The Parents

"The Parents" is the sixteenth episode of Season 6 of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the 208th episode overall.

Synopsis
Nicole reconciles with her parents.

Plot
The episode starts at Elmore Shopping where Nicole is shopping for groceries. While Nicole goes to search, Anais, Gumball, Darwin, and Richard, all attempt to try and put snacks such as ice cream into the shopping cart, all of which failed as Nicole was quick to detect their attempts and fight them off. Gumball questions why they can’t get just one treat, and Nicole explains it is the end of the month and she barely makes any money at her job (even opening her wallet to show she is literally paid in peanuts). However, Nicole was able to get an advance on her next quarter, which literally meant she got an extra quarter. Anais says you can only get a shopping cart full of groceries in the 1860s. Nicole says you can if you can sniff out a good bargain, and she literally starts sniffing for one. Richard explains to the kids she learned it from her family, who had a super ability to save money.

To her delight, Nicole sniffs out a case of corned beef underneath a shelf, corned beef that is from the 1960s-but Nicole says it is only 20 cents for the whole case, and the 60s were great, if you were a man, not a minority, or not afraid of nuclear war.

However, a man from the other side of the shelf pulls the corned beef case away from Nicole, who demands it’s hers and the two start fighting over it. Nicole gets angry enough to use her extreme strength to win the case, only to knock down the shelf in the process. To Nicole's shock, the people on the other side are her estranged parents.

Nicole is now driving the family home as Richard eats corned beef. She is angry that the kids invited her parents over to their house. Gumball says they deserve it, and to think of it as a gift to them. Nicole admits she shouldn't deny them from knowing their grandparents, but Gumball actually meant they owe them Christmas presents. Richard starts opening another can, and talks to it as he opens it, but Nicole thinks he istalking to her. She thinks he tells her to give it another chance and to be good, and when he asks, "Why can't you open up?" Nicole explains her and her parents have a lot of bad history together, and she has not spoken to them in 20 years. However, she would try her best to be open.

Nicole and her parents sit at the dining room table, glaring and refusing to make eye contact. The kids and Richard observe them from the kitchen. Gumball tried to lighten the mood by telling a joke, but the next scene cuts to Nicole and her parents screaming at one another, breaking things as they do it. Richard explains to Gumball they blame one another for their strained relationship but no one really knows whose fault it is. Darwin says the only way to figure that out is to have Nicole, Grandpa Daniel, and Granny Mary talk about their issues with one another, and they’ll decide who’s in the wrong.

The scene cuts to the whole family in the trashed living room, the kids and Richard hide behind the flipped over couch, and Nicole and her parents are on opposite sides of the living room, still glaring and facing away from the other.

Nicole finally speaks up and tells her parents they have always been disappointed in her. Her mother explains they wanted her to succeed, but Nicole cuts her off and says it is because they had ridiculously high expectations of her, and complains they made her wear ridiculous clothes her whole life. Her mother says in life you have to dress for the job you want, but Nicole tells her she took it too far, and we see a flashback of Nicole being born wearing a suit. Nicole’s mom says she wasn’t exactly easy herself, and flashes back to when Nicole was in preschool and made her a finger-painting of thumbs-downs for Mother's Day. Nicole fights back and says they gave her a stupid name, revealing to the kids and Richard that Nicole is actually her middle name and her first name is "Doctor."

Nicole’s father argues they only wanted what was best for her, but Nicole says that mindset led them to do things like give her the wrong blood when she needed a blood transfusion; she needed B- but they gave her A+. Nicole shouts at them that nothing was ever good enough for them, and they made her sign up for every extracurricular activity. Her mother shouts back they were giving her opportunities to succeed, Nicole says, "All at the same time!", and flashes back to her as a child doing multiple activities simultaneously, such as playing the violin, baseball, track and field, chess club, drama club, and karate.

Back in the present Nicole angrily laments over her stressful childhood, and crushes her coffee cup when her father fails to understand. Her parents then begin to lecture her on her anger problems and how it has caused trouble for them, such as when she destroyed the neighbor's car and a kid literally landed in the hospital. Daniel also angrily tells her about the time she stole the car to go on a date with Richard and they landed in court (literally, as the car crashed into a courthouse).

Nicole changes the subject on how they never approved of Richard. Mary admits to Richard that their daughter could do a lot better than him. Daniel then sadly asks Nicole why she walked out, who explains she wanted to start over and there was no point trying to fix their relationship because it was so broken. Nicole says they did not even show up at her and Richard’s wedding. Her mother explains they tried to and they went to "Rsvp," because that is what it said on the invite, and they ended up in a town in Moldavia.

Nicole questions if that’s why they sent her and Richard divorce papers for their anniversary. Mary says that was for sending her retirement home leaflets with glitter for her 50th birthday, which Nicole says that was for trying to ship Richard to Guatemala. Daniel says that was after she got them committed for six weeks, and Nicole angrily says that was after paying for their honeymoon but replaced Richard with a neurosurgeon. Daniel begins to explain why they did that, but he says he cannot remember, and Nicole says she can’t either. Darwin asks why they can’t just apologize and make peace. Nicole says they were at peace - separately.

Gumball, in a cheesy dirty way to manipulate their emotions, starts singing "If It's Too Hard To Forgive," as Nicole turns away from her parents, who looks sad as they start to leave. Nicole looks at her mother, and the two share sad glares with each other. Daniel and Mary walk to their car as Nicole cleans dishes with tears in her eyes. Daniel puts the key in to start the car, and we see his keys have a keychain picture of Nicole as a child. They drive away. Nicole, still upset, takes off a photo on the fringe of herself as a child opening Christmas presents. She unfolds the other half of the photo to reveal her parents watching her lovingly. Daniel and Mary continue driving as Mary looks at a picture of her grandchildren. Behind them, we see Nicole run outside in an attempt to stop them, but she’s too late and they cannot hear her.

As Daniel drives toward the end of the street, he looks in the rear view mirror to see Nicole as she sadly walks back inside. He looks and Mary as the two have tears in their eyes, and Daniel hits the brakes, just as a truck runs through the intersection (implying if he had not, the truck would have hit them).

Nicole is about to go inside, but she sees her parents pull up, and she goes to them. Mary tries to tell her something, but Nicole angrily says she doesn't want to hear her excuses, and then sheds a tear as she says she just wants them back. Her parents get out and the three hug, finally fixing their relationship as Gumball ends his song. Anais and Richard congradulate him on his song and how he used it to sum up their relationship and tell them how to fix it. Gumball says that’s not what it was about: it was about the Christmas presents Daniel and Mary’s owe them. The others are unamused by this, and Darwin smacks Gumball's head into the window, ending the episode.

Main Characters

 * Nicole
 * Daniel
 * Mary

Supporting Characters

 * Gumball
 * Darwin
 * Anais
 * Richard

Minor Characters

 * Bandage Doctor
 * Oval Family
 * Marvin
 * Melted Cheese Guy
 * Madam Butterfly
 * Yuki
 * Judge
 * Sphere Citizens
 * Harold
 * Banker
 * Hank
 * Pill Doctors
 * Bandage Paramedic
 * Neurosurgeon
 * George

Trivia

 * It is revealed in this episode that Nicole's first name is "Doctor."
 * It is revealed that Mr. and Mrs. Senicourt's names are Daniel and Mary.
 * This is also their first appearance in the present day.
 * It is revealed that Nicole has been estranged from her parents for 20 years up until this episode.
 * This episode revealed that the reason why Nicole parents did not show up at the wedding in "The Choices" was because they mistook RSVP for Rsvp, a small town in Moldavia.
 * It is revealed Nicole was forced by her parents to take every extra curricular activity in school, including karate, violin, baseball, track and field, chess club, football, and drama club.
 * It is revealed Nicole has B- blood.

Continuity

 * Footage from "The Choices" is reused.
 * The scene where Nicole storms out of her parent’s house is used, although the footage is flipped.
 * Its revealed that in the scene where teen Nicole and Richard are about to kiss in a car at a lookout point, only for the car to roll down the hill, Nicole took her parent’s car without permission, and the car rolled into a courthouse.

Cultural References

 * Nicole being born wearing a suit may be a reference to the Dreamworks animated movie “The Boss Baby.