A road trip doomed from the start!
- "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link!"
Episode: 2.3 (Lesser of Two Evils)
Airdate: October 2, 2006
Lifty and Shifty steal Handy and The Mole's car when Officer Lumpy manages to catch up to them. A case of mistaken identity causes Handy and The Mole to be falsely arrested. A chance escape then has the two go on the lam with Lumpy close on their tails.
"Don't Yank My Chain" contains the following:
- Asshole Victim:
- Lifty and Shifty get run over by a train after stealing The Mole and Handy's property and identities.
- The episode ends with Lumpy's head getting crushed by the same ball weight he forced The Mole and Handy to endure. Casually and callously causing Cuddles' death gives him extra points.
- Cruel and Unusual Death:
- Cuddles gets his lower body ripped off by the bucket of a well, decapitating him, leaving only his head and spine.
- The Mole's head gets cut open by a buzzsaw.
- Handy is slammed into the side of a tunnel when he gets dragged along by a train.
- Downer Ending: Handy and The Mole fail to escape to freedom and both die horribly, especially Handy.
- Eat the Camera: Handy, when the chain on his leg gets caught by the train's cowcatcher in an attempt to break the chain.
- Eye Pop: Handy has a rather visceral
one just before he dies. - Eye Scream: After Handy gets crushed between the train and a tunnel, his eyeballs end up on Cub's face (pictured).
- Gross-Up Close-Up: Handy's shocked and terrified face before he dies is more detailed.
- Irony: The establishing shot of the episode has The Mole (who's blind) looking at the map and Handy (who has no hands) driving the car.
- Jaw Drop: Handy performs one at the beginning of the episode when he realizes that Lumpy is actually falling for Lifty and Shifty's disguises.
- Karmic Death:
- After stealing Handy and The Mole's car and falsely accusing them of identity theft, Lifty and Shifty get run over by the same train that killed Handy in the end.
- Lumpy gets crushed by the prison ball that held Handy and The Mole together.
- Moment of Silence: After the Mole dies when he ends up getting his head cut open by a buzzsaw, Handy takes a moment to silently mourn the death of who is most likely his best friend (and for good reason, too) before Lumpy manages to get back on their trail.
- New Job as the Plot Demands: Lumpy is a police officer.
- Off with His Head!: Cuddles's death.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Lifty and Shifty's disguise themselves as Handy and the Mole to escape being detained by Lumpy, despite neither of them having the requisite disabilities or fur color to effectively do so. Despite this, it still works when Handy and The Mole catch up to them, causing them to be detained instead.
- Spot the Imposter: Lumpy spectacularly fails this when he has to identify who the imposters of Handy and The Mole are.
- Stealth Pun: The title of this episode means to not disturb or bother someone but also references the main plot of the episode.
- They Killed Kenny Again: Cuddles, the Mole, Handy, Lifty, Shifty, and Lumpy die in this episode.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Pop and Cub survive this episode.
- Trauma Conga Line: For Handy and the Mole.
- Variable-Length Chain: The length of the chain tied around The Mole and Handy's legs vary in each scene.
