The Spoon

"The Spoon" is the eighth episode of Season 1 of The Amazing World of Gumball.

Synopsis
Gumball and Darwin ignorantly become accomplices to Sal Left Thumb's robbery of a gas station.

Plot
It's Nicole's birthday, and Gumball, Darwin, and Anais get her presents, but Richard forgot to get one for her. He's unable to buy a gift for her because he needs to watch the kids, so Richard sends the boys to the gas station to buy one. They pick out a holographic card that has a person on it, angry and normal. A robber comes in and scares Larry with an old, rusty spoon, he then raids the cash register. Gumball and Darwin are about to pay for the card when the robber sees them. The robber then lies to them, saying he is a charity man and that he wants them to collect something for the Bald People charity. Gumball and Darwin find lots of stuff to donate, including shampoo, which they think is a perfect gift for Bald People. As Gumball gets the shampoo from the bottom of the pile, the pile falls and reveals a safe. Soon, a police man comes and looks around, trying to find a snack. The robber tells the boys that the police man would "ruin the surprise" of the donations and tells them to get rid of him. Gumball and Darwin find him a snack, which ironically is a doughnut, and chase him away by throwing it a far distance. The boys try to open the safe to no avail, until the safe says they just have to say please. Upon opening the safe, they find lots of money.

Meanwhile, Nicole comes home from work and notices that the boys aren't there, and Richard tells her after being asked. Nicole then tells him to put his pants on (which she always tells him) and the family drives to the gas station to get them. When they arrive, the robber ties them up and tapes their mouths shut. Gumball and Darwin see them and ask why they are tied up. Then, they see the robber and realize he doesn't work for charity and start running. Richard swallows the tape and crawls around, and finds a hot dog on the floor and licks it. Nicole then finds some ice cream and puts it on her rope, Richard bites through it and Nicole goes to save the boys.

Gumball and Darwin defending themselves, throwing objects at the robber. They get a gas canister and try to get away from the robber before crashing into a wall. The robber then takes the bag they were holding. Nicole then finds them and picks up the bag and a hot dog. The Doughnut Sheriff comes back and sees Nicole with the bag, Gumball and Darwin unconscious, and the cashier tied up. Nicole then gets arrested after the officer sees what happened there.

Later, Richard, Gumball, Darwin, and Anais go to the jail and gave Nicole a cake for her birthday. Then, the police man comes in with the real robber, and says Nicole is free to go, but he needs 5 minutes to fill out her paperwork. Nicole says that 5 minutes is all she needs, which gives her enough time to give the robber a beating.

Main Characters

 * Gumball
 * Darwin
 * Sal Left Thumb (debut)

Supporting Characters

 * Larry
 * Nicole
 * Richard
 * Anais
 * Doughnut Sheriff

Minor Characters

 * Ocho (on a poster)
 * Mr. Small (on a poster)
 * Mr. Robinson (on a poster)
 * Safe Lock (debut)

Trivia

 * One wig brand in the gas station had the name "Gendi" on it, a reference to George Gendi, who is one of the story boarders for the show.
 * This was the last episode in the United States to be paired with another new episode on the day of its premiere until "The Flower" in season 2.
 * When Sal is talking to Larry at the beginning, a poster of Ocho can be seen on the top shelf, and a poster featuring Mr. Small is visible in the background as well.

Cultural References

 * On the cover of the book about wigs, the hairstyle resembles that of The Beatles hairstyle.

Goofs/Errors

 * When Gumball and Darwin pass the gas station, you can see the store is small, but when Sal Left Thumb chases them, the store seems to be bigger.
 * When Richard says "Yes!", his whiskers disappear.
 * While Gumball and Darwin are riding on the helium can, they fly through a wall then out the side of the screen.
 * Richard has fear of the spoon Sal Left Thumb has. But in "The Wand," he is seen eating with a spoon without any problem. He might have conquered that fear.
 * Nicole is handcuffed and put in a prison cell, but when she says "5 minutes is all I need." she is no longer wearing handcuffs. Also her eyelashes are missing.
 * Gumball's and Darwin's eyebrows disappear throughout the episode.
 * When Gumball and Darwin crash through the soda cans, Gumball's tail and the spots on Darwin's shoes disappear.