The Cavern of Lost Dreams, finally rediscovered.
Unsatisfied with Fraggles rejecting her new buildings in favor of the Architect's conventional ones, Cotterpin sets out to find the Cavern of Lost Dreams after the Architect tells her about it. She enlists Gobo's help, and the two manage to find the Cavern. Cotterpin meets two old Doozers named Crusty and Yeaster, who had stayed behind to guard the Cavern when the ancient Doozers, who built their constructions from mushrooms, went to look for a new source of building material when there was a mushroom famine. Yeaster takes Cotterpin around, telling her their history.When Gobo starts to eat the constructions, Crusty imprisons him, and when Cotterpin tries to apply her ideas by rearranging a tower, the two old Doozers throw her in with Gobo. Gobo and Cotterpin escape, and they take Crusty and Yeaster to meet the present-day Doozers. Cotterpin, humbled by her experience, apologizes to the Architect and shows him her new building, inspired by the Architect's designs and by designs from the Cavern of Lost Dreams.
This episode contains examples of:
- An Aesop: Cooperation pays off, and combining the unique talents of different individuals can result in something great.
- Appeal to Tradition: Subverted. Crusty and Yeaster call the constructions in the Cavern of Lost Dreams "as solid as a stalagmite and as unchanging as the Rock." They sing with Cotterpin about this in the song "Eye to Eye." When Cotterpin rearranges a tower, Crusty and Yeaster call her a radical and throw her in prison. Eventually, though, not only do they agree to join the present-day Doozers, but they admire the modern constructions.Crusty: [gazing at the present-day constructions] I remember we used to dream of towers like these, but we never had the tools for the task!
- Badass Bookworm: Gobo manages to find the Cavern of Lost Dreams just by going over his maps. In under a day!
- Berserk Button: Gobo flips out after Crusty calls him a riding beast one too many times.
- Cobweb Jungle: The Cavern of Lost Dreams has quite a few big cobwebs overhead.
- Continuity Nod:
- The reference to mushrooms. Like the Fraggles who used to eat them (which the Storyteller talks about in "Born to Wander"), the Doozers used to build their constructions with them but went to find more when the mushrooms ran out, leaving Crusty and Yeaster behind to guard the cavern.
- Gobo wears the same hat he did in "Born to Wander."
- Cotterpin rides her Cool Bike, first seen in "All Work and All Play."
- Cooking Stories: Doc has been trying to invent a breakfast cereal for dogs. When the first three batches fail miserably, Sprocket decides to try his paw at concocting it, and Doc has to admit that dog food invented by a dog could be a strong selling point. While making the cereal, Sprocket imitates the Swedish Chef. With Doc's input, he manages to make a dog cereal that tastes delicious and is edible to humans too.Doc: I can see the ad campaign now: "End those lonely mornings with the cereal both you and your dog can chew on!"
- Diamonds in the Buff: Not only do Crusty and Yeaster not wear helmets, they don't have much on except long strings of beads.
- Exact Eavesdropping: While wondering how to find the Cavern of Lost Dreams, Cotterpin overhears Wembley telling Red how Gobo found a certain place.Red: So what did Gobo say?
Wembley: Well, he just looked at his Uncle Matt's map and said, "No problem, eh?" That Fraggle can find any place you want. He's a real explorer!
Red: So he keeps telling us! - Failed a Spot Check: Cotterpin, on learning that Crusty's put Gobo in prison, is so busy rushing off to talk to Crusty, she doesn't hear Gobo saying the control to open the door is right in front of her.
- Fantastic Racism: Crusty and Yeaster think of Gobo as a riding beast, despite the fact that he keeps telling them he's a Fraggle.Crusty: [after Gobo eats part of a tower] I'm putting you in prison! You should have stuck to grazing moss.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: Crusty and Yeaster leave the prison door open when examining Gobo, who's pretending to be sick. On top of that, Crusty calls him a riding beast again. This flips Gobo out, and he knocks down the two old Doozers, causing them to drop their spears, which Cotterpin grabs.
- Heartfelt Apology: Cotterpin tells the Architect that she doesn't find his designs inspiring. She shows him a building she designed, but Wembley doesn't like the taste of it. At the end, she tells the Architect that his designs are inspiring and shows him her new building, inspired by the Architect's designs and by designs from the Cavern of Lost Dreams. It passes Wembley's taste test.[Cotterpin and the Architect watch as Wembley takes a bite of Cotterpin's new building.]
Wembley: Different... but I like it! - Inspirational Insult: Cotterpin gets Gobo to help her by telling him that if his Uncle Matt can't find the Cavern of Lost Dreams, neither can he.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: Gobo scoffs at the idea of a Doozer being able to put a Fraggle in prison. He changes his tune when Crusty tells him his spear is covered with sap from the itching plant.Cotterpin: One drop of that sap on your skin, and you'll never stop itching!
- Interspecies Friendship: Gobo is a Fraggle, and Cotterpin is a Doozer.
- It Tastes Like Feet: When Gobo tries one of the constructions in the Cavern of Lost Dreams...Gobo: Yuck! They taste like moldy old mushrooms. Horrible!
- Jerkass Ball: Cotterpin takes this toward Gobo when they're looking for the Cavern of Lost Dreams.Cotterpin: [as Gobo studies a map] Well? What are we waiting for?
Gobo: We are finding our bearings! For someone so small, you certainly are pushy. - Jerkass Realization: Downplayed, when Cotterpin and Gobo are in prison and she apologizes for her pushy attitude.Gobo: You're good. You must have been nearly as charming with them as you are with me.
Cotterpin: Okay, okay. I deserve that. - Lost World: The Cavern of Lost Dreams was believed to be lost forever, or even a myth, until Gobo and Cotterpin found it.
- Odd Friendship: Gobo and Cotterpin become friends despite the fact that most Fraggles, as a rule, barely even speak to Doozers, and vice versa.
- On Second Thought: Cotterpin does this when Crusty and Yeaster call her a radical for rearranging a tower.Crusty: No one changes the sacred towers. Now, march!
Cotterpin: But I thought we saw eye to eye! Don't we?
[Crusty and Yeaster point their spears at her.]
Cotterpin: We don't. Right. We don't. - Piggyback Cute: A non-romantic example. At one point, Cotterpin is riding on Gobo's backpack. Toward the end, he carries Crusty, Yeaster, and Cotterpin this way.
- Poisoned Weapons: Downplayed. The spears Crusty and Yeaster carry are covered with sap that causes an uncontrollable itch. The bars of the prison door are made from the plant that produces this sap.
- Shout-Out: Gobo's hat in this episode may be a Boy George shoutout: it's a wide-rimmed hat with beads hanging from it.
- Sick Captive Scam: How Gobo and Cotterpin escape.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: Gobo vs. Cotterpin.
- Stuffed Into A Trash Can: Uncle Matt, while visiting an antique store, sits in one of the chairs. When a customer picks the chair up, Matt falls into a wastebasket.
- Sustained Misunderstanding: Crusty and Yeaster keep thinking that Cotterpin's part of the relief detachment, despite her efforts to explain that she isn't. This continues for most of the episode, until she rearranges a tower and gets thrown in prison.
- Utility Belt: Crusty's and Yeaster's strings of beads hold various tools.
- Wanderlust Song: Cotterpin, after deciding to find the Cavern of Lost Dreams, sings "I'm on My Own."
- Weapon Grip Failure: Gobo flips out after Crusty calls him a riding beast one too many times, then knocks down him and Yeaster, causing the Doozers to drop their spears, which Cotterpin grabs.
- Wrong Assumption: Gobo assumes that if Doozers made the constructions in the Cavern of Lost Dreams, Fraggles can eat them. He quickly finds out that's not the case.
- The X of Y: The episode's title.
