The Grades

"The Grades" is the twenty-third episode of Season 5 of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the 179th episode overall.

Synopsis
When a failed test grade brings down Gumball’s grade point average, he is forced to return to kindergarten.

Plot
The episode begins with Principal Brown walking into his office to find a delighted Miss Simian attempting to smile. After two more of Miss Simian's failed attempts to smile, Principal Brown asks her why she is so happy. Miss Simian then explains that she has found one of Gumball's failed tests and that his grade point average is void. She then begins to dance with glee and invites Principal Brown to join her.

Later, Gumball is unknowingly taken and thrown out of school by Miss Simian. As he questions her motives, Miss Simian explains that he failed a test in kindergarten and has to be sent back, much to his dismay. After Nicole drops him off at kindergarten, Gumball becomes overwhelmed by the toddlers' reckless playing. After his day in the nursery, Gumball complains to his family about how terrible his day was. An envious Anais interprets Gumball's day at kindergarten as fun compared to their usual school day, which makes Gumball optimistic and convinces him to start enjoying himself.

The next day, Gumball begins to get along with the toddlers as he takes part in various activities such as painting and basketball. Meanwhile, Miss Simian is called into Principal Brown's office, where she learns that by demoting Gumball back to kindergarten she is one student short, and she will be fired by Friday if she does not get him back. An enraged Miss Simian begins to attack the Principal by biting his hands.

Miss Simian then arrives at kindergarten to offer Gumball the opportunity to come back. However, Gumball declines, saying that he enjoys his time at kindergarten more that he does at school. After being told that Miss Simian will get fired if he does not return, a gleeful Gumball becomes more eager to stay at kindergarten. Miss Simian then attempts to cry, causing a grossed out Gumball to reluctantly accept the offer.

After arriving at school, Miss Simian explains that Gumball needs to pass a test in order to be accepted back into her class. However, Gumball struggles to study and Miss Simian decides to help him cheat. Gumball is against the idea of cheating at first, but Miss Simian explains that she cheated in the 8th grade, which convinces him to go through with the idea.

On the day of the test, Gumball tries various plans prepared by him and Miss Simian to cheat but fails to use each one. Gumball then decides to take the test without cheating, causing Miss Simian to freak out. Afterwards, Principal Brown reveals that Gumball passed the test without cheating and got an A+. An awestruck Miss Simian congratulates Gumball and almost gives away that she tried to help him cheat by mistake. Gumball tries to cover it up, but accidentally reveals that Miss Simian cheated in the 8th grade.

The episode ends with Miss Simian being forced to study alongside Gumball in class.

Main Characters

 * Gumball
 * Miss Simian

Supporting Characters

 * Principal Brown

Minor Characters

 * Darwin
 * Alan
 * Bobert
 * Banana Joe
 * Teri
 * Penny
 * Tobias
 * Clayton
 * William
 * Penny's Sister
 * Frog Kid
 * Octopus
 * Blue Cyclops
 * Apple Kid
 * Milk Bottle
 * Tooth Kid
 * Suzy
 * Nicole
 * Richard
 * Anais
 * Leslie
 * Sarah
 * Carmen
 * Juke

Trivia

 * This episode reveals that Gumball and his classmates are now in 8th grade, although this was also referenced in a few episodes.
 * That also means Anais is in high school now since she is a grade higher than Gumball and Darwin.
 * However, this could also merely be a simple continuity error.
 * Darwin has no lines in this episode.

Continuity

 * This is the second time that it is proposed that Gumball would have to restart school from kindergarten. The first time was in "The Finale."
 * This is Miss Simian's fifth major role in an episode. Her previous four episodes were "The Ape," "The Apology," "The Joy," and "The Lie."
 * Gumball is seen reading "The Little Platypus Who Took the Wrong Bus" from "The Internet" in the preschool bathroom.
 * A short version of "You Gotta Think Big" from "The Genius" plays when Gumball is taking and reading books.
 * The "Elmore Biology" book from "The Traitor" and "My Pet Turtle" from "The Puppy" appear in the montage of Gumball getting ready to study.
 * In this episode, Miss Simian is physically incapable of smiling or crying without her making it look like she is doing something weird, although she was perfectly capable of doing it in the episodes "The Words," "The Apology," and "The Joy."
 * This is the nineteenth episode in which Gumball's underwear is revealed, but it is the third episode in which he takes off his clothes, including his pants. The first two were "The Oracle" and "The Test."

Cultural References

 * When Principal Brown says that he wanted to know what he would look like with a tail, he mentions furries.
 * Principal Brown's deformed face coming out from the back of his head is a possible reference to Quirrell having Voldemort's face growing out the back of his head from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
 * This could also be a reference to Edward Mordrake, a man from the 18th century who suffered from a mutation that resulted him having a disfigured face from the back of his head that frequently whispered to him.
 * When celebrating Gumball's demotion to kindergarten, Miss Simian and Principal Brown are dancing to Joy by Apollo 100, which is based on Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.
 * The video Principal Brown describes of "an orangutan saving a baby bird from drowning" is a reference to a real video filmed at Dublin Zoo.
 * The cave paintings Miss Simian used to cheat are located in the Lascaux Cave, in France.
 * Miss Simian mentions the painting The Birth of Venus and recreates Venus' pose.
 * The first scene where Gumball is in kindergarten may be a reference to Toy Story 3, where the toddlers recklessly mistreat the toys.

Goofs/Errors

 * When Gumball is carried out of the classroom, Penny disappears from her desk.
 * While Gumball is being carried, a desk can be seen in the classroom door frame.
 * During naptime at the kindergarten, Frog Kid's arm and leg come out from beneath Penny's Sister, despite him sleeping on the opposite side of Gumball.
 * The "inhibition" that Gumball throws on the floor is gone after he runs into the bookshelf.
 * At the same time, several toys appear that were not in the previous shot.
 * The third instruction on Gumball's 8th grade test reads "lenght."
 * When Gumball tries to cheat by reading what is written on his tongue, the words "parallel," "transversal," and "they" are misspelled. However, this could be attributed to him being a poor speller.