- "Keep your Head above water!"
Airdate: May 11, 2003
"Water Way to Go" is the fifteenth episode of the second (internet) season of Happy Tree Friends.
Pop and Cub are at the beach. When Pop is about to step down the wooden steps after Cub, the cooler he is holding slips from his hands and ends up bouncing down said steps. Thankfully, nothing else goes wrong, so Pop picks up the cooler again and continues on. After he sets down the cooler, Cub suddenly wants something to drink, but the soda can has to be opened first. Pop is more than happy to help, only for the can to squirt its contents into his face and press into Cub's face. Later, the now-bandaged Cub is drinking the soda when Pop offers him to play in the sand. After burying the baby bear up to his neck, Pop sees an ice cream truck driving by, so he asks Cub to wait while he buys some ice cream. After buying, however, Pop is horrified to see his son's cap floating above the water. Cub is revealed to be stuck underwater due to the tide washing over him, but Pop does not see him during his search. Pop then tries using a boat to reach the cap. Little did he know that he unknowingly scraped his son's face when he was pushing the boat into the water. Things get worse when Pop turns on the boat's engine, causing the propeller to completely shred poor Cub. Of course, Cub is nowhere underneath the spot where the cap is floating. Meanwhile, Cub's shredded remains become a free meal for the seagulls.
"Water Way to Go" contains examples of:
- Accidental Murder: Pop unknowingly shreds Cub's head with the boat's propeller during his frantic search.
- Ambidextrous Sprite: Cub's safety pin.
- Beach Bury: Pop does this to Cub as part of their playtime. And that is where the tide comes in.
- Beach Episode: This episode takes place at a beach.
- Behind the Black: Why yes, that is Cro-Marmot driving the ice cream truck. A friendly seller too.
- Blood Is Squicker in Water: Pop's boat leaves a trail of blood thanks to Cub being shredded by its propeller.
- The Cameo: One of the Faceless Masses is a rabbit. Fans often consider this figure to be Cuddles, since he is the only rabbit character in the show.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: It's not the Sand Necktie that actually kills Cub. His head is instead completely shredded by the boat propeller.
- Downer Ending: Pop's foolishness causes Cub's death, and with him not knowing about it, his missing son's fate is left unknown from his perspective.
- Faceless Masses: The silhouetted animal variety can be seen in one background shot when Pop is about to use the boat.
- Hope Spot: From Cub's point of view, Pop showing up near him when he is drowning is this. Too bad Pop does not bother to check underwater.
- Oh, Crap!: Pop after Cub gets washed over by high tide.
- Pun-Based Title: "What a way to go"
- Sand Necktie: Poor Cub ends up stuck underwater while buried neck deep in sand. Worse, his own father ends up killing him during his frantic search.
- Soda Can Shakeup: Pop drops his cooler down some steps, so when he opens a soda for Cub, it sprays all over Pop and bludgeons Cub's face.
- Super Not-Drowning Skills: Cub surprisingly does not drown faster for being underwater for that long, especially considering his age.
- They Killed Kenny Again: Cub dies.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Pop, (possibly) Cuddles, and Cro-Marmot survive this episode.
