The Disaster

"The Disaster" is the fortieth and final episode of Season 4 of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the 156th episode overall.

Synopsis
Rob gets new powers and tries to destroy Gumball's world.

Plot
The Wattersons are in the car driving to the mall. Nicole notices that her kids are bored so she starts singing a rhyme. Richard, Anais, and Darwin join in, leaving Gumball as the odd one out. When it gets to Gumball's turn, Anais pokes him and he sings that he is going to buy some donkey drool. Nicole and the rest keep singing, and their song's first verse ends.

The camera cuts to a van in the mall parking lot. A voice coming from the inside of the van advises someone to be careful with the universal remote as it has a power only a fool would not fear, and asks what it will be used for. Rob gets out of the van with a remote in hand and says he is going to use it for TVs, DVD players, and vengeance. The being says that it can not be used for evil and tries to take it back. Rob jerks it away and presses the "Power" button, followed by the arrow buttons, making the van spaz out and eventually crash. Rob realizes that the remote is magic. First, he hijacks the ATM by pressing "Eject," and money spits out. He activates a sprinkler, making it rain. Then he switches the sun and the moon back and forth from day to night. Finally, wondering what else he can do, he hits "Rewind," sending him back to the beginning of the episode with the Wattersons, the title card, the intro, a Cartoon Network "Up Next" bumper, and finally to a scene from "The Nobody" in the Void. He witnesses Gumball, Darwin and Mr. Small leave as his past self holds onto Janice. This reminds Rob it was Gumball who made him evil, as he left him with a broken body and ridiculous voice. He swears vengeance against Gumball and fast forwards to the parking lot.

Cut back to the Wattersons looking for a parking space and singing. Gumball "breaks it down" and starts making a beat with the window. Annoyed, Nicole tells him to stop. Rob sees them and ducks behind a nearby car. When the family gets close, Rob pauses them and starts all the nearby cars. He walks up to Gumball and threatens to destroy him and everyone he loves. After Rob unpauses, all the cars start driving forward and wreck the Wattersons' car. Nicole angrily blames it all on Gumball for playing with the window, although he tries to explain it was not really his fault. She ends up so angry she does not have any words and starts making sounds instead. The family walks off sighing at him in exasperation.

Cut to Gumball and Darwin at Laser Video, looking for video games to buy. Gumball says they still have $2, so they can buy something from the discount bin. Darwin pulls out a game called "Extreme Tractor Racing" and reads the review on the back: a cheat code giving the player directions back to the store where they bought it to ask for a refund. As they pull out more boring games, Rob arrives in front of the store, whispers to himself for Gumball to prepare to lose his brother, and turns on subtitles. Text appears under Gumball, saying that if they had not adopted Darwin, they would have enough money for a game. Darwin reads the subtitles out loud and gets offended. More insulting subtitles appear and Darwin angrily storms off, crying. Gumball goes after him and runs into the Hot Dog Guy Lookalike, thinking he is Darwin.

Gumball finds Nicole, Richard, and Anais, and bursts into tears while trying to explain the situation. Nicole comforts him, saying not to worry and that they will find Darwin. Meanwhile Rob turns the parental filter off on Gumball's parents. With all inhibitions gone they argue for a while, then Richard announces they have come to an agreement: he is going to get a doughnut while Nicole finds a better husband. Nicole storms off, with Richard quickly realizing his mistake and giving chase. Anais decides to go after her father, and Gumball has no choice but to follow her. Rob decreases the brightness of the screen, causing Gumball to lose track of Anais and he accidentally tackles and kisses Sarah in front of Penny. Then Rob changes their language from English to Cantonese. Although Penny believes Gumball when he explains that someone is messing with him, the language makes it sound like they are arguing so she runs away crying. When Gumball goes after her, Rob fast forwards, sending Gumball at full speed into Penny and pushing her off the top floor of the mall.

Rob pauses time so that everyone but Gumball and him are stopped. Gumball finds his mom hugging the arm of a different man, his dad drowning his sorrow in donuts, and Anais crying while they are frozen in time. Confused, Gumball eventually confronts his arch nemesis, and angrily yells at Rob for being responsible for ruining his life. Rob states that he never wanted to be the villain, just the sidekick and to have his own spin-off show. He changes the format and contrast of the scene to set the right mood for his monologue, after which he opens the Void behind Gumball with the intention of pushing him in. Gumball retaliates by tackling Rob and they fight for the remote, changing the music, speed, format and powering off Rob in the process. Ultimately, Rob gets a hold of it and "Ejects" Gumball to the edge of the Void, but is unable to finish him off because the remote stops working. Rob then decides to throw it into the Void instead, knowing Gumball would have no choice but to follow after it in order to save his loved ones. When Gumball jumps in to retrieve it, Rob closes the portal behind him and the end credits start playing on the other side. Falling down through the abyss, Gumball manages to catch up to the remote and is able to fix it by putting the battery back in place. Before he can use it, however, he is struck by a large object which momentarily dazes him and knocks the remote from his hand. Upon recovery, Gumball reaches for the remote once more, stretching his arm out until he succeeds in pressing "Rewind," which sends him back through the entire episode in reverse. The episode ends with a "To Be Continued..." title card.

Main Characters

 * Gumball
 * Rob

Supporting Characters

 * Darwin
 * Anais
 * Nicole
 * Richard
 * Penny

Minor Characters

 * Pantsbully
 * Cyclops Dog
 * Gary
 * Cowboy
 * Van Shopkeeper
 * Exercise Bacon
 * Shape People
 * Miss Simian
 * Principal Brown
 * Carrie
 * Mr. Robinson
 * Masami
 * Idaho
 * Molly
 * Mr. Small
 * Larry
 * Banana Joe
 * Karen
 * Felicity
 * Billy
 * Hot Dog Guy Lookalike
 * Librarian
 * Oval Family
 * Crocodile Woman
 * Neck Beard
 * Siciliana
 * Green Guy
 * Jackie
 * Goblin
 * Mushroom
 * Juke
 * Hot Dog Guy
 * Sarah
 * Harold
 * Mr. Pepperoni
 * Jeff
 * Leslie
 * Melted Cheese Guy
 * Green Bear
 * Carmen's father
 * Hank

Trivia

 * This is the final episode where David Warner voices Rob, and Hugo Harold-Harrison voices Rob once again.
 * In this episode there are multiple cases of breaking the fourth wall:
 * The song which the Wattersons sing in the car has the same tune as the ending theme music.
 * When Rob uses his remote to turn back time he rewinds through episode's title card, intro, the U.K. version of the Cartoon Network Check-It 3.0 Up Next bumper, and the end credits.
 * Darwin is able to read the subtitles below Gumball's head.
 * When Rob changes the language while Gumball is talking to Penny, she realizes the language is different.
 * Rob changes the resolution and contrast of the scene during his monologue.
 * Rob mentions that the world they live in is fictional and that he wants to be the star of a spin-off show.
 * When Gumball is falling into the Void, the other side of the portal (which in fact is a TV screen) shows the end credits scrolling with the ending theme playing.

Continuity

 * This episode is Rob's fourth major role in the series. The first three were in "The Nobody," "The Nemesis," and "The Bus."
 * This is the third time the Void appears. The first two were "The Void" and "The Nobody."
 * The Awesome Store from "The Puppy" and "The Origins" reappears.
 * Rob rewinds through the episode "The Nobody" as a flashback of his past memory.
 * This is the third time Gumball makes the same face when he encounters Hot Dog Guy. The others were "The Hug" and "The Awkwardness".
 * This is the fifth time Gumball accidentally kisses someone. The others were in "The Pressure," "The Kiss" (twice) and "The Storm."
 * The video game console from "The Blame" can be seen at Laser Video.
 * This is not the first time Rob was involved in something relating to a remote that could affect things that were not televisions. He mentions when Gumball used a remote to change his voice in "The Nemesis."
 * Music from "The Countdown" and "The Nemesis" is reused.

Cultural References

 * The universal remote is reminiscent of the one from Click, where the protagonist acquires a remote which lets him skip parts of his life.
 * Polystation is a parody of PlayStation.

Goofs/Errors

 * Darwin first refers to the Zelmore game as "The Legend of Zelmore," even though the video game series has always been called The Tale of Zelmore.
 * When Rob says "Now prepare to lose your brother," his static does not appear, revealing his entire face. This does not happen in "The Rerun."