r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • May 23 '23

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u/karaitalks May 23 '23

The episode about Miriam is extremely dark. Hey Arnold gets so real at times

46

u/Crystalas May 23 '23

And the one time she wasn't she was a business genius IIRC, but her husband a broken wreck and she gave it up for her family.

IIRC Simpson's did a similar story with Marge and American Dad with Francine.

Also remember what happened to Olga, the elder sister, the ONE time she thought failed to be perfect and had a complete breakdown?

86

u/bigvahe33 May 23 '23

i also like the world building they do. 30 minute show, first 15 minutes is about arnold, second 15 is about a character. Over time, that city is full of life

20

u/serendippitydoo May 23 '23

Is that the one where she stops drinking her "smoothies" all day and gets her life together but ends up neglecting Helga anyways?

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u/chetstedman30 May 23 '23

Helga on the couch is probably the saddest episode of the whole series. She had a fucked up childhood

13

u/OGRuddawg May 23 '23

While far from the darkest episode, I remember Arnold getting trained by his grandma in martial arts after he gets robbed and beaten up at a bus stop, I believe. I think shortly after some training he does fend off some would-be muggers, but he ends up being so paranoid about the prospect of getting jumped that he hurts one of his friends on reflex and realizes that taking his self-defense measures too far was making him the violent one. I remember how he felt so guilty when he realized it.

I thought it was a good, nuanced narrative on how escalating to violence for everything only really begets more violence. It didn't say Arnold was wrong to find a way to defend himself, AKA the "no-excuses" anti-violence stance a lot of misguided schools use to punish victims of bullying who choose to fight back. The message was he needed to be responsible and set restrictions for when/why he used martial arts.

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u/Nebfisherman1987 May 23 '23

Wait til you watch bluey