The Photo

The Photo is the twenty-fifth episode of season two of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the sixty-first episode overall.

Synopsis
Gumball tries to look good in the school photo in order to contain his legacy.

Plot
The episode opens with Gumball striking various poses for his school photograph. Unfortunately, all of his proofs come out awkward. He laments how his school photographs never look good. Mr. Small, the photographer for the day, suggests using Shotofop to improve his photograph, but Gumball has tried it without success. Banana Joe, among the impatient students waiting to be photographed, rushes to the photo session while holding his pose for so long. His banana skin breaks, ruining his photograph. Enraged, he vows revenge on Gumball. Gumball pleads Mr. Small to have his picture taken again. He allows him one more photograph, at 3:00 p.m. before he returns the camera.

In the school hallway, Gumball, Darwin, and other students check out their photographs posted on the wall, including Gumball's awkward one. Alan appears, and Gumball comments how his photographs are always perfect, even with a mole on his face. Humbly, Alan asserts that true beauty comes from within and tries to help, but Gumball blows him away for being too nice. Darwin agrees with Alan's statement, to which Gumball literally takes his eye off and looks inside his mouth. Darwin then concedes that Gumball has to accept himself for not being photogenic.

Through the day, Gumball makes several attempts to improve his photogenicness. First, he exercises his face with two small dumbbells attached to his lips, which causes his facial muscles to become swollen. Then he tries to smile with his eyes, in which his eyes literally transform into mouths. Next, he has Bobert fire laser at his face in order to have his skin burn, peel, and tan. Seeing that Gumball is taking it too far, Darwin suggests asking Alan for advice.

In the hallway, Gumball confronts Alan, and demands he reveal his secret to looking good in photographs. Alan replies there is no such secret, so Gumball tries beating him up, which only results in himself getting beaten up by the passive balloon. In the boys' restroom, Gumball is dismayed at his swollen face, and is about to resign, when Darwin comes up with an idea. He starts manipulating Gumball's face, and after messing around with his face a bit, he molds Gumball's face into a handsome shape. Gumball is very pleased with the result, and he is finally good-looking enough for his final photograph, or so he thinks.

An hour before Gumball is scheduled to have his final photograph taken, he becomes paranoid that somebody, or possibly everybody, is out to ruin his newly handsome face. He and Darwin cautiously walk around the hallways; meanwhile Banana Joe is still bent on revenge against Gumball, so he marches through the hallways for him. Gumball and Darwin pass through a small group of students, who react to his face with disgust. However, Gumball assumes it's Darwin's supposedly ugly face they're reacting to. A little later, Gumball and Darwin comment about being in a horror movie, where lights flicker and roars are heard. Such events seem to come true, as the boys hear Tina's roars and see lights flicker in the hallways. They run away in terror, only to discover that Tina is roaring because she's doing painful splits while trying out for cheerleading team, and that Sussie is just playing around with the light switch. Soon, they approach Alan, whom they are worried that he may attempt to ruin Gumball's face. Darwin impulsively pops Alan, and immediately regrets his action. However, Alan bears no ill feelings toward either boy, and Gumball is touched at his kindness.

At the photo session, Banana Joe prepares for a showdown, only to be unceremoniously squashed by Gumball opening the door. Mr. Small questions whether Gumball's really satisfied with his face, to which he affirms. Gumball poses for one last photograph, and unfortunately he sneezes just as his photograph is taken, ruining his own shot at a decent school photograph.

Main Characters

 * Gumball
 * Darwin

Supporting Characters

 * Banana Joe
 * Alan
 * Mr. Small

Minor Characters

 * Tobias
 * Carrie
 * Leslie
 * Carmen
 * Penny
 * Ocho
 * Bobert
 * Idaho (photo only)
 * Jamie (photo only)
 * Masami
 * Sarah
 * Juke
 * Teri
 * Anton
 * Tina
 * Sussie

Trivia

 * On June 20, 2013 this episode was accidentally put on iTunes instead of "The Hero".

Continuity

 * One of the photos taken of Gumball can be seen in the school yearbook in  "The Sidekick", meaning it was the photo he decided to use.
 * Tobias can be seen in the line for the photo doing the same "Chunking The Deuce" pose from "The Words".
 * Bobert can be seen reading "A Window On The Soul", a book that appeared in "The Flower".

Cultural References

 * This episode is similar to Dexter's Laboratory episode "Picture Day", because both Dexter and Gumball were not photogenic and, later they attempt made themselves look handsome in episodes of own series.
 * This episode is also similar to one of the episodes from Ed, Edd n' Eddy "Smile For The Ed" where Eddy couldn't get a decent photo to impress his mother so he could get his brother's room.
 * Sussie turnig the lights to "night" and "day" may be poking fun at an episode of SpongeBob Squarepants where Patrick turned the lights to "death" and "life".
 * Also, it is certainly a reference to the cult French film "Les visiteurs", when Jacquouille does the same thing with the light.
 * Banana Joe's maneuvers with his peel at the end are a reference to Bruce Lee's nunchaku scene in Enter the Dragon.
 * The inability of Carrie to be captured on film is a reference to the myth that the undead do not show up in photographs. This contradicts "The Mystery", where she can clearly be seen in the yearbook.
 * Other myths suggest the opposite - that ghosts and other invisible supernatural objects may only be seen in a photograph.

Goofs/Errors

 * When Mr. Small is talking to Gumball, Mr. Small's mouth disappears for a split second.