The Line

"The Line" is the thirty-seventh episode of Season 5 of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the 193rd episode overall.

Synopsis
The Wattersons will do whatever it takes to get into the first screening of the latest Stellar Odyssey sequel.

Plot
Nicole comes out of a tent and is happy to do a family activity, but she finds out that she and the rest of the family were moved while they were sleeping. It turns out they're in line for the premiere of Stellar Odyssey: The Force Rehashed, and they were at the front of the line when they pitched the tent, but Pantsbully moved them while they were sleeping to get a better position in line, but he also lost his position while moving them, leaving the moment to be awkward. Colin and Felix show up and find out that the line is so long that they leave. Larry puts up a privacy barrier in front of the Wattersons and reveals they won't be getting into the first screening. Nicole wonders why they wanna see the first screening so bad when they can just go to the second one half an hour later. Gumball states that the second anything doesn't matter, Anais wants to have the power to spoil, and Richard claims it changed his life while lying it was because it was when he had his first date with Nicole. Darwin hopes to see the character Chuckie, a character that nobody finds entertaining or endearing but him.

Gumball then says it's a dog eat dog world which The Pepperonis mistake for a spoiler in the film, causing them to leave. This gives Gumball an idea. While Rotten Cupcake and Julius are waiting in line, they hope that the movie will be more unique but still be more faithful to the previous installments. Just then, Rotten Cupcake gets a post on her phone which turns out to be a video of Gumball as an overweight nerd giving a fake review of the movie, saying that everything has changed to the point where it's completely different from before. This infuriates Julius who tosses Rotten Cupcake's phone on the ground instead of just stopping the video, and they leave. With them gone, the Wattersons can now get into the first seating. However, Larry reveals that the seating chart shows them so far back at the end of the theater that they ran out of letters for rows, and so some new letters were made up. The Wattersons will be in row Cleft. Richard laments at this news, stating that he would rather watch the holiday special at home. Just then, Teapot overhears this and claims that only a true fan would know about that special. He and Richard claim to be the most dedicated fan of the franchise and decide to have a nerd-off to decide. If Richard wins, Teapot and the rest of the patrons will get behind the Wattersons. Colin and Felix want to partake in the nerd-off as well, but Richard and Teapot scoff at them and claim that they are not real nerds because they can just use the internet while the older fans had to rely on other sources back then. In a Jedi-style battle, the nerd-off begins and it seems Teapot is going to be the victor until he accidentally reveals he had a friend growing up, costing him the nerd-off and giving the victory to Richard.

The Wattersons get close to the front of the line while the other patrons get behind them as promised, but Banana Bob is the sole patron in front of them and claims that he is so determined to be the first to see the movie that he was waiting before the movie was announced, missed many important occasions, and starts eating himself till he's nothing but mush. After seeing the banana's freakout, the Wattersons get to the front of the line. But suddenly, Gumball gets a reminder on his phone. He asks what street they're on and Nicole says they're on Elmore Blvd, and he responds that their tickets are for the cinema on Elmore St. Soon, everyone realizes they're all at the wrong cinema with only 10 minutes before the first screening starts and rushes off as quickly as they can.

The race begins and the Wattersons' car won't start, so they decide to use shopping carts to get through the mall with Felicity and Billy behind them. Billy throws cans at Richard who retaliates by closing off the mall exit with a fork, allowing his family to escape and causing Felicity and Billy to crash. Anton tries to find a shortcut through an alley bar to ask for directions to the street, only to find out that the bar attendants are birds. Bobert zaps Leslie and Melted Cheese Guy, and Tobias and Jackie smash him with trash cans. Tobias asks his mom if she got VIP tickets, and Jackie says she didn't because the film will be a reboot and she'll leave shortly after it starts. Tobias strangles her from a distance out of disappointment for his mother's lack of faith. Hector, due to his colossal size, is gonna reach the cinema in just a matter of steps, but Masami stops him by wrapping a garden hose around his legs, causing him to trip and plummet.

Hector's crash cuts the Wattersons off from the rest of the crowd, and Nicole admits that she and Richard are slowing the kids down, mostly Richard. Richard really wants to see the movie, but Nicole tells him that he needs to let go for the good of the kids. For that, they form a fake line to pass their location off as the line for the movie, fooling everyone and giving the kids a chance to get to the cinema. But when they get there, they find out that they were tricked because the cinema is really an empty lot, leaving the kids wondering who sent Gumball the reminder.

Back at the real screening of the movie, it turns out that Colin and Felix are the sole viewers of the movie because they hacked the theater's database, sending everyone on a wild goose chase, thus letting them enjoy the film in peace, including a moment where Chuckie gets blasted to smithereens to their delight as the episode ends.

Main Characters

 * Gumball
 * Darwin
 * Anais
 * Nicole
 * Richard

Supporting Characters

 * Colin and Felix

Minor Characters

 * Pantsbully
 * Siciliana
 * Mr. Pepperoni
 * Melted Cheese Guy
 * Julius
 * Rotten Cupcake
 * Teapot
 * Felicity
 * Billy
 * Hector
 * Crocodile Woman
 * Tobias
 * Hexagon Lady
 * Shape People
 * Leonard
 * Jeff
 * Masami
 * Carmen
 * Principal Brown
 * Martin
 * Banana Bob
 * Larry
 * George
 * Crocodile Woman
 * Apple Mom
 * Cupcake Woman
 * Librarian
 * Mrs. Fitzgerald
 * Cowboy
 * Exercise Bacon
 * Oval Family
 * Harold
 * Mushroom
 * Anton
 * Hot Dog Guy
 * Karen
 * Green Bear
 * Louie
 * Bandage Doctor
 * Shooting Star
 * Marvin
 * Sarah
 * Bobert
 * Pigeons
 * Birds
 * Leslie
 * Jackie

Trivia

 * This is the fourth episode not written by Ben Bocquelet. The first three episodes were "The Vacation," "The Law," and "The Potato."

Continuity

 * A poster for the movie "Man Man" from "The Stars" reappears at the Elmore Cinema.

Cultural References

 * This episode features direct references and elements to the popular Star Wars franchise.
 * Stellar Odyssey is a title parody of the Star Trek film series. The Force Rehashed is a parody of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
 * "Use the sauce!" and "Use the forks!" are a parody of the popular quote "Use the Force!"
 * Chuckie is a parody of Jar Jar Binks, a character from The Phantom Menace who was created for comedy relief and despised by much of the fanbase. He has not appeared since then. Chuckie getting attacked is a joke on the character's infamy.
 * The bird bar Anton accidentally enters resembles Tatooine from many Star Wars films.
 * Richard and Teapot's Jedi-style "nerd-off" is a reference to Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
 * Richard saying he adopted Darwin only to be able to say that he has 2 sons is a reference to planet Tatooine from Star Wars: The New Hope which was orbiting around 2 suns.
 * Billy's mother does a muffled voice, similar to the "Darth Vader" voice from "Star Wars"
 * Darwin's ""It's a trap!"" is a direct reference to the famous "Star Wars" quote.
 * When Anton accidentally enters the bird bar, you can see three little white birds who look similar to Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
 * When Richard tries to remember his and Nicole’s first date, a flashback shows them dancing while a song similar to Darude - Sandstorm plays.
 * The persona Gumball assumes while sending the fake Stellar Odyssey review to Julius is a direct reference to Boogie2988, a YouTube vlogger known for his rants on game and nerd culture.