Recap / Static Shock S 2 E 12 Jimmy

A Very Special Episode. Richie's been shot at school, and Static can only watch the paramedics take him away. Virgil then has to talk to a counselor about what happened. It all started with a classmate named Jimmy...

Tropes for this episode:

• Abhorrent Admirer: Nick keeps trying to charm Frieda. At first she keeps brushing him off, then after the locker incident she tells Nick off entirely.
• Adults Are Useless: Deconstructed:
  • Jimmy's situation spirals out of control in large part because no authority figure intervenes until it's too late, particularly with regard to Nick's bullying. However, part of the reason that no adults get involved is that none of the kids bother to tell them what's going on. Virgil openly regrets this after everything goes down.
  • The teacher in the homeroom doesn't even notice how Jimmy is picked on. Virgil even lampshades how she watches the door like a hawk to catch any latecomers trying to sneak in, like Virgil himself, but fails to notice one of her students bullying another.
• Aesop Amnesia: Defied. While bullies are still going to exist, Virgil isn't going to ignore it anymore, and helps a fat kid who he witnesses getting pushed around.
• An Aesop:
  • Bullying has more damaging effects to people than some would think, especially with children. It's best to get involved and defuse the situation, either by yourself or by bringing in a responsible adult.
  • As an adult, if you have a weapon and any children, do everything you can to keep it out of the reach of your children, preferably in a locked area where they can't access it.
  • Guns are not a solution to bullying. At best, the situation will simply escalate and you will have to face the consequences. At worst, someone innocent is going to get killed.
  • As a kid, if you see a situation that could lead to violence, it's best to tell someone even if the danger isn't immediately apparent.
• And Knowing Is Half the Battle: One of only two episodes to do this. Before the end credits, Static addresses the audience to tell them about gun statistics, what to do in these kind of situations, and to keep the peace.
• Ask a Stupid Question...: When Jimmy pulls out a gun on Nick, the latter asks, "What's that?". Given the environment that he lives in, he should know what a gun is.
• Axes at School: Jimmy's dad says he never expected Jimmy to be interested in his gun. He freaks out when he finds the keys to the gun case, and the gun, missing.
• Barbaric Bully: Averted. Nick is a very realistic portrayal of a school bully; rather than inflict any obvious physical injury on Jimmy, he subjects Jimmy to a campaign of emotional abuse. While it looks superficially harmless, Nick's relentlessness combined with Jimmy's isolation and low-self esteem is a ticking time bomb.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: Jimmy latches onto Virgil and Jimmy due to them going out of their way to be nice to him. He also develops a crush on Frieda because she's one of the few people to reach out to him. However, Frieda is just being friendly and has no romantic interest in him. Her telling this to Nick while Jimmy is in earshot contributes to Jimmy's eventual breakdown.
• Befriending the Bullied: After seeing what Nick is putting Jimmy through (as well as the fact that he's getting no help from his teachers or parents), Virgil and Richie attempt to befriend Jimmy by inviting him to hang out and gifting him a new computer mouse after Nick broke his. At first, it seems to work, with Jimmy helping to build props for the Halloween party and developing a crush on Frieda. However, an untold amount of time being bullied by Nick has done a number on Jimmy's mental health, and when Nick pushes him too far, he brings a gun to the community center with the intent of shooting his bully.
• Bittersweet Ending: Yes, nobody died from the incident and the bullies receive Laser-Guided Karma, but Jimmy still brought a gun to school and has to go to juvie for it, and Richie was still hurt pretty bad by the shot, eventually returning to school on crutches with a giant cast. The doctors even mentioned to Richie that he's lucky that he wasn't hit in a vital area, and he's going to make a full recovery.
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Gender-Inverted with Nick (brunet) and his cronies, Kevin and Ray (blond and redhead).
• Bloodless Carnage: The one evidence that Richie got shot was his pained reaction. His jeans aren’t even torn.
• The Bully: Nick. How he won the "Best Personality" contest is a mystery.
• Bully Brutality: Nick and his cronies' bullying of Jimmy is frequent before the episode flashback began. But they crossed into this territory when Jimmy overhears Nick and Frieda talking about him. The bullies chase him into a locker room and stuff him in a locker, which supposedly triggers some sort of claustrophobia. Fed up, Jimmy resorts to desperate measures: the way he sees it, killing Nick is the only way he can make it stop.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • Jimmy can almost always be seen typing something on his laptop throughout the episode. When Virgil asks him what he's working on, Jimmy only answers with "stuff". Said "stuff" turns out to be a manifesto detailing all of Jimmy's revenge fantasies against his bullies, which tips off Virgil that Jimmy may be capable of hurting somebody.
  • A literal example: Jimmy's father has a gun stored in his room, allowing his son to check it out. It doesn't show much significance at first other than establishing Virgil's trauma button at the mere mention of it. That said, the first minute of the episode shows Richie hospitalized from getting shot. It is eventually revealed that Jimmy took the gun with him after being bullied by Nick one too many times.
• "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Virgil laments that the shooting could have been avoided if Nick and his cronies left Jimmy alone, or if Virgil and Richie told a trusted adult about the gun after they found out about it, or if Jimmy's dad never even had the gun or did a better job of locking it up more securely, or if they helped out Jimmy more.
• Darker and Edgier: There is little humor in this episode, given that it’s a Very Special Episode about bullying and gun violence.
• Didn't Think This Through:
  • Jimmy's father bought a gun for personal protection and never considered someone would steal it, much less has easy access to it.
  • Nick's best friends are dumb enough to tackle Jimmy after he lowers the gun. Predictably, this leads to him firing it.
  • Virgil frustratingly admits that he should have told an adult the moment Jimmy suggest showing off his father's gun.
• Disappointed in You: Nick's parents are clearly not happy when they're showing leaving the principal's office after having been informed of what their son did.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Played with. Jimmy trying to kill Nick with his father's gun is certainly going overboard, and it is portrayed as such. However, he's resorting to it less out of revenge and more because he believes it's the only way to get Nick and the others to leave him alone.
• Doesn't Like Guns: Virgil freaks out when Jimmy offers to show Virgil his gun, having been traumatized by his mother's death in a gang-related shooting. He's too bothered by it to even realize that there's something off about Jimmy having access to it in the first place.
• The Dog Bites Back: Although Jimmy doesn't go through with shooting Nick, it's clear that being held at gunpoint causes the arrogant bully to fear for his life and forces him to appease his victim by apologizing to him on the spot, hoping to save himself. Nick should consider himself lucky Frieda and Richie managed to talk Jimmy out of it.
• Dude, Not Funny!: Richie recovers from the gunshot in the end, wearing a cast for his leg. Remaining positive, he is grateful that he wasn't hit in a more vital area. Virgil tells him to drop it before he can finish the statement, though Richie assures him he knows he shouldn't have gone there.
• Failed a Spot Check:
  • Jimmy's dad fails to notice that the key to the drawer where he keeps his gun is missing until Robert mentions it to him. It apparently never occurred to him to check.
  • Virgil's homeroom teacher is looking away when Nick bullies Jimmy. Virgil remarks how the one time she should be paying attention to her students, she isn't.
• Flashback: This episode is told through flashbacks, which lead up to the shooting incident.
• For the Evulz: Nick and his two friends bully Jimmy just because they think it’s funny.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Jimmy mentions his dad's gun relatively early on in the episode. The ease with which he can get ahold of it without his dad being any the wiser is a bad sign. Even Virgil kicks himself for not realizing he should have told someone about it.
  • Jimmy's penchant for fantasy and his obsession with weapons turn out to be a bad combination. Virgil doesn't put two and two together until he reads Jimmy's "Battle Journal" and realizes he might be capable of violence, but by then it's too late.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Nick's bullying is highlighted as the reason Jimmy gets pushed over the edge, but the episode makes a point of emphasizing that pulling a gun on Nick was not a reasonable response, and was the result of a cascade of failures by everyone involved. Even though he was practically talked out of it, and the gun only went off by accident, Jimmy ultimately has to face the consequences, both being sent to juvie and living with the guilt of having shot one of his only friends.
  Frieda: Jimmy, don't! He's not worth it!
  Richie: She's right, man. You're all upset about this now, but next week, it won't even matter. Don't mess up your whole life over this.
• Friendless Background: Jimmy's mother is noticeably surprised that her son has friends over, and whispers that he should try not to "drive them away", suggesting that Jimmy has had trouble keeping friends in the past. More notably, it suggests that his parents are completely unaware why he has trouble keeping friends.
• Hate Sink: Nick Connor, the relentless bully that Jimmy has to deal with. Despite being apparently popular at school, Nick is not a nice person, and the moment he's introduced, where he's picking on Jimmy, it's made clear that he is not meant to be liked at all. In the end, Nick does get some comeuppance when he's suspended and made to do community service. Virgil also reveals that Nick's reputation is now permanently ruined after all his bullying of Jimmy is brought to attention.
• Here We Go Again!: Subverted. Just as Richie expresses hope that the other students learned something from all this, Virgil sees a couple of different bullies harassing another kid, who sports a Death Glare after they leave. Virgil makes a point of helping this kid up in the hopes of preventing history from repeating itself.
• Horrible Judge of Character: The school voted Nick “best personality”. Virgil thinks that there should have been a recount.
• How We Got Here: The episode starts off with Richie being loaded into an ambulance, then the scene switches to Virgil talking with a counselor about everything that led to that moment; obviously leaving out his involvement as Static.
• I Just Shot Marvin in the Face: Very much Played for Drama. When Jimmy's putting the gun down, two of the bullies tackle him. The gun ends up going off and a bullet hit Richie's leg. Jimmy is left visibly shaken by the accident. Coincidentally, Virgil is played by the same person as the Trope Namer.
• Informed Attribute: Nick was apparently voted "best personality" by the school. Aside from Virgil stating it, he never once lives up to this superlative.
• Innocent Bystander: Richie wasn't even Jimmy's target, but he gets shot when Jimmy gets tackled.
• Innocently Insensitive: Even ignoring the fate of Virgil's mother, Jimmy offering to show his father's gun to him wasn't the best idea to make friends. Then again, he didn't know that guns are a huge Trauma Button for Virgil.
• It's All My Fault: Virgil struggles with his guilt over this situation, as he hadn't told any teachers about what Jimmy was going through or told anyone about him having access to a gun. Worse, he feels that having superpowers means that he more than anyone else could've stopped Richie from getting shot. The therapist urges him to not be so hard on himself.
• Jerkass Has a Point: While Jimmy is certainly in the wrong for trying to kill Nick, he isn't wrong that Nick isn't actually sorry for what he did, especially since Nick is only apologising because 1) Jimmy's about to kill him and 2) he's realised that bullying Jimmy puts him at risk of losing his popularity (which he ends up losing anyway).
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Frieda appears to have finally convinced Nick that he's gone too far just before Jimmy shows up with his gun. However, it's obvious that Nick's apparent change of heart is due to realizing that picking on Jimmy is starting to make him look bad.
• Karmic Misfire: Despite Nick being responsible for the bullying, it's Richie who gets shot. Although it is downplayed, since Nick's reputation is completely destroyed, while Richie will recover from the bullet.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Nick, Ray, and Kevin all get suspended from school and are forced to do community service for not only their continuous bullying towards Jimmy, but for indirectly getting Richie shot (as Ray and Kevin tackling Jimmy is what caused the gun to go off in the first place). Virgil also mentions that Nick's popularity is now down the drain because of what happened.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Nick's other two cronies tackle Jimmy due to him pointing a gun at the former. However, he was in the process of lowering the gun at that moment, and this tackle causes said gun to fire and hit Richie.
• Loophole Abuse: Robert orders Virgil to stay away from school when they learn about Jimmy's plan. He decides to go as Static instead.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!": The class when Jimmy reveals that he has a gun and is planning to use it.
• Mundanger: In a series about superheroes fighting supervillains, the main danger in this episode is a bullying victim who steals his father's gun in order to kill his tormentors. Static is notably absent for most of the episode, this being a problem for Virgil Hawkins instead.
• Murder Is the Best Solution: Jimmy suffers so much torment at the hands of Nick and his gang that he becomes convinced that, at the very least, waving a gun at them is the only way to get his point across, and at worst, outright killing them will do the trick.
• My God, What Have I Done?:
  • Jimmy is horrified after accidentally shooting Richie.
  • Nick and his friends after Jimmy has been shot. Whether or not they're genuinely sorry or just shocked things went so far is never addressed.
• No Social Skills: Jimmy shows antisocial behavior in this episode...which is probably why he gets bullied so much.
• Oblivious Guilt Slinging: According to Virgil, Robert tried to assure him that there was nothing he could've done to prevent what happened. Virgil disagrees, both for reasons he tells the counselor about and because of his secret identity as a superhero.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Virgil when the teacher busts him for arriving late.
  • Also Virgil when he reads Jimmy's diary entry.
  • Jimmy's father when he finds his gun missing.
  • Nick when Jimmy pulls a gun on him.
  • Nick's best friends Kevin and Ray after realizing them tackling Jimmy led to him shooting Richie.
• Only a Flesh Wound: Averted. After Richie gets shot in the leg, not only does he point out how it's nothing like on TV, he makes it clear that he would have died (or at least been paralyzed) if the bullet had gone any higher.
• Parents as People:
  • Jimmy's parents sadly make some big mistakes. They are relatively kind people from what the episode has shown, but they don't appear aware of what their son has gone through. All of this on top of his father keeping a gun in the house, where their son can easily access it, leads to an innocent person getting shot.
    • At one point, when Virgil and Richie drop by Jimmy's house to give him a new mouse, Jimmy's mom actually says to him, "try not to chase them away," implying that Jimmy at least partly has himself to blame for his own unpopularity. This poor kid can't catch a break anywhere.
  • Nick's parents are implied to be ignorant of their son's bullying, based on their reaction to him at the end of the episode.
  • Robert tells Virgil to go home and stay away from the school with the gun situation going on. Virgil's mother died due to gun violence, and Robert does not want to lose his son the same way.
• Poor Communication Kills: Virgil blames himself for not telling any adult about the gun, and for not helping Jimmy more. At the end of the episode, he and Richie help out another kid who's bullied, determined not to let history repeat itself.
• Public Service Announcement: Static does this in the closing moments of the episode, to drop some statistics on the viewers about how gun violence affects young people.
• Pyrrhic Victory: Jimmy's actions have made the school more aware of the effects of bullying... at the cost of him having to serve time in juvie, and the injury of an innocent person.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Robert is this throughout the series but he especially makes use of his profession as a social worker here. He immediately recognizes from Jimmy's diary that the boy is depressed, urges Jimmy's father to get his son help, and chews Jimmy's father out for having a handgun in the house after it's revealed Jimmy stole it. He immediately has the police called to the school even if they arrive too late to stop Richie from being shot.
• Rejected Apology: Nick apologizes for bullying Jimmy when the latter holds him at gunpoint. Jimmy rightfully tells him to screw off, considering the implication that Nick is only saying he’s sorry because Jimmy is about to kill him.
• School Bullying Is Harmless: Averted; Virgil, Richie, and Frieda are the only ones who stand up for Jimmy, but their influence doesn't stop Nick from bullying Jimmy or prevent him from getting so fed up with the bullying that he honestly thinks the only way to get the bullies to stop is to kill them.
• Selective Obliviousness: Lampshaded by Virgil. He describes Mrs. Coleman as "eagle-eyed" and she's happy to wait for Virgil to arrive late to class so she can reprimand him. Then she fails to notice loud, obvious bullying going on a very short distance from her desk during the study hall when Nick starts tormenting Jimmy.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: Minor, barely-a-threat villain Carmen Dillo appears only briefly in the beginning of the episode and is dealt with quickly and effortlessly on Virgil/Static's way to school. The moment we see poor Jimmy and how his average day goes, we know the rest of it will be handled quite seriously.
• The Shrink: Virgil has to visit the school counselor after the shooting, and according to Frieda, everybody who was there has to as well. Jimmy also has to receive court-ordered counseling while he's in juvie.
• Stuffed into a Locker: Nick and his cronies do this to Jimmy, causing him to have a freak out and break down crying. This is also the last straw for Jimmy, as he starts to plan his murder of them shortly afterwards.
• There Are No Therapists: Averted. Not only is Robert a trained social worker who immediately realizes that Jimmy needs help, but everyone who witnessed the shooting is put through trauma counseling by the school. Jimmy is also apparently given court-ordered counseling as part of his sentence.
• Too Dumb to Live: There is a reason why you don't charge at a person holding a gun, especially when they are putting the gun down. At the very least, the bullies could have waited until Jimmy finished putting it down.
• Troubled Fetal Position: Jimmy ends up in one after shooting Richie by accident.
• Trauma Button:
  • Do not mention guns to Virgil, since his mother was killed by a gun user in the past.
  • Jimmy seems to have some sort of claustrophobia that was triggered when Nick stuffed him in a locker.
• Unexpectedly Dark Episode: This is easily one of the darkest and most serious episodes in the entire series, largely because of how realistic it is.
• Very Special Episode: Involves the dangers of school bullying and gun violence.
• Villain with Good Publicity: In this case, bully with good publicity. Although he’s an obnoxious jerk, Nick was apparently very popular in school, having been voted Best Personality in the yearbook the previous year. But in the end, Virgil comments that he’s become hated by everyone after his bullying drove Jimmy to bring a gun to school and accidentally shoot Richie.
• Villains Want Mercy: More of a bully than an outright villain, but Nick promptly starts apologizing when Jimmy aims the gun at him. Nick isn't having any of it.
• Wham Line:
  • When Virgil and Richie decide to leave Jimmy's house after he offers to show them his dad's gun.
    Virgil: The last thing I wanted to see was his dad's stupid gun. 'Course, eventually, I would see it and, when I did, it wouldn't be protectin' anybody.
  • When Virgil finally gets to see what Jimmy has been typing on his laptop.
    Virgil: The Battle Journal?
    Jimmy (in the Journal): All I wanted was to be left alone and they wouldn’t even do that. They had to hurt me. Humiliate me. Well, it ends tonight. I'm putting a stop to them. Once and for all.
• What Were You Thinking?: Robert drops the trope name word for word, when calling Jimmy's dad out on keeping a gun where his son could easily get to it.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Frieda and Richie manage to talk down Jimmy from shooting Nick by telling him that Nick isn't worth it and that he'll be over it in a week. Jimmy actually does lower the gun, before he gets tackled.
• You Are Too Late: After learning what Jimmy's going to do, Static races into action and arrives mere seconds after Richie is shot. He at least magnetizes the gun to the ceiling so no one else can touch it.
• You Did the Right Thing: After Jimmy first talked about having access to his father's gun, Virgil wanted to get the heck out of there (with Richie following), but he later wonders if this was cowardly and helped cause this mess. The counselor assures him this was the appropriate action by citing statistics about what happens when kids get into their parents' guns.