The Promise

The Promise is the thirty-second episode of season two of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the sixty-eighth episode overall.

Synopsis
Darwin has promised to play video games with Gumball, but his promise with Banana Joe interferes.

Plot
After school, Gumball and Darwin search for available seats on the school bus, and they eventually end up at the rear seat with an angry Banana Joe. They wonder why he is so angry, but he doesn't answer. Darwin promises to "find the source of Banana Joe's anger and appease [his] wrath" by the end of the weekend, to which Gumball objects.

The next day, the boys shop for groceries, while Gumball complains about Darwin promising to help Banana Joe instead of playing a new game together this weekend. They recall how excited they are upon learning of the news of The Tale of Zelmore's release, as well as Darwin promising to play with Gumball that day. Darwin tries justifying his promise, plus (failing to) make Gumball feel guilty for his selfishness. Soon Banana Joe shows up at the grocery store, and Darwin whispers to him to meet at the soda machine.

Afterwards, Gumball and Darwin join the queue at Ripley 2000. While Gumball gets into a fight with an overly excited Ocho, Darwin sneaks away to meet with Banana Joe at the nearby soda machine. The two have a conversation, but Darwin keeps shuffling away from Banana Joe several times, irritating him. He tells Darwin to come help him with his video at the school gym, before he rejoins Gumball.

At the Watterson house, Gumball excitedly starts up the game, but sees Darwin trying to sneak away. Gumball questions Darwin, who simply states he's going to the restroom. After another query, Gumball loses his suspicion, and Darwin flees to the bathroom. He tries to escape through the window, via a toilet paper rope. Since the "rope" is weak, it breaks under Darwin's weight, and he falls to the ground.

When Darwin comes to, he hears Gumball calling his name. He tries to stand, but falls to his knees in pain. Gumball reveals that he placed bricks beneath the restroom window because he knew that Darwin would try to escape. Darwin then continues to reason with Gumball, who remains adamant and refuses to help.

At the Elmore Jr. High gym, Banana Joe is in front of a camera, making a body-building video. He then tries to lift some weights, but he fails and is crushed. He then states how important it is to have somebody spot you while lifting, but since Gumball and Darwin are still not around, he attempts to show the camera how to get out of his situation. These attempts simply get him hurt even more, and he assures himself that Gumball and Darwin will arrive soon.

Back at the Watterson's house, Gumball drags Darwin back into the house. Darwin's extreme desire to help Banana Joe depresses Gumball, stating that Darwin is better friends with Joe than him. Darwin then comforts Gumball, who finally agrees to help Banana Joe. Suddenly, Darwin states that Banana Joe can probably handle it until tomorrow, and Gumball notes that Darwin just wants to play the game as much as he does. At the school gym, Banana Joe is stumbling around, muttering "They'll be here soon...". He hurts himself on more gym equipment, and gets sucked into a treadmill. He continues believing in Gumball and Darwin, the lights in the gym shut off.

The next morning at the school bus, Banana Joe is in a huge body cast. Gumball and Darwin have provided him a bell, and they ask him yes-no questions with one ring for yes and two rings for no. He answers yes to "Does it hurt?" and "Do the bandages itch?", but a speedbump on the road forces him to answer "no" to "Are you still mad at us?". Gumball and Darwin sigh in relief and hug Banana Joe, who yells in protest. Gumball and Darwin are oblivious to his muffled outburst. He calms down and simply grunts.

Main Characters

 * Darwin
 * Gumball
 * Banana Joe

Minor characters

 * Tobias
 * Carrie
 * Ocho
 * Mr. Small
 * Sussie
 * Masami
 * Juke
 * Leslie
 * Rocky
 * Sarah
 * Eggheads
 * Penny
 * Lizard Woman

Trivia

 * According to this episode, "Gumball" is actually just a nickname. His name was revealed to be "Zach" in "The Name."
 * Darwin breaks the 4th wall by licking the camera.

Continuity

 * This is Banana Joe's second major role in an episode, the first one being "The Banana".
 * Banana Joe's sober face was accompanied by the emotional tune from "The Bumpkin" that played when the Wattersons shed a tear for the TV.
 * The party music from "The Bumpkin" plays when Gumball and Darwin get excited for the new Zelmore game.
 * The characters from Kebab Fighter can be seen on a poster at Ripley 2000.

Cultural References

 * When Gumball gets out the disc for Zelmore, he takes it out and holds it up in the same fashion Link from The Legend of Zelda does when he finds an item in a chest. He also hums the same tune.
 * When Darwin was telling Gumball to be nice, they were making a reference to Star Wars.
 * Banana Joe's statement is a reference to the old philosophical experiment about observation and reality, "If a tree falls and no one is around to hear it, will it make a sound?".
 * When Darwin says "We're gonna play 'till we're purple!", he's making a reference to "The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie", in which SpongeBob said "We're gonna party 'till we're purple!"

Goofs/Errors

 * The position of many of the kids on the bus switches between the external view and the internal view. Carmen, for example, was shown at the front, but when the view switches to the interior of the bus, she is seen sitting three rows back. Tobias and Carrie were shown on the left side of the bus, but then they get put on the right side. Their positions change again on the second external view of the bus.
 * In the beginning of the episode, Carrie did not have headphones, but later on in the episode, she had headphones.
 * When Gumball and Darwin gasp after what Banana Joe said, if one looks closely, the students on the bus disappear.

La Promesa