"McMooch. Wander McMooch."
While Ma and Pa are on their afternoon walk, Wander McMooch, a greedy real-estate developer, comes on the scene and swindles Junior into selling the castle for ordinary peas that he claims are Peas of Power—legend stating that if a Gorg plants one, it'll turn into a Gorg bride at dawn. Mokey and Red, who have been captured by Junior, decide to help him get back the castle in exchange for their freedom. The plan fails, but when McMooch mentions his distaste for Fraggles, Junior uses this to his advantage and scares him away.This episode contains examples of:
- Adults Are Useless: Junior actually handles getting rid of McMooch pretty well, unlike his parents, who make no attempt whatsoever.
- Baddie Flattery: McMooch butters Junior up before talking him into selling the castle.McMooch: Mr. Junior! You look terrific. I've never seen you looking better.
Junior: You've never seen me at all.
McMooch: Then you know I speak the truth.
Junior: Oh, yeah. - Bait-and-Switch Comment: Pa makes one to McMooch when he and Ma have packed their belongings and are about to leave.Pa: Here, sir, is the key to the castle. Don't lose it... and don't use it. The lock's been broken for the last twelve generations.
- Birdcaged: At the beginning, Junior has just trapped Red and Mokey in a birdcage.
- Blatant Lies: McMooch's claim that the peas he's offering Junior are Peas of Power.
- Character Action Title: The episode's title.
- Comically Missing the Point: Junior does this when McMooch explains why he's arrived.McMooch: I happen to be in the market for an old and beautiful royal castle.
Junior: Oh, sorry. All we've got is an ugly one. - Community-Threatening Construction: Although the Fraggles and the Gorgs are enemies, they depend on each other. If McMooch tears down the castle and destroys the garden, it will mean not only homelessness for the Gorgs but starvation for the Fraggles.
- The Con: McMooch cons Junior into selling the castle so he can tear it down, level the land, and have a village built on it.
- Con Man: McMooch, who tricks Junior into selling the castle for ordinary peas that he claims are Peas of Power.McMooch: No one is easier to do business with than a Gorg. They're all dunderheaded lummoxes.
- Continuity Nod: One of the things that can be seen in the garden after Junior piles all the furniture out there is the portrait of Sir Hubris and King Gorgus the Great, first shown in "Sir Hubris and the Gorgs."
- Daydream Believer: Junior thinks the story about the Peas of Power growing into a Gorg bride is a true one. Lampshaded by Pa when Junior reveals what he's sold the castle for.Pa: The Peas of Power are a legend! A story! Does your mother look like she started life as some dadblamed petunia?
- Dumbass Teenage Son: Pa thinks Junior is this, although the definition of "teenager" differs with the Gorgs.Pa: Junior, you guard the castle against all enemies 'til we get back.
Junior: Okay.
Pa: [to Ma] Now, there's a job I know he can do.
Ma: But we haven't seen an enemy in six generations.
Pa: That's why I know he can do it. - Eek, a Mouse!!: McMooch, who flees at the sight of the Fraggles.
- Evil Laugh: Downplayed. McMooch lets an evil chuckle slip out briefly.
- Fantasy Sequence: Junior plants a pea McMooch sold him and sings "Dream Girl Lover" while imagining it growing into a beautiful Gorg princess.
- Faux Affably Evil: McMooch, who compliments Junior on his appearance and talks him into selling the castle.
- Forced from Their Home: Subverted. It looks like the Gorgs will have to move out of the castle after it's sold, but Junior manages to get it back.
- Four-Philosophy Ensemble: Inverted. Mokey and Red fill in three of these. Mokey is the Optimist, trying to see the bright side. Red jumps from being the Cynic to the Apathetic.
- Friendly Enemy: Mokey, although a prisoner of Junior's, tells the latter he's been tricked and helps him.
- Greed: Junior, Red, and Mokey try to get the castle back by playing on McMooch's. The Fraggles slip rhinestones from Ma's sewing basket into the pods of a full-grown pea plant. At dawn, Junior opens a pod and tells McMooch that the peas grew diamonds instead of a bride. McMooch nearly calls off the deal, but he just so happens to have brought a Jeweler's Eye Loupe with him.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: McMooch is a barefoot and pants-free toad, but he does wear a black hat with a white feather, along with a coat, shirt, and cravat.
- Let Me at Him!: On hearing that Junior has sold the castle, Pa lunges at him and has to be restrained by Ma.
- Literal-Minded: When Pa complains that the castle is falling apart and adds, "If I could, I'd sell this place," Junior takes it literally and sells the castle to McMooch.
- Manchild: Pa thinks Junior is this for being more interested in catching Fraggles than going courting.Pa: And put down those Fraggles! You're getting too old for catching Fraggles.
Junior: Aww, I'm only 473!
Pa: When I was your age, I had given up my childish ways. I was courting your mother. Junior, when are you going to find a princess and get married? - Melancholy Musical Number: As the Gorgs are about to move out of the castle, they sing "The Gorg's Lament (O World O Time O Woe)."
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: McMooch has the word "mooch" right in his name. One definition for "mooch" is "get something without paying for it"—though he does offer Junior a sack of gold for the castle.
- Pinky Swear: When Junior sells the castle to McMooch, they take the Solemn Oath of the Gorgs—which, according to Pa, cannot be broken for any reason.Junior and McMooch: Hey Nonny, Nonny, Nonny... Hey Nonny, Ha-Cha-Cha!
Junior: [extending his hand] Shake!
[They share a Handshake of Doom.] - Plot Parallel: Doc has ordered an automatic dog feeder that doesn't do what it was advertised to do. It won't open the cans, and it sprays dry dog food all over the place.
- So Proud of You: Ma and Pa say this to Junior after he and Red and Mokey scare McMooch away.Ma: Oh, son of mine, you have saved the ancestral home of the Gorgs!
Pa: Junior, I never thought I'd live to say this, but that was brilliant. - Super-Speed: McMooch can zip from one end of the garden to the other in about two seconds.Junior: Boy, do you get around!
- Useless Accessory: Mokey has always worn a pull-tab ring as a pendant. In this episode, she also begins wearing a drawstring pouch on her necklace. No one ever refers to it, though, and it's unknown what she keeps in it.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Junior wants to get some Peas of Power so he can prove to Pa that he's not a dunderheaded lummox.
- Widow's Weeds: Ma dons a black dress and hat, comparing the selling of the castle to a funeral.
- Worthless Yellow Rocks: McMooch offers Junior a sack of gold in exchange for the castle, but Junior has no interest in gold. He'd rather have Peas of Power.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Mokey assures Junior he's not a dunderheaded lummox and that he can get the castle back if he makes use of what he has.Mokey: You may not be the most intelligent creature in the whole world, but you have many special qualities.
Red: Oh, boy...!
Mokey: Just focus on those qualities and use what you have.
