Wicked Game is the fourth episode (44th overall) of the third season which was broadcast on August 30, 2003.
The Meaning of Life Lesson[]
"Would you ever do something like this to a friend, no matter how hurt or upset you were?" - Ginger Foutley
Synopsis[]
Ginger returns from Avalanche Arts Academy. When she does, Dodie and Macie feel like they've been bumped down a spot as Ginger seems preoccupied with her new boyfriend, Darren. Mipsy and Miranda are also unhappy with the situation because now Ginger ignores them, making it impossible for them to embarrass her. They talk Dodie and Macie into helping them break Ginger and Darren up. Meanwhile, Noelle loses Carl to Polly Shuster in a bet. For an entire weekend, Carl has to play "Parrot World" with Polly, and to his surprise, he enjoys it.
Plot[]
On this particularly lovely morning, Ginger is due to return to Sheltered Shrubs from her term at Avalanche Arts. Dodie and Macie are naturally excited to see their best friend again. So are Miranda and Mipsy, though they mostly just want to make fun of her. At school, both pairs of girls plan out what they plan to do and say to Ginger once they see her. But, Ginger walks past all four of them without acknowledging them. She is preoccupied with talking to Darren.
Later, before an assembly, Ginger finally greets Dodie and Macie. They exchange hugs and "I missed you"s. Dodie and Macie are still hurt from earlier and start to respond to Ginger in very curt, short statements. They are even more insulted when Ginger brings Darren with her to the front of the auditorium when she gets called up by Mrs. Zorski. Ginger walks right past Miranda and Mipsy, who are again trying to get her attention. After they get ignored again, they both agree that Ginger's new attitude is not okay.
Over at a nearby playground, Noelle Sussman and Polly Shuster are playing spit. Polly wins for the third time, and Noelle gives up her glasses. She demands to play one more game against Polly, who has already gotten one of her shoes and her belt. When Polly asks what more Noelle can wager, Noelle tells her about something she has that is valuable, and can't be store-bought. The thing she wagers, and predictably loses, is Carl Foutley. She goes to Lucky Elementary to let him know what has happened, and he is in utter disbelief. Noelle tells him that for the weekend, Carl "belongs" to Polly, and she is going to force him to play a game called "Parrot World." Noelle goes to leave, but her poor eyesight makes her bump into a pole.
Back at the middle school, Ginger is talking to the assembly about her time at Avalanche Arts. Dodie and Macie are angry that Darren is practically attached to Ginger's hip. Miranda and Mipsy are angry that an entire assembly is dedicated to Ginger and want to bring her down a notch. When Ginger starts taking questions, Miranda raises her hand to ask something rude, but Ginger picks another person. Miranda has had enough of Ginger ignoring her, and Mipsy vows that Ginger will go down like the Titanic. Miranda adds that they need two "captains" to sink the ship, looking over at Ginger's scowling best friends.
Later at lunch, Courtney gives her own "Welcome Back" speech, embellishing some details of Ginger's condition when she got there. Ginger approaches Dodie and Macie, commenting that all of the "welcome back" festivities are becoming embarrassing. Dodie and Macie try to tell Ginger that they were hoping for some "girl time" at lunch, but Darren arrives at that moment. Dodie is not happy, and Ginger offering her corn to Darren makes it worse. Dodie complains that Ginger should have offered to the corn to her, and not to Darren first. Ginger offers the corn, but Dodie refuses. Ginger tells the girls that they can meet up at her house after school for their "girl time." Dodie and Macie agree, and the group awkwardly eats their lunch.
Carl and Hoodsey discuss Carl's plight while Hoodsey packs to leave for his aunt's farm. Hoodsey tells Carl to dump Noelle so that he can't be used in the wager. Carl decides to just get his miserable weekend over with to preserve Noelle's honor. He and Hoodsey both agree not to tell anyone. Little does he know, a blue beetle with red blinking eyes and the initials "BG" on the wings is listening to their conversation...
Up in Ginger's room, the girls are hanging out. Dodie asks Ginger about what happened to Thea, and how her hair returned to normal. But, they are interrupted by Darren again. He promises that he will make it quick, as he just needs advice. He is writing "D+G Forever" on his high top sneakers and would like their opinions on what side to put the words on, and what order to put the names in. Ginger is touched, Macie offers her input, and Dodie loudly proclaims that she doesn't care. Ginger asks Darren to leave so she can continue talking with the girls, especially Dodie. But, after they take too long deciding who will say goodbye first, Dodie leaves in a huff. She makes her way towards her house, ranting about how Darren is moving in on her "territory." When she gets to her front door, Miranda and Mipsy are waiting. They both agree with her statements, and want Darren out of the picture. Dodie has some reservations about betraying Ginger, but eventually lets Miranda and Mipsy in to discuss their plan to break up Darren and Ginger.
The following day at school, Courtney is about to head into the bathroom to clean up a spill on her shirt. She overhears Dodie, Miranda, and Mipsy talking to Macie, trying to convince her to join their scheme. Macie is unsure, but Dodie assures her that things will return to normal for them. Courtney enters and the other girls quickly lie, saying that they were trying to create new hairstyles using the hand dryer. Courtney pretends to believe them and freshens up. Using the hairdryer to cover up their conversation, Miranda tells the group that she will flirt with Darren to make him fall for her again, Dodie and Macie play the supportive friends when this upsets Ginger, then they will meet in the south stairwell for the next phase.
At Lucky Elementary, the blue "beetle" from earlier has made its home on Blake's jacket as a brooch. Blake asks Carl and Hoodsey what their weekend plans are. Hoodsey will be going to his aunt's farm, and Carl says that nothing is going on. Blake does not believe him, and Carl insists that nothing of note will be going on. Blake responds "Well, that's just ducky. ...Or should I say 'birdy?'" This worries Carl and Hoodsey.
Darren is struggling to shut his locker as Miranda approaches. A yellow scrunchie falls out and she picks it up and gives it to Darren. She remarks that things must be serious in his relationship for Ginger to be leaving her scrunchie in his locker. While she talks to him, she flutters her eyelashes and plays with his hair. Darren becomes uncomfortable and leaves. He joins Dodie and Macie at the lunch table. As he walks up, Dodie and Macie talk about Ginger calling up Fred, the boy who had a crush on her at Avalanche Arts. Darren is not happy to hear this. When Ginger arrives, Darren tells her that Miranda is acting like she is in love with him. Ginger says that Miranda is probably doing it to make her upset. Darren angrily and sarcastically says that his and Miranda's relationship was not as special as the one between Ginger and Fred. After Darren storms off, Ginger asks her friends what happened. They say nothing and eat their lunch.
Later in the stairwell, the 4 girls meet back up. Dodie explains what happens and Macie remarks that she feels sick. Miranda and Mipsy both tell her that what she is feeling is guilt over betraying her friend, but after they've done it more, the feeling will go away. Mipsy then hands Dodie her cellphone, saying that she got Fred's number from her cousin, Thea. Dodie calls Fred while pretending to be Ginger, saying she's been thinking about him and wants him to call back. Unfortunately for them, Courtney has overheard, and hurries off to warn Ginger.
Courtney waits in her limo for Ginger to arrive. Ginger enters, and Courtney starts making her a latte with the limo's espresso machine. She goes on to explain that Ginger's friends have teamed up with her own friends and will betray her. Ginger does not believe her, stating that her best friends would not try to ruin something that makes her happy. Courtney tells her to expect a call from her later that evening, and together, they will get Miranda to confess.
Meanwhile, despite Noelle's efforts to make Carl more comfortable with his "sentence," Polly forces him to play Parrot World with her. She puts a fake beak and wings on herself and Carl and brings him to her backyard. She tells him to look hard to see Parrot World, past the kiddie pool and damaged sandbox. After a few moments, Carl's imagination kicks in and he sees a beautiful rainforest before him. He and Polly run around flapping, squawking, and having a great time. Blake is watching from high upon a phone pole, and takes pictures of Polly and Carl playing together.
At Ginger's house, Darren climbs up the trellis to Ginger's window to talk to Ginger about his outburst, but she isn't in the room. Her phone starts to ring. It goes to the answering machine, and Fred speaks, saying he misses Ginger as well. Ginger enters and is even more confused because she never called Fred. Darren is angry, but once Ginger explains what Courtney told her, he calms down and holds Ginger.
That evening, Carl returns to the doghouse where Noelle is waiting. She angrily asks Carl if he had fun with Polly at her house. Carl lies and says that Polly is nuts. Noelle doesn't believe him, until he presents her glasses. He had stolen them back while he was at Polly's house. Noelle is pleased and thankful, and goes to give Carl a kiss. Her eyesight makes her kiss the water cooler instead and Carl guides her over to him. She calmly asks again if Carl had fun with Polly, and he responds negatively. They hug, and Noelle says he only needs to endure Parrot World for two more days. Carl says he can't wait, then squawks. Noelle is surprised. Elsewhere, Blake is developing the pictures he took of Polly and Carl. He monologues about his plan to show the pictures to Noelle, but at the right time.
At 7:45pm, Courtney calls up Ginger, with Darren nearby. She indicates that she takes no joy in the events to come, and tells Ginger to mute her phone so Miranda won't hear any breathing. Courtney dials Miranda in, says that she overheard her and the other girls talking in the bathroom, and wants in on the scheme. Miranda, who patched in Mipsy, is pleased to hear this, and dials in Dodie to explain where they are at in the plan. Dodie dials Macie in, and explains that she called Fred pretending to be Ginger, intending for him to call back and cause trouble with Ginger and Darren. Macie chimes in with a comment on Dodie's acting skills. Ginger, disgusted and heartbroken, unmutes her phone and says, "Thanks, Courtney. I've heard enough." Miranda and Mipsy are surprised that Courtney would "ambush" them like that. Dodie and Macie are immediately remorseful. Darren tries to comfort Ginger, claiming that the girls were just jealous. Ginger asks if he would ever do something like this to a friend, even if he was hurt the same way. Darren says he would not.
As the episode closes, Ginger's phone rings again. The answering machine picks up and Dodie leaves a message:
Ginger, are you there? Ginger, please pick up! Look, I know you don't wanna talk to me right now and I don't blame you. But I have so many things I wanna say. Starting with...I am so sorry.
Appearances[]
- Ginger Foutley
- Darren Patterson
- Carl Foutley
- Iris
- Courtney Gripling
- Macie Lightfoot
- Hoodsey Bishop
- Dodie Bishop
- Miranda Killgallen
- Mipsy Mipson
- Ms. Zorski
- Noelle Sussman
- Blake Gripling
- Polly Shuster
- Fred (voice only)
- Radio Voice
- Student #2
Quotes[]
Courtney: (talking about Ginger) When I found her, her parka was red and her lips were blue. I had to think quickly. Not only was she in danger, but it was a major fashion emergency.
Courtney: Cherry preserves? Ooh, double drat.
Courtney: Oh, why do they make Children's Aspirin so very difficult for the small children to open?
Noelle: But you like nuts, don't you Carl?
Carl: Some nuts, not all.
Noelle: Macadamia nuts?
Carl: They're alright.
Trivia[]
- The title of this episode shares the same name with the 1990 hit single song by Chris Isaak. [1]
- This is the first 22-minute episode of season 3.
- The last time this episode aired on the main Nickelodeon channel is November 22, 2008.
Gallery[]
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