Studying for tests is one of the
biggest challenges most people face in their school years. Some can do it well and pass their tests,
while others struggle to get a decent grade.
This cartoon follows an extreme case of a person in the latter
group. His name is Torvald, and he’s a
13 year old bully, yet has been held back in 4th grade several times
because he's constantly failing at every test, particularly math tests. For this test, it’s decided that someone in
the class should tutor him, and to the shock of no one, Arnold is chosen. Since he’s established himself as a bully who
everyone fears, and one who’s been held back at that, it’s not surprising that
Torvald doesn’t see the value in schoolwork or studying for tests even if they
are necessary to everyone’s success in life.
This point poses as a challenge for Arnold who, like anyone believably
would in his situation, feels like he’s wasting his time trying to teach
Torvald, but as the cartoon goes on, he does come up with actually insightful solutions. The biggest solution is one that I feel many
can relate to. It happens when Arnold
notices Torvald using mathematics while bullying someone for money, and he
comes to the conclusion that the tutoring sessions should be based on his
interests. This in turn not only gets
Torvald to do better, but also really relate this cartoon to the audience. It’s only natural have their own different
way of learning things for that’s what makes people unique, so that helps in
making Torvald himself appealing.
However, despite Torvald starting to do a lot better at math, the
cartoon goes in the smart direction of him still having anxieties of passing,
mostly due to his embarrassment of being held back, and the pressure of
pleasing his mom who thinks he’s a good student just because of one drawing he
got a C on. This further adds to
Torvald’s appeal with the addition of more human emotions. I can’t appreciate
enough that the addition of these fears make him more than just a
one-dimensional bully. Then when the
test happens, we get one more case of relatability with Torvald completing the
test at his own pace like some people would need to do. In the end, he gets a C+ on the test, and
while it’s not the best grade, it still shows that he’s on the road to
improving his grades, ending the cartoon on a hopeful note. In fact, him making very scarce appearances
for the rest of the show’s run indicates that maybe he managed to move on to
higher classes. Ultimately, we have a
relatable story with a surprisingly complex character. It’s all great stuff if you ask me. 9.5/10
Gerald
Comes Over
Arnold’s boarding house has been
established to hold a vast assortment of characters with distinct
personalities. As is common with a lot
of shows, a lot of them living together can make life very chaotic, so it’s
only natural that he’d be hesitant to show this place to others. So, we come to this cartoon where Gerald is
eager to stay over Arnold’s house so he can get to know everyone during one of Arnold’s stays at his house that introduces
Gerald’s family. Together, this family bursts
with character with the bill-conscious dad, the rule-bearing mom, the
hyperactive little sister Timberly, and the bully big brother Jamie O. A great display of different personalities
working off of each other is one of my favorite things to see in entertainment.
If you think the moments of Gerald’s family were fun, they don’t stop there
since Arnold does reluctantly agree to have Gerald come over. We then focus on Arnold showing Gerald around
the place after Grandpa assigns him to collect the rent for the month which
requires contact with the boarders, the last thing Arnold wants while having
his friend over. That’s really all there
is to the plot, so there isn’t much to take away aside from the conflict of how
Arnold feels Gerald may react to eccentric residents of his home. I will say that it is nice that Arnold just
toughs the situation out and does what he has to do while allowing Gerald to
come along with him instead of forcing him to go do something on his own
against his will for the most part. This
leads to a collection of moments from the distinct residents. First, we have a scene of a
boarder named Mr. Purdy hiding a chicken in his room which, along with the
character himself, is not shown visually.
Also, Mr. Purdy is a character who is never seen or heard from again
afterwards, so that costs this scene value and reason to exist. The rest of the scenes feature more well-known
boarders. Ernie discuss his demolition
work and take a liking to Gerald. Mr. Smith, in his final time being part of a
cartoon, amusingly shows how private he is. Mr. Hyunh has Arnold and Gerald do
chores around his place, and while he doesn’t have the rent, he has dimes for
the boys. Finally, all the boarders
watch one of Oskar and Suzie’s fights that’s humorously broken up by Arnold
announcing dinner. These moments are a
fine display of character where all the boarders stand out in their own way,
and it’s especially nice that this is the reason Gerald enjoys his stay. It makes sense that he would because while
this isn’t the most engaging of stories, it’s an enjoyable watch that
demonstrates this show’s talent of characterization. 9/10
The Rankings
1. Haunted Train
2. Stoop Kid
3. Arnold’s Hat
4. Wheezin’ Ed
5. Helga’s Makeover
6. Mugged
7. Tutoring Torvald
8. The Baseball
9. The List
10. Das Subway
11. The Vacant Lot
12. Downtown as Fruits
13. The Old Building
14. Field Trip
15. Roughin’ It
16. Gerald Comes Over
17. 6th Grade Girls
18. The Little Pink Book
19. Arnold as Cupid
20. Snow
21. Eugene’s Bike
22. Door #16
23. Heat
24. Benchwarmer
25. Operation Ruthless
26. Cool Jerk
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the 14th episode of the season: "Spelling Bee/Pigeon Man."
