The trio have a new girl named Louise join them on their water raft fish finding activity, and want to start a clean, non weird, slate with her by deliberately avoiding anything adventurous or exciting on the journey after they get picked on for being "The Freaky Friends"...but of course, adventure finds them in the form of a miniature merman named Eugene who wants them as a captive audience for all eternity for his mediocre musical performances.
Tropes:
- 0% Approval Rating: Turns out that none of the other Sparrow Scouts would like to join Hilda, Frida and David on trips, because they always get into crazy misadventures. While only a few are shown outright harassing the “Freaky Friends”, Louise is the only one who recites their weird adventures.
- Aborted Arc: The "Freaky Friends'" reputation is established in this episode and Hilda, Frida and David are treated as pariahs and are still on bad terms with the other Sparrow Scouts, minus Louise. However, as of the next episodes, nothing comes of it.
- Actually Pretty Funny: Louise is the only one who seems legit amused by Eugene's extravagant songs. David, Hilda and Frida just look like they'd rather have dental surgery with no pain killer.
- Acid-Trip Dimension: Eugene subjects the kids to this when he explains his motivation and puts them through a second challenge.
- Affably Evil: Even though Eugene intended to keep the gang prisoner as his eternal captive audience and can be pretty cunning at times, he's not malicious towards the gang at all, and really does want to give performances they enjoy. Unfortunately, the gang doesn't take to his taste in music...or him trying to imprison them forever.
- Awesome by Analysis: As an introvert observer, Louise can pick up things that people usually don’t notice at first sight, such as that the sea monster is an illusion created by Eugene to trap them as an audience in a never-ending performance, or that he laughs whenever someone is about to make a mistake.
- Big Bad: Eugene, whose desire to keep the gang his captive audience forever serves as the central conflict of the episode.
- Body Horror: Played for Laughs. When the kids didn’t find his joke funny, Eugene subjected Hilda, Frida and David to this, turning David into a ball, giving Hilda long Rubber-Hose Limbs, and giving Frida a duck beak.
- Breather Episode: This episode breaks away from the overarching fairy plotline in favor of a standalone adventure, while also acting as a lighthearted breather between the darker and more emotionally charged episodes before and after it.
- Cave Behind the Falls: Where Eugene lives.
- Chekhov's Gun: The fact that Louise's camera can show Eugene's illusions for what they really are is how she realizes he's using one to hide his Verbal Tic of smugly smiling and laughing when they're about to go into a trap.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: The entire shenanigan happened because Eugene believed that he was trapped in the river, not knowing that all rivers flow back to the sea. Once Louise gives him the exact direction for the sea, he lets them be without a fuss.
- The Dog Bites Back: After Hilda and the others spend more time at the river, and escape from then help Eugene, Louise secretly suggests some more deserving targets of his illusions, the scouts who messed with the "Freaky Friends" earlier. Eugene end up conjuring a sea serpent at them, scaring them away.
- Eyes Out of Sight: One of the rival scouts who puts down the "Freaky Friends" has bangs that cover his eyes.
- Fatal Flaw: Eugene’s tendency to laugh uncontrollably when someone makes a wrong choice is what gave the kids opportunity to win the second challenge. He attempts to hide this flaw and almost succeeds in trapping them with him forever.
- Filler: This is the only episode in the Season 3 that has no connection to the season's Story Arc.
- Freaky Is Cool: Louise’s opinion about Hilda and her friends. Indeed, it’s revealed that she purposely hid the map so she could go on a crazy adventure with them after hearing them to do things as “normal” people should do, only for her plan getting out of hand thanks to Eugene.
- Gone Horribly Right: When Eugene realizes that his anticipatory laughing whenever someone is about to make a mistake is how the kids are able to tell if an exit is legit or not, he uses his illusions to make it seem like he's tensing up, as if they're heading for the right exit, when they're headed for a trap. However, he becomes so dead stoic, that Louise gets suspicious that it's another illusion, and confirms this with her camera, revealing that Eugene is still cackling. This gives them just enough time to escape the trap and find the real exit
- Graceful Loser: After they beat his challenge and escape the cave, Eugene honors his end of the bargain and lets the kids go withou a fuss.
- Inevitable Waterfall: The four kids end up falling down one after paddling down the wrong riverway.
- Irony: Louise didn’t find her fart costume funny, but this is what made Hilda, Frida and David laugh, essentially losing the challenge.
- Loophole Abuse: The kids make a deal with Eugene to ensure that if he can't make them laugh within the next five minutes, then he would have to set them free. While they seem to fail the challenge by laughing at Louise's fart costume, David points out to Eugene that he didn't make them all laugh since Louise didn't find it funny, meaning they technically won. While Eugene is seemingly accepting of this, he quickly invokes this and only sets Louise free, since they never said he needed to make them all laugh in the first place.Frida: He's right. Semantics are very important in these situations.
- Seen It All: Used to the weirdness in their lives, Hilda, Frida and David are more annoyed with Eugene’s performances and tricks rather than finding them funny (take in note he kidnapped them to be his captive audience in the first place).
- Weirdness Magnet: This episode once again brings up the fact Hilda, Frida and David can't normally spend even a few minutes without getting themselves into freaky adventures. It's the reason why most of the Sparrow Scouts in this episode avoid them at least and mock them at worst. They try to have a normal trip with Louise as to not drive her away until they run into Eugene the Merman. Ironically, it's that kind of weirdness that interests Louise anyway.
