"Tough Love" is the second half of the sixth episode of Season 1. It first aired on Cartoon Network in the United States on December 23, 1998.
Plot[]
Synopsis[]
When Him gets jealous of The Powerpuff Girls' constant attention, he invents an evil gas that spreads around Townsville and causes the citizens to turn against the Girls.
Detailed Plot[]
On one of the finest days in Townsville, The Powerpuff Girls are always helping the townspeople with everything, like rescuing the cat from a tree, being on class on time, helping the Mayor open the pickle jar, and helping Professor Utonium with his science project. While everyone falls asleep during nighttime, Him gets tired of the Powerpuff Girls helping everything, so he uses his scent to turn the people against the girls.
The next day, it happens again. Bubbles attempts to rescue the cat from the tree again, but the cat angrily refuses. The old lady is also angry as well and Bubbles, (who rescued the cat and is shredded in pain) does not like it. The old lady beats the girls with a cane and once the school bell has rung, the girls make it on time, only for their teacher, Ms. Keane, who marks the girls tardy. This triggers a kid named Billy who throws a paper ball at Bubbles and when she tried to tell that to Ms. Keane, She tells her students to throw everything at the girls. Then the hotline buzzes and the girls take off and arrive at the Mayor's office. When Blossom tries to open the pickle jar again, the Mayor sends a S.W.A.T Team to corner the girls. After that, the Mayor declares that Ms. Bellum should fire first. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup leave, while Buttercup complains this has been a rough day, much to the Narrator's Irritation. They head to the Professor's Lab and they try to find out the situation, only for Professor Utonium himself who tries to catch the girls to beat them up in anger. The girls manage to escape the front door, only for the townspeople to appear and get ready to beat up the girls (they now have red glowing eyes). Him reveals himself and his evil plan and orders the townspeople to attack the Girls. At first, they don't even try to fight, but soon realize they have to fight their friends and loved ones to revert them back to their normal selves. They manage to do so and warn Him that if he tries something like this again, he will regret it. Him assures them that he doesn't give "repeat performances", and disappears into the sky.
At the hospital, the Girls explain the situation to the townspeople, and apologize, saying "It hurt us a lot more than it hurt you!", although their now-injured friends and loved ones agree to the contrary. The Narrator, who was also part of the pummeling, says they forgive the Girls, and calls for his sponge bath.
Production[]
Cast and Characters[]
- The Powerpuff Girls
- Blossom
- Bubbles
- Buttercup
- Professor Utonium
- The Mayor of Townsville
- Him
- Ms. Bellum
- Ms. Keane (first speaking appearance)
- Citzens of Townsville
- Students of Pokey Oaks Kindergarten
Crew[]
- Writer: Chris Savino
- Directors: Craig McCracken and Genndy Tatakovsky
Trivia[]
- The Narrator calls Townsville "The City of Brotherly Love", or should I say "Sisterly Love". This is a reference to the nickname of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This might be due to the fact that Philadelphia has its reputation of being known as "The City of Brotherly Love".
- This was the last episode to air in 1998.
- This episode has its music reused the most in future episodes.
- At the end of the episode, the townspeople all say "Well now, we wouldn't say that!" This is a reference to The Great Gildersleeve, particularly Richard Q. Peavey's catchphrase "Well now, I wouldn't say that!"
- MsMojo ranked this as the #7 darkest episode of The Powerpuff Girls.
- This plot is strongly referenced of Dragon Ball GT Baby Saga, where everyone in Townsville were all under HIM's spell similarly to the populations infected with Baby's parasites.
- This plot is also strongly referenced to The Smurfs episode The Root Of Evil where every one were all under HIM's spell similarly to everyone being affected by Chlorhydris' root
Source Citations[]
- The Powerpuff Girls Season 1 Episode 6b - Tough Love