The Sweaters

The Sweaters is the thirty-sixth episode of Season 2 of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the seventy-second episode overall.

Synopsis
Gumball and Darwin's reputation is challenged and they really couldn't care less...

Plot
The episode begins with Gumball and Darwin discussing Principal Brown's calling of them to his office. Immediately assuming the worst, Gumball screams at him in a socio-analytical rant describing how he and Darwin are victims of their corrupt society. He finishes his rant only to find out that Principal Brown just wanted them to show Sarah, a new transfer student, around the school. While introducing Sarah to several parts of the school, she mentions rumors at her old school relating to how "hardcore" Elmore Junior High was rumored to be. Gumball and Darwin become cocky for a short period of time after hearing her statement, but soon Darwin faces the facts and tells Sarah the truth--that, in fact, Elmore Junior High is not hardcore at all.

After school, Gumball and Darwin are approached by Carlton and Troy, Richwood High students drawn and animated in a manner similar and possibly parodying late 60s cartoons, who challenge them to a fight on the basis that they heard discussion that Gumball and Darwin thought they were hardcore. Gumball and Darwin, unimpressed and confused by the Richwood High students' reasons for a fight, simply turn and walk away. Sarah catches up with them and tells them that the Carlton and Troy's father was a powerful man and that walking away was a bad move. Gumball realizes Sarah's transfer to Elmore Junior High was the root of this problem and orders her to stay far away from him and Darwin. Despite this, Sarah continues to follow the boys, all the way home.

The next day, Mr. Kreese shows up at the Wattersons' house and openly mocks Gumball and Darwin. Uninterested, Gumball and Darwin sneak out the back door and watch him. Soon after, Carlton and Troy confront them again, stating they heard Gumball and Darwin were bragging to Mr. Kreese. Gumball and Darwin realize Sarah is just making more problems for them, but Carlton threatens to have his father demolish Elmore Junior High to build a golf course if Gumball does not show up for tomorrow's fight.

Left with no choice but to attend the fight, Gumball and Darwin see Mr. Small and Principal Brown for advice, and neither one is of much help. The boys wonder why it seems everybody wants them to participate in the fight. Penny runs up to Gumball, claiming how he is heroic for "sacrificing" himself. While his heart still wants him to stay and live, he decides the pros outweigh the cons, and in addition to impressing Penny (his crush), he accepts the fight.

When they get there, Gumball is surprised to find out that the "fight" is actually a tennis match pitting him and Darwin against Carlton and Troy. Troy serves the ball, starting the game, and Richwood High relentlessly scores points against Gumball and Darwin. Neither Gumball nor Darwin cares very much about the game and spends most of it goofing off. However, when Mr. Kreese sees that Gumball and Darwin are still doing nothing, he believes they are plotting an attack against Richwood and orders Carlton to injure Gumball even though they are one point away from winning. When Carlton serves the next shot, Gumball, who isn't paying attention, is hit in the butt by the ball.

In a scene full of "Karate Kid" satire, Mr. Small attempts to heal Gumball, but Gumball, having to either be rubbed in saliva or feign healing, chooses the latter and goes back out onto the court. In a continuation of the "Karate Kid" parody, Mr. Kreese, Carlton, and Troy are impressed by Gumball's endurance and begin to believe he really is hardcore. The game ends with a Richwood High win. Carlton walks over and gives them his one of his sweaters, and tells them he gives them his respect. Gumball sees how many sweaters he was wearing, and asks him if he wears sweaters as his underwear. He and everyone else laugh, except for Gumball and Darwin, and Gumball says he was right when he predicted the ending of the episode.

Main characters

 * Gumball
 * Darwin
 * Sarah
 * Carlton
 * Troy
 * Mr. Kreese

Supporting Characters

 * Mr. Small
 * Principal Brown
 * Penny

Minor characters

 * Carmen
 * Masami
 * Tobias
 * Leslie
 * Juke
 * Eggheads

Trivia

 * This is apparently James Lamont's favorite episode.
 * This is one of Ben Bocquelet's favorite episodes.
 * This is Sarah's first major role.
 * According to concept art, the humans in this episode were originally going to be animal characters.
 * Gumball breaks the fourth wall by mentioning how the episode will end.
 * This episode proves that humans do indeed exist in the Gumball universe.

Continuity

 * This is the second time Gumball's eyes turned into mouths, the first being "The Photo".

Cultural References

 * The human characters are designed like late 60s/70s/80s cartoon characters, primarily from shows by Hanna-Barbera,  Filmation and the G.I Joe cartoon. Their mannerisms, on the other hand, are similar to those prevalent in vintage animes such as Speed Racer, along with the use of limited and choppy looking animation.
 * Carlton calls Gumball and Darwin "Neo maxi zoom dweebies", a phrase that was used by John Bender in The Breakfast Club.
 * There are multiple references to the movie The Karate Kid.
 * The scene where Mr. Kreese orders Carlton to "break" Gumball is a parody of John Kreese instructing Bobby Brown to injure Daniel LaRusso's knee.
 * ​The scene where Mr. Small tries to heal Gumball is a parody of the scene in which Mr. Miyagi tries to heal Daniel's leg before the final match.
 * Gumball and Darwin gain respect from the crowd and their opponents after their loss, much like Daniel.

Goofs/Errors

 * In the closed captions, Mr. Kreese's name is misspelled Mr. Crease.
 * Carlton has freckles for one scene, though this may have been on purpose to make fun of animation errors in cartoons from the 1980s.
 * At one point, Jessica McDonald (Sarah's voice actress) accidentally starts slipping into her British accent.
 * In the closed captions, Sarah's name is misspelled as "Sara".
 * At the beginning of the episode, when Gumball and Darwin are yelling at Principal Brown, Darwin's right arm has an incomplete outline.