dog as "adequate") face-to-face with the dragon. They flee from it and hide in a pond. When the coast clears, the cat has an idea and return to the castle. They leave with the twins on their backs and take them back to the dragon, who flees in terror at the sight of the twins. It hides in a cave. The twins follow it and dress it up. When the dragon sees its reflection in the pond, she is amazed at how beautiful she is and asks how to repay the cat, dog, and twins. They hitch a ride on the dragon's back to Fair Elizabeth's forest. After some tweaks from Odie, the team flies over the kingdom, where they are spotted by Lamren, (played by Nermal) an agent of Viceroy Whipple's. He tells Whipple of the dragon sighting, and Whipple repays him by locking him in the dungeon, and throws Prince Jon in with him to prevent him from getting married. For some extra insurance, Whipple tasks a Wicked Witch (Aunt Ivy) to create a plate of poison spaghetti bolognaise for Fair Elizabeth. They test it on the Royal Food Taster (Eddie Gourmand) and he falls asleep in an instant. The Witch disguises herself as Vito and delivers the spaghetti to Elizabeth. Despite Odie's protests and attempts to get Garfield to intervene, the cat cannot. Elizabeth eats the spaghetti and falls asleep. The Witch leaves, her job done, and the animals find her sleeping body on the floor. The dragon arrives, with the heroes, but they realize they're too late. It is at this point that Odie starts bawling his eyes out and runs out of the room. Garfield plans to remind Odie that it's just a story, but before he does, he goes to get something to eat. I like a lot of aspects of this episode, like a fire-breathing dragon being afraid of a couple of young girls, Odie's additions to the story (fixing parts that he didn't like), the song is solid, and the pup's extreme emotion at the end. He gets so wrapped up in the story, and that's adorable. The episode itself is a nice edition to the story, and there is practically nothing that I don't like about the episode. It's all around very good, on par with the rest of the series.

Score: 8/10 Fantastic

Furry Tales Part 4

The Handsome Cat leads the charge to take back the castle.

For once, the Handsome Cat is dressed in a color that suits him.

They nailed the finale of this four-parter. Odie is still crying outside after Part 3. Garfield offers to finish the story for him. The pup is hesitant at first, but when Garfield tells him it has a happy ending, he accepts. The animals are gathered around Elizabeth's cottage, mourning the situation, when the Handsome Cat emerges with the poisoned spaghetti in his paws. He gets knocked out shortly after, and the Beautiful Lady Cat (Arlene), who had always admired the Handsome Cat, decides to take him to a wizard (Professor Bonkers). The Wizard tells them that a kiss from a true love is enough to break the spell. The Beautiful Lady Cat tries this and kisses the main hero, and he awakens. Now knowing how to wake up Elizabeth, they decide to get Prince Jon to kiss her. However, they soon learn that he is locked in the dungeon. The Handsome Cat leads a charge on the kingdom with all of the animal friends they have made to free him, and Prince Jon learns through Lamren that Elizabeth is, in fact, deeply in love with him. The animals invade, and the Handsome Cat, the Beautiful Lady Cat, and the Dimwitted Dog storm into the castle, with a little help from the twins. While there, he pup wakes up the Royal Food Taster, the Handsome Cat freed Prince Jon (and keeps Lamren locked up) and the Viceroy and his allies try to escape. They are chased by the dragon and crash land in the village. The Handsome Cat tricks them into entering the catapult and they are launched out of the kingdom. Prince Jon kisses Fair Elizabeth, the two are married, Whipple is imprisoned, and everyone lives happily ever after. As Garfield wraps up the story, the real Jon and Liz return and glare at Garfield for eating their picnic. Garfield shrugs it off and asks his pooch pal if he enjoyed it, and Odie confirms that he did. I like how the Handsome Cat assembled all of the other animals Elizabeth helped and how the real-life Garfield was willing to finish the story for Odie. Odie hugging Garfield as the latter reads is adorable to me, and who doesn't enjoy a happy ending? It also had some funny moments, like leaving Lamren in the dungeon and Jon and Liz getting angry at Garfield for eating the picnic. Between that, some good heartwarming moments, and some great action during the storming the castle scene, this episode has it all, and its score reflects that.

Score: 9.5/10 Awesome

Furry Tales Overall

Odie gives Garfield a thumbs-up. He likes the story, and so do I.

The whole arc of Furry Tales kicked off several four/five part specials in the show, and as far as first impressions go, it is exceptional. My favorite parts were the ending, which they nailed, and Garfield's beginning arc where he was unwilling to oblige Odie's desire to have a story read to him at first, but eventually relented (possibly because of the pup's whimpering). It shows that even despite Garfield's hard exterior, he does care a great deal about Odie. This would be shown in detail in my favorite episodes which I will get to later, but that's a bit off-topic. Odie's rainbow of emotions throughout the story is also funny, but it also pulls the heartstrings seeing him crying his poor puppy eyes out. But, all in all, there is very little (if anything) I dislike about this series. Give it a watch. It's well worth it.

Score: 8.5/10 Fantastic

Prehistoric Pup

Odie winces after getting an asteroid stuck to his paw.

Dino-Odie tries freeing Al from his paw.

This is another episode that I admittedly don't care for that much. Jon is outside stargazing when his pets, namely Garfield, urge him inside to make dinner. Jon spots a shooting star and then heads inside. Elsewhere, Professor Bonkers notes the freefalling asteroid and informs his assistant that it can turn back the clock on whatever it touches. This is shown the next day when a hiker picks it up and becomes a caveman. He eventually spits it out and it gets caught in a car, which turns into a Model-T. Meanwhile, Jon takes his pets to Vito's for lunch. Odie gets his paw stuck in some gum, and his friends head inside while the pup struggles to get free. The Model-T drives up and spits the asteroid out. A fly lands on it and becomes huge and prehistoric, which causes chaos in Vito's. Eventually, Odie frees himself from the gum, but gets the asteroid stuck to his paw. He is soon turned into a giant green dog with a tongue the size of a building. The police--who were called to deal with the giant fly--try to diffuse the situation, and Al the dogcatcher decides to do it himself. Jon and Garfield try to figure out a way to lure Odie out of the city. Garfield, knowing Odie better than anybody, gets the idea of throwing a stick so that he can fetch it. Using an excavator, they dangle a tree in front of Odie and the pup chases after it into the countryside. While there, Al runs into the giant pup and flees in terror. Odie chases him, but gets stuck and falls on Al, loosening the asteroid from his paw in the process. It lands on Al's nose, and Odie is turned back to normal. Jon and Garfield find him and the trio are reunited. They pass by a caveman Al attacking his truck on the way home. Much like Dog Days and Full of Beans from season 2, there is nothing here that grabs me. The story is just a little bland and generic. A problem arises, and Garfield saves the day. I am not the biggest fan of the weird, wacky, and wild episodes. I prefer the heartfelt with some action. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing terrible about this episode, there is nothing that outright sucked or parts that I hated, it's just a little bit bland and unmemorable. There are worse things that an episode can be in my opinion.

Score: 5/10 Meh

Laugh in a Can

Garfield is fed up when Nermal gets all the applause.

Garfield has some fun by pressing sound effects buttons with his toes.

This is an episode that can be deemed as fine. Jon prepares breakfast for Garfield, who notices some staged laughter in the background. He asks Odie about it, but he is just as uninformed as the cat, so the latter goes to investigate. He leaves the scene and ventures into a Hollywood-like studio to find the boss. After finding him, he informs Garfield that a laugh track has been added to the show. Garfield is skeptical, but then the boss introduces him to Rosie, the woman behind the artificial laughter. Despite Garfield's disapproval, he allows the laughter to stay, as long as he gets more than anyone else. This is challenged when it is revealed that Rosie's favorite character, Nermal, is co-starring in the episode. Nevertheless, Garfield returns to the set and sees Nermal signing autographs for a tour group on the way. When Odie and Nermal receive more applause from Rosie, Garfield is fed up and devises a plan to get rid of the laugh track. He tricks Rosie by saying that the boss needs her and that he'll handle the controls while she's gone. Rosie leaves, and Garfield plays all sorts of things for Nermal, ranging from boos and fast-paced music to police and ferocious animals. Rosie can't find the boss and returns to her post, but as she does, Garfield's new sound effects for Nermal causes the kitten to flee from the TV station in fear. Garfield laughs at his prank, Rosie returns, and the Boss finds Rosie off of her post. He fires her on the spot and removes the canned laughter from the show. Garfield feels remorse for getting Rosie fired and comes up with another plan. He gets her a job playing laugh tracks on the news, and he and Odie bow together to conclude the episode. This episode is centered around the fourth-wall break. I love fourth-wall breaks, though I think this was done better in the Season 2 episode The Haunted House. That episode only had a few fourth-wall breaks which were a lot more subtle, compared to this episode which is themed in Hollywood. There was some good humor, though, like when Garfield tricked Nermal by playing music and other sound effects. I also like how everything worked out in the end. Garfield got his show back to the way he wanted, Rosie got a new job, and everyone is happy, except for Nermal, but I can live with that. Solid episode, but there are others I like more.

Score: 7/10 Great

The Caped Avenger Rides Again!

Garfield encourages Odie to join him on an imaginary journey to catch a criminal.

Garfield and Odie team up and trap the thief in the dumpster.

Now this, this is an episode that is awesome. Jon is going to the comic book store to sign autographs, and he's taking his pets with him. Odie notices a bag between him and Garfield and asks about it, to which Garfield responds that it's his Caped Avenger costume. They arrive at the comic shop, which is nearly empty. The owner, Rupert, admits to Jon that if business doesn't pick up, then he'll have to shut down. He has tried everything, from bringing in Jon to having a rare, $1,000,000 comic encased in glass protected by a security guard, but to no avail. Garfield decides to attract some people by digging out his Caped Avenger costume, at which Odie snickers. He bursts into the shop, and people gather around. When they do, they are startled by the sound of glass being broken. They turn and see the million-dollar comic gone and the security guard woozy. Garfield, as the Caped Avenger leaps into action, and enlists Odie, AKA his faithful sidekick Slurp, to join him. Odie imagines a super-cool costume and he and Garfield begin a fantasy adventure. They encounter a supervillain in their fantasy and demonstrate their powers for him, only for the villain to toss the Caped Avenger through a wall. He looks around at the rubble and makes a realization. He hurries to the policemen and shows them a comic of Ultra Powerful Guy noting that broken glass falls in the direction of the thing thrown to break said glass. This makes the cops understand that the robbery was an inside job, pointing them to the security guard. Seeing his cover blown, the thief bolts, with Garfield riding after him on Odie. After a brief chase, the pets trap the thief, who is eventually apprehended by the police and confesses. Rupert is still down about his lack of business, until customers arrive wanting to meet the Caped Avenger. Garfield soaks up the praise, and Rupert's business is saved. What isn't there to like about this episode? An intriguing twist villain gets captured, Garfield and Odie played major roles, and Odie had a laugh at the fat cat's expense. This episode did start off a bit slow, but the action really picked up as it progressed. One thing I really like is Garfield willingly asked and allowed Odie to join him in the adventure. The fantasy was a bit off-topic, but was still fun to watch. The chase is dramatic, and the good guys prevailed. I like almost everything about it, except for maybe the slow beginning. Nevertheless, this episode gets high praise from me.

Score: 9/10 Awesome

The Superhero Apprentice

Garfield plans to stop Nermal's scheme while Odie watches.

After making a daring rescue, Odie soaks up a rare moment of praise.

The episode to follow The Caped Avenger Rides Again! lives up to its predecessor's high bar and then some. Garfield and Odie are hurrying home to catch a newscast about Garfield's superhero alter ego, the Caped Avenger. They hear it playing on the TVs in a TV store and watch, blocking Nermal's view in the process. Nermal himself got on TV when it showed a video of him singing, but they all broke as the kitten meowed to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. They leave and see a crowd at the comic book store, hoping to get a glimpse of the Caped Avenger. Nermal wonders who he is before leaving, and Garfield overhears that the fans would like it if he had a sidekick. Despite Odie's desire to be chosen, Garfield decides to hold auditions the next day, breaking the pup's heart in the process. Nermal overhears of the Caped Avenger's auditions and realizes that he might be overshadowed by the superhero when the latter finds a sidekick, which causes him to slightly panic. In the park, Garfield, as the Caped Avenger, gives multiple different animals a passionate speech about what it takes to be his sidekick. After he finishes, practically everyone is gone, save for Odie, who is still holding out hope that Garfield will pick him. The fat cat adamantly refuses and leaves him behind. Meanwhile, Nermal racks his brain as to how to regain his popularity, and his idea is to become a supervillain. He recruits Hercules the Chihuahua--one of the animals to be scorned by Garfield during tryouts--to be his sidekick and they venture forth. Their first mission is vandalizing the new Caped Avenger signal outside the comic book shop, which appears on news outlets the next day. Garfield and Odie--the latter of whom is still hurting from not being chosen--hear it and see it on TV. Garfield realizes that he needs a sidekick and begs Odie to join him. Odie gives Garfield a taste of his own medicine and shoots him down, but to his credit, Garfield admits that he shouldn't have turned him away and offers to get Odie a costume. Upon hearing this, Odie accepts and joins Garfield in crime-fighting. A crowd has gathered around the comic book store, where several Caped Avenger toys are being delivered. Nermal has Hercules distract the mailman while the kitten himself deals with the delivery. Garfield and Odie make their presence known to everyone, and Hercules flees from the scene. Nermal plots to get away with the action figures, and Garfield follows, eventually landing on top of the mail truck. They crash, are flung into the garbage collector, avoid all the dangers within, and come face-to-face with a couple of giant rollers. Odie peeks in from above and lowers his tongue to save the cats. Garfield begrudgingly rescues Nermal and the two are flung into the air. They land hard on the action figures, and Odie surpasses both cats in popularity due to the daring rescue. After seeing this, Nermal decides to start singing on the streets, and Garfield tags along with him. This episode has everything. It focuses on Garfield and Odie, the pup saves his fat feline friend, and in the end, Odie became more popular than either cat. There is also some good humor when a branch broke under Garfield's weight and Odie's attempts to get recruited by Garfield. There is suspense when Nermal got his cape caught in a grinder, and relationships are mended when Garfield professed that he was wrong to shun Odie. I really like that. Another thing I really like is the ending. Seeing Odie in the spotlight at the end gets a big thumbs-up from me, but also, Garfield and Nermal put the whole incident behind them and--if only for a moment--aren't tormenting each other and are instead doing something heartwarming together. They nailed that, and it gets a rare score.

Score: 10/10 Perfect

Bath Day

Garfield, Odie, and Nermal cower from a giant rubber ducky.

Odie realizes he is on the beak of a monstrous rubber ducky.

I really like this episode. Nermal strolls down the street when he stumbles upon a sign for a World's Cutest Kitten pageant. He follows, only to fall into a clever trap laid by Garfield and Odie that sends him flying into a mud puddle. After mocking the kitten, the pets foolishly activate their own trap and they themselves fall into the same mud puddle. Jon then shows up and sees how dirty the three of them are and decides to give them a bath. While he scrubs Garfield, he gets a phone call from Liz and goes to answer it, and when Nermal brings up how boring baths are, Garfield takes him and Odie on an imaginary adventure. They swim under a bubble bath sea, float in bubbles and get attacked by a wind-up shark. They find shelter in a boat that resembles Garfield's toy boat and the shark eventually runs out of steam. Garfield winds him back up on the promise that he will leave them alone, and the shark agrees. As they float on the smooth seas, Odie spots some flying loofahs, one of whom landed in the boat who agrees to guide them to some mermaid who can help them back to their tub. After surviving some rough seas, (a faucet waterfall will do that) they reach the mermaids, who are really bad singers. The mermaids, however, are generally nice and agree to tell the pets how to get home, but before they do, they ask the pets to do something for them. They ask the pets to rid the cove of a monster that turns out to be a giant rubber ducky, which soon arrives and nearly capsizes the pets' ship. Garfield, however, gets an idea and tells Loofah to get the mermaids. He quickly returns with the mermaids and they sing their awful music, driving the ducky away. The mermaids thank the pets with seashell necklaces for each of them and they dive deep to a giant drain plug. With help from the shark, they unplug the drain and return to their bathtub, just as Jon arrives and notices that they are clean. Nermal wonders if their adventure was real, and Garfield is adamant that it was fake. Upon smelling lasagna, he dashes off, and Nermal asks Odie if their adventure was real. Odie doubts it, but then Nermal points out the seashell necklaces the mermaids gave them, confusing and surprising Odie. This is one of few episodes about an adventure in Garfield's imagination... presumably. I cannot explain the seashell necklaces in the bathtub other than cartoon logic and a funny ending. There was a lot of excitement, and there was never a dull moment in this episode, from the opening trap sequence to the pets' final ride into the drain to return home. The new characters are fun, enjoyable, and oh so nice to Garfield and the others. The duck "boss battle" is intense, especially when Odie landed on the ducky's beak. I can only imagine how horrified he must've been at the time. Speaking of Odie, I can't gauge how he feels toward Nermal. He was fine with pulling the prank on his earlier in this episode, but later on stopped Garfield from feeding the kitten to a shark (Garfield defended himself by saying this was all imaginary, and also that the shark was just a wind-up toy). I think Odie and Nermal are acquaintances at best. They aren't friends the way Odie is with Garfield or Jon, but they don't have real animosity toward each other the way Nermal and Garfield do. I feel like this is a fair assessment. Anyway, the episode is so much fun. Each of the three had a decent role, though Garfield did most of the heavy lifting (He is the main character. I cannot fault this episode for that). Even Nermal wasn't too unbearable in this episode. Sure he had his occasional ego stroke, but those were few and far between and I applaud it for that (Sometimes you just want an egotistical kitten to shut up. Not in this case, though). Also, that ending is super creative and makes the viewer wonder, how imagined was Garfield's adventure? All around greatness. Well done.

Score: 8/10 Fantastic

What a Difference a Pet Makes

I really like this episode, mostly for one aspect. Garfield wakes up to a perfect morning, and notes the only thing that could ruin it would be if Nermal showed up. When Nermal doesn't arrive, Garfield asks where he is. He learns that he isn't here since he mailed him to Abu Dhabi, and as such, they cannot do the planned episode's script, leaving Garfield and Odie alone to entertain the viewing audience. Garfield decides to answer some fan mail. Herman Post delivers him a small bag, which doesn't impress the pets. Garfield tells Herman that he needs a makeup and gives him a clown makeover (Both pets get a laugh out of this). After going through a few pieces of junk mail, he comes across a letter asking what the difference is between cats and dogs. He explains with several videos and illustrations, the first one showing both his and Odie's reactions to Jon returning home. Odie showers him with affection, while Garfield couldn't care less. Odie, however, doesn't take kindly to Garfield's commentary and shows a clip of Garfield getting a tummy rub, which melts him like ice. Garfield is humiliated and Odie enjoys a good laugh, (Odie getting a laugh at Garfield's expense will always bring a smile to my face) but then Garfield plays the next comparison. Odie plays fetch with Jon non-stop and Garfield is apathetic as usual. Once that clip finishes, Garfield reads another letter that asks what cats and dogs do. Put simply, cats eat and sleep, and dogs chase their tail, eventually catching it and feeling excruciating pain. The last letter is for Odie, and the writer asks who is cleaner, cats or dogs. Garfield butts in and answers, showing Odie returning to the house after unburying a muddy bone. Odie doesn't approve and shows the rest of the scene, despite Garfield's objections. The rest of the scene shows Garfield sloppily eating Vito's Italian food, making a mess of the entire living room. Odie laughs again, and suddenly Nermal arrives. Garfield tells him what has been happening, which makes Nermal want to read his own mail. He gets showered by a mountain of mail, angering the pets, who chase him out of the studio. What carries this episode for me is Odie getting his revenge against Garfield. Him laughing at the fat cat will never not be funny for me, especially considering how badly Garfield treats him at times. It also further deepens that big bro-little bro relationship I like to imagine the pets have. They laugh at each other, take jabs at each other, but at the end of the day, they're still best friends who cannot live without the other. This episode is also special in the sense that it revolves around a Hollywood studio, breaking the fourth wall. While this has been done several times before, it's far from common. What I don't like is Nermal getting a pile of mail compared to Garfield and Odie. Like, I know, I get it, you're the cute one. You don't need to remind me 50 million times. This is why I don't like Nermal in the show, which is odd because I don't mind him in the comics. He is just too egotistical for my taste, and while he does have his good moments, (Like The Bluebird of Happiness and Into the Wild: Part 3)more often than not, he leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Regardless, there was still some good humor, it centered around Garfield and Odie, and Jim Davis has a cameo as the director. Really great episode.

Score: 8/10 Fantastic

Garfield Gets Canned

Garfield and Odie are shocked to see that Mrs. Ferret has cleaned out the fridge.

Odie easily opens a can that Garfield spent all day trying to open.

For whatever reason, I kinda like this episode. Garfield and Odie are watching the news when Jon comes in and introduces them to one of Liz's patients at the vet's office, Mrs. Ferret. He needs them to do some pet-sitting and in return, Jon has baked a big lasagna for them. Garfield agrees and Jon heads out. After he leaves, Mrs. Ferret complains that she needs to stretch her legs. Odie, filled with compassion for the caged ferret, sees nothing wrong with it, and Garfield also lets her loose. She goes crazy, bouncing off the walls, when Jon calls and tells Garfield to not let Mrs. Ferret out, as she is on a diet and will eat anything. Before she can be stopped, she ate the entire lasagna Jon had made. Even worse, Jon has experienced car trouble and won't be home until the next day. In the meantime, Mrs. Ferret has eaten all the food in the house. Garfield and Odie scare her back into her cage, and they scour the house for food. The fat cat finds one can of cat food on the fridge and goes about opening it. His efforts start simple, with basic can openers, but slowly get more and more insane after each previous attempt fails, going from a can opener to a wooden mallet to a wrecking ball to hijacking a rocket and letting the can drop from space. None of them work. He and Odie return home, defeated, when Odie--who had been getting shot down by Garfield every time he asked to try and open it--finally gets his chance when the fat feline relents. Odie shows Garfield the pull open tab on the bottom and opens it with ease. Garfield, realizing that he went to all that trouble for nothing, he got one-upped by Odie, and about to lose his mind, decides for his own sake, to end the cartoon before he does something he'll regret. This is the first episode to feature Mrs. Ferret and I'm not a fan of her. She ate the pets out of house and home and then asked what they were going to eat. Inconsiderate. On the other hand, I like Garfield's mad attempts to open the can, getting crazier and crazier each time. Odie even almost had a jab at Garfield when Garfield asked him how horrible it would be to be around an animal that eats everything. (Garfield cut him off before he could, but the almost jab is pretty funny) I also like how Odie managed to solve the problem in the end and, as such, outsmarted Garfield, the same cat who gives him numerous insults about his lack of intelligence. Uno reverse card, Garf. There was also a fourth wall break when Garfield decided to end the cartoon at the end. Overall, a lot to like. Hilarious hijinks, Odie got a big role and he also solved the problem. Solid score.

Score: 8/10 Fantastic

Partners in Mime

Aside from its terrible ending, (Like seriously, one of the worst I've seen in this series) this episode is OK. Odie is outside chasing a butterfly when he sees the mailman. He tells Garfield, who decides to allow Herman Post a reprieve for the day. Jon collects the mail, and Post is shocked to see Jon wearing white face paint. Jon explains that he is studying mime to him and scans his mail in the house. He learns that he is mime student of the year and is going to be a representative for the Mime Championship is Paris. For extra practice, Jon vows to mime everything, a decision that Garfield suspects will go badly. In the following days, Jon does everything in mime, even cooking, which agitates Garfield, who is "getting fed up with not being fed up!" (I applaud the play on words) He makes Jon order something from Vito's, but Jon doesn't say anything since he's miming. Garfield plays a recording of Jon, which seems to work, until Jon tries paying Vito in imaginary money. Infuriated, Vito leaves, and the pets are left hungry. Some time later, Liz arrives while Jon mimes mowing the lawn, demanding to know where he has been. Jon shows her the letter about the Mime Championship, and Liz points out that he needs a partner, something Jon didn't notice on the letter. He tries recruiting Garfield, but he adamantly refuses, but upon hearing the prize is enough money for a year's supply of lasagna, he quickly changes his tune. Jon and the pets fly out to Paris and Jon and Garfield perform their act, with Odie providing support. (I did enjoy watching him laugh and have fun. It's adorable) They are announced the winners, but after Jon talks, they are disqualified. They return home, dejected, and tell off a mime in the park asking for money. There isn't a lot to talk about this episode aside from that ending. I like the premise of the episode. It calls back to the several comic strips where Jon becomes a mime. I wouldn't call it anything special, but it's fine. But listen, we need to talk about that ending. What on Earth was that? Jon and Garfield had finished with their act! They had already won! Why do they have to be disqualified because Jon talked AFTER THEY WERE DONE?! Like Jon in this episode, I protest. Seriously, it would've been a lot more satisfying just to see Garfield back at home swimming in lasagna as a "thank you" from Jon for helping him win (Similar to how Garfield got it to rain lasagna over his house at the end of Unfair Weather in Season 2). I imagine Jon would be nearby polishing off an imaginary trophy or something. That would've been a lot better than stripping them of their prize for a stupid reason. Oh my gosh, the more I write about it, the more infuriated I get. This would've scored a lot higher if not for that ending, which--while not as bad as King Nermal--is abysmal in its own right. The ending is the most important part of any story, and they massacred it beyond belief. Not good, not good at all.

Score: 3.5/10 Bad

Boris the Snowman

This, this is an episode that I really like. Jon, Garfield, and Odie are spending a holiday vacation in Jon's cousin's cabin among snow-covered mountains in the middle of nowhere. While Jon and Odie are excited, Garfield is much less enthusiastic due to the cold weather and exhaustion from climbing the hills leading to the cabin. They soon arrive, and Garfield, realizing the cabin is without modern technology, decides to hang back, warm himself up, and sleep. He meets the narrator before he nods off and Jon and Odie have some fun in the snow by skiing and ice fishing. After waking up, Garfield encounters Paddy the Leprechaun, who got sidetracked on his way to Hawaii. He offers to take Garfield with him, and while the fat cat is initially on board, he has to decline because he doesn't want Jon to worry. Paddy leaves, but tells Garfield to call his name three times if Garfield changes his mind. While Jon and Odie finish making a snowman named Boris, Garfield tells them that he's hungry. All they have is spinach, which Garfield doesn't like, and the narrator on the radio tells them of another plot twist. That doesn't happen until later that night, when a frenzied Odie wakes Garfield up and alerts him of something terrifying. Garfield is furious and tells him off, but Odie is determined to show Garfield. He shoves the cat's bed out the door and shows him a path leading away from a missing Boris. Garfield is unimpressed, but he decides to follow the trail with Odie anyway. They soon find a couple of sentient snowmen, Boris and Olaf, telling jokes. Garfield and Odie invite themselves and soon the four of them are having a wonderous time. Time passes and it's time for them to go, but first the pets bid the snowmen farewell, but after they realize the snowmen are melting, Garfield takes it upon himself to do something for them. He returns to the cabin and calls out for Paddy. The magic being arrives and Garfield asks if he can do him a favor. Paddy agrees and takes the snowmen into a magic pot that can take them anywhere. The pets bid the snowmen and Paddy good-bye, but not before Garfield tells the snowmen to write. Some time later, Garfield reads off a postcard from Boris and Olaf for Odie and hears that they are doing just fine at the North Pole. The pets are happy to hear that their friends are doing well, and Garfield considers forgiving the narrator. What I really like about this episode is the fourth-wall breaks. Garfield interacts with the narrator multiple times, and even Odie hears his voice a handful of times. I also love how quickly the pets become friends with the snowmen. They develop such a tight bond in such a short time and are willing to help them when the spring thaw comes. There is even some good humor when Odie fainted in surprise after Boris got his head slapped off. Quick mention to Garfield's arc throughout the episode. He went from frustration and "I wanna be home!" to actually enjoying himself with his new friends and his best friend. I like that. What I like the most, though, is the ending. The snowmen are happy, and Garfield and Odie are happy to hear that they are doing well. Compare this to other endings, like from Season 1's Catnap or even another Season 3 episode Fast Friends, which have funny endings, I prefer the happy ending to that. I like the warmth and satisfaction that happy endings have compared to funny ones, and that is especially true in this case. This episode is just impossible to hate in my opinion, and I don't. I love it. Grade A stuff right here.

Score: 9/10 Awesome

Long Lost Lyman Part 1

Odie, after hearing Lyman's name, greatly misses his old master.

Jon remembers the first time he met Odie, who was at the time a tiny puppy.

My favorite multi-part series has my favorite episode within it. I'll get to that later, and while this is not it, this is still a great episode to lay the groundwork for the greatness to come. Garfield is watching Eddie Gourmand's cooking show about how to make lasagna when Odie comes to him with a stick in his mouth. Garfield declines, but when Odie persists, the fat cat kicks him out of the house and claims that he will never play fetch with him. He returns to the chair, and the phone rings. Jon answers, and Liz tells him about a TV show covering rare beast called the Zabadu. Intrigued, Jon runs downstairs to watch it, irritating Garfield in the process. The two fight over the remote, but Jon wins when he tells Garfield that Drucilla and Minerva are coming. The cat hides, and the girls arrive. Jon, who is still enthralled by the TV show, tells them to play with Garfield. The twins chase the fat cat until he hides in plain sight by posing like a fountain in a birdbath. They see Odie walking casually by, chase after him, and dress him up. They then ask what Jon is watching, and he explains about the Zabadu, and the story about his friend Lyman--Odie's former owner--who had gone to Franistan to photograph it. He explains to the girls the story of how he and Lyman were roommates, how Odie was introduced to him and Garfield, and how Lyman decided to leave for that rare photo, leaving Odie behind with Jon and Garfield. Odie remembers his old owner and misses him, when Jon is reminded that the TV show is going to show a photo of the Zabadu. Indeed, the TV shows a video of the Zabadu, wearing a sombrero that Jon gave Lyman before he left. They worry that the Zabadu may be holding Lyman captive, but before more can be shown, Part 1 ends. As explained in my Part 1 analysis for Furry Tales, Part 1's are not supposed to have much action or adventure, but merely set the stage for what is to come, the problem, the characters, the setting, etc. In this aspect, the first quarter of Long Lost Lyman nailed it, and the episode itself is very good. Garfield and Jon fighting over the remote is hilarious, especially when Garfield thought he won after he licked it. The twin moments are fine, they did their job well enough, but what this episode nails is the backstory. I love the references to the comic strip itself in the scenes with Lyman, going as far as lifting dialogue from old strips. There are also heartwarming moments when Odie looks at an old picture of Lyman, and seeing him leave for Franistan. I'm not a fan of how Garfield treated his best friend at the beginning of the episode, but despite this, this episode scores high.

Score: 8.5/10 Fantastic

Long Lost Lyman Part 2

Odie sees Lyman during an imaginary adventure with his friends.

Jon tries to comfort Odie, who misses Lyman even more.

This four-part series only gets better and better. Jon hears that his former roommate and Odie's original owner, Lyman, may still be alive and trapped by a creature called the Zabadu. He decides to bring the twins home so that he can devote his full attention to the pressing situation, but before they go, the twins dress Garfield up. That night, Odie howls nonstop, keeping Garfield awake. He tells him to tone it down a bit, and Squeak says the same. The mouse also says that Garfield should fight the Zabadu, which perks Odie up, and the cat imagines himself as an Indiana Jones-like explorer with a plane on an airstrip. He takes Odie and Squeak along with him and they begin an imaginary adventure. Upon arriving, they soon come face-to-face with the Zabadu and a chase ensues. Squeak is able to chase the Zabadu off due to its fear of mice and Odie sees Lyman in the distance. He runs to greet his former master, only for it to be Jon, breaking the fantasy for the three animals. Odie misses Lyman even more, and all his friends, Jon, Squeak, even Garfield, show sympathy for him. Jon decides that he has to rescue Lyman, and Odie is all for it. While Garfield is admittedly less enthusiastic, he, Jon, and Odie are all packed up the next day for the airport. Squeak promises to take care of the house, and the big three fly to Franistan. Jon had booked a guide, Angie, to lead the way for them before they landed. In Franistan, Angie angrily storms away from her former boss, the main antagonist, Dirk Dinkum. She meets up with Jon and the pets and the episode closes. What I like the most about this episode is probably Garfield's fantasy sequence. Garfield did Odie a solid with that fantasy sequence--even though the pup was keeping him up all night. He showed legitimate compassion for Odie after the sequence ended and Odie was missing Lyman, proving once again that he does care a great deal for Odie. I like to envision them with a big brother-little brother relationship. Though they annoy each other and get on each other's nerves, they still love and care for each other. Above all, they can't live without each other, despite Garfield's claims otherwise. There is also some suspense during the fantasy during the Zabadu chase, and a funny resolution. This episode is also a good, proper introduction to Angie and Dirk Dinkum. While Dirk was shown a bit on TV the episode prior, we see his true intentions and personality more clearly as a greedy man who works for money and little else. While Angie doesn't get that much screen time, it's still clear that she and Dirk are polar opposites. I like that even in a short sample, we see both characters' motivations and personalities. It's only building, and it's only getting better from here.

Score: 9/10 Awesome

Long Lost Lyman Part 3

Angie drives the gang through the jungle.

Lyman and Odie are reunited after decades apart.

The series raised the bar, and hasn't dropped it yet. After touching down in Franistan, Jon and the pets meet up with their guide, Angie. As they leave, they run into Dirk Dinkum, whom Jon saw on the TV a few days ago and whom Angie used to work for before she quit minutes prior. Dirk warns Jon to stay away from the Zabadu or else, but Jon shrugs it off and they all head for their car, unaware that Dirk was secretly tracking them by using his assistant, Buckley's phone. They planted it in Angie's ATV before leaving. Odie found the phone in the jeep, but Garfield simply assumed it was Angie's and told him to put it back. They soon arrive in the middle of the jungle and they follow Odie's nose to Lyman and possibly the Zabadu. While they do, they see a couple of hunters who soon get chased off by the Zabadu. Odie catches a whiff of Lyman and follows it off a cliff into a canyon. He emerges from the pond he fell into and encounters the Zabadu in front of him. While Garfield, Jon, and Angie run down into the canyon, the Zabadu reveals himself to be Lyman in a costume, surprising everyone. As Lyman and Odie reunite, Dirk Dinkum and Buckley follow the tracking device to Angie's ATV, and drive into the canyon. They quickly recuperate and eavesdrop on Lyman's explanation to the others. Lyman had gone to Franistan to photograph the Zabadu, only for his camera to malfunction at the worst possible time. The Zabadu chased him off a cliff, and he experienced a broken leg. Luckily for him, the Zabadu was no longer chasing him, but there was no one around to care for his leg. As Garfield gets hungry, Lyman explains that he thought that he was done for, until something odd happened. He would explain more in the fourth and final part. This episode has a lot of aspects that I like. It has both heartwarming moments when Odie and Lyman reunited and suspense when the Zabadu initially chased Lyman. It has a lot of Odie, as he is one of the focus characters throughout this series. His relationship with Lyman is so amazing to see. After all these years, they still haven't forgotten each other. There were also some funny moments like when Garfield encountered the mimicking mockingbird after they first got into the jungle. Odie's relentless drive to see Lyman again is so adorable, but as amazing as this episode it is, the best is yet to come. However, I'm not sure if it's better than its predecessor. I'd say it's on par with it due to Lyman's and Odie's affection for each other. After all these years, they are finally back together, and that's really cool.

Score: 9/10 Awesome

Long Lost Lyman Part 4

Odie, Garfield, and Jon cry as they wish each other farewell.

My favorite scene in The Garfield Show. Garfield and Odie embrace after nearly losing each other.

Trying to describe this episode would only sell it short, but I'm going to try to do that anyway. Lyman picks up his story and explains that the Zabadu was a retired doctor in disguise. He helped Lyman and explained why he became the Zabadu: to scare off hunters when they hunted in areas they shouldn't have. After the doctor passed, Lyman took up the torch and continued his mission to this day. After Lyman finished, Garfield and Odie head out to grab some food from Angie's truck. Dirk and Buckley hide as the pets head out, and then resume their spying, snapping photos of Lyman in his disguise. The pets, upon reaching Angie's ATV, see Dinkum's jeep and hurry back to warn the others while Dirk and Buckley celebrate the photos Dirk got and the payday that someone will give them (namely, Dirk). Odie and Garfield see them and the pooch charges at them, biting Dirk's leg. While he's distracted, Dirk gets his camera stolen by Garfield and the fat cat takes off. Jon, Angie, and Lyman, hearing the racket outside, wonder what is going on. Garfield gets chased by Dirk and Buckley, and Odie leads the humans after them. Garfield hides next to a cave, which Dirk and Buckley venture into, only to wake up a bear. Buckley flees for his life and Dirk grabs his camera back from Garfield. Soon after, the real Zabadu appears and roars. At first, Dirk isn't buying it, but after he sees Lyman, Dirk realizes that the legend was true and he flees. They try to escape in their jeep, but the Zabadu catches them and throws them into a couple of trees, neutralizing the jeep. Dirk lost his camera during the chase, and they flee with the Zabadu hot on their heels. After the excitement dies down, Lyman announces that he will be keeping Odie, seeing that he is his dog. Jon relents and Odie is returned. Garfield tries to save face and cheer Odie up, but both pets are visibly heartbroken. Jon and Garfield bid Odie a tearful good-bye and the pup runs off after his original owner. Jon and Garfield return home and the housekeeping mice quickly hide before Jon enters. Squeak asks for updates, and wonders where Odie is. Garfield, while looking at Odie's toys, replies that he doesn't know anyone with that name. He sadly and slowly goes outside and bounces a ball against the shed, reminiscing all the good times he and Odie had together. Jon tries to cheer him up when he hears the doorbell ring. He goes to answer it, and is surprised to see Lyman returning Odie to Jon. The pup heads outside to reunite with Garfield--who doesn't believe it at first--but soon gives the pup a loving embrace. Inside, Lyman explains to Jon his reasoning for bringing Odie back: he realized that Odie didn't belong with him any longer. As they walk to the front door, Lyman asks Jon if things will go back to normal. Jon, seeing Garfield playing fetch with Odie outside, replies, "Tomorrow it'll be just like it used to be. Right now, it's even better." Lyman and Jon stop and watch as the best friends play. I usually don't cry when watching TV or movies, but this episode came close. Even writing this is a bit of a challenge. This episode has it all: action, suspense, and above all, it doesn't just tug at the heartstrings, it yanks at them. Jon and Garfield hugging Odie good-bye is the most heartbreaking, gut-wrenching scene I have seen in the show and I love how much it tugs at my emotions. Seeing Garfield remember his best moments with Odie is just as moving, and Odie coming to his true home is beautiful. This, this is the episode where Garfield proves that he truly does care (quite deeply, might I add) about Odie, and I love this. This only deepens how I like to look at Garfield and Odie. I like thinking of them as having a big brother-little brother relationship. Sure, they get on each other's nerves, they prank each other, (with Garfield being the big brother dealing the abuse to little br-Odie) they make fun of each other, but overall, they love each other and cannot live without each other. (If nothing else, it reminds me of my own relationship with my younger sibling) This is so beautifully portrayed within the time frame given. There isn't anything about this episode I don't love. It is balanced between action-packed and heartwarmingly sweet, and Jon's final line, oh my gosh, look up great writing in the dictionary and you will see that line, and Garfield playing fetch with Odie mere days after adamantly yelling that he will never play fetch with him is a perfect way to end this series. It all came full circle, and I love that aspect. This is my favorite episode of the entire show (It'll take a lot to usurp this. As of this writing, I am not yet halfway done with watching the episodes and writing the transcripts) and it's so good it breaks all logic with its score. It deserves it, though. I cannot praise this episode nearly enough.

Score: 11/10 God-Tier G.O.A.T.

Long Lost Lyman Overall

If you haven't yet, please, please, PLEASE watch this series. There is barely anything to hate about it and a lot to love. There is a lot of action, but above all, there is so much that tugs at the heartstrings. Even if Odie isn't your favorite character, there is so much from Garfield and Jon to like. I usually take the average of the scores to deliver a final score, but I am making an exception for this because it is that good. Before watching, prepare to laugh, cry, and get invested. It took about 30 years after his disappearance in 1983, but we finally know what happened to Lyman, and I am so glad that we do.

Score: 10/10 Perfect

It's About Time

I have no idea how to feel about this episode. It has the best fourth-wall breaks I have ever seen in this show as well as some of the most insufferable, unbearable moments from my least favorite character in this entire show, Nermal. Anyway, to the plot. Nermal is being chased by Garfield and is eventually thrown into the garbage, where he meets Harry. Nermal is convinced that Garfield is jealous of him, but Harry disagrees, citing Garfield has his own show that is well-loved. The two of them watch it on someone else's TV from a window, and from there, Nermal learns of a time machine Dr. Bonkers invented. In one of the lowest blows I've seen from him. He steals the time machine and goes back in time to the day Jon adopted Garfield. Nermal then uses his kitten powers to convince Jon to adopt him instead, and Garfield is left in the pet shop, watching Jon go. (Seriously, you call Garfield jealous, Nermal, and you turn right around and do this? You stole Garfield's life! That is the epitome of jealousy) In the current timeline, Garfield discovers that no one recognizes him, not Jon, not Squeak, not even Odie, who is immediately fierce toward him. Garfield, after getting kicked out by Odie, comes to the house Nermal went to earlier and sees that the kitten has stolen his show, his family, his life, everything. He crosses Nermal, who arrogantly explains how he did it, showing zero remorse whatsoever. Garfield races to undo Nermal's actions, and he too steals Dr. Bonkers' time machine and goes back in time to fix things. In the end, after both cats' tampered with the past, they end up in a world where Jon never adopted a cat at all, leaving Odie as his only pet and star of the show. The cats return to the time machine to make everything right. OK, what do I like about this episode? Well, as I said, the fourth-wall breaks are exceptional, and, if you ask me, are the only reason to watch this episode. These breaks include Nermal and Harry waving to the audience, the main characters watching The Garfield Show and their offshoots like The Nermal Show and The Odie Show, and Garfield's line, "When did Jim start the newspaper strip? 1978. Since 1978!" got a laugh out of me. Garfield referencing his creator and the strip is so funny to me, and also, Odie got his own show. Me personally, I'd be willing to watch it, although I think it would be inferior to The Garfield Show... for the most part. It is important to note that none of these pros involve anything about the main story. That's because the story is terrible, atrocious, and every synonym of those words in the book. Nermal in this episode is on par with King Nermal and My Friend Nermal in terms of awfulness. I'd rather sleep on sandpaper than watch him in this episode. He is insufferable and a complete incel. He stole Garfield's family, friends, and life, and seeing Garfield break down in tears is heartbreaking, in all the worst of ways. Even worse, Nermal shows no remorse for what he did. He's like, "Yeah, I stole your life. Suck it, loser." He even made Odie hostile, and messing with Odie, that is low. I should rank this episode a lot lower because this story is abysmal, but the fourth-wall breaks save it from getting a lower score. Watch it for the fourth-wall breaks, and nothing more. This episode is more bad than good even with them.

Score: 3.5/10 Bad

Cupid Cat

This is a good episode, save for one complaint I have with it. Jon and the pets are visiting Doc Boy at the farm, and while Garfield complains that he wants to go home, Jon wishes Doc Boy wouldn't overwork himself. Jon is convinced that his brother needs a partner, but Doc Boy insists that he is too busy. Just then, a delivery woman named Gloria, who seems to like Doc Boy, arrives with pizzas for Garfield that the fat cat ordered on his owner's cell phone. While Garfield devours the pizza, (He shared a slice with Odie, which I like) Gloria asks Doc Boy to go to a movie with her, but Doc Boy insists that he is too busy, and Gloria departs. While helping Doc Boy pick corn, Jon notes that Gloria likes Doc Boy, saying that living life alone isn't normal. This is the major complaint I have with this episode. To keep it short, being single is OK. There is nothing wrong with it, and I personally am tired of hearing that being single isn't normal. Marriage is not for everyone, and as someone who is the human equivalent of a calculator, I have yet to find an adding machine that's right for me. I'm OK with that, and there is nothing "not normal" about it. Now, I have nothing against people who want to find a partner. It's good to find someone to spend one's life with, and if you want to do that, go for it. Find someone, get married, raise a family, there is nothing wrong with any of those things, but to the people saying that being single is "not normal", well, you can shove it. Singleness is fine, and don't let anyone tell you it's not. That's my main complaint with it that prevents it from getting a higher score. OK, rant over. Doc Boy is still busy with his chores, and Jon decides to leave. Later that night, Jon gets a call from Doc Boy and realizes that yes, he does need a woman in his life, and the next morning, he moves in with Jon while he finds a mate. When Doc Boy turns out to be a horrible roommate, Garfield takes matters into his own paws and opts to help Doc Boy find a partner the next day, with Odie tagging along with the fat cat. The pets spy as Doc Boy tries flirting with a woman, and it goes about as well as that one scene from Gravity Falls ("Your face is good. I'm a Soos." If you haven't seen Gravity Falls, give it a watch. It's family friendly, and as far as I know, it's still on Disney+). After that failure, Doc Boy buys himself a suit that reminds Garfield of Binky the Clown (Love the Garfield and Friends reference, and the fourth-wall break). Doc Boy then tries flirting with a woman with a Doberman who does not like cats. It goes well at first, but when Doberman sees Garfield nearby, he chases the cat, dragging Doc Boy with him. After the chase, the woman takes her dog's leash back and leaves. Doc Boy then tries a bottle of cologne, which according to the advertisement, is supposed to make men irresistible to woman. It works a little too well, and a flock of women surrounds Doc Boy, causing him to flee. One woman, however, hangs around and Doc Boy asks her out, only for her very large boyfriend to arrive and pound Doc Boy. Jon later drives his brother back to the farm, with the pets in tow, and Doc Boy fears that he may be alone. That is, until he arrives and sees Gloria with a bouquet of roses in the driveway. Garfield had used Jon's cell phone to order her a bouquet and card in Doc Boy's name, (as well as ordering himself about a dozen pizzas) and Doc Boy leaves with Gloria. Jon congratulates Garfield for his good deed and the pets and Jon head home. I have already explained what I don't like about it, but there is also a lot I do like about it. The reference to Garfield and Friends is probably my favorite part, but Garfield's good deed for Doc Boy (even if his motives might have been somewhat selfish--get Doc Boy out of the house because he is not a good guest) is awesome. Heck, that final scene is awesome, almost makes up for my criticism. I do want to know why no one in Jon's family is a good houseguest. Is it really that hard to make a good meal or share the TV with the hosts? I guess that's for added humor, and it did provoke Garfield into helping Garfield, so I guess it did move the plot along. Speaking of good deeds, I also give Garfield props for sharing his pizza with Odie. The two are such good friends they can tease each other and still get along. They have this sort of "big brother-little brother" relationship that I love seeing between them. Odie didn't do much, he was more Garfield's sidekick, but seeing him lick Garfield after the chase is just so endearing. He cares so much for Garfield, and that's one thing I love about the pup. I like Doc Boy's first flirting attempt the best, where he said he dropped his Nobel Peace prize, a tactic Jon himself used in the August 22, 1981 Garfield strip. The chase scene with the Doberman seemed a bit weird. It just doesn't fit the softer tone with the rest of the episode, but it was not boring, I will give it that. I do like this episode, and it could've gotten an 8 or an 8.5, but that scene where Jon says that life alone isn't "normal" just rubs me--a single person--the wrong way, so that brings it down.

Score: 7/10 Great

The Control Freak

In a world where everyone is mind-controlled to hate him, Garfield is tickled by his best friend Odie.

Garfield fantasizes the Earth in his image, and the moon in Odie's.

I really like this episode. Garfield is napping outside when he is rudely awakened by ballerina mice. He ignores them and waits for his pizza delivery when he gets the feeling that he's being watched. Nathan, the mad boy scientist, spies on him and decides to test his latest invention, a mind-controlling device, on Vito as he makes his delivery. Nathan has Vito throw the pizzas on the ground and stomp them flat, horrifying Garfield. Nathan then uses it on his mom and has her take out the trash, as well as on Garfield's friends, Odie first and then Jon. While it doesn't work on the brainless beagle, it does affect Jon and he has him kick Garfield out of the house, throw away his favorite cereal, and feed him nothing but raisin-infused products. Garfield sees and hears this before Jon throws him out of the house again, and a few more mind-controlled people express their hatred of Garfield. Odie soon trots up to him and Garfield asks the pup if he hates him. Odie adamantly denies this and gives him an affectionate slurp to prove it, and Garfield explains to him what he has gone through during the day, namely the pizza incident with Vito. Nathan then hits Herman Post with his mind-controlling ray, which Garfield and Odie notice. They race across the street to get to the bottom of this, and while Nathan takes a bathroom break, the pets slip inside. They listen to Nathan's recorder and learn about how the mind-controlling ray works. Garfield imagines the possibilities he has with that kind of power, until the realization of his inability to talk (a vital component of the device) hits him. Nathan finds the pets in his lab and pulls out a disintegrator ray. Garfield and Odie manage to avoid it and the fat cat leaps forward, grabs the mind-controlling device, and hits Nathan with it. He brings the mice's radio back and plays the ballet instructor with it, causing Nathan to dance ballet with the mice. As for the mind-controlling ray itself, Garfield zaps it with the disintegrating beam and it vanishes instantly, but Garfield decides to keep the disintegrating ray for himself. I really like episodes with Nathan in them, mostly because I like Nathan as a character and also because they feature Garfield and Odie as the main characters. While Odie was more or less Garfield's sidekick in this one, he was there to comfort Garfield when it seemed to the latter that the world was against him, and I like that scene. I also like the ending where Nathan was forced to dance ballet because of the mice's radio player, which was initially shown in the beginning of the episode. There is also a clever fourth-wall break when Garfield said that humans can't hear him, outside of us, the viewers. Jon mind-controlled is also pretty funny, especially when he threatened to feed Garfield nothing but raisins. How did Nathan know Garfield's least favorite food? Nonetheless, this is an episode I really like. It has good humor, a good ending, a great fourth-wall break, and even a heartwarming moment. Really good episode.

Score: 8.5/10 Fantastic

Revenge of the Cat People

The sequel to the Season 1 episode Curse of the Cat People is OK, I'd say. Liz and her niece Heather are back over at Jon's house with Neferkitty, now renamed as Fuzzbutton. Garfield and Odie mock her, but she still claims that she will rule the world. Garfield jogs Odie's memory by giving him a recap of Curse of the Cat People before resuming the story, and Fuzzbutton still warns that Garfield should be scared. The fat cat is confident that he has nothing to worry about, until Jon reveals that he fixed the magic mirror Garfield broke in the first part. Fuzzbutton steals it and dangles it in front of Odie. The pup licks it, several of Neferkitty's aides appear, and one of them grabs a magic staff--the Finger of Osirus--for her. She uses it and turns the humans into stone statues, but not Garfield nor Odie, as it doesn't work on animals. Neferkitty heads out to conquer the world, and gives one of the guards orders to protect the mirror. Garfield tricks and distracts him into watching TV and he lets it slip that another similar magic wand can be used to undo the affects of Neferkitty's staff and return everyone back to normal. Garfield disguises himself as Neferkitty and Odie as a jackal and the two return to the Temple of Cat-Ra. The two are ordered to be imprisoned by the guards inside until Garfield reveals who he is.. Seeing it is Garfield, the guards stand down, appreciative that he freed them from Neferkitty's rule. Garfield asks for the Toe of Anubis--the remedy to Neferkitty's staff--is granted it, and the pets return home to stop the evil priestess. They test their staff on Jon, Liz, and Heather, and it works perfectly. With that, they rescue a few others and go to confront Neferkitty. She orders her guards to apprehend Garfield and Odie, but the fat cat uses the staff to return the dogcatchers Al and Pete to normal. They catch her and take her to the pound. Heather finds her, reclaims her, and calls her Fuzzbutton once again. As far as a follow up to Curse of the Cat People, this episode does that rather well. As an episode overall, it's fine. While it did feature a lot of Odie, he was more of Garfield's sidekick, taking a backseat to the fat cat and Neferkitty in terms of importance. This episode also features the "Garfield saves the world" trope, witch I think is a little overused and standard. A problem arises, and Garfield solves it. Nothing really that special. I will say this: the fourth-wall break was awesome, as most fourth-wall breaks are, and I do like the consistency from Part 1, namely the scene inside the temple. I like how everyone was at first angry at Garfield until he revealed his true colors, (literally) after which everyone welcomed him, mostly because he freed them from Neferkitty. But aside from that, there isn't that much setting this episode apart from others. The return to Cat-Ra's dimension is unique, and it does a solid job as a sequel, but as an episode overall, it's good, not great.

Score: 6.5/10 Good

The Garfield-Only Show

This was another decent episode, if a little complicated to write. Garfield and the rest of the cast had a falling out, resulting in the cast walking out on Garfield. Despite the threat of being reported to Jim Davis, (Oh my gosh that line is amazing) they storm out, leaving Garfield alone. He finds a script, but us uninterested with it and decides to take a nap, hoping a dream sequence will give him inspiration. He dreams about playing all the roles on the show, from himself to Jon and Odie to the twins, who chase him around the house. He barricades himself in the bedroom, only to realize the twins are with him. He escapes to the city thanks to a distraction from an elephant, where he runs into Nermal (also played by himself). Nermal simply wants to brag about how cute he is (which is essentially why I dislike Nermal in this show. The guy needs an ego check, holy cow) when a short while later, Garfield is found by a Hollywood agent hoping to cast him in a commercial, making Nermal jealous. The kitten is determined to upstage Garfield and follows him to the TV studio. While there, Garfield does his screen test but is shoved out of the way by Nermal. The director agrees to have him try out, but Garfield sneaks into the director's office and gives him outrageous tasks to do. He finds out afterwards and the two cats have a massive argument (Garfield sums it up perfectly when he says, "You aren't as awesome as you think you are, Nermal!" Tell it how it is, Garfield. Dang) The agent breaks them up and tells them that neither of them have the part since the elephant from earlier is going to be the spokes-animal. Garfield then wakes up and is inspired to do the whole show himself. He dresses up as various characters and tries it, but soon collapses in exhaustion and realizes he needs the rest of the cast. Luckily for him, the cast returns and Garfield apologizes for his behavior. They forgive him and ask for a slice of pizza, though Garfield isn't willing to go THAT far. The opening fourth-wall breaks are amazing, not only the Jim Davis reference, but also when Garfield noticed that there was no background music. I'm also glad that Nermal got overlooked for once, even if it was a dream sequence. He deserves a check to his ego every once in a while, but those clashes between him and Garfield were intense. I respect Garfield for that line I quoted earlier. Bluntness. I like that. The ending was also great, with Garfield admitting he was wrong and apologizing to his cast. We truly need each other, no matter how much I hate to admit it, and I am an introvert who gets drained by social activities. Shrug. This episode is also set in a Hollywood studio. While not unique to this episode, this is far from common in the grand scheme of things. The dream sequence isn't anything special outside of a few moments here and there, but the ending and fourth-wall breaks are top-tier. Decent score.

Score: 7.5/10 Great

Smartest Dog in the World

Another episode that falls in the "solid" category. Mrs. Cauldron the witch begins telling the story. It starts off with Garfield playing a prank on a sleeping Odie involving tying a bungee cord to the pup's tail. He baits him by "throwing" a stick, and Odie is bungeed backwards into a mud puddle. Garfield laughs at his prank, but Mrs. Cauldron, who had seen the event, decides to help by making Odie smart. After asking the pup--and getting his approval--she zaps Odie with her wand and instantly he is a genius. Back inside, Garfield is still laughing at his prank and wonders how bungee cords work like that. Odie walks up talking about Newton's 3rd Law of Motion, and when it finally sinks in, Garfield is stunned. Odie grabs some tools and goes outside to fix Mrs. Cauldron's vacuum, while Garfield remains speechless. As Odie makes the finishing touches, the witch warns him that if he explains how he became smart, the spell will reverse and he'll be back to his brainless self. Odie assures her that that won't happen and bids her farewell. Odie proceeds to do Jon's taxes for him, which prompts Jon to take him to the vet. While there, Liz tells Jon that the pup is smarter than both of them combined while Odie himself inspects another cat in the office. Jon posts videos of Odie online and his fame skyrockets. He does a variety of brainy things, like becoming the World Chess Champion, (my personal favorite) winning a quiz show, and setting up a beach chair. His fame gets heard by a group of underground people, the Sloth People, who plan to use him to conquer the surface. As for Odie himself, his fame has caused hordes of people to ask for his advice, prompting him to escape out the back. Garfield, upset with his role in the episode, decides to go to bed while Odie is a lot less happy than he was when he was dumb. As he strolls, he is apprehended by the Sloth People and is asked how he became so smart. Odie racks his brain, but remembers what Mrs. Cauldron told him: that if he reveals how he became intelligent, he would revert to his dumb form. He does so anyway and the Sloth People return to the center of the Earth after seeing Odie's true intellect. He returns home, his life back to normal, and Garfield gets his show back. There is a lot of decent with moments of really cool sprinkled in. As a chess player, I loved the chess scene. Odie becoming World Chess Champion will always be hilarious to me. The introduction of the Sloth People did seem a bit random, but it did produce a moment where Odie saved the world, (as opposed to Garfield) so that also gets a thumbs-up from me. There are also a few fourth-wall breaks, typically when Garfield complains about his role in the episode and how he has to take a backseat to Odie. I also like Mrs. Cauldron and Squeak as characters, as they both are friendly to Garfield and Odie. While Squeak did not play a big role, this episode gets originality points for having Mrs. Cauldron narrate. Overall, I really like this episode. There is nothing terrible about it, but I wouldn't consider it consistently great, just great in spurts.

Score: 8/10 Fantastic

More Than Meets the Eye

Garfield sneaks toward Nathan's window, determined to clear his and Odie's names.

Jon is terrified when he sees a slice of pizza eating itself.

While I think this is one of the weaker episodes to feature Nathan, it's still in the upper-tier episode as a whole. Garfield, Odie, and Jon watch a horror movie one night, at least, until Jon gets too frightened and turns the TV off. (The fat cat broke the fourth-wall during this scene. Just have to mention the fourth-wall breaks) Garfield boasts of how nothing scares him, but Nathan, who was watching from the window, is determined to scare him. The next day, Garfield shows Pooky how to make a sandwich. Once he finishes, he notices Pooky is gone. He finds him in the living room, only to see his sandwich gone after returning to the kitchen. He blames Odie for it, only to find no evidence within the pup's mouth. Odie suggests that a ghost stole it, but Garfield is disbelieving, until Odie points out a floating vase in the living room behind them. Various dishes get thrown at them, but the pets escape into the front yard. The ghost throws furniture into the yard, and Garfield manages to save the TV at the expense of his fingers. With Odie's help, they bring the TV back only to see the living room trashed. (Garfield got framed, literally. As a sucker for dad jokes, I love this) Jon returns, blames them for the mess and punishes them with nothing but dry food for the next year. Garfield refuses this and goes into the kitchen for a real meal, only to find the cabinets and fridge under lock and key. After getting booted out by Jon's new kitchen enhancements, Garfield hears a familiar voice. He follows it to Nathan's house and learns that the boy made an invisibility machine. He uses it to turn himself invisible, steals Nathan's spaghetti, and whacks him with a pillow. (He stands up for Odie during this scene. Thumbs-up from me) Nathan and Garfield have an invisible duel, trashing the lab in the process, until Nathan's mother arrives and sees the mess. Garfield spray paints Nathan, (not dangerous at all. That is sarcasm) and makes his escape, while Nathan's mother throws the invisibility machine out the window. With Nathan dealt with, Garfield returns to check on the food problem back home, and after hearing Jon deny Odie pizza, he turns himself invisible and eats a slice of pizza in front of Jon. Jon runs out of the room in terror, and Garfield reveals himself to the pup as he finishes another slice of pizza. Nathan is one of my favorite original characters in this show. Seeing him on screen is such a delight, because he's funny and usually, episodes with him also feature a lot of Garfield and Odie. Unlike other episodes with Nathan, Odie didn't tag along with his fat feline friend to help stop Nathan (or in Nathan's first appearance, got captured by him) Nonetheless, it is quite satisfying and humorous seeing Nathan's defeat when his mom throws his machine out the window. (Where did she get that strength?) The invisible swordfight is creative and I appreciate Garfield giving Nathan a whack on Odie's behalf. I cannot blame Jon for getting mad at the pets, since they seem like the obvious culprits of the home destruction, but Jon was a bit cruel for eating pizza in front of Odie. Why you gotta do my boy Odie like that? He didn't deserve it. However, I love the wordplay when Garfield says that he got framed, with an actual frame around his neck, and the fourth-wall break early on. There is so much to like about it, though I would've preferred more Odie. Regardless, great score.

Score: 8/10 Fantastic

Fast Friends

Garfield needs Odie to touch his wiggly toes for him.

Odie covers his eyes, expecting Garfield's jetpack to backfire.

I think this episode is pretty OK. Jon is pet-sitting Mrs. Ferret while Liz is on vacation, and Garfield and Odie are watching TV. Jon gets the ferret a bowl of food and tells Garfield that meatloaf is ready. Garfield goes and grabs it, but before he can return to his chair, Mrs. Ferret spins around him and devours the meatloaf entirely. While Garfield is miffed, he goes to the fridge to get some Chinese food, only for Mrs. Ferret to eat that, too. Garfield tries calling in a pizza, but once again is beaten to it by the speedy ferret. Squeak learns of Garfield's problem and admits that she also ate all of the rodent's cheese. Squeak gives Garfield some advice: get faster, and he knows someone who can help. The next morning, at the crack of dawn, Garfield and Odie go to the park and realize that their trainer is Nermal. The kitten spouts off his resume and starts touching his toes. He tells Garfield to do the same, but since he is too fat to see them, Garfield tells Odie to touch his toes for him. The pup does so, irritating Nermal. The next thing they do is some sprints, before they stop in front of a rock. They plan to climb it, but before they can, Mrs. Ferret blows by them and devours the chocolate energy bars Nermal put on top of the rock as an incentive. Nermal calls it quits, and Garfield tries a couple of other methods to get faster. He tries roller skates, but that resulted in Garfield trashing the living room. He tries a jetpack, and while that worked temporarily, the jetpack backfires and sends him spinning throughout the house and into Jon, who shot him out of the chimney. Eventually, Garfield admits defeat and while watching TV with Odie and Squeak, sees a commercial for a weight-gain program. This gives the fat cat an idea. He races to the store to buy the formula, secretly slips it into the lasagna Jon was making, and watches as Mrs. Ferret devours it. The formula works perfectly and Mrs. Ferret becomes too fat to move. Garfield shares some brownies with his friends while the ferret is helpless to do anything. Liz soon arrives to take Mrs. Ferret home, and Garfield eats some of the leftover lasagna, forgetting about the fast fat formula until Squeak reminds him. It is too late and Garfield becomes as fat as Mrs. Ferret, but Nermal shows up to whip him into shape. Garfield retaliates by bouncing after him, and Squeak quips that Garfield will lose that weight in no time if he keeps chasing Nermal every time the kitten annoys him. I am not a fan of Mrs. Ferret as a character. She is so inconsiderate and selfish when it comes to food, and she steals all of Garfield's food. Honestly, I don't know if she does have any redeeming qualities. However, there are some things about this episode that I did like. Nermal actually had a pretty good role as the trainer, and Garfield's attempts to get faster with the skates and the jet pack were also hilarious. Odie had a lot of screen time, but he was more Garfield's sidekick. He didn't do much outside of touching Garfield's toes when the fat cat told him to. I did like when Odie covered his eyes with his ears when Garfield used the jetpack. He expected the pack to malfunction and didn't want to witness it. Subtle humor, I like that. I am also a fan of Squeak, he's probably my third favorite animal character in this series behind Odie and Garfield, and Squeak got a decent role in this show as well. However, I am not sure if there is anything memorable about this episode. The story is a little standard: a problem arises, and Garfield solves it. The ending was good, and it was pretty funny, though I think I'd prefer a happy ending, but that's my opinion. That being said, outside of Mrs. Ferret, there is nothing terrible about the episode and Garfield did get some food in the end. The episode is fine, squarely fine.

Score: 6.5/10 Good

Where's Odie?

One word: awesome. Garfield is relaxing in his lawn chair watching Odie chase a squirrel, his favorite show. He watches the squirrel torment the pup until Jon calls him inside for lunch. The chase goes from the yard into the city and into the forest. While Jon worries about Odie, Garfield takes advantage of his absence by eating his dinner. Odie, meanwhile, has chased the squirrel deep into the forest, not noticing that night has set in. When he does figure this out, he stops running and sees that he is lost. Terrified, he flees and finds a log cabin, inhabited by an old man with bad eyesight. Thinking that Odie is his lost dog Spot, the man takes him in. The next day, Jon goes around town putting up Lost Dog posters and Garfield recruits some other cats to help him find Odie. While at first they are unconvinced, Garfield talks them into it and they fan out to look for Odie while Garfield eats. After a while, Garfield and his feline friends reconvene. None of them have seen any trace of Odie, so Garfield dresses up like Sherlock Holmes and takes the case himself. As for Odie, he has found a shelter with the old man, but longs to go home. However, when he hears how lonely the man has been since his old dog Spot left, he stays with him. Back at Jon's house, Garfield uses city security cameras to find Odie's last known location. He follows him to the park, which is where the start, but before he and his cat friends leave, Lucky--one of the cats--wonders why Odie would leave. He reveals to Garfield that he has been feral for his whole life. Garfield assures him that he will find a home, and the two take off for the park. Once there, they follow traces of Odie's doggy drool to a pasture, and then to the forest. Lucky remembers how he made some of the trees his home and a man who lived there. Garfield, thinking he has found a lead thanks to Lucky, heads over there. Odie, however, was trying to slip out the door when the man falls and finds himself unable to get up. Odie tries helping him, but isn't strong enough to lift him. He cries for help, which Garfield overhears. They follow Odie's barks to the cabin and Garfield reunites with his best friend. Odie and the cats help the man up and Garfield explains Odie's predicament to the others. While two of the cats leave, Lucky sticks around. Garfield then gets an idea. He tells Lucky to bark, which he does, and Lucky takes Odie's place as Spot. The old man gets his "dog" back, and Odie gets to go home, but before he can, the squirrel taunts him again, resulting in another chase. There is a lot that I like about this episode. It has everything I want, good humor and a lot of heart. There was humor when Jon pasted Lost Dog posters on a construction worker's vehicle and during a few scenes of Odie's initial chase with the squirrel, There is also a lot of heart with Odie's conundrum with the Old Man weather to stay or go, and with Garfield going out of his way to not just assemble a team to find Odie, but to admit that Odie is his best friend, and to want to save him from potential danger. As if there wasn't already proof that Garfield cares a lot for Odie, this is just more fuel to an already blazing fire, a fire that warms the heart as well as the body. Unlike other episodes that features a lot of Odie, this time, he played a major role, as his disappearance and his time with the man drove this episode forward. I like that. I have said that Garfield saving the world is a bit overused, but what this episode has that others don't is as much heart. That ending is also the perfect blend of heartwarmingly sweet with Lucky finally finding a home and the Old Man getting his pet back, and funny at the same time with Odie chasing the squirrel again. I think I would've just let Garfield and Odie go home, rejoin Jon, and the three of them hug, but despite this, everything else is gold. I could watch it again and again.

Score: 9.5/10 Awesome

Fitness Crazed

This episode is far from my favorite, mostly for one specific reason. Squeak's muscular friend Biff is back at Garfield's house while Jon is away and he is whipping the mice into shape. Biff's girlfriend, Emily, worries that he is overworking the mice, but Biff simply wants his friends to defend themselves against cats, like Bruno, who arrives to capture some of the mice. Biff deals with him easily and Garfield goes inside to grab a bite. Squeak thanks the ripped rodent and wonders what they would do without him. This gives Biff an idea: get Garfield into shape so that he too can defend the mice. He stops the fat cat from eating sweets and forces him to exercise, doing sit-ups and wind sprints. Garfield sneaks some ice cream during his run, but then trips over Biff, scattering the ice cream. Seeing it, Biff is furious and demands Garfield work harder. The fat cat returns, exhausted, and looking for any way to get out of it. He asks Squeak if Biff has ever had fattening food, and Squeak replies that Biff would binge eat when he's depressed, which gives Garfield an idea. While Biff and Emily talk--with Emily worrying about Garfield's well-being--Garfield pretends to be super worn out and drained of energy. Seeing this, Emily dumps Biff and leaves the lawn. Biff is heartbroken and, just as Squeak said, begins eating all sorts of fattening food to cope, essentially eating all of Garfield's food. The problems escalate when Bruno returns and, despite Odie's best efforts to stop him, captures all the mice, except for Squeak and Biff. Garfield realizes that he needs to bring Biff and Emily back together, and following Odie's nose, they find Emily and reunite her with Biff. Rejuvenated, Biff gets back into shape and he, Squeak, Odie, Emily, and Garfield hurry to Bruno's hideout. Biff, once again, makes short work of Bruno, rescues the mice, and apologizes to Garfield for working him so hard. Garfield forgives him and starts his own exercise program: eating lasagna with "a very heavy fork." This episode doesn't really have that much going for it. The story is a little standard: Garfield saves his friends from potential danger, and that's about it. In this case, there is nothing really exceptional about it. While I do like Squeak as a character, Biff in my mind is fine. Nothing really that special about him. Odie didn't do much, but what he did do I liked. He tried stopping Bruno (even if that didn't work out) and used his powerful nose to find Emily, so in a way he helped get her and Biff together back. The ending is also decent, the mice ended up safe, though I wish Garfield apologized himself for breaking Biff and Emily up. That is the main thing I don't like about this: Garfield's plan to get out of exercise. He has come up with crazy schemes before, like disguising himself for some reason or another, but causing Emily to break up with Biff is, in my mind, a bit underhanded and low. I get it, he's selfish and hates exercise, but this is dirty, even for him. What's more, Garfield did not feel a shred of remorse for Biff or Emily, that is until he realized the lack of food in the house, and his stomach. He caused Biff to fall into a deep depression, and that is not cool. I give him credit, he helped bring the mice back together, but he wouldn't have needed to if he didn't cause them to break up in the first place. Garfield just seems a bit too selfish for my tastes in this episode, but I give him this, he did actively fix his mistakes, so I'll give him that. But, like I said, it's the breakup that I do not like. Garfield just seemed heartless for portions of this episode and Biff did not deserve the depressed state he got. However, this episode is salvaged partially by a good ending where everyone has seemingly made amends. This prevents it from going even lower, but still, I think I'm being generous with this score. I guess not everything can be a winner.

Score: 4/10 Subpar

Little Trouble in Big China Part 1

Part 1 episodes are always hard for me because they are usually to be simple background, meet the characters, location, etc. That being said, this Part 1 does that and then some. Garfield walks into the living room when Nermal appears behind him. Jon tells Garfield that Nermal will be staying the entire summer, and Garfield retaliates by digging something out of the garage in case of emergency. He sets up a trap for Nermal and tricks him by telling him about a fake Cute Kitten contest in the backyard. Intrigued, Nermal races outside and climbs up Garfield's trap, which is a seesaw-like device that flings Nermal into a box in the front yard. Garfield tells him he's going to China and goes inside to get the sealing tape. Meanwhile, Odie is playing fetch with Jon when he inadvertently gets caught in Garfield's trap. He too is flung into the box with Nermal before Garfield comes back and seals the box. He notices the added weight, but doesn't give it a second thought and mails Nermal and Odie (albeit unintentionally) to China. Jon wonders where Odie is and tells Garfield that he must've gone out the back door. Garfield realizes that Odie got mailed off and races to stop the truck, but to no avail. He does reach the airport and passes a man, Voldo, secretly making a call about a Golden Cat, but the fat cat ignores this and enters the plane with Odie's and Nermal's box. He frantically opens boxes, unaware that the plane is taking off, with him inside. Eventually, he finds Odie--who is grateful to be rescued--and Nermal, who is understandably furious. When Garfield tells them that they're going to China, Nermal passes out. While Jon is back home, calling out for his pets, the trio of animals arrive in China. Garfield wakes up Odie and finds a box with a sleeping Nermal, along with an identical box with the Golden Cat statue. They soon get found by security and Garfield hastily grabs one of the cases and flees. Voldo grabs the other one, but amidst the chaos, Odie lost his dog tag, which a woman found and showed to the security officer. After their escape, the pets realize Garfield grabbed the wrong case, and instead of grabbing Nermal, he grabbed the statue. He figures that he can trade it for some food and goes off to do just that. Meanwhile, Voldo meets with his boss, Bella Bellissima, and delivers his case, only to find Nermal inside. Bella becomes furious and is positive that Nermal knows something about the real Golden Cat, so she has her Siamese cat twins, Siam and Tyham, to squeeze any info out of the kitten. Back on the streets, Garfield and Odie stumble upon a restaurant run by a man, Tang, and his nephew, Dingbang. When Tang leaves, the pets long for the food and the boy tries to quietly shoo them away, but by using the sad eye routine, the pets cause Dingbang to cave and they get a bite. After they finish, they ask for more, but Dingbang doesn't have much money. The pets show him the Golden Cat statue and Dingbang understands that they want to sell it. They go off to an antique dealer and Part 1 ends here. Compared to other Part 1 episodes, this one seems to do a lot more. It provides the scene, characters, and the like, but it also has some action when Garfield tried to rescue Odie from the mail truck. This has a lot going for it. It features Odie and Garfield as two of the main characters, a new likable character in Dingbang, and uniqueness in the sense that it's partially set outside of the U.S. I have said it before, Nermal is far from my favorite character, but in this episode, he really didn't do anything annoying or toxic in this episode. If anything, he was more the victim to Garfield's prank when the kitten arrived. He also had a funny moment when he fainted in the plane. The mix-up in the airport is, to be honest, kind of expected since this is a cartoon show, but there is legitimate suspense when Nermal gets cornered by Siam and Tyham. It leaves one wonder what will happen to him. I also appreciate Odie's compassion for Nermal, worrying about him from the airport scene onward (Compared to Garfield, who finds having less Nermal as a bright side). I think this fits his character more than the scenes (looking at one unnamed episode in particular) where he doesn't like Nermal. Overall, I really like this episode. It features a lot of Garfield and Odie and, I will admit, Nermal was not that cruel, toxic, or annoying, but kinda likable and funny. Dingbang is a cool character and Bella, Siam, and Tyham are good antagonists for the series. Good job.

Score: 8/10 Fantastic

Little Trouble in Big China Part 2

Part 1 raised the bar, and Part 2 kept it up. Dingbang has taken the Golden Cat statue to an antique store to have it priced so that he can use the money to buy Garfield and Odie some food. When the store owner tells them its age, over 1,000 years, Dingbang suddenly changes his mind and takes it back. Garfield is shocked and frustrated, and so is the owner, who makes a call after the boy, cat and dog leave. As for Nermal, he is tied to a chair getting his feet tickled by Siam and Tyham when the phone rings. Bella answers and it's the antique owner on the line, who tells her where the Golden Cat is. Back home, Jon eventually learns from Herman Post where his pets have gone, and as for Garfield, Odie, and Dingbang, the fat cat is angry that Dingbang didn't sell the statue. The boy explains why he didn't do it when he and the pets are caught by Voldo, Siam, and Tyham. They take them back to Bella and she explains the importance of the statue: it can show the way to the world's largest diamond. While Dingbang is skeptical, Bella is conviced that it's real and plans to use it's wealth to build a concert hall. She has Voldo, Siam, and Tyham lead the pets and Dingbang into the storage room where Nermal is still tied. Garfield unties him and Dingbang realizes that they're trapped behind the Siamese cats, who stand guard at the doors. The animals huddle up and devise a plan. Odie does a distraction while Garfield and Nermal yank the carpet underneath the Siamese cats, trapping them in a trunk. They escape the room and Dingbang steals the statue back, resulting in a brief chase and game of Keep Away. Dingbang opens the window and tells his allies to join him, and while the cats are reluctant, they do so anyway (Nermal didn't have much of a choice, as Garfield grabbed him and carried him outside). They land on a scaffold and slowly descend. After reaching the ground, they get upon a rickshaw and race away, with Bella and her cats right behind. Garfield finds some durians in the cart and he, Odie, and Nermal begin throwing them at Bella. The fruits land on her and her cats, causing her to crash and allowing the heroes to escape. They hide Tang's shop for the night, but when the moonlight shines on the statue's eyes, an image is shown onto the wall. Dingbang reads about the next clue and learns of a part of a treasure map 50 kilometers away. He and his animals friends turn in, unaware that Siam and Tyham were listening in on them. Jon, meanwhile, has boarded a plane to China and hears about Bella on the plane. He thinks she can help and writes her name down. The next day, Garfield, Odie, Nermal, and Dingbang reach their next location, a garden, and find two similar-looking statues within. They set the third in the empty space between them and wait, but nothing happens. until Odie unintentionally finds a secret door below the statue. They find the first half of the key to the treasure and learn where the second half is, a mountain. They fly over there with the help of Dingbang's cousin, who just so happens to be a pilot, unaware that the Siamese twins are clinging onto the plane's wing. While there isn't much heart, there is action, a lot of action, and there is never a dull moment in this episode, and it starts early with Dingbang and the others getting caught. We also learn what happened to Nermal: he got tickle tortured by the Siamese twins, but getting back to the action, it hardly ever stops. From Garfield and the others escaping from the storage room to the rickshaw chase through the streets, it's exciting and suspenseful, and it lands. The suspense really picks up after the action ends, when the sneaky Siamese twins spy on the others and follow them. Even Odie had a part to play when he was used as the distraction to escape and when he found the trapdoor leading to the first half of the key. Nermal didn't do that much, but like last part, he had some funny moments. When Garfield first smelled the durian, he glared at Nermal, who instantly tried defending himself. That is what I like about this episode: the action, the suspense, the Siamese twins using their long claws to cling to the plane at the very end, there is a lot to like. While it lacks the heart that I want in a top-tier episode, this episode still scores high.

Score: 8.5/10 Fantastic

Little Trouble in Big China Part 3

Yeah, this series is still great. Dingbang, Garfield, Odie, and Nermal travel through a bamboo forest to find the Old Master. While there, Nermal fears what is in the forest and then a couple of pandas approach. Odie runs up to them and gives them his doggy greeting, which tickles the pandas. They instantly take a liking to Odie and the others. Garfield introduces themselves (with Nermal getting laughed at when he called himself the cutest kitten in the world) and Nermal tells them about their trip to the Old Master. They learn that he's on top of the mountain, and the pandas carry them and Dingbang along with them. However, they are unaware of the sneaky Siamese stalking them. Back at Bella's penthouse, the singer is venting about losing the statue, and possibly a fortune, when Voldo checks the GPS's in the cats' collars. Jon then enters and asks about his pets and Nermal. Bella doesn't want to hear it at first, but her mood quickly changes upon hearing Garfield's description. She leads Jon down the hall and locks him into a closet, planning to use him as leverage to get the pets to cooperate, and Voldo learns of the cats' location: Mount Qingshan. Meanwhile, the pandas drop the heroes off and return to the forest. The boy, cats, and dog climb the mountain and meet the Old Master. They ask him about the other half of the medallion key and the master will hand it over once they have learned kung fu. While the animals are not very good, Odie fetches a log instead of breaking it and all Nermal broke was a nail, Dingbang manages to break the log, granting them food. As they eat, the Master goes to get Garfield some more rice, and Siam and Tyham approach, baring their long claws. Before they can strike, though, the pandas appear and use their own kung fu techniques to make quick work of them. Odie thanks them and then, the Old Master, seeing that they have made friends with the pandas, gives Dingbang the other half of the medallion. The Master gives them one more piece of advice, do not stare into the eye of Futcanglong, and the heroes find their next location: Beijing. The pandas give them a ride and they wish good-bye to the master, who bids them good luck. Like its predecessors, there is a lot to like about it. The pandas are really cool, chill characters and watching them do martial arts, an obvious nod to one of my favorite movie franchises Kung Fu Panda, is awesome. That whole scene where they kicked the Siamese twins' butts is great to watch. I love how quickly they became friends with Odie. The pup is just so friendly, and frankly, who doesn't want to be friends with him? I will say this: there is a lot less action in this episode compared to Part 2, which isn't a bad thing, but it does make the score less of that than Part 2. There wasn't that much to make up for the lack of action, but there is nothing I outright hated. Bella locking Jon in a closet shows what she is willing to do for this diamond. It gives her character even more of a "Don't mess with me" vibe. This episode was just a lot slower paced, which is admittedly a nice change of pace compared to the others. However, I wouldn't say that anything pushes it over the top for me, but it still gets a solid score overall.

Score: 7.5/10 Great

Little Trouble in Big China Part 4

I really like the endings to these multi-part series, and this is no exception to that rule. Bella and Voldo (with a tied-up Jon in their helicopter) are at Mount Qingshan asking the Master about Dingbang and the pets. After getting no response, she rants about how to figure out where they went, when her Siamese cats run up and point out a map of China Dangbang drew on the ground in Part 3, with a big X on their next location: the most famous fence in the world, the Great Wall of China. Dingbang and the pets arrive after getting a ride and the boy soon finds the entrance to Futcanglong's treasure vault. They use the key and the door opens, but before they can venture in, they hear Jon dangling from a helicopter. Bella tells them to help or else they will never see Jon again. Dingbang agrees and he, the pets, Jon, Bella, Voldo, and the Siamese twins head deep into the vault. They reach a room with 12 tiles with 12 different animals on the other side, and Jon and Dingbang start to go across. Dingbang warns Jon not to cross laser-like beams of light, and the pets follow. When they reach the other side, Dingbang and Jon wonder how to open the door, while Nermal is still steaming at being called "mangy" by Bella. The kitten checks his reflection, accidentally cutting the light, and the cave starts to close in on them. Jon notices the boar, his Chinese Zodiac animal, and Dingbang realizes that they need to organize the 12 tiles by their animal based on their location in the Zodiac. They do so just in time, saving the others from getting crushed (albeit not the Golden Cat statue) and the door opens, revealing the treasure. Everyone stands in awe, and Garfield and Nermal notice the dozens of statues around them. The main centerpiece, however, is a diamond in the eye of a giant statue of the dragon, which Bella sees and races to get, ditching the piles of gold nearby. Her cats and Voldo help her pry it loose, but Dingbang remembers what the Master told them: Don't look into the Eye of Futcanglong, as it has defeated armies. He, Garfield, Nermal, and Odie quickly cover their eyes (Garfield had covers Jon's eyes too) and Voldo notices them. Voldo shields his eyes just in time, as Bella and her Siamese twins, who had eyed the diamond for a while now, were turned to stone. The cavern starts to collapse around them, and everyone takes off to the exit. Garfield gets stuck, but thanks to an assist from Odie, he escapes with the pup. Voldo is determined to escape with Bella and her cats, and Jon returns to help him. Dingbang and the pets escape, and as the door closes for good, Jon and Voldo emerge from the dust with a petrified Bella and her cats. Everyone feels sorry for her and her cats, Jon thanks the boy for taking care of the pets, and Odie hacks up a few coins from the vault, which Dingbang plans to put in a museum. That night, Jon and the pets fly home, but Nermal demands an apology from Garfield. The fat cat apologizes, which surprises and touches Nermal, they four of them fly home (even though Garfield plans on sending a package to Abu Dhabi). Back in China, Voldo yells that Bella can't sing, which causes the statues to break and bring Bella and her cats back. She does not take the insult lightly and she and her cats chase Voldo over the hills. This episode checks many, if not all of the boxes. Action, suspense, some funny moments, my favorite characters, and a happy ending. There is action and suspense when everyone nearly got crushed, (twice) funny when Nermal checked himself in the mirror and cut the beam, and of course, it centered on Garfield, Odie, their friends and their enemies. What I liked the most about this episode is Odie rescuing Garfield from under the rock, Jon's bravery when he ran deeper to help Voldo, the plane scene where everyone reflects on their adventure, and Odie yakking up some of the coins from the vault (Mostly because I love Odie, and Garfield helped the pup hack them out). That plane scene, though, is probably my favorite scene in this series. I have said before I am not a fan of Nermal, but I do think he was justified when he demanded an apology from Garfield. The kitten essentially did nothing wrong, got tricked, and if it wasn't for Garfield, none of this would've happened. Even Odie glared at him while in the plane, but to his credit, Garfield did apologize, which Nermal actually appreciates. Nermal wasn't annoying or cringe-worthy throughout the series. If anything, he was kinda likable, and I am impressed greatly by that. I do wish we could've seen what happened to Dingbang afterwards. Maybe he went back to work at his uncle's restaurant, maybe one day he went to the museum and looked at those coins Odie got, smiling as he remembers his adventure with the pets. Maybe both. Whatever the case, there was still a happy ending with a bit of humor at the end. While I prefer the happy ending, I guess it makes sense to have Bella and the Siamese twins be alive still because this is a show targeted at a younger demographic and us Garfield fans. Nonetheless, they stuck the landing in the finale, the most important part, and I love it. Two thumbs up. Awesome.

Score: 9.5/10 Awesome

Little Trouble in Big China Overall

This series overall is really good, probably one of my favorites. The main trio of Garfield, Odie, and Nermal each had a significant part to play at various parts in the series and it seems like none of them really hogged the spotlight (Impressive, given that Nermal is among them). The new characters, namely Dingbang and the pandas, are really cool and the villains are an imposing threat, especially Siam and Tyham. Those two cats are relentless, ferocious, can cling onto the wing of a moving plane several thousand feet in the air, and probably some of my favorite antagonists in the entire show. Above all though, the ending is amazing. While this series as a whole doesn't have many heartfelt moments, it makes up for that in action and suspense. Give it a watch, I do not think you will be disappointed. I know I wasn't.

Score: 8.375/10 Fantastic

My Friend, Nermal

Congratulations, King Nermal, you have company in that burning dumpster of yours. I never thought it would happen, but kudos to this episode for being absolutely GARBAGE! Nermal is an absolute incel and I hate him SO... FREAKING... MUCH. Anyway, to the plot. Nermal is walking and boasting when he is surrounded by a pack of angry dogs. They chase him past Garfield and Odie, and while Garfield initially shrugs it off, Odie convinces him to help the kitten. When Nermal is cornered, Garfield intervenes and pretends to have fleas. Nermal joins in, and the dogs back off, terrified. Garfield returns to Odie, and Nermal is grateful, and when he sees Dr. Whipple on TV, he promises to repay Garfield. Garfield doesn't want anything to do with it, but the incel of a kitten refuses to take "No" for an answer. He vacuums the living room, which sucks up all the furniture (and Odie) which results in Garfield getting punished. Nermal then tries to get a girl for Garfield, only for Arlene to catch him in the act. Desperate, Garfield devises a plan to get Nermal off his back. He tells Odie about it, and even despite the pup's doubts, the two of them go along with it. Odie feigns sorrow and tells Nermal that Garfield is in a rough part of town. Nermal vows to help him, but seeing Dr. Whipple's TV show changes his mind again. The scumbag kitten tells Garfield this and leaves him in the mercy of an angry pack of dogs, resulting in him getting clobbered. Nermal, feeling guilty, promises to stay with Garfield as he recovers, but Garfield, having enough of the kitten, chases him down, promising to inflict more bodily harm on the kitten than the dogs inflicted on himself. As I said at the top, this is on par with King Nermal in terms of awfulness. There are very few good scenes and practically every scene is abysmal, but let's start with what I like about it. Garfield saving Nermal was cool, and Odie slurping him afterwards is cute. That's about it. Every other scene is terrible. Nermal wanting to do Garfield a favor is understandable, but sometimes, doing nothing is better than doing something. Nermal, get it through your thick skull, GARFIELD... DOESN'T... LIKE... YOU! Capiche? As I said before, Nermal in this episode is an absolute incel, and his writing is so horrible. Even worse, this episode was written by Mark Evanier. I wouldn't expect this awful writing from Mr. Garfield and Friends himself. Like seriously, who approved this? What is the lesson here? Is this supposed to be funny? Because it isn't! Garfield didn't deserve a single thing that happened to him in this episode, and Nermal is the cause of everything. This episode makes me so angry. I hate Nermal, but to be fair, I was warned about this episode from a comment on a different blog. Well, as they say, "No good deed goes unpunished." That was very much the case here. I compared this episode to King Nermal in terms of how much I hate it, but which is worse? That dubious honor goes to King Nermal for a couple of reasons. First, I liked the scene where Garfield saves Nermal, and Odie slurping him afterwards. Second, the ending to this episode is slightly better. That isn't a compliment to this episode, it shows how gross King Nermal's ending is. It's like being able step over a bar two inches off the ground as opposed to one inch. Not much of an accomplishment, but still better. I beg of you. Whoever is reading this, do not watch this episode. It's about as painful as stepping on nails and Nermal is such an incel. You're better off skipping it, trust me, you'll be thanking yourself later.

Score: 1/10 Dumpster Fire

Bride and Broom

I think this is another solid episode. It opens with Garfield revealing himself to be a duck, and him narrating the events that led him to this, which begins the episode. Mrs. Cauldron's niece, Winona, is watching fairy tales and dreaming of finding her own Prince Charming, when Mrs. Cauldron bursts in and reprimands her for watching fairy tales. Winona bursts into tears, hoping to fins someone who loves her. Elsewhere, Garfield, Odie, and Jon are visiting Doc Boy and his girlfriend Gloria on the farm, and Winona decides to spy on Jon, still having a slight crush on him from an earlier episode. (to which Garfield alludes to during his narration) Upon hearing that Jon has a brother, she decides that she has found her prince and goes to swoop him up. Back at the farm, everyone goes inside for dinner while Doc Boy has to go milk one last cow, but Winona stops him and tells him that she is his bride. After Doc Boy refuses, Winona chases him, causing a commotion that draws everyone outside. The young witch turns Jon, Gloria, and Garfield into a squirrel, horse, and duck, respectively, (Odie was also there, but he got turned into a dog, resulting in no change in appearance) and then swoops up Doc Boy and carries him off. The pets return to the city on Gloria's back and get Mrs. Cauldron to reverse the changes to Jon and Gloria. (only Garfield remains a duck, but he is assured it will wear off eventually) They hop on Mrs. Cauldron's tricycle broom and fly to the Tower of Witchery and manage to stop the wedding just in time. Mrs. Cauldron reprimands Winona for her actions (resulting in the young witch running off in tears) and Garfield tells Mrs. Cauldron to cut her some slack. After a short conversation, (involving a subtle fourth-wall break) Garfield suggests that Mrs. Cauldron give her niece her own Prince Charming. She agrees and Winona dances with the prince, which is pretty much where the story ends, except Garfield is still a duck. But, he decides to make lemonade out of lemons and flies with a small flock of ducks. This episode is just a big ball of fine. The story is fine, the witches are nice characters that I enjoy, (I like Winona's voice, and Mrs. Cauldron is just so nice) but the ending, yeah I really like that. Winona had her happily ever after, Doc Boy and Gloria rekindled their relationship, and Odie got to see some romance happen at the very end. I love that ending, they really stuck that, and I also like how Garfield is completely fine with being a duck. That ending is so full of heart and that's probably my favorite part of the episode. That said, the rest of it is fine. There is some good suspense and funny moments throughout, but it just wasn't for me. I didn't hate it, but it's nothing over the top IMO. Odie didn't do that much in the episode, which is fine (he can't have all the limelight, after all). I did like the fourth-wall break they slipped in, when Garfield told Mrs. Cauldron that none of this was real, implying that they are in a cartoon. Since this episode had no bad moments and a great ending, this gets a good score, but could be better.

Score: 7.5/10 Great

Two Times the Trouble

This episode is not my kind of episode. Jon is walking when he notices a new family moving into the neighborhood. He tells Garfield about it, who is indifferent about it, but then his pest alarm goes off. Seeing the twins outside, he races upstairs and hides himself in a Christmas present. They find him anyway and dress him up. He escapes, but the twins want to play with him more, so he hides among the boxes on the new neighbors' yard. Wile there, he encounters twin boys, Chester and Lester, who want to play Pirate with him. Despite Garfield's reluctance, they carry him into the backyard anyway and lead him off a plank into a mud puddle. Drucilla and Minerva (who were following Odie's nose to find Garfield) see Garfield in the puddle and take him back to clean him. What follows is essentially a tug-of-war between the two sets of twins with Garfield caught in the middle and Odie trying to intervene (The pup's efforts were ultimately fruitless). Eventually, Garfield snaps and flees for his life, but slips on a bar of soap the girl twins were using and crashes into a trash can. Dazed, Garfield has a nightmare where everyone he knows has a twin, from Odie, to Vito, to worst of all, Nermal. Eventually, Garfield's nightmare ends and both the boys and girls decide to play with each other, leaving Garfield alone. With his energy drained, Garfield goes inside to relax, but runs out in a panic when he sees two Jons. It turns out that Jon wanted to show him a new full-length mirror, when his reflection talks back to him. I am not the biggest fan of the twins, and now we have essentially more twins. Chester and Lester have the exact same personality as Drucilla and Minerva. with the exception of liking more boyish things, like pirates and cowboys. While Odie played a decent role, and even had a good laugh at Garfield's expense, he seemed to disappear a little bit past halfway through (aside for one scene in Garfield's nightmare). Not a fan of the ending, either. I would've preferred he get some sleep for a few minutes, or hours, and the boys and girls play games together, the best of friends. Watching Garfield slowly go off the deep end is not nearly as funny to me here as it was in an earlier episode, Not So Sweet Sound of Music. I just feel sorry for Garfield and wish he got those naps he wanted to take at the end (I prefer a happy ending to a funny ending). At least the twins made new friends, all four of them, so there's that, but there isn't that much that I liked about it. It's just Garfield being pulled every which way, getting a terrible nightmare, and practically losing his mind. Odie's attempts to help were noble, (that's probably my favorite aspect of the episode) but aside from that there's not much else to save this from a below average rank.

Score: 4.5/10 Subpar

The Great Trade-Off

This episode is... shall we say, bonkers. But is it bad? I personally somewhat enjoyed it. Jon, Garfield, and Odie are picnicking on an island in the middle of the bay, with Jon unpacking tins and tins of lasagna. Nearby, Nermal is admiring himself in the mirror while showing Bruno how "un-cute" he is. Furious, Bruno chases Nermal until the latter hides in Jon's picnic basket (Nermal assumed that Bruno was jealous. No, Nermal, he's chasing you because you insulted him). Under another nearby island, a host of evil masterminds, hosted by a cyborg named Dr. Puzzle, is having a convention. Dr. Puzzle unveils his new invention, a device that swaps personalities, and uses it to swap the personalities of his nemesis, Agent 00 Nothing, and a frog. After doing this, both agent and frog are dropped into shark-infested waters, but manage to escape. Dr. Puzzle then uses his invention to swap Garfield's and Nermal's personalities, resulting in Garfield skipping past Bruno, who notices the change. While Garfield shrugs it off at first, he suddenly realizes the change and is horrified by it. Meanwhile, Nermal and Bruno are effected by the change, giving Nermal newfound aggression and Bruno laziness and a love for lasagna. Garfield is bewildered by everything and asks the audience to fill him in, (Again, love the fourth-wall break) but the frog with 00 Nothing's personality explains it to him. The secret agent, Garfield, and Nermal head off to Dr. Puzzle's island to revert the changes, only to get located by Dr. Puzzle's security robots after they got into his lair. Nermal, now with Bruno's rage and fury, dismantles the robots with ease and threatens the evil masterminds, most of whom flee, except for Dr. Puzzle, who fires up his laser to give them all a frog's personality. Garfield quickly uses Nermal's mirror to reflect the laser back onto Dr. Puzzle, giving him a frog's personality and breaking the laser in the process, reverting our heroes back to normal (Though I must say, Agent 00 Nothing seems to understand Garfield, which is weird because the cat himself has stated multiple times in this series that he cannot talk. A weird plot hole in a weird episode). As the sun starts setting, Jon packs up the lunch, Garfield tells Odie about his adventure, and Nermal is still chased by Bruno (I would feel bad for Nermal, but he had it coming for preverbally poking the bear in the first place). I have said it before, I prefer a heartfelt episode compared to one as wild as this one, but this one I found to be quite entertaining. Nermal kicking the security robots off the ledge is probably one of the highlights for me. I just find it hilarious that he, a small kitten, could do that just by infusing him with Bruno's personality. There is also a fourth-wall break tossed in there, and I love me a good fourth-wall break. But the story itself was simply fun to watch. Garfield being horrified that he's acting like Nermal is funny, the action scenes are action packed, and the ending, I do indeed like that ending. I like how Garfield told Odie about his adventure and I especially like how Bruno kept chasing Nermal. Like I said before, he kinda deserved it for provoking Bruno in the first place. Like I said, this is just a fun episode to watch, with a creative villain, some good humor, and Nermal not getting let off easy for once. Solid episode overall.

Score: 7/10 Great