The Blame

"The Blame" is the thirty-fourth episode of Season 4 of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the 150th episode overall.

Synopsis
After Felicity bans video games in Elmore, Gumball and his friends try to have books banned instead.

Plot
The episode begins with Gumball, Darwin and some of their classmates going into the school library in order to play video games. However, Billy comes in and reveals that he has never played any video game and Gumball suggests he should try playing. Though Billy claims that video games are dangerous and make people lose contact with reality, Darwin denies this and claims they are simply entertaining. Billy follows Gumball's suggestion and begins playing, which shocks him and causes him to have a nervous breakdown (even though he didn't actually play and broke down while the game was still loading).

Due to this incident, Felicity calls all the parents to a PTA meeting where she declares that all video games must be banned, which most of those present agree with. Just then, Gumball and Darwin arrive (unconvincingly disguised as Richard and Nicole) and try to convince the people to vote against Felicity's decision, saying that video games can also be beneficial. Inspired by the brothers' determination, Felicity gives them three chances to prove their point.

First, Gumball attempts to prove that video games can make people socially active, but his family's actions while playing a tennis video game cause this to backfire. His second attempt involves trying to show Felicity that video games don't make kids lose contact with reality. However, Banana Joe overreacts to a fire in a game he's playing. Gumball's final attempt involves trying to show girls enjoy gaming too, but this attempt fails due to Felicity assuming Tina Rex's monstrous appearance is a result of her playing video games. Felicity then closes the case in favor of banning video games.

With video games gone, the children find it hard to entertain themselves and are forced to read books. Amidst their boredom, they hear Banana Joe scream. When they investigate, they find out he was screaming because of a book he was reading. Darwin then gets an idea that they should read as much as possible to see what the parents think of the influence that comes from books. The children crash in on a PTA meeting and explain to everyone through a song that literature has just as much violence as depicted in video games, if not more, which makes Felicity claim that all fiction must therefore be banned as well. However, Gumball explains that history is also very violent. Felicity then asks what point they are trying to make, to which Billy answers that nothing should be banned as violence should not be blamed on video games or books but rather on the parents who were not responsible enough to teach their children how to respond appropriately to the material they're given.

Felicity then agrees that "books are as dangerous as video games" and claims that there is only one thing to do about this matter. Richard suggests that parents should become more sensible and take better care of their children, but Felicity rejects his suggestion. The scene immediately cuts to a mass book burning outside the schoolyard, ending the episode.

Main Characters

 * Gumball
 * Darwin
 * Felicity

Supporting Characters

 * Billy
 * Penny
 * Banana Joe
 * Carrie
 * Leslie
 * Carmen
 * Sarah
 * Tobias

Minor Characters

 * Old Librarian
 * Miss Simian
 * Principal Brown
 * Harold
 * Jackie
 * Mr. Pepperoni
 * Siciliana
 * Mrs. Fitzgerald
 * Patrick
 * Mr. Small
 * Carmen's father
 * Carmen's mother
 * Oval Family
 * Shape People
 * Ocho
 * Nicole
 * Jeff
 * Susan
 * Eggman
 * Richard
 * Anais
 * Banana Bob
 * Tina
 * Air traffic controller
 * Idaho
 * Sphere Citizens
 * Alan
 * Eggheads
 * Masami
 * Marvin
 * Dexter
 * Jessica
 * Juke
 * Sussie
 * Pantsbully
 * Hobo
 * Hank
 * Cowboy

Trivia

 * The photo of Ocho's former human self is actually Jacob Hopkins, the second voice actor of Gumball Watterson.
 * This episode marks Tina's first speaking role for a long time since "The Storm."
 * This episode has the most cultural references by far.
 * It is revealed that in this episode, Felicity is the president of the parents association.

Continuity

 * Billy's drool somewhat resembles the drool one would have if they were infected by the Joy Virus from "The Joy."
 * This is the second time Gumball disguises himself as Nicole. The first was "The Plan."
 * This is the third time Penny shape-shifts into her wolf form. The first two were "The Shell" and "The Bros."
 * However, this time she does so on her own will rather than being based on her emotions. Her voice also did not change as she shifted into wolf form.
 * During the rap segment of "Books Are Violent," the hat Gumball wears is the same as Tobias' hat from "The Return."

Cultural References

 * The video games shown in the montage share a resemblance to Star Fox, Bubble Bobble, Space Invaders, Tetris, The Legend of Zelda, and Super Mario.
 * The music in the montage uses pieces of the Pac-Man jingle, Tetris Theme A and The Legend of Zelda chest opening music.
 * Gumball's three chances are represented by three heart containers, much like the health in The Legend of Zelda series.
 * The game that Darwin, Nicole, Richard, and Anais are shown playing resembles Wii Sports. The console's packaging and remote controller are also very similar to a Wii's.
 * When Gumball loses a "life" he throw his arms in the air and falls offscreen like in Super Mario.
 * The Brick Land game Banana Joe was playing is a reference to Minecraft.
 * The Game Over screen and music is a reference to the Metal Gear Solid series.
 * One of the arcade machines that was unplugged resembles Double Dragon.
 * Tobias is briefly seen playing Snake on his phone.
 * Banana Joe reads Grimms' Fairy Tales and points out their brutality.
 * Banana Joe dressing up as a vampire and taking a bite out of Sarah's neck is a reference to Dracula by Bram Stoker.
 * Penny wearing a red cloak and then taking the form of a wolf references Little Red Riding Hood.
 * Gumball saying "To be or not to be" and Darwin holding up a gold skull is a reference to the novel Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
 * Gumball during his rap mentions Huck Finn from Mark Twain's books and Romeo from the Romeo and Juliet tragedy by William Shakespeare. Also Darwin sings about the aforementioned poet's tragedy Titus Andronicus.
 * The mark Darwin puts on his head resembles the scar from the Harry Potter series. This scene also references how Harry Potter gets to the train station and how it got J. K. Rowling sued for unintentionally giving kids that idea, which ended up giving them concussions.
 * The hairstyle Penny has when she shoots an arrow bears a resemblance to the character Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
 * Sussie yelling "Off with their heads!" and wearing a crown with Queen playing card on top is a reference to the character the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
 * Tobias saying "Thar she blows!" is a reference to the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville.
 * Frank mentions Lord of the Flies novel by William Golding and then his classmates perform a violent scene referencing plot of this book.
 * Tobias mentions Oliver Twist novel by Charles Dickens.
 * Gumball says that he has read The Tortoise and the Hare fable.
 * Alan says that he knows Greek mythology including Medusa's story.
 * The part were Darwin jumps from a chair with a pair of wings tied to his back and Sarah dressed as the Sun may be a reference to the tale of Icarus.
 * This episode's song Books Are Violent has a tune and ending that sound similar to Don't Hug Me I'm Scared.
 * Many of the books mentioned in this episode, such as The Hunger Games and Alice in Wonderland, are frequently banned or otherwise censored by school boards and libraries in the United States.
 * The last scene of this episode, when parents burn a stack of books may be a reference to infamous Nazi book burnings during World War II.
 * It may also be a reference to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
 * Banana Joe and Bob trying to go through a bookshelf to time travel may be a reference to the old Gumby cartoons, where the main characters did a similar thing.

Goofs/Errors

 * In this episode, Penny has her normal voice when she is in her wolf form, but in "The Shell," Penny has a deep voice when she is in her wolf form.
 * Along with this, she also transforms into her wolf form despite showing no conflicting emotions.
 * When Gumball sets the tortoise and hare down, his left arm is missing for a brief moment.
 * Nicole suddenly disappears from the stage when Felicity adjourns the meeting.
 * When Penny is lying down during the rap song, her left antler briefly disappears.