In which Steve gets clammed and then Joker’d

Clammed! So have you ever had the feeling that you are going along with the crowd because that’s what they want. We’ve all been there, either faking interest or not going against the grain. And this episode highlights Steve’s desire to not go against the crowd at first until he’s pushed too far.

Steve and Toshi are at lunch planning Toshi’s birthday when Snot and Barry burst in to announce the opening of one of their favorite restaurants, Aww Shucks, a fast food clam place. They rush over to get a taste but doesn’t like it. He tries to hide his distaste but everyone is shocked he doesn’t like the fried clam in the clam shell. His friends attempt to win him over but after a montage of him hiding the clams in his locker he is shunned and his friends abandon him.

He tries to bring down Aww Shucks from the inside but after his big reveal that the special sauce is just mayo and tartar sauce isn’t met with enthusiasm, he falls in a vat of the sauce and becomes the Joker. He kidnaps his friends’ grandmothers to make them choose between the clams and grandmas. They choose the grandmas and end up destroying Aww Shucks and everyone shuns them. With the Langley Falls Aww Shucks destroyed, the gang decides to go to the original one to destroy and cut the head off the snake. However it’s all a ruse by Snot, Barry and Toshi to tie Steve up and get the sauce out of him. They succeed and everyone goes back to being normal.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Smiths must track down Mr. Minor, the man who used to live at the Smith house before they did because they still get his mail. Stan takes them to the CIA where they use the mail to build a profile of him and then 3D print a life like copy who speaks in terms of all his mail. They eventually get to his house where his widow embraces the printed Mr. Minor and everything works out.

Stray Observations

• I couldn’t tell from the actual music but it was either a deliberate knock off or just short enough that they used Rock and Roll just enough to not have to pay G*** G****** royalty fees.
• Everything with “Clamboni” got a good chuckle out of me.
• “I’ve been shredding the gnar since Tony Hawk was Tony Egg”

Final Thoughts

I found this a solid refreshing return to form for AD! after the last few unspectacular episodes. Steve’s turn as the Joker was funny and the b-plot had some solid chuckles. Nothing groundbreaking but funny.