Big Betta Bullies and New Villains Show Up in the Latest “StuGo” on Disney Channel
We learn a bit more about a particular sect of mutants on the island before the kids come up with a brilliant plan that quite literally blows up in their face as we catch up with the latest StuGo on Disney Channel.
Alpha Betta Chip
Did I think this title was a typo at first? Sure did, but it will make sense soon. We open on the kids as they are strangely presenting projects to each other – or magic tricks that take quite a dramatic turn in Merian’s case - but alas, we learn that Chip is trying to make hybrid fruits, and has invented the Tree Swapper, a machine that tears the branches off of one tree and swaps it with the limbs of another.
While he is working with his new invention, and a bit of foreshadowing as the Tree Swapper wrangles Chip on accident instead of a tree - ready to disarm him - Chip sees a group of Mutant Betta fish down below who are slapping each other. Because of the size differential between the competing Bettas, Chip assumes that the smaller one is being bullied, and jumps down to stop them. On his way, he trips and accidentally slaps the bigger Betta, thus winning this fight that he inadvertently became a part of. The smaller Betta, which we then learn is named Peanut, is in awe of what just happened. When the bigger Betta gives Chip his belt, Chip continues to believe this was all a bunch of bullying and gives Peanut the belt, believing that the “bullies" took it from him.
As such, Chip offers his full protection to prevent Peanut from being bullied again in the future. Turns out (according to Peanut) that this is part of the Betta culture, where slapping is common. Despite Chip’s particular disdain for violence, he agrees to help by also slapping the bully Bettas.
It’s quite obvious at this point that Chip is being scammed and is essentially prize fighting for Peanut, winning him all the championship belts. It’s the fellow kids that inform him he has been tricked and is prize fighting. To a point where even Chip got the kids comp tickets to come watch the next big bully showdown. After the next fight, in which it dawns on Chip that it actually is a prize fight, he tells Peanut that he will no longer take part in this and leaves.
Chip wakes up and realizes he has no arms, which have been replaced by Peanuts fins. It seems that the Tree Swapper was used against him and Peanut has stolen his arms to do some slapping himself. After all, the biggest slapping competitor was the next fight.
Chip goes to the next fight and tries to stop Peanut, telling him he doesn’t have enough heart to win. While this might seem as a slight - he in fact has too small of a heart to pump blood through the arms and have enough strength to win.
Chip instead takes hold of Peanut and together, they fend off the biggest, dare we say, Alpha Betta.
This time though, instead of slapping Chip opts to hug the big betta, causing the fight to end and the Bettas now turn toward a more peaceful lifestyle as opposed to the slapping and violent one.
The Bomb Swapper
The kids are up in Dr. Lullah’s lab, and while they also learn about the #1 cereal that makes you scream, they are also there to show off Mr. Communi-tater, a walkie-talkie kind of device that they are presenting to Dr. Lullah. Instead of doing what it was meant to - amuse her - despite being fully functional, Lullah proceeds to get annoyed and fires them out of a cannon back to their abandoned boat home.
The overachieving and eager-to-please kids are all convinced that Dr. Lullah hates them, but Pliny tries to assure everyone that she does care about them, they just have to figure out her particular way of showing it. So, they use the companion device, Mrs. Communi-Tater, to contact and listen in on what’s going on up in the lab.
As they make contact, Lullah is clearly getting upset as nobody should have that number if they’re not looking for Mr. Okay’s screaming cereal unless they’re another super-villain. SO, the kids pick “The Bomb Swapper" as Lullah is listing a number of super-villains in which it could be, and stage a kidnapping-ransom.
This particular villain happens to be a fifth-tier villain, which is perhaps more offensive to Lullah as she has to be dealing with it now. So, she returns the call to the Bomb Swapper directly - meaning, she is not calling the kids but calling the Bomb Swapper himself. He has no idea what she’s talking about but his assistant, the Defuser, suggests that he go with it because he can switch the kids out for bombs and thus take out Lullah and her lab, and make him a fourth-tier villain.
As the kids are on the shore waiting for Lullah, the real Bomb Swapper arrives with dummies of the kids made as bombs. He knows what most of them look like as it was also revealed that Lullah doesn’t know the kids’ names and uses descriptors to remember who they are. Except for Francis. She knows Francis.
Lullah picks up the dummy kids, and takes them back to her lab, with the real kids giving chase to stop everything considering they know that the Bomb Swapper has swapped them for bombs. The kids are unable to catch up, and Dr. Lullah and the bombs explode in the distance.
But the reveal comes shortly after - Dr. Lullah knew that is was bombs the whole time, and was trying to throw him off. That Lullah was a dummy made from the screaming cereal and her voice was provided by the convenient invention of the kids, Mr. Communi-Tater.
Worry not though, Dr. Lullah, astonished by his audacity, has promoted the Bomb Swapper to a fourth-tier villain even though he has covered the island in bombs that the entire group must now go find.
Ending the episode on a different note though, we cut to a hilarious and cheaply made sitcom-style entry of the Communi-Taters that is clearly made by kids.
Between this and last week’s flat tire, StuGo is showing us that they know how to close on a big laugh.
This episode of StuGo is now available on Disney Channel and the DisneyNOW Website. You’ll also be able to watch the series when on Disney+ when it arrives there later this spring.