Timely Prank Wars and Life Lessons Take Over This Week's "Big City Greens" on Disney Channel

Perfect for the occasion, this week’s Big City Greens sees us caught in the middle of a prank war on April Fool’s Day before we get some important life lessons thanks to a Tilly’s new pet.

April Fool

According to Cricket, today is the most romantic day of the year. No, it’s not Valentine’s Day, it’s April Fool’s Day! And, thanks to a jaunty little musical number, we learn that this is the way that Cricket and his girlfriend Gabriella show their love for each other, with devastating pranks that they pull on each other.

However, as Cricket is brainstorming with Tilly and Remy on what big stunt he can pull this time around, he discovers that he has “Pranker’s Block" and cannot concoct an appropriate scheme worthy of unleashing on Gabriella. His sister and Best Friend decide to help him, but none of their ideas are big hits. In fact, Remy (along with trying some new slang that doesn’t seem to work) is stuck on the idea of putting a pebble in her pocket.

Cricket isn’t the only one having the April Fool’s Day fun though, as at the Gloria + Green Cafe, it’s obvious that Alice is up to some pranking of her own. Gloria, having been exposed to Cricket’s schemes for years, can see right through each and every one of Alice’s tricks. Jade, a bit more gullible, isn’t so sure they are pranks but rest assured, they are. Even when they get an invitation to the funeral of Alice Green. While Jade is devasted, Gloria insists that it’s fake before she heads into the streets and calls out that she will be in attendance at the funeral. This way, Alice has to actually go through with the funeral ceremony.

Back in the park, Cricket and co. are still trying to come up with the greatest prank before he encounters another kid from his past - the Cyber Knight leader, Selena. Remember her? She and her friends would terrorize the other kids in the park with their drones back in season one. Anyway, not only have we learned her name, but she is back with better drones that are capable of dropping water balloons on everyone in the park, including Cricket.

Taking some advice from Tilly, Cricket decides to prank Selena to get his head clear and come up with a great prank for Gabriella - clearly he can think of pranks for other people but not for her. Why? He comes up with a scheme and does succeed in pranking Selena, dousing her with a water balloon from her own drone. But Gabriella was nearby and saw the whole thing, upsetting her. She knows, just like Cricket explained, that this is how they show how much they care about each other and here Cricket is pranking another girl!

Gloria has arrived at the Alice Green wake, which looks quite rushed (because it’s a prank and Gloria knows it), and makes Alice break character by suggesting that now she will change the name to “Gloria Cafe" and makes Alice admit that she is incapable of pranking Gloria on April Fool’s day.

Cricket has caught up to Gabriella - who is feeding ducks in the park by dropping bread onto a street musician’s head from a bridge above - and discovers that she too has Pranker’s Block as he explained himself. They laugh with each other and it seems all is forgiven as they decide that instead of pranking each other, they should start pranking people together.

Back at the cafe, Gloria and Alice have returned and Gloria is still bragging about how she cannot be pranked. Jade, who has been cleaning the roof all day continues to do so as Gloria tells her to be careful on the ladder, just as Jade falls and splits herself in half over part of the cleaning supplies. Gloria and Alice panic before it is revealed that it’s just Cricket and Gloria dressed as Jade, each representing one half of her split body. Turns out, Gloria can be pranked. And so can Jade, who was convinced that she was really split in half when she entered the room as well.

Good Grief

Bill and Tilly are at the pet store checking out all the pets. This is not uncommon, we know Tilly loves all things animals, but this time she actually wants to take a pet home. While the Green family is no stranger to creatures in the home, Tilly suggests that the pet they would get would be HERS, and not the family’s. Bill flashes back to a pet he had as a kid - a worm named Todd - and agrees to let Tilly get a pet of her own.

Out of everything in the shop, she picks a very ill-looking fish that she names Cough-O. They take the fish home and it dies almost immediately. Bill notices this but Tilly hasn’t, and suggests she take a nap, giving him time to recover the situation and spare his daughter some grief.

Cricket and Remy are at the Remington household watching a classic body-swap comedy, “Wacky Wednesday" and are then inspired to swap bodies themselves. However, they don’t know any witches, voodoo priestesses, and the ilk that would put that kind of curse upon them, so instead they pretend to swap bodies. Complete with the accidentally-on-purpose running into each other trope.

Immediately, they head to the Cafe and try and convince Gloria that they have swapped bodies, but it’s clear that they have only swapped clothes and Gloria is too busy to deal with any of this. After convincing some of the other kids (who also see right through everything) the two get a bit aggressive and insulting in pretending to be each other. Officer Keys overhears this and completely believes their body swap has taken place, and stealing bodies is an arrestable offense! It’s theft!

After a failed trip to the pet store full of other overprotective fathers, Bill heads home and disposes of Cough-O’s body by flushing it. Horrified, Tilly is in the doorway and sees the whole thing. Bill comes up with a story that it was an accident that happened while prepping a bath for Cough-O, but he’s in a better place anyway - down in the sewers swimming to his heart’s content and having a great time. All Tilly hears is that they know where he is, and can go down into the sewers and retrieve him.

Wrapping up the B storyline, Officer Keys is convinced that the boys haven’t swapped bodies after all when they begin apologizing to each other for getting insulting with their impressions of each other as part of their own Wacky Wednesday ... on a Thursday.

After thoroughly searching the sewers and “making an error" that sends them in a rushing flood of water out into the open water, Bill convinces Tilly that Cough-O must be out there and is gone now, with Tilly responding with comments over how ambiguous the whole thing is. There is no certainty whether he is alive or dead, and nothing feels resolved.

Bill concedes and admits that Cough-O died shortly after they brought him home and he wanted to spare her the grief. Tilly, always wise beyond her years, explains that grief is a part of life and should be experienced. Then, she asks about Todd and bonds with her father over some of those cherished memories. She thinks that they would be great friends, even though one is a fish and the other is a worm.

This episode of Big City Greens is now available on Disney Channel and the DisneyNOW website. You can also catch up with earlier episodes streaming now on Disney+.