Gus goes berserk during a class project on bacteria, and vows to rid the world of germs.
Tropes:
- Both Sides Have a Point: Inverted. At the end, Gretchen calls out both Mikey and Gus on their insane behavior over germs. Mikey sees the microscope slide as a pet and becomes a germ hippie to protect them. But he neglects to realize germs aren't animals the same way a pet is. Meanwhile, Gus has gone overboard believing germs are evil things that make children sick and destroy kid's toes. But as Gretchen puts it, germs can also be good for making food (namely cheese and yogurt) and even curing the diseases they cause.Gretchen: Actually, what I'd like to say is, you're both behaving ridiculously.
- Companion Cube: Mikey decides to adopt a microscope slide with a sample of bacteria as a pet. Gretchen points out that as single-cell organisms, they don't have eyes or even brains, much less the capacity to appreciate or register his affection towards them.
- Hazmat Suit: Gus starts wearing one once he goes full germaphobe. Menlo joins his cause on the condition that he get one in his size.
- A Nazi by Any Other Name: Gus's rally against germs take many visual cues from the Nuremberg Rallies.
- Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: This happens to Gus and Mikey due to their opposing view of germs. Gus wants to destroy all germs to make the world safe from them, while Mikey sees them as pets and friends. They even get into a physical fight over this in the climax until Gretchen calls them both out on their behavior.
- Take Our Word for It: A crucial element of Gus's propaganda is a photo of a kid's toe "once germs had their way with it." We don't see the photo, but it's apparently nasty enough to convince everyone on the playground to join him.
- Today, X. Tomorrow, the World!: When Menlo reports that he's gotten authorization for a deep clean of the playground, Gus replies "First we disinfect the Third Street Playground, then we disinfect the world!"
