Recap / Fraggle Rock S 2 E 24 "Invasion of the Toe Ticklers"

Butterfly, Butterfly, Butterfly.

While sitting under a tree in the Gorgs' garden, Mokey befriends a caterpillar-like creature that enjoys tickling her toes. She names the creature Agnes and calls her species Toe Ticklers. Overhearing the Gorgs' plan to poison Agnes so that the white flowers she would eat will be left undisturbed, Mokey takes her back to the Rock—only to see that the other Toe Ticklers have followed. Meanwhile, the Gorgs find that the white blossoms have matured into yellowish flowers that smell like old socks and are crowding out the radishes. They try to pull the flowers up, to no avail.

Down at the Rock, the Fraggles love having their toes tickled. However, the fuzzy creatures begin running amok and eating everything, including the Doozer towers. Despite Mokey's protests, the other Fraggles seal the Toe Ticklers into Chimney Hole Cavern, figuring that they can crawl out through the hole in the roof. Mokey goes in to free them but gets trapped inside by a cave-in—and no Fraggle has ever managed to climb as high as the roof. While her friends are trying to clear the cave-in, Mokey sees that the Toe Ticklers have spun cocoons. They emerge as Purple Sproingers and fly out through the hole. Agnes takes Mokey back to the Gorgs' garden, where the Purple Sproingers eat the stinkweed flowers which the white blossoms have turned into. Mokey rejoins her friends, who have just cleared the cave-in, and tells them the whole story.

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Invasion of the Trope Ticklers:

• Androcles' Lion: Mokey saves Agnes from being poisoned by the Gorgs. Later, when Mokey is trapped in Chimney Hole Cavern, Agnes, after becoming a Purple Sproinger, carries her out.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Ma wants the white flowers protected because they were part of her bridal bouquet. She's never gotten to see them in full bloom, because every year, they've been eaten by the Toe Ticklers. When they do come into full bloom, due to all the Toe Ticklers being down at the Rock, the flowers smell like old socks, are crowding out the radishes, and are extremely difficult to uproot. Luckily, the Purple Sproingers eat the stinkweed flowers, saving the garden.
• Big Eater: Agnes and the other Toe Ticklers.
• Bioluminescence Is Cool: The Toe Ticklers' cocoons glow with a light that winks on and off.
• Blame Game: The Gorgs blame each other for the state of the garden.
• Blatant Lies: Ma gives the job of spraying Toe Ticklers to Pa, who then gives the job to Junior. When Pa sees Ma coming...
  Pa: [grabbing the spray can] Uh-oh. Gimme that! [to Ma] Well, dear, I guess you might say mission accomplished.
  Ma: [admiring the mature flowers] Aren't they exquisite! Ohhh!
  Pa: It wasn't easy, dear. I've battling those little fuzzy things tooth and nail all morning!
  Junior: You have?
  Pa: [whispering] Of course I have, you nitwit!
• Cartoon Bug-Sprayer: The Gorgs have a hand-pump canister bug sprayer, full of poison to use on any Toe Tickler spotted in their garden. It even has a picture of a crossed-out Toe Tickler.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Agnes can be identified in the crowd of Toe Ticklers by the fact that she's yellow and the others are red. After she emerges from her cocoon, she's pink, while the others are purple.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Just before she meets Agnes, Mokey is writing in her diary, something she was also doing in "The Preachification of Convincing John."
  • The song "(You Were) Born to Laugh" uses the same tune as "Rumble Bug Hum," from the episode "All Work and All Play."
  • Mokey carries a shoulder bag, seen in "A Cave of One's Own."
• Crisis Catch-and-Carry:
  • On overhearing the Gorgs' plan to poison Agnes, Mokey carries her down to the Rock.
  • Later, after becoming a Purple Sproinger, Agnes carries Mokey out.
• Cuteness Proximity: Mokey's reaction on first meeting Agnes:
  Mokey: Oh, hello! What are you? Where'd you come from? Huh?
• Dark Reprise: After the Toe Ticklers have been sealed into Chimney Hole Cavern, an instrumental, melancholic version of "The Joy" is heard.
• Declaration of Protection: After learning that the Gorgs want to poison Agnes...
  Mokey: Don't you worry, Agnes. I won't let those monsters hurt you!
• Delegation Relay:
  • Ma gives Pa the job of standing on guard and spraying any Toe Tickler he sees. As soon as Ma leaves, Pa gives the job to Junior.
    Pa: The King of the Universe does not hang around spraying for bugs! [Shoves the sprayer into Junior's hand.] You do it. And do it right! Understand? [Walks off.]
    Junior: Aye aye, aye aye, Captain Daddy! Those furry little bugs will wish they'd never been born!
  • Later, when the white blossoms have become stinkweed flowers, Ma orders Pa to pull them up. Pa then gives the job to Junior again.
• Descriptively-Named Species: Mokey names the fuzzy creatures Toe Ticklers because they rub against the Fraggles' toes, tickling them.
  Mokey: [to Agnes, giggling] Ohhh! You like to tickle toes, don't you? You're a Toe Tickler, hmm? Is that what you are?
• Despair Speech: After being sealed up in Chimney Hole Cavern, Mokey gives one to Agnes while holding her cocoon.
  Mokey: No Fraggle has ever made it to the top of Chimney Hole Cavern... and I don't think they'll ever move that rockslide. Oh, Agnes, it doesn't look good. I'm so sorry, my little friend. I only meant to save you. I just didn't know.
  [A Beat.]
  There are so many things I didn't know.
  [She tearfully begins to sing a Dark Reprise of "The Joy."]
• Double Take: Just after Mokey's friends have cleared the cave-in at Chimney Hole Cavern...
  Gobo: Mokey...!
  Red: Mokey...!
  Wembley: Mokey...!
  Gobo: Mokey, are you in there?
  Wembley: Mokey...!
  Mokey: [walking up behind them] I'm out here!
  Boober: [turning] Well, fine. Grab a rock, then. [Turns back.] Mokey...!
  Wembley: Mokey...!
  [A beat, then Mokey's friends all whirl around and joyfully crowd about her.]
• Exact Eavesdropping: Mokey overhears the Gorgs' plan to poison Agnes.
• Extreme Omnivore: Downplayed, but combined with Big Eater. The Toe Ticklers begin devouring the cave moss, then start in on the Doozer buildings.
  Gobo: Mokey, what are you gonna do about this? These things are running amok!
  Mokey: Oh, they're just a little confused, Gobo.
  Boober: Confused? Confused? They're ravenous! They're gonna eat us out of cave and tunnel!
• Failed a Spot Check:
  • Mokey, running off to play with Agnes in the garden, doesn't notice the other Toe Ticklers appearing from behind.
  • Junior is so busy patrolling the garden, keeping an eye out for Toe Ticklers, he doesn't notice Mokey carrying Agnes to the Rock.
• Friendly Tickle Torture: The Toe Ticklers specialize in this, making the Fraggles giggle by tickling their feet.
  Gobo: [as he and the other Fraggles laugh like mad] Mokey, they're still coming in from the Gorgs' garden!
  Mokey: Oh. Well, it's a miracle of nature, Gobo. We provide the toes; they provide the tickles!
• Friend to Bugs: Mokey takes Agnes to the Rock to keep her from being poisoned by the Gorgs. When the other Toe Ticklers follow, she welcomes them as well. (She denies that they're bugs, though.)
• Green Aesop: Trying to do away with one species can easily lead to another species running amok.
• Helpless with Laughter: By the end of the song "(You Were) Born to Laugh," the Fraggles are reduced to lying down guffawing.
• Ill-Fated Flowerbed: The Gorgs' garden becomes this when the white blossoms turn into stinkweed flowers.
• I'm Taking Her Home with Me!: After befriending Agnes, Mokey takes her to the Rock to protect her from the Gorgs' bug spray.
• Kill the Cutie:
  • Defied by Mokey when she brings Agnes to the Rock to keep the Gorgs from poisoning her.
  • Lampshaded by Wembley when Mokey introduces Agnes.
    Wembley: I wonder why the Gorgs'd want to kill something so cute and fuzzy?
    Mokey: Yeah! That's what I thought.
• Layman's Terms:
  Pa: [complaining about the stinkweed flowers] These things are nauseating!
  Junior: I know, I know! And they smell bad, too!
• Meaningful Name: Chimney Hole Cavern gets its name because in its roof is a hole leading to the Gorgs' garden.
• Meanwhile, Back at the…: The story keeps turning from the Fraggles and the Toe Ticklers to the Gorgs and their attempts to get rid of the stinkweed flowers.
• Metamorphosis: The Toe Ticklers make cocoons for themselves to sleep in, then turn into Purple Sproingers.
• Nature Lover: Mokey delights in being among the trees and flowers of the Gorgs' garden. She even has a secret place there, some distance away from the castle and the vegetable patch.
• One Man's Trash Is Another's Treasure: Uncle Matt, while exploring a forest, notices some trash caught in a tree's branches. Thinking it's treasure that someone forgot, he picks it up and gives it to a nearby camper. This does not end well for Matt: he gets Stuffed into a Trashcan.
• Pet Baby Wild Animal: After taking Agnes to the Rock, Mokey decides to keep her as a pet. When, in Chimney Hole Cavern, Agnes becomes a Purple Sproinger, Mokey tells her to fly away to freedom. Agnes does—while carrying Mokey to freedom.
• Pretty Butterflies: The Purple Sproingers. The Gorgs love to watch them flying above their garden but don't realize that Toe Ticklers are the larval versions of them.
  [The Gorgs watch the Purple Sproingers eating the stinkweed flowers.]
  Junior: Where do they come from?
  Pa: They're born someplace up in the clouds.
  Ma: They've always been my favorite garden creatures. So much prettier than those dreadful little fuzzy things!
  Mokey: [watching from hiding] Those Gorgs may be large, but they sure don't see the big picture!
• Protectorate: Agnes becomes this to Mokey.
• Ridiculously Cute Critter: The Toe Ticklers. They're basically bundles of fuzz with antennae and wide smiles.
• Signature Item Clue: The noise from the cave-in brings Red running back to Chimney Hole Cavern. She realizes Mokey must have been caught in the cave-in when she finds her bag, which Mokey had set down before moving the boulder in front of the cavern's entrance.
• Smelly Feet Gag: Played with. Ma thinks the smell of the stinkweed flowers is Junior's socks, until Pa corrects her.
  Ma: Junior, really! How many times do I have to remind you about your socks?
• So Much for Stealth: Averted. Agnes, when Mokey picks her up, starts tickling her again, giving her a fit of the giggles while she's trying to sneak by Junior. Luckily, Junior is so busy patrolling the garden and keeping an eye out for Toe Ticklers, he doesn't notice Mokey.
  Mokey: [trying to control her giggles] Agnes, please!
• Soulful Plant Story: In one scene, Mokey overhears Ma saying she wants the white flowers protected because they were part of her bridal bouquet. She's never gotten to see them in full bloom, because every year, they've been eaten by the Toe Ticklers.
• Stinky Flower: The white blossoms mature into yellowish flowers that smell like old socks. On top of that, they're crowding out the radishes.
• Tastes Like Friendship: Mokey picks one of the white flowers and holds it out to Agnes, who eats it, then gives her another tickle.
  Mokey: Ohhh, yes! Now we're friends, right?
• Tempting Fate: Mokey says that one little Toe Tickler won't take up much space. Cue the hordes of others crawling into the Rock.
• True Companions: Mokey's friends, trying to rescue her from the cave-in.
• A Way Out of a Cave-In: The Fraggles seal the Toe Ticklers into Chimney Hole Cavern, figuring that they can climb out through the hole in the roof. When Mokey goes in to free them, she gets trapped inside by a cave-in. No Fraggle has ever been able to climb to the top of the cavern. Fortunately, Agnes, after becoming a Purple Sproinger, carries her out.
• The World Is Just Awesome: While sitting under a tree in the Gorgs' garden, Mokey sings "The Joy," a song gently praising the beauty and power of nature.
• The X of Y: The episode's title.
• You Did Everything You Could: Gobo says this to try to comfort Mokey when the Toe Ticklers have been sealed into Chimney Hole Cavern.
  Gobo: Hey, Mokey... I'm sorry. I know you did your best for those little critters, but... well, it just didn't work out. Hey, don't worry. They'll be okay.

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