The Fan

"The Fan" is the second episode of Season 3 of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the seventy-eighth episode overall.

Synopsis
Sarah, the new kid in school, is Gumball and Darwin's number one, crazy obsessive, fan.

Plot
The episode opens with Gumball and Darwin frantically running through town for some reason. They keep bumping into Sarah, who tries to greet them over and over. Eventually they stop in time for Sarah to greet them with a cliché pun, and the Rainbow Factory blows up in the distance. The following day at school, the boys are grieving over the destruction of the building when Sarah shows up and delivers a couple of cliché expressions. Later in the cafeteria, she seats herself next to Gumball and Darwin. She reveals she transferred to Elmore Junior High to be near them, and she wonders what her role is. Gumball suggests she is the "insanely obsessive one," and she enthusiastically takes his statement as a compliment.

Sarah then shows a video of the Stalker Song to Gumball and Darwin, and they freak out. The boys decide to confront Sarah about her behavior, but have difficulty tracking her down. In the hallway, the boys see Mr. Small staring at a painting, and suddenly discover Sarah hiding in front of it. She flees to her locker as Gumball and Darwin attempt to chase her down.

At Sarah's locker, Sarah explains that she only acts that way because she is lonely, but Gumball and Darwin ask her to leave them alone. Sarah leaves distraught, with tears in her eyes. As she leaves, Darwin notices the drawings in her locker. After reading through Sarah's personal notes, the boys feel guilty and decide to make it up to her by following the story in her notebook.

Gumball and Darwin find Sarah on the school roof, and start reciting lines from her book. Sarah remains depressed, but after being persuaded by the boys, she plays along with them. Gumball and Darwin "fight" for Sarah's love, but almost end up injuring each other before Sarah breaks up the fight. In frustration, Gumball destroys Sarah's notebook. Sarah simply hums the show's ending theme, perplexing both Gumball and Darwin.

Main Characters

 * Gumball
 * Darwin
 * Sarah

Minor Characters

 * Cube Dog
 * Penny
 * Leslie
 * Carrie
 * Carmen
 * Eggheads
 * Tobias
 * Tina
 * Idaho
 * Bobert
 * Mr. Small
 * Gary

Trivia

 * This episode was aired the same day as "The Kids". Also, this episode aired one year after "The Virus ".
 * This is the first time the Rainbow Factory's exterior has been seen.
 * Sarah breaks the fourth wall when she plays the show's background music as the scene changes.
 * Sarah breaks the fourth wall again by humming the ending credits.
 * The fighting image from Sarah's story can be seen on her wall toward the end of the "Stalker Song."
 * This is the first full episode with Jacob Hopkins and Terrell Ransom, Jr. as Gumball and Darwin.
 * Sarah's full name is revealed in this episode.
 * Sarah's voice appears to sound slightly different from "The Sweaters."
 * This is the second time the Rainbow Factory is seen, and the first time the outside is seen. The first was in "The Game."

Continuity

 * This is Sarah's second major role in an episode. Her first was in "The Sweaters".
 * Pictures from "The Colossus," "The Date," "The Dream," "The Photo," "The Flower," and "The Sweaters" are shown during Sarah's song.
 * Suburban Karate Master is seen being played by Gumball and Darwin during Sarah's song.
 * The ukulele from "The Knights" and "The Internet" is seen in this episode.
 * It is also heard playing on the title card.
 * ​This is the second time references are made to previous episodes, with the first being "The Finale."

Cultural References

 * Sarah pausing after telling a joke is a reference to other sitcoms.
 * When Mr. Small tries to find Sarah on a wall, music similar to Jaws can be heard when she opens her eyes the first time.
 * Sarah's fan book, The Amazing Adventures of Gumball and Darwin and Sarah, is done in the style of manga, or Japanese comics.
 * Also in Sarah's fan book, Gumball and Darwin are depicted with handsome faces and flowers and sparkles around them. For this, they may be referencing some animes, where some of the characters daydream about their crush (if they have one), which sometimes looks handsomer than the real deal.

Goofs/Errors

 * All of the cars that appear in the running scene are driverless.
 * When Gumball throws Sarah's recording device, the buttons are on the right side, when they should be on the left.
 * Minor cosmetic errors appear during the cafeteria scene, such as Darwin's cup changing its place, Gumball's green food disappearing then reappearing, and Darwin's spoon not actually touching the food when he eats it.
 * The ukulele has 4 tuning pegs, but has 2 strings. The same error happened earlier in "The Internet."
 * When viewed from the cover side, Darwin flips the pages of Sarah's comic to the right (as if Sarah arranged the page to imitate the way manga is printed), but when we see the open side, the pages are flipped to the left.
 * Gumball stands to Darwin's right side as they read Sarah's comic, but when Gumball points at it, his hand comes from Darwin's left side.
 * There is a picture of Gumball's yearbook photo, but it is normal, while the proof is hideous.
 * In The Amazing Adventures of Gumball and Darwin and Sarah, on the page that depicts Gumball and Darwin watching the "Stalker Song", they don't have the flowers and sparkles around them. It is unknown if this was intentional.

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