comicalArchitect in the hizzle with another Gumball header. This one’s dedicated to Season 1’s “The Spoon,” in which Gumball and Darwin are sent to the corner store for some last-minute gift shopping, only to get caught up in a heist by a spoon-wielding madman. This episode features the series debut of Sal Left Thumb, Elmore’s resident career criminal, in the form of a walking thumbprint in a domino mask. It also gives strong showings from recurring mainstays Larry, the omnipresent thankless service worker, and Donut Cop, Elmore’s answer to Chief Wiggum.

Sal ropes Gumball and Darwin into his stickup by convincing them that he’s a charity worker, collecting donations for bald people. This leads to one of my favorite dialogue exchanges in the series:

We also get a solid example of one of Gumball’s trademark climaxes: an absurd high-concept chase sequence, in this case featuring Gumball and Darwin flying around the store on a pressurized tank.