The taste of humiliation sure is cheesy.
Production Code: 225
When Fu Dog accidentally lets his Animal Guardian license expire, Jake is given a new Animal Guardian—a hip-hop-spewing monkey named Bananas B. Bananas B quickly shows himself to be a better sidekick than Fu Dog, but when Jake needs his Animal Guardian most, which one will he be able to count on to have his back?
Tropes
- Book Ends: In the beginning of the episode, Fu played in a card game and told himself never to play with a "card shark". At the end of the episode Fu a card game with Jake and company, once again telling himself not to play with a "card shark".
- The Bus Came Back: Chang returns for the first time since season one, breaking out of prison.
- Call-Back: Chang manages to fool the guards by creating a chi doppelganger to take her place as shown in previous episodes.
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: When Chang has Jake captured although she is tempted to kill him, she not to and uses him as bait to lure Jake's grandfather out.
- Character Shilling: All of Bananas B's positives are overly accentuated by the characters for the first half of the episode to make his near-instant betrayal when confronted with a real threat all the more ironic.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Earlier in the episode, Fu mentioned to Jake that the next time they need information, he go to his card buddies to get it. When Chang kidnaps Jake, Fu goes to them to find out where she took Jake.
- Fake Food: Spud with a clothespin on his nose eats a grape from a fruit bowl Lao Shi has sat out and comments on how he can't taste anything without his sense of smell. When Trixie removes the clothespin, he realizes he's actually eating plastic.
- False Friend: As a Foil to Fu Dog, Bananas B may seem helpful, fun-loving and chill, but he's really selfish and only willing to serve anyone for something as flimsy as bananas.
- Foreshadowing: Bananas betraying Jake is hinted at when his methods of helping him are shown as being rather underhanded compared to Fu's. For example, he steals another man's meal to make Jake a sandwich, steals Rotwood's wallet, and hangs up on Fu when he's calling Jake to come for his license renewal test.
- Heel Realization: After Fu fails the test to renew his animal guardian license, because Jake didn’t show up for him, Fu finally realizes how Jake felt when the former kept failing to show up for him.
- Homemade Sweater from Hell/Unwanted Gift Plot: Spud spends a majority of the episode angry at Trixie for throwing away the hideous homemade sweater he and his nana knitted as part of a matching set between himself and Trixie.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Fu Dog may not be perfect, but he ultimately proves his redeeming qualities as a loyal sidekick, through and through.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Fu Dog pretty much abandoned Jake more than once during his time of need at the beginning of the episode which Jake calls him out on. Fittingly, he fails his animal familiar test because Jake wasn't there to help him, but instead was hanging out with Bananas B. Fu Dog even lampshades the significance of these outcomes.Fu Dog: [shamefully] You know, I bet if I look hard enough, there's a lesson in here somewhere.
- Noodle Incident: Lao Shi reveals in this episode that Fu has his Animal Guardian license expire more than once.
- Self-Deprecation: Bananas B, despite being Australian, acts even more slang and wannabe gangsta than Jake did in season one, much to everyone's annoyance, including Jake.Bananas B: Bananas B is what me is naming. Animal guardian's what I'm gaming. I'm telling you, dog, you quit your yelping. I'm a monkey what's sent to help you. Meet your format, mate. Yo, check it. You've got yourself the first hip-hop helper animal monkey guardian, yo.
[Beat]
Jake: ...You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me! - The Stinger: Fu Dog reveals how certain phrases (such as "legal eagle") are influenced by magical animals.
- Temporary Scrappy: Jake's normal Non-Human Sidekick is a dog named Fu. Here, he's replaced by a monkey named Bananas B. Bananas B acts excessively cool and has many useful skills, thus making Jake and most of the other characters like him. However, in the fight against a Monster of the Week evil dragon, Bananas surrenders and goes over to her side. Jake appreciates his more loyal friend Fu once more, and Bananas' only other appearance is when his new dragon mistress reappears in a later episode.
- Tribal Carry: Jake falls victim to this after Chang captures him near the end of the episode.
- Undying Loyalty: What sets Fu Dog apart from Bananas B is that the latter is willing to sell out Jake for peanuts, literally. Fu Dog, on the other paw, even though Jake lost him his chance at renewing his animal familiar license, still went to save the kid.
