The Skull

"The Skull" is the thirteenth episode of Season 2 of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the forty-ninth overall.

Synopsis
Gumball and Darwin befriend their classmate Clayton, who is a compulsive liar.

The episode starts off with Gumball and Darwin yelling and panicking. Miss Simian is banging on the restroom door. Gumball and Darwin continue screaming, until Darwin asks why. Gumball simply replies that showering with other people is disgusting. Clayton appears and suggests that the boys wet their hair and say they took a shower. When Clayton gets on the sink and wets his head, the sink falls off and the water pipe starts spraying water. Clayton tells the boys to give them their towels in order to block the pipe, but they refuse. Clayton puts his mouth over the pipe, which fills his mouth with water. Clayton goes flying all over the boy's shower room and causes lots of destruction. Somehow, the room bursts into flames as well.

In the principal's office, Principal Brown demands an explanation. Gumball tries to explain what happened, but he is interrupted by Clayton who says they caught a guy trying to steal from the lockers. He lies about them fighting and damaging the room, and about Gumball and Darwin coming out of the shower to come to his rescue. However, Miss Simian asks them about the guy's appearance. Gumball lies as well, and claims the perpetrator had a big skull. Principal Brown shows Gumball a drawing he drew up about the description Gumball gave, but it's only a sketch of a sailboat. Principal Brown explains he was never good at drawing faces, and commends the boys. He then tells them to leave his office and put on some clothes.

Outside the office, Clayton says, "Good job team!", but Darwin suggests that Clayton is a bad influence for lying about the bathroom incident. Gumball says that they shouldn't see each other again. Clayton claims he only lied because he thought of them as friends, then asks Gumball if they really are friends. Gumball agrees, but only if Clayton stops lying. Clayton responds with a "scout's honor!", causing Gumball to point out that he was never a scout. Despite this, Gumball gives him another chance.

In the cafeteria, the boys are laughing until Gumball starts to choke. Clayton saves Gumball by administering the Heimlich maneuver and the food bit lands in Miss Simian's coffee. Everyone in the cafeteria claps for Clayton and he gets a medal for saving Gumball.

In the hallway, the boys see Tina bullying Anton, causing Anton to pull out money. But Clayton goes up to Tina and squeezes her on the shoulder, making Tina fall asleep. Everyone claps for Clayton again, and he gets another medal for save a student for gets Bullying.

In the classroom, the boys are showing the class an experiment. The boys mix the chemicals and the resulting product is a crystal. Clayton places the crystal on his forehead and somehow gains the ability to fly. Clayton then carries Gumball and Darwin into the air.

The scene then turns to Gumball, Darwin, Clayton and Penny talking in the bus. Clayton is telling Penny made-up stories about his day, until Darwin points out that he is lying again. Gumball, agreeing with Darwin, states that all that happened that day was that he saved Penny from a tribe of time-traveling troglodytes and then they made out, but Penny tells him that all she did was go to school, and now she was on the bus. Gumball then realizes that she is right and that Clayton is contaminating them with his lies. Darwin states that they have to stop lying before it gets any worse.

At home, they are in their room with Clayton. They have shock collars on, and every time they lie they will be electrocuted. Gumball asks Clayton what he did today, and he says he fought a tiger. Gumball knows this is a lie and shocks Clayton. Then he asks Darwin the same question. He tells the truth at first, but then starts lying, so Gumball shocks Darwin too. Then it's Gumball's turn. Despite Gumball's pleas, Darwin asks Gumball if he kissed Sussie when he was still woozy from medication when he went to get his appendix removed. Gumball gives up and just tells Darwin to shock him. However, Gumball gets angry because the shock felt like lightning, and not the "mild electric shock" that Darwin claimed. Then they start shocking each other, while Clayton laughs them. They snap out of it and ask Clayton if he has a girlfriend. Clayton lies, and as Darwin about to press the button, Clayton pretends he is being shocked. They realize that his shock collar isn't on and kick him out.

The next day at school, Darwin wants to give Clayton another chance. Gumball gives him another chance just for the sake of it and heads to science class, where it is revealed that Darwin was just Clayton in disguise. The real Darwin comes along, so Clayton disguises himself as Gumball, and persuades Darwin to give Clayton another chance.

Later on, the two are with Clayton at the lunch table, who is impersonating Banana Joe, and Gumball says it's way better than the real Banana Joe. We see a shot of Banana Joe crying with "Vesti La Guibba" playing in the background. The three continue laughing, but it doesn't last long, because Gumball and Darwin suddenly realize that Clayton tricked them into giving him another chance. Clayton bounces out of the lunchroom in tears. Miss Simian barges into the luchroom in anger, asking who has upset Clayton. Banana Joe points at Gumball and Darwin. Miss Simian is about to scold them, but Gumball and Darwin suspect it's just Clayton in disguise. The two put their food on Miss Simian's face, then realize it's not Clayton. Miss Simian is now at the breaking point and sends the two to the office.

In the office, the Gumball and Darwin admit their lies to Principal Brown. However, Principal Brown forgives them and sends them back to their clasroom, also telling them to make up with Clayton. Gumball and Darwin leave, but Principal Brown is revealed to be Clayton in disguise yet again. Miss Simian comes in and reminds Clayton (still in disguise) that Razor is coming back from suspension for smashing up the locker room. Clayton is shocked to see that Razor is the skull guy that Gumball made up. Miss Simian asks for a kiss, so Clayton jumps out the window. Miss Simian is surprised by this and smells her breath.

Back in the hallway, Clayton tells Gumball and Darwin that the skull guy is real. At first, they don't believe him, but then suddenly, the skull guy crashes through a wall and starts attacking the three. Clayton jumps at Razor but he is smashed by his guitar. Clayton is split into many pieces, but is not hurt, and transforms into many bees that attack Razor. He then transforms into a brick and nails Razor in the head. This only angers Razor, and his arms grow bigger and more muscular. Clayton asks for help, and Darwin pushes Gumball onto Clayton, who transforms into a flight-capable jet. They fly at Razor, with Clayton shooting bits of himself at high speed. Razor retreats and hides in a room, while still getting bigger. Gumball asks Clayton why he lies all the time if he can do such cool stuff. Clayton replies that he just wanted to impress them and that he thinks they're cool, but Gumball says that Clayton is cooler. They keep on complimenting each other and fail to see Razor's guitar in front of them. Gumball and Clayton smash into a locker. Razor keeps growing, so Clayton turns into a horse and carries Gumball and Darwin away. They smash through a window, and Razor is unable to follow them because of his size. He leaves, and the three friends celebrate. However, Razor returns and destroys the wall with his hands. They are cornered, so Clayton transforms into a large weapon. Gumball and Darwin carry Clayton and aim at Razor, who starts barreling towards them. Clayton tells them not to fire yet. Razor nears, and they finally press the trigger. Clayton flies at Razor at high speed.

This is all shown to be fake. Clayton, Gumball and Darwin are in Principal Brown's office, with Clayton making up stories again. Gumball then explains that he made up the skull guy, and he happened to fit Razor's description. Razor, who is actually very skinny, only came to thank them, because his suspension caused a slight increase in his band's popularity. Principal Brown is relieved that Razor is innocent, but demands an explanation for the destroyed locker room. Gumball says that Clayton has a very believable story for that, but Clayton actually tells the truth and says they were soap dodging, and Gumball and Darwin felt very embarrassed as they slapped their own heads, and Principal Brown simply says "Gross", ending the episode.

Main Characters

 * Gumball
 * Darwin
 * Clayton

Supporting Characters

 * Principal Brown
 * Miss Simian
 * Razor

Minor Characters

 * Penny
 * Tina
 * Anton
 * Teri
 * Carrie
 * Banana Joe
 * Carmen
 * Idaho
 * Alan
 * Masami
 * Tobias
 * Leslie
 * Sarah
 * School Nurse
 * Sussie (in a photo)

Trivia

 * This episode aired in the UK a day before the US.
 * This episode marks the first time Clayton had a major role.
 * The scene where the boys use shock therapy to stop lying was cut from the U.S. airing, marking the first time the U.S. has edited an episode.
 * Despite the shock scene being censored, the scene can be viewed in the official Cartoon Network YouTube page.
 * It is implied that Gumball kissed Sussie while being under the influence of medication after he had his appendix removed. This contradicts "The Storm," when Gumball stated that he had never kissed anyone.

Continuity

 * During the shock therapy scene, Gumball holds up what looks like a Dodj or Daar card.
 * This is the second time Gumball is almost afraid to go to detention and cry. The first was "The Flower."

Cultural References

 * The song that plays when Banana Joe's feelings get hurt is Vesti La Giubba from the opera Pagliacci.
 * When Clayton knocked out Tina, what he did to knock her unconscious is very similar to the Vulcan nerve pinch.
 * When Clayton changed into a fighter jet, the model he copies is the F-22A Raptor.
 * The design on the medal that Clayton receives for performing the Heimlich Maneuver on Gumball is very similar to that of the Combat Medical Badge.
 * The song that plays during the montage of Clayton performing amazing acts is similar to the Van Halen song Panama.

Goofs/Errors

 * At the start of the shock therapy scene, there is a deck of cards in front of Gumball. When the camera comes back from Darwin talking, there is only one card there, which Gumball picks up and reads off. Afterwards, the whole deck reappears. Later, when Clayton fakes being shocked, the deck disappears completely.
 * In Razor's student file, the word "address" is misspelled as "adress".
 * It was first stated Razor was punished with a suspension that had already ended, but at the end of the episode Gumball says that he was expelled.
 * When Darwin holds up the photo of Sussie, her eyes are yellow.
 * Throughout the episode, Razor's name is written as Raisin in the captions.