- "Smiles are always free!"
Airdate: December 31, 1999
"House Warming" is the second episode of the first (internet) season of Happy Tree Friends.
A blue skunk named Petunia is amazed at a brand new treehouse built by the carpenter beaver, Handy. After thanking him with a hug, the skunk waves goodbye and then runs into the building as the beaver nods in satisfaction. As soon as the beaver looks back, the treehouse promptly explodes with the skunk inside, sending both into a panic. The beaver tries to help the burning skunk by yelling at her to jump into his arms, but his lack of hands naturally causes her to outright slam into the ground. Next the beaver tries to find a way to extinguish the burning skunk's body. He finds a hydrant, but he can't use it due to his lack of hands. He spots a bucket and, without thinking, immediately kicks it onto the burning body. However, this worsens the flame instead, as he notices that it's actually a bucket of gasoline. With no other options, he resorts to stomping out the fire instead, destroying the skunk's body in the process. After extinguishing her, the skunk's blackened body gives an OK signal despite her condition.
"House Warming" provides examples of:
- Bittersweet Ending: Handy is able to save Petunia and no one dies (a rarity for the series). However, her body is beyond repair.
- Debut Queue: Petunia and Handy make their debut in this episode.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Handy is one of the biggest Butt Monkeys in the show. Yet for his debut episode, he manages pretty well and suffers no injuries.
- Establishing Character Moment: Handy repeatedly trying to do things with no hands.
- Fate Worse than Death: According to
Word of God, "She gave the "ok" sign so she lived. Although, she probably wished she hadn't." - Idiot Ball: Handy, who somehow keeps forgetting that he has no hands.
- Made of Explodium: Whatever is inside the treehouse that kicked off the plot.
- Major Injury Underreaction: Zig-zagged. Petunia screams in pain for the majority of the episode. By the end, however, when she's nothing more than a beaten-up pile of black mush, she raises her hand to give an "okay" symbol and starts weakly giggling.
- Man on Fire: Petunia is on fire for most of the episode.
- Meaningful Name: "Housewarming" means to celebrate the move to a new home, which suits the beginning of the episode. The "warming" part also has something to do with the subsequent explosion and Petunia's suffering.
- Oh, Crap!: Handy's face when he accidentally spills gasoline all over Petunia, who is already on fire.
- Second Episode Introduction: Handy and Petunia star.
- Ship Tease: Handy builds a new tree-house for Petunia as a gift and she affectionately hugs him. They become an Official Couple in the Season 3 episode "I Nub You".
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Both Petunia and Handy survive.
- Trauma Conga Line / Mutilation Conga: Petunia goes through one.
- Treehouse of Fun: Handy built this for Petunia. Not so fun anymore once the explosion happens...
- Updated Re-release: One of the early episodes to be part of "Classics Remastered" releases, which rereleases early HTF episodes in HD.
- Visual Pun: Handy literally kicks a bucket on Petunia.
