Recap / Strong Bad Email E 158 Cliffhangers

Airdate: Monday, September 18, 2006

Sender: Jake

Strong Bad: (singing) Oooh, it's a e-email, money, money, money. Oooh-ooh. Shut up.

"Little Jakey Pleasenthanks" asks Strong Bad to "Resolve all the cliffhangers, please", so Strong Bad initially decides to "resolve" the Literal Cliffhanger in which he's placed Homsar and the King of Town.

(cut to Homsar and the King of Town hanging from ropes tied to the top of a cliff)
Homsar: This dinner party is top dollar!
Strong Bad: (approaching the cliff) All right, cliffhangers. Prepare to be resolved! (pulls out a big knife and cuts the ropes, causing Homsar and the King to fall out of shot) Oh, and I brought you some snacks. (tosses some paper lunch bags after them)
King Of Town: You're a good friend, Strong Baaad!
(cut back to the computer room, where Strong Bad sits down in front of the Lappy)
Strong Bad: All right, all right. I know what you really mean, Jakesy. So, you say you want a resolution, huh?

Strong Bad then shows a series of cliff-hanger scenes, which are quickly resolved in turn:

1. Coach Z has the Thnikkaman (Bubs) tied up in the locker room, and is about to dramatically rip-off the Thnikkaman's cool shades and learn his "secret sorcret identity"... only for Coach Z to miss by a mile and fall over, allowing the Thnikkaman to escape.
   Singers: You missed unmasking the Thnikkaman! (beat) Because you have really bad hand-eye coordination!
   Coach Z: Enough already, I get it! My secret sorcret has been revereled...
2. Space Captainface and Strap Coopmore are in orbit on a routine mission for SBASAF, only to discover they're about to collide with Malmsteen's comet! With the forward humbuckers offline, their only option is to go out at ramming speed... fortunately, it turns out they're actually in the Forgotten Produce Belt of Tablature 5. "It's guacamole and banana-bread time, Strap!"
3. Homestar Runner has a shocking revelation for Strong Sad: he's pregnant!
   Strong Sad: Uh, no... no, you're Homestar. Runner. The male.
   Homestar: Oohhhh, phew. Thought I was a pregnant woman for a second there.
   Strong Sad: Yeah, uh, I think I'd like my money back now.

With the cliffhangers resolved, Strong Bad heads back to the Lappy to wrap things up... only to find the Lappy gone, with a ransom note and a bloody comma key in its place!

Strong Bad: Oh, sweet Lady Irony, why do you mock me?!
(The Paper comes down. Instead of the usual "Click here to email Strong Bad", it reads:)
The Paper: Tune in next time for the cliff-hanging conclusion!

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Tropes:

• Call-Back:
  • Coach Z tries to discover the secret identity of the Thnikkaman.
  • The second cliffhanger features Strong Bad and the Cheat as Space Captainface and Strap Coopmore.
• Change the Uncomfortable Subject: Both Homestar and Coach Z try to change the subject to "that sports team" after each accuses themselves of stealing the Lappy and being the Thnikkaman, respectively.
• Cliffhanger Copout: Parodied; Coach Z tries to unmask the Thnikkaman only to fall flat on his face, Space Captainface and Strap Coopmore turn out to be headed towards the Forgotten Produce Belt and not Malmsteen's Comet, and Homestar's hysterical pregnancy is defused by Strong Sad pointing out Homestar is a guy. Subverted at the end, where Strong Bad himself becomes the victim of an actual cliffhanger.
• Cut-and-Paste Note: Strong Bad finds a ransom note made from cut-up letters reading "i got your LappY".
• Easily Forgiven: The King of Town is apparently willing to overlook being dropped off a cliff because Strong Bad brought snacks.
• Epic Fail: Coach Z falls over while trying to dramatically unmask the Thnikkaman, and is mocked by the Thnikkaman's back-up singers.
  Singers: You missed unmasking the Thnikkaman! Because you have really bad hand-eye coordination!
  Coach Z: Enough already, I get it! My secret sorcret has been revearled...
• Failsafe Failure: Space Captainface tries to activate the "forward humbuckers" on his spaceship to avoid colliding with a comet, only for Strap Coopmore to point out a sign reading "The forward humbuckers have never worked!"
• Literal Metaphor: Strong Bad initially "resolves all the cliffhangers" by dropping Homsar and the King of Town (who are literally hanging from the edge of a precipice) off a cliff.
  Strong Bad: Alright, cliff-hangers, prepare to be resolved!
• Mister Seahorse: Subverted. Homestar is convinced that he's pregnant in the third cliffhanger, but Strong Sad points out that he can't be because he's male.
• Shout-Out: Strong Bad finds a note with the Lappy's "little toe" attached to it.
• To Be Continued... Right Now: The conceit of the e-mail involves Strong Bad presenting a series of cliffhangers, followed by their resolutions.
  Narrator: Will Cap and Strap make it out of this one? Tune in next ti—
  Strong Bad: Nope, none of that. Just get to resolving.
  Narrator: Okay!
• Waxing Lyrical: Strong Bad asks Jake "You say you want a resolution, huh?"

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(cut to Homestar and Strong Bad at the office, wearing polo shirts and standing by the water cooler)
Homestar: Yeah, yeah, you know who I think done it? Homestar Runner. Think about it, think about it. He's got the history, he's got the motive...
Strong Bad: Homestar, are you admitting that you stole my computer?
Homestar: What? No! I was just making watercooler conversation, trying to sound up with the times, uh, um, sports team?

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(cut to Coach Z at Bubs' Concession Stand)
Coach Z: Nah, I bet if you take away them cool shades and rip that "TH" off his chest, underneath, you'd find a thin green man with a big ol' "Z" hanging from his...
Bubs: Coach, are you accusing yourself of being the Thnikkaman?!
Coach Z: Yeah, I, uh—- no! I, wuh, da, rumble-dumble sports team?!