The Bumpkin

The Bumpkin is the seventeenth episode of season two of The Amazing World of Gumball.

Synopsis
Sick of modern rush and convenience, Gumball asks Idaho to teach his family to live a simpler life, which goes very wrong.

Plot
Richard is driving the kids to school with his GPS guiding him there destructively. During the trip, Gumball questions the purpose of getting a job and Richard explains it's to earn money to buy things which in turn keeps others in their job. No longer seeing the point in getting an education for a job, Gumball tries to make a break for freedom by launching himself out of school with the help of Hector. Unfortunately, the plan doesn't work as Gumball falls flat onto the ground and continues to complain about the repetitive nature of life. During a conversation, he learns of Idaho's simpler lifestyle, giving him an idea.

At the Wattersons' house, Richard brings home a bag of fast food for supper, promptly tossing it out the window when he meets Idaho and learns that he's a potato. Nicole tells him that Gumball intends to convert the family to a simpler life, as evidenced in their missing chairs. Gumball then announces that Idaho will show the family "the way to ultimate happiness" (i.e. no electricity, no cars, no supermarkets).

None of the other family members are pleased with Gumball's decision as they all sit outside in the backyard with Idaho. Idaho suggests playing "rough and tumble" in which Darwin participates. The activity goes awry, when Darwin, in a state of panic, kicks Idaho over the neighbor's house. Next, Idaho suggests a sing-along to cheer things up, which doesn't help their frustrations much. They panic when a wasp flies by, and Gumball, who hides himself from it in Nicole's skirt, confronts it, which results in him getting stinged. Rather than seek first aid, he sucks the poison out of his stung finger, ending up with swollen lips. Nonetheless, he refuses to go back indoors. After a brief journey to the forest and around the neighborhood, the family settles down back at the backyard for a meal, with lousy results.

As the night rolls in, the Wattersons start warming up to the simpler lifestyle, because it gives them time to bond as a family. They thank Idaho, and they fall asleep underneath the stars. During the night, Idaho enters the house and catches Gumball gobbling junk food and playing video games on the couch. Before he can talk, Gumball convinces him easily into joining him. For the rest of the night, they party wildly.

The next morning, Gumball finds Idaho unconscious on the floor. The whole family rushes to the hospital, with Richard once again recklessly driving and the rest angrily blaming Gumball for backing out of the simpler lifestyle. Anais figures that the "filthy suburban lifestyle" has sent Idaho into a state of toxic shock, and that he needs to return to his home instead of going to the hospital. The family then goes through a wild drive all over Elmore.

Eventually they arrive at Idaho's home, which is a farmland, and Gumball carries the ailing potato to his family. Idaho's father takes him, and buries him. The Wattersons assume he has died, so they begin crying and singing an elegy for him. Shortly, Idaho pops out of his dirt bath, completely refreshed. The Wattersons are relieved, and Idaho's uncle offers them to stay in the fields in order to get away from their unhealthy lifestyle; however, the Wattersons drive off as he finishes speaking and arrive at Joyful Burger.

Main Characters

 * Gumball
 * Darwin
 * Idaho
 * Anais
 * Nicole
 * Richard

Minor Characters

 * Idaho's family
 * Penny
 * Tobias
 * Leslie
 * Mr. Fitzgerald
 * Masami
 * Hector
 * Gary
 * Charlie
 * 3D Cube Employee
 * Newspaper Employee
 * Pantsbully
 * George
 * Marvin
 * Cupcake Woman
 * Larry
 * Sal Left Thumb
 * Orange Security Guard
 * The Sun
 * Shape People
 * Orange Woman

Trivia

 * This was Idaho's first major role in an episode.
 * Music from "The Mystery" is reused in this episode.

Continuity

 * The music used in the scene where the family is trying to rest is the same track used in "The Robot" and "The Goons".
 * The parking lot in this episode is possibly the same parking lot from "The Remote" and this time they passed the opposite way.
 * Several locations and characters that haven't been seen since Season 1 appear during the scenes where Richard drives through town. The Elmore Expressway, Chanax Inc., The Sewers, Stomach Destroyer, and the ice rink from "The Gi" are present along with Sal Left Thumb, Charlie, and 3D Cube Employee.
 * Gumball requesting Hector to send him to freedom by launching him into the air with a seesaw may be a tribute to the climax of the Early reel.

Cultural References

 * The game that was being played on the TV before Gumball pulled the plug was Space Invaders.
 * The music that played after Gumball pulled the plug on the TV is an excerpt from Lacrimosa of Mozart's Requiem Mass in D Minor.
 * The GPS in the Watterson's car "Mumu" is a reference to Tomtom.
 * In the scene where Idaho first comes to the Watterson house, Richard presents the fast food meal he bought with a few French words - "poulet" translates to chicken, so "poulet a la deep fried" refers to the chicken nuggets, the "fries of the French" obviously means "French fries", and "Mmm,  délicieux." simply means "delicious".
 * Idaho's statement about the earth being flat is a reference to the old belief that the entire earth was flat.
 * The whistling noise Richard makes when he speaks with a broken tooth makes him sound like Gopher from the Winnie the Pooh franchise.
 * The dialogue between the Orange Security Guard and Richard is the same dialogue used in Ghostbusters.

Goofs/Errors

 * When Richard is driving the kids to school in the beginning, Anais is sitting behind him, but when they get there, she is sitting behind Gumball.
 * The broken part on Richard's tooth changes its location when he switches direction.
 * When Idaho was buried and Gumball sings, one of Nicole's eyebrows goes missing as she blinks in a scene.
 * This episode contradicts the Elmore Stream-It video "The Flying Potato", since it showed Idaho living in a modern house.
 * In the photo that shows Gumball and Idaho wearing shuttershades, the shuttershades cut into Gumball's mouth.

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