The Cringe

"The Cringe" is the seventh episode of Season 6 of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the 203rd episode overall.

Synopsis
Gumball and Hot Dog Guy discover why they're so awkward with each other.

Plot
The episode starts off with Gumball whistling down the hall to the restroom with a happy expression. When he enters the restroom, he encounters with a very particular student that he is very awkward with, Hot Dog Guy, who also needs to use the restroom. However, they are unable to do so in each other's presence so the two try to use the restroom separately but keep on running into each other, trying to avoid the outcome of making things awkward. As the day goes by, Gumball and Hot Dog Guy are running into the situation where they need to use the restroom, from the football field to science class. Finally, they come to an agreement that they need to find out why the relationship between them is so coarse.

Gumball has an idea where they both expose themselves to each other in the shower room. That doesn’t work as Hot Dog Guy refuses to expose his body, and doesn't help that Banana Joe is also there. Not wanting to give up, Gumball suggests that he and Hot Dog Guy try extreme measures and audition for “Elmore’s Got Talent” and they progressively cringe watching it from TV until the two pass out and end up in a hospital. Their last attempt at settling the awkwardness is when Gumball pretends that he is Hot Dog Guy's new father, much to his horror. As Gumball talks like a father model and gives Hot Dog Guy “the talk”, they suddenly cringes so hard that Gumball comments on how it echoes through his future on his marriage, birth of his first child, and death. Gumball notices a picture of when they were in kindergarten and finally figures out why they were so awkward with each other: they both knew each other for a long time.

As a last resort, they both make a box which somehow gives them the power to see past memories. It is shown that they can be very close since they knew each other since they were babies. Gumball and Hot Dog Guy destroy all of the past memories they had of themselves and settle everything out with a hug that turned out not to be awkward. At the end, they wipe out the present memories and most likely was hit so hard enough for themselves to remember everything again.

Main Characters

 * Gumball
 * Hot Dog Guy

Minor Characters

 * Bulldog
 * Penny
 * Sarah
 * Pixel Octopus
 * Carrie
 * Carmen
 * Miss Simian (voice)
 * Ocho
 * Leslie
 * Rocky
 * The Sun
 * Tobias
 * Juke
 * Marshmallow Firefighters
 * Darwin
 * Banana Joe
 * Bandage Doctor
 * Hot Dog Guy's mother
 * Felicity
 * Blue Elephant
 * Soulless Office Worker
 * Sphere Citizens
 * Pear Woman
 * Molly
 * Daisy the Donkey
 * Leonard
 * Carmen's father
 * Patrick
 * Harold
 * Crocodile Woman
 * Alan
 * Masami
 * Teri
 * Colin and Felix
 * Nicole

Trivia

 * The fourth wall is broken when the "hands" from the flashback scene knock down Gumball and Hot Dog Guy.

Continuity

 * This is Hot Dog Guy's fourth major role in an episode. The first three were "The Extras," "The Hug" and "The Awkwardness."
 * This is the third episode of Gumball and Hot Dog Guy being awkward (whole plot). The first two were "The Hug" and "The Awkwardness."
 * This is the eighth time Gumball is shown older. The first seven were in "The Gi," "The Job," "The Mirror," "The Crew," "The Uploads," "The Vase" and "The Heist."
 * This is the first time Penny is shown older.
 * This is the sixth time Gumball is shown younger. The first five were in "The Treasure," "The Origins," "The Origins: Part Two," "The List" and "The Rival."
 * This is the second time Banana Joe and Leslie are shown younger. The first was in "The Origins."
 * This is the first time Tobias, Molly, Hot Dog Guy and Carmen are shown younger.
 * This is the twenty-fourth time that Gumball's underpants are revealed.
 * This is the fourth time that the episode references Also Sprach Zarathustra, the 2001: A Space Odyssey opening tune. The first three were "The Procrastinators," "The Countdown" and "The World."
 * The hairstyle of Gumball when he was a toddler has the same hairstyle when the hairspray from "The Void" is applied.

Cultural References

 * Elmore's Got Talent is an obvious reference to the Got Talent franchise.
 * Banana Joe sings the iconic Also sprach Zarathustra's "Sunrise" (also known as 2001: A Space Odyssey) opening tune.